Madonna seemed unimpressed with the talk of the 41st Annual Grammy Awards being all about the Year of the Woman. "The year of the woman?" the four-time Grammy winner jokingly pondered backstage during a post-awards press appearance.

Scrunching up her nose at the suggestion, Madonna instead took the opportunity to pay homage to her forebears in pop while expressing gratitude for her first major Grammy award in the Best Pop Album category for Ray of Light.

"I have to say I followed a lot of incredible women myself," Madonna said. No longer sporting her geishalike performance outfit, the singer had changed into a form-fitting white tank top and beaded purple pants to meet the assembled press, her eyes highlighted by geometric patterns of hot-pink makeup.

"I followed Deborah Harry [of Blondie], Chrissie Hynde [of the Pretenders] and Joni Mitchell," Madonna said, "and I hope that many more follow me as I followed them."

Of her most recent image makeover in a Japanese geisha style, Madonna denied the shift was tied to her role as a mother, instead saying that she was "constantly looking for new ideas and [getting] into different cultures."

The singer gave a sassy "that's right, baby," when asked if she was ready to take on moviedom's Oscars after conquering the Grammys.

When questioned about how being a mother to her toddler daughter Lourdes might affect her career, Madonna said that in the immediate future concert tours would take place in the summer, when her daughter is out of school.

She also delivered a surprise to Latin pop superstar Ricky Martin when he was speaking to the press following his own Grammy win for Best Latin Pop Performance. After the former Menudo member expressed how important the win for his Vuelve album was to the Latin community, Madonna rushed the stage and hugged the singer.

First covering his eyes in a peekaboo gesture, the pop diva and multiple-Grammy winner told the assembled scribes that she "just wanted to congratulate" Martin. She hugged and kissed the handsome singer before jumping back off the stage. Madonna stayed close to the podium and posed with Martin after his press appearance.

"This means a lot to me," Martin said. "It's amazing to see people you admire dancing to your music," he added of his earlier performance on the Grammy telecast. "Sting was singing and Will Smith was doing his jiggy to my music."