Madonna Single: Lucky Star (1984)

Madonna
“Lucky Star”

Release: August 8, 1984

1. Lucky Star (Edit)
2. I Know It

Producer: Reggie Lucas
Writer: Madonna

Billboard Hot 100: #4
UK Singles Chart: #14



Saving the best for last isn’t the usual strategy for choosing singles off of albums, but that’s exactly how it worked for Madonna’s first album. “Lucky Star,” the album’s upbeat opening track, became the fifth and final single released from the album in the summer of 1984. It became the album’s biggest U.S. hit, peaking at #4. In the UK, it failed to chart when first released in 1983, but reached #14 upon its re-release the next year. It remains one of only five Madonna singles not to reach the top 10 in UK, a fate that would have befallen “Borderline,” had it not been re-released.

“Lucky Star” benefits from really cool synthesizer effects, thundering bass, and synthetic claps. It’s definitely my favorite cut from Madonna. Madonna’s high, nasally vocals also give way to lower-register singing, which she would use rarely until True Blue. The single features Madonna album cut I Know It as a B-side, ensuring that every cut on Madonna would appear as either the A- or B-side track on one of the album’s five singles.

The “Lucky Star” video is a simple dance video with Madonna dancing against white background with her two backup dancers—her brother, Christopher Ciccone, and Erica Bell.