(BBG) Thirty years ago this week, Madonna released her third studio album, True Blue, on Sire Records. One of the best-selling albums of all time, True Blue is RIAA-certified 7x platinum with seven million copies sold in the U.S. and an estimated 25 million copies sold worldwide.

It was the world's top-selling album in 1986, reaching No. 1 in a then record-breaking 28 countries around the world, as well as the best-selling album of the '80s by a female artist. In the U.S., True Blue hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 on August 16th, 1986, and remained at No. 1 for five consecutive weeks, spending 82 weeks on the chart.

True Blue spawned five Top 5 singles, "True Blue," "La Isla Bonita," "Live to Tell," "Papa Don't Preach," and "Open Your Heart," the latter three all peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also features fan favorite "Where's the Party".

Madonna co-wrote and co-produced the entirety of True Blue with Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard. She has said that the album deals with her view of love and was an "unabashed valentine" to her then husband Sean Penn.

Madonna was honored with the Video Vanguard Award at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, the same year True Blue was released, becoming the first female artist to receive the award.