Madonna recorded her first album in 1983, an upbeat, dance-pop collection of songs that used new technology at the time, such as synthesizers and an electronic drum. Her second album was Like a Virgin (1984). The songs and album cover of her wearing a wedding dress with a “Boy Toy” belt buckle were provocative, bringing criticism from conservatives and admiration from the younger crowd.

Madonna was known for her continual reinvention and versatility in music and visual presentation. Songs like “Live to Tell” (1986), “Vogue” (1990), and those in her album Erotica (1992) cemented her reputation as a trendsetter.

Streisand recorded her first album in 1963, insisting on choosing the songs herself. She got a lot of pressure from Columbia Records to include some pop hits, but chose songs from 1930 to 1960 instead. Her next two albums were “classic renditions of theatre and cabaret standards.” They were also from the past, using songs from 1912 up to 1960.

The first two movies she starred in and the first movie she directed were also set in the past. Funny Girl (1968), Hello, Dolly! (1969), and Yentl (1983) all took place in the 1890s to the early 1900s.

She sang contemporary songs in the 1970s until she returned to her roots with The Broadway Album in 1985.

Routine & Tradition (SJ) / Spontaneity (SP)

Streisand (ESTJ) / Madonna (ESTP)

Bob Barker (ISTJ) / Johnny Carson (ISTP)

This process was repeated with a new person from the audience added to the remaining three contestants to guess the price of another prize. The winning bidder advanced to the next phase for a chance to win a more expensive prize. When there were three winners, they spun a giant wheel to see who would get the closest to $1 without going over. This winner became one of two finalists at the end of the show.

Johnny Carson was the host of The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He complained that the show had too much structure—yet the winning formula of a monologue followed by comedy sketches, interviews with guests, and live performances has been the standard of late-night talk shows for more than sixty years.

Bob Barker was the host of The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007. Each show began with four players guessing the price of a given item, starting with the contestant on the left. Whoever came closest to the retail price without going over won the prize and moved on to the next phase. The contestant then played a pricing game alone, with an opportunity to win a more expensive prize, like furniture or a car.

When Johnny began hosting the show, he said that the best way to succeed was to “make the show seem relaxed and unrehearsed.”

While his monologues were written for him, the funniest moments came when a joke fell flat and Johnny ad libbed a remark about it.

Interaction with guests provided endless opportunities for quick-witted remarks. When he asked Ronald Reagan how to go about balancing the federal budget, Reagan replied, “Balancing the budget is like protecting your virtue. You have to learn to say ‘No.’” Johnny chuckled and then added, “There’s gotta be another way. What’s the second option?”

"I don't follow the rules. I never did, and I'm not going to start." –Madonna

Amy Grant (ESFJ) / Celine Dion (ESFP)

While many successful musicians refuse to believe that they won’t sell millions of records again, Amy Grant acknowledged that she would probably never reach the height of popularity she experienced in the 1980s and 1990s. “I think that there are great examples of women who have had lifelong pop careers—Cher, Tina Turner— people whose music is timeless and who don’t do the same thing and who always reinvent themselves. That’s not me.”

As much as her Introverted husband enjoyed working from home, Amy wanted to bring a feeling of home to her concerts: “I love orchestrating things. The good side of it is that I can move a crowd that’s much bigger than one I can fit around my dining room table—hopefully 10,000 people—and be a hostess and make them feel that we’re in a living room.”

In 2006, she literally transformed the stage into her living room, bringing her couch and a chair, and having a large print made of a painting from her living room. “This picture that I see every day in my home will be the backdrop for the show.”

Amy and her husband, Vince Gill, began a Nashville tradition when they performed a Christmas concert at the Ryman Auditorium in 2008. They continued this tradition for at least fifteen years.

Celine Dion admitted that she grew weary of singing the same songs night after night in live performances, yet she didn’t want to record them and be done. She also said that she would like to act some day, but had no desire to perform on Broadway, even in a musical. She preferred spontaneous performances.

Celine loved uninhibited, impulsive moments so much, she was known to burst into song at unexpected times and places. Like the time someone in a crowd asked about her love life and she responded by singing “Diamonds” in the voice of Rihanna. Or the time she started singing in a museum hall because it offered great acoustics.

As a guest on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show, she was challenged to sing a variety of songs in the voices of other famous singers. Not only did she imitate their voices and styles of singing, her gestures and on-the-spot ideas comically captured the essence of each singer.

She made Las Vegas her home in 2003, performing more than a thousand shows over the next sixteen years. She also toured extensively during that time, the star attraction of 244 live concerts around the world.