Mary’s Multi-Faceted History with Pop Music

Within the world of the rich and famous, religious imagery and divine parallels are far

from scarce. In fact, some artists have grown their brands through provocative takes on

Christianity and the predictable outrage that ensues. While most like to specifically document

the demonic imagery in artists, I find the efforts eye-rollingly predictable. When artists dress up

as evil spirits, they sometimes send a message regarding intimidation or glorifying actions

frowned upon by organized religion, but most commonly, it is a thoughtless marketing scheme

to generate buzz around an artist’s name.

Boring!

I have always found the range in Marian imagery much more fascinating. Instead of the cringeworthy attempts to garner attention through demonic appeals or the painfully one-dimensional or outright blasphemous Christ allusions, references to Mary give a deeper

look into the secular understanding of Mary and what she represents. Since October is the month of the Rosary, juxtaposing worldly understandings of Mary and the rosary with

the Church’s is a worthwhile exercise for theologians and pop culture fans alike.

Both fashion and music historians credit Mary and the rosary’s pop culture presence to Madonna’s emergence. Leaning into her legal name, her artistic identity has used traditional Catholic imagery and bent it to her liking. While her videos depict the Crucifixion, the stigmata, Jesus, and the Pope, her entire career has been very Mary-centric. One could analyze every Marian reference throughout her discography, but her first use of Marian imagery seems to be a thesis of her point of view. During the 1984 MTV Video Awards, Madonna donned several rosaries around her neck juxtaposed by her belt boldly proclaiming, “BOY TOY,” as she performed her future number one hit single “Like a Virgin,” on stage. While most provocative pop stars use raunchy imagery to sexualize themselves, Madonna utilized the rosary and Mary to appeal to the idea of innocence and purity. Mary’s perpetual virginity was the focus of Madonna’s Marian fascination, as it leaned into Madonna’s image of an innocent-appearing woman with sinful inclinations. Madonna also uses Marian comparisons to deify herself as a woman above the rest from a physical and artistic perspective. 

Those who remember the rise of Madonna could easily recall the strong issue the Church had with Madonna’s imagery. While the statements were triggered by other events such as her denunciation of the Pope in “Papa Don’t Preach,” and her on-stage crucifixion acting as the headlining feature of her 2006 Confessions Tour, that does not mean that her Marian imagery was doctrinally accurate. The deification of Mary is a common misunderstanding of Catholic devotion to the Blessed Mother, often brought up as a result of the many statues and prayers regarding her. 

To put it simply, we honor Mary for two major (and many other minor) reasons: she lived the model Christian life and she was deemed the perfect tabernacle of Christ by God. Praying for Mary’s intercession is done as a way to ask for her guidance and to increase in closeness to her Son. Christ calls us to revere Mary on the cross by saying “Behold Your Mother,” and we therefore honor Mary as we would our own father and mother from the Ten Commandments. Assuming she has any divinity in and of herself is a distortion of our call to her specific guidance. 

The shockwaves of Madonna’s controversial use of religious imagery were so strong that it took almost 20 years before another musical artist overtly referenced The Blessed Mother again. While Tupac, Lenny Kravitz, and Lady Gaga mention Mary in the meantime, their music mistakes the Blessed Mother for Mary Magdalene, a follower of Christ in the Gospels. 

The tides turned in the 2010’s starting with Rihanna’s release of “Mother Mary,” the latter of a double song meant to illustrate the beauty and pain of change. The chorus is a prayer that pleads for a new saintly life that feels impossible for Rihanna. Her prayer emphasizes St. Louis De Montfort’s writings on consecration to Jesus Through Mary, where he meditates on God’s choice of entering the world through Mary, which gives insight into the way we are called to approach Christ. 

In a FOCUS SEEK Keynote Speech, Hilary Draftz stated, “For those who feel unworthy to come to Christ, get to know His mother and she will introduce you to Him.” That sounds like the consolation Rihanna needed in her moment of self-doubt. Nobody deserves God’s love but it is by grace we receive it anyway. So who would be better to turn to for this understanding than the one we understand as “full of grace”? 

In contrast to the spiritual focus on Mary, Lana Del Rey has resonated more with Mary’s life on earth. Her 2018 Met Gala outfit, decked out with blue angel wings and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, draws attention to the power and beauty that can come from suffering, a common motif throughout her discography.

 In her music video for Tropico, Lana dons a humble veil and robe for Mary, directly opposing many previous pop stars who found power in Mary’s heavenly state. Lana’s Mary character is primarily in Act One, where the video cuts between Lana praying as Mary and Lana dressed suggestively at a club once Eve bites into the apple. 

In my interpretation, Lana is showing the spectrum of capabilities of women that resulted from the Fall, with Mary being the highest possibility and the gang-affiliated sex worker being the most broken. The first act lightly references Mary as the New Eve, which has been a Church understanding since the early Church Fathers. While Eve brought sin into the world by saying no to God’s will, Mary’s resounding yes allowed for our redemption. Lana’s costume decision shows how Mary’s humility brought great blessings, not some celestial power other interpretations theorize. It also stresses how Mary had no superpower; she was merely a holy woman who overcame concupiscence through her persistence in God’s will.

Since 2013, Beyonce has sprinkled Mary into her music, and it is no coincidence that this began shortly after the birth of her first child Blue Ivy. Beyonce relates to Mary’s motherhood, and her 2017 maternity shoot was meant to empower those with kids to acceptpractical responsibilities and understand the spiritual merits of participating in creation. In her music video for “Mine,” Beyonce poses as Mary in the famous La Pieta statue to express the pain of both her marital struggles and the intimate connection between her and Blue Ivy. Amidst Beyonce’s early struggles as a mother, she turned to Mary, who took on the ultimate struggle of raising God incarnate and witnessing His brutal death. Mary’s pain creates a unique relatability for Mary that many other Biblical figures have not achieved in the mainstream. While all these examples are not meant to be taken as dogmatic teaching, there is a lot of value in the portrayal of Mary in pop culture. Whether it is her motherhood, purity, theotokos, or suffering that inspires us, Mary is meant to be a guide for all on our journey to Jesus. I am sure Mary has a special place in her heart for the public figures who genuinely turn to her for guidance.