Going back to Madonna, I don't dislike her or anything (despite her obvious and severe narcissism), but I really don't think anything she did was that revolutionary. It was all just cheap shock tactics. Anyone else pulling the same same publicity stunts would have got the same reaction. But no one else bothered because it mostly had no true political or artistic value, other than to annoy people.
Madonna has coasted by her whole career based on the bare minimum of talent in terms of singing, dancing and acting, combined with massive ambition, good fashion sense, and a skill for public relations.