Madonna recorded the album between 1985 and 1986, collaborating with Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray on its writing and production. She had previously worked with the latter on her second studio album, Like a Virgin (1984). For the first time in her career, Madonna co-wrote and co-produced all of the tracks on True Blue. Its themes—primarily love, romance, marriage, and devotion—draw in part on her personal life and her marriage to actor Sean Penn. Musically, True Blue was a pop and dance-pop album with a soundscape characterized by synthesizers, guitars, drum machines, and backing vocal arrangements, influenced by the Motown sound, girl groups, and Latin pop.
True Blue was promoted with the Who's That Girl World Tour, the second highest-grossing female concert tour of 1987. Five singles supported the album: the US Billboard Hot 100 number-ones "Live to Tell", "Papa Don't Preach", and "Open Your Heart", as well as the top-five entries "True Blue" and "La Isla Bonita". An immediate global success, True Blue topped the music charts in a record-breaking twenty-eight countries worldwide and received multi-platinum certifications across the Americas, Europe, and the Asia–Pacific region.
After Madonna met actor Sean Penn on the set of the music video for "Material Girl", the two began dating in February 1985. She mentioned that Penn was someone whose work she admired, and she believed he felt the same. Madonna said they had "so much in common" and that "he [was] almost like my brother". After dating casually for six months, the pair married on Madonna's twenty-seventh birthday on August 16, 1985. Soon after, the newlyweds co-starred in the adventure comedy film Shanghai Surprise (1986), which was a critical and commercial failure. During her Virgin Tour in 1985, Madonna met producer Patrick Leonard, who was hired as the tour's musical director.
Following the tour's conclusion, Madonna asked Leonard if he wanted to work with her. They met at a barbecue at his home, during which he presented her with a song he had composed in his studio, titled "Love Makes the World Go Round". Madonna performed it at the Live Aid benefit concert in Philadelphia in July 1985.
Madonna and her collaborators, Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray, began recording True Blue in December 1985. For the first time in her career, Madonna co-wrote and co-produced every track on the album. She was greatly in control of the album's development and, according to Bray, was "very much in love" while recording. Madonna collaborated separately with Leonard and Bray, with all three working together collectively on only one occasion. With Leonard, the recording process was informal: he would typically develop a musical idea on piano, after which Madonna would "write a lyric, she'd sing it, and the next day we would do another song", often completing one per day. In contrast, Bray focused on "shap[ing] things and [...] creat[ing] arrangements to show off the song[s] better".
The ballad "Live to Tell" was conceived by Leonard as an instrumental for the score of Paramount's film Fire with Fire (1986). After Paramount rejected the track, he asked Madonna to write the lyrics. Pleased with the results of "Live to Tell", she kept Leonard on the project and enlisted former boyfriend, Bray, whom she had worked with on Like a Virgin. Madonna felt that he could help her create "up-tempo songs with a classic Top 40 sensibility".
The first song selected for True Blue was "Open Your Heart", it was originally titled "Follow Your Heart" and conceived as a rock track. The song was intended for singer Cyndi Lauper, although she passed it on. The Temptations were also offered the song but declined after hearing that Madonna was interested. "Follow Your Heart" was submitted to Madonna's team for True Blue; Madonna and Leonard added a bassline, turning it into a dance-pop composition. Madonna also revised the lyrics, which allowed her to get a songwriting credit, and retitled it "Open Your Heart".
"Papa Don't Preach" was written by Brian Elliot with the intention that it be performed by a singer named Christina Dent. A demo was presented to Warner Bros. executive Michael Ostin, who played it to Madonna during the recording of True Blue. Elliot had been working with Dent for six months and was initially reluctant to offer the song to another artist, but ultimately agreed, later describing the prospect of Madonna recording it as "hard to resist". The singer expressed immediate interest and acquired the song. "La Isla Bonita" was initially composed as an instrumental demo by Leonard and Bruce Gaitsch for Michael Jackson, who rejected the track.
"Where's the Party" was the only track on True Blue co-written by Madonna, Bray, and Leonard. Curtis Hudson—who co-wrote Madonna's 1983 breakthrough single "Holiday"—and Bray composed "Spotlight" for the album; although it was recorded, it was ultimately excluded from the final track list.
True Blue has been regarded as Madonna's first significant musical reinvention, departing from the bubblegum pop-oriented sound of her earlier works. It was a pop and dance-pop album with songs that take influences from Latin pop, girl groups, Motown sound, and Cuban music.
Described by Madonna as her "most personal" work at the time, True Blue aimed to reach a broader, more mature audience. Love, romance, commitment, and fidelity constitute the album's main themes. Songs such as "True Blue" and "Open Your Heart" explore romantic devotion and emotional intimacy. The title track in particular expresses devotion and loyalty to a romantic partner. Biographer Andrew Morton wrote that it is the only song on the album that was a "direct tribute to her husband [Penn]", though the entire album was "inspired by her feelings for him at this time". Similarly, author Lucy O'Brien wrote that her love for Penn "seep[s] into every song". "Papa Don't Preach" addresses teenage pregnancy, "Love Makes the World Go Round" promotes themes of anti-war and anti-poverty, and "Live to Tell" deals with deceit, mistrust, and trauma. Escapism is depicted through the idyllic portrayal of an imaginary tropical paradise in "La Isla Bonita" and the pursuit of enjoyment in "Where's the Party".
True Blue was favorably reviewed by music critics; Madonna's maturity as a vocalist, producer, and songwriter was particularly acclaimed amongst reviewers. While True Blue was not revolutionary, Madonna's voice had matured, and was so finely tailored that she actually extends the punch and appeal of the production touches". Although True Blue was generally acclaimed, some reviewers were more critical in their assessments. Dismissing the record as "warmed over Go-Gos material"
