Material Girl song reached the top-ten in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain and the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, while reaching the top 40 of Germany, Italy and Switzerland. In New Zealand and Japan, the song reached the top-five. The music video was inspired by Madonna's admiration of Marilyn Monroe and mimicked the latter's performance of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the 1953 film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". It also featured actor Keith Carradine, who played Madonna's love interest. The video was the first to showcase Madonna's acting ability, as it combined the dance routines of "Diamonds Are a Girl's
Like a Virgin (album) and compared the eroticism of the video to the vitality of the city of Venice. "Material Girl" was the second single from the album, released in November 1984. Critics have frequently noted "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin" as the songs that made Madonna an icon. The song was a commercial success, reaching the top-five in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Japan and United Kingdom. It reached position two on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in the United States. The music video was a mimicry of Marilyn Monroe's performance of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the 1953 film