Madonna’s Birthday: Material Girl Turns 54

Madonna’s birthday is this week, and, as the Material Girl turns 54, she’s doing anything but quietly sinking into retirement.

The pop singing pioneer is hard at working on her MDNA tour, which just completed a set in Oslo, Norway and is headed to Zurich, the New York Observer reported. Madonna’s birthday actually marks a positive milestone in the midst of a crazy past few weeks for the singer.

She has made headlines for lawsuits over her use of Nazi imagery, got booed by fans, earned the scorn of Russian officials for speaking out in support of dissident rockers Pussy Riot, and got in trouble for waving an AK-47 on stage at a concert just days after the shooting in Aurora, Colorado.

If Madonna’ birthday goes down anything like the last few weeks, she likely won’t be spending a quiet evening at home alone with her family, E! News noted. Even when it isn’t Madonna herself instigating the situations, drama has seemed to follow the singer recently.

She had a feud with Elton John reignited when he called her a “fairground stripper,” and Lady Gaga criticized Madonna after the Material Girl mocked Gaga’s “Born This Way.”

Not all media outlets are expecting the worst of the singer. RadarOnline used Madonna’s birthday as a chance to remember the groundbreaking work of the singer born August 16, 1958, as Madonna Louise Ciccone.

Madonna made her name in the club scene and burst onto the national scene with her debut single “Everybody” in 1982, the website recalled. She cemented her place on the pop scene with the 1984 smash “Like a Virgin.”

Madonna’s birthday marks more than 30 years on the pop scene, RadarOnline.com noted, and, with the singer still touring and making albums, there is no clear end in sight.