“BIGGEST FAN” :: My name is Philip Tetro, and I reign from Mississauga, Ontario – twenty minutes west of Toronto. I do not remember a day in my life without Madonna. She has literally been there for me every single day since I was born. I used to sit at home with my mother’s Madonna cassettes for hours and hours and memorize each lyric, breath, beat, synth, and detail in every Madonna song.
It started with The Immaculate Collection. That’s the first cassette I ever remember holding in my hands. It’s juxtaposition of teal blue and gold embroidery made it feel, well…immaculate. It wasn’t, of course, until my Catholic upbringing where I realized that it’s title was a play on words on the birth of Jesus Christ. I then made a connection: Madonna is holy.
To me she was, anyway. I remember the first time I watched a Madonna music-video – “Borderline:” Latino men in tight jeans playing pool, a naked statue of a Greek god, and that beautiful woman in those beautiful outfits staring at me through the television. I was hooked.
I was already seven years old by the time that music video came out, and by that time, I was already behind. I had no idea the impact that Madonna would have on me throughout the years to come, and I am thankful every day for her existence.
While most people had sex or tried drugs in high school, I spent my time with other hardcore fans around the world trading and downloading Madonna concert bootlegs. I would sit at home for hours and watch Madonna perform. Every move, costume change, note, dance step, and harmony would engrave itself deeper and deeper each time into my adolescent brain. I would literally watch Madonna concert footage every weekend until I was old enough to drink. I am a natural-born performer, and through Madonna’s live footage I was able to shape my craft and shape the type of performer I wanted to be. From learning each different version of “Vogue” from beginning to end, to learning every harmony ever sung for “Into the Groove,” Madonna has taught me that I, too, was born to entertain.
Some may think I am obsessed with Madonna: my telephone number spells out a Madonna song, my room is covered with posters, vinyl records, magazines, and memorabilia – most of which was made before I was even born. I don’t think of it as obsession, I think about it as a lifestyle. It’s a religious experience for me listen to Madonna’s music. It is healing for me to watch The Blond Ambition Tour or Who’s That Girl Tour live in Japan. It is a miracle for this woman to have done the things she has done, say the things she has said, and heal her followers.
She is my Jesus Christ.
This is Madonnaology.
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ray of light is good