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[Liam.k.]

It's 20 years since Evita - the film adaptation of the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in which Madonna assumed the lead role - received 5 nominations at the 69th Academy Awards, including a win for Best Original Song. To celebrate, we recognise the soundtrack that took Madonna's voice to a whole new level.

After securing the role of Eva Perón following years of dedicated pleading, Madonna was encouraged to take vocal lessons to ensure she could handle the demanding vocal requirements of the musical's soundtrack. No dialogue is featured; every line is sung and Madonna would have to perform in two thirds of those songs, usually backed by a grand 80-piece orchestra. It was well outside her comfort zone, but she didn't needed any persuasion: she had already promised she would do whatever it took to master every aspect of the role and she immediately took on vocal training led by coach Joan Lader. Madonna's increased confidence in the songs was noticed after being taught to sing from her diaphragm, allowing her to project her voice and develop her upper register. It has also been said that Madonna acted out each scene whilst recording vocals to ensure each lyric had the right sort of feeling put into it. No doubt this allowed her to have some sort of control over the recording process - unlike with her own studio albums, Madonna had no input in the writing or production, despite as her suggestions of rewriting some of the original lyrics. Perhaps as a compromise, a new song 'You Must Love Love' was specially written for the movie.

Three singles were released to promote the soundtrack: the aforementioned 'You Must Love Me', 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' and 'Another Suitcase in Another Hall'. All were met with great critical reception, but only one would truly make an impact on the charts - 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina', the song most associated with the film and original stage musical that is sung during the famous balcony scene. It was a Top 10 hit all across Europe, including topping the charts in France and Spain, as well as reaching #8 in the US. Despite this, it was 'You Must Love Me' that the industry was most interested in and it was put forward for a number of awards, most significantly being its win for Best Original Song at both the Golden Globes and the Oscars/Academy Awards - the latter at which Madonna performed the song live, thus cementing it as one of her most celebrated performances.

Evita rarely gets much attention on forums - perhaps because, despite the crediting, it's not really a Madonna album and the music isn't quite what people invest in Madonna for - but, as we reach 20 years since it was top of the charts, now seems a good chance to shine the limelight on the soundtrack once more. What are people's thoughts on the album? Any favourites? Any standout performances? I've also attached a poll of all the songs that Madonna takes a lead vocal, just to see which songs stand out as the most liked.