Madonna: God doesn't care about record sales

Madonna

Despite a long career promoting sexuality in her music, pop star Madonna is waxing more philosophical as she gets older, now saying human behavior is more important to God than record sales.

"At the end of the day when I'm standing at the golden gates, I'm sure God doesn't give a s--- how many records I've sold or how many number one hits I've had," Madonna said in an interview with Britain's Observer. "All He gives a s--- about is how I behaved, how I treated people. So understanding that, and still doing my best making records, is the conclusion I've come to. I think about that more now than I used to."

The Material Girl, now 47, was reflecting on fame and what really matters in life.

"As the years go by you go through this evolution," she said. "You think, 'Oh my God, having a song on the radio and being number one is the most important thing in the world,' and then that happens for a while and then you get the s--- kicked out of you and you think, 'I can't deal with this,' and you go into introspection mode and then you come through the other side. You realize that having a number one record and being loved and adored isn't the most important thing in the world. But at the same time, I don't have a problem with it. What I'm trying to say is, I'm not a reluctant pop star. I'm very grateful and happy for everything that I have and for things when they go well. On the other hand, I've had enough of the other side to know that if it doesn't, I will survive that and life goes on."

Madonna also discussed the impact of the news media on her state of mind.

"You have this inner struggle within yourself all the time, this pendulum that swings between you caring [what people think] and not caring. It's not important, but on the other hand the media is something that affects a lot of people, so you're constantly trying to strike a balance between respecting something and not caring about it. Let's talk about economics: I know there's a lot of competition in the world of magazines and newspapers and we have to make headlines and be sensational and sell, and saying bad things about me is going to sell more papers than writing good things about me."

When asked if coverage still had an impact on her, she said, "It used to have a huge effect, but I'm so used to people slagging me off. Since the beginning of my career I've been told I have no talent, I can't sing and I'm a one-hit wonder. That was 22 years ago."

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