But it isn't simply her extraordinary list of achievements that has earned Madonna her status as one of a handful of the most innovative, influential and inspiring artists of our time. It is more her passionate commitment to excellence, her complete involvement in every essential aspect of her art, her career and her life, and a stubborn refusal to do anything less than all the way.

Those same qualities are brought to bear in both the movie and the music of Evita. The lavish screen version of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic musical, Evita, features instantly definitive versions of the production's phenomenal score. Included is the brand new, fresh out-of-the-box smash single "You Must Love Me," written especially for the film by Webber and Rice, and in Madonna's hands, a suddenly indispensable addition to the well-known score. Simply put, Madonna has made Evita utterly and completely her own, and while there could never have been a doubt that she would give the performance of a lifetime, Madonna as Evita is, and will remain, a landmark in the career of an artist with a history of making history.

But, of course, Madonna's place in history goes far beyond simple numbers, and far past statistics, no matter how impressive. It is, finally, her glorious music that matters to us most; her triumphant personal style that excites our admiration; her vision that inspires us, her courage that calls to us and her example that encourages us to dare and to dream.