Madonna "You Must Love Me"

For her role as Evita Peron, Madonna immersed herself and pushed herself outside her boundaries both in her acting and singing abilities. For the song "You Must Love Me", Madonna underwent vocal training to help her reach an upper register she didn't know she had. The ballad peaked at #15 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. 

Madonna "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"

When your name is Madonna and you get handed one of the world's most recognized songs ("Don't Cry for Me Argentina"), what do you do? Since we're talking about Madonna, we can easily guess she will push the envelope and do something completely different to the song. Of course, that's exactly what she did. Madonna took the sleepy ballad famous for being delivered on a balcony and morphed it into a high-octane Latin-flavored dance tune. Not only did Top 40 radio stations take notice and put Madonna's "Miami Mix" of the song in heavy rotation, but dance clubs, discos and even Adult Contemporary radio stations embraced the high-energy take on the classic song. Critical reception to the song helped justify the decision to cast the controversial Madonna as Eva Peron in Evita. In Madonna's four-page letter to the movie's writer/director Alan Parker in 1994, she cited the video to "Take A Bow" as part of her audition for a role Madonna once told Vanity Fair that she was "born to play". 

Madonna "Secret"

Unlike previous singles from Madonna like "Justify My Love" and "Like A Prayer", the song "Secret" didn't come hand-packed with controversy. The R&B-tinged song introduced the world to a more mature Madonna--one who would soon take on the film role of Evita. "Secret" worked its way to #2 on the Adult Contemporary Chart (#3 on the Hot 100 and Mainstream Top 40 Charts).

Madonna - "The Power of Goodbye"

Like you, I forgot about this catchy little ballad from Madonna's Ray of Light album.  As the master of reinvention, Madonna again showed the world a different version of Madonna.  Thanks to her role in Evita coupled with the fact that she was now a mother, the world witnessed the softer, tamer, and more mature side of Madonna.  That, my friends, is the power of goodbye.

Madonna - "Take A Bow"

Remember when Madonna was always pushing the envelope and doing risque activities on stage?  Yeah, well not on this song.  She was too busy trying to clean up her image as she prepared to star in the movie Evita when this sleepy ballad hit #1 in 1994.