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Madonna news - Oct. 2003
← Sep. 2003 | Nov. 2003 →
Listen to samples of the EP
31 October 2003Check the forum at djricomixshow to listen to samples of the 7 tracks from the upcoming EP. Most exciting is of course the previously unreleased song Your Honesty, which has a cool swing R'n'B groove to it, reminiscent to Bedtime Stories.
The Headcleanr mixes for American Life and Love Profusion give us a great rock version of these songs. The Passengerz Mix of Into The Hollywood Groove seems to be the version used in the Gap commercial. Click here for part of the lyrics.
UPDATE: seems the forum thread has been taken down. But don't worry, I'm sure the tracks will surface online soon enough.
Camille Paglia on Madonna
31 October 2003In an article on Salon.com, social critic Camille Paglia comments on Madonna's VMA kiss and her childrens book.
Madonna wants to make animated film of children book
Source: MadonnaTribe - 30 October 2003After giving Access Hollywood's,Pat O'Brien the first-ever tour of her private office, Madonna sat down and discussed the possibility of turning at least one of her five children's books into an animated film.
The star also discusses Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, saying that to a certain extent, the celebrity couple courted the excessive media coverage that they ultimately blamed for the cancellation of their wedding last September. When it comes to having another baby, Mrs. Ritchie admits that she wouldn't rule out the possibility.
The interview airs on Access Hollywood, Thursday, October 30, (check local listings for time and station). With her first children's book, The English Roses, currently on top of the New York Times Best Seller List for a Children's Picture Book, and four more children's books on the way, Madonna is looking to take her books to the big screen. Yes, I would like to make at least one animated film out of one of the stories, she reveals.
In fact, the Material Girl already has a specific book in mind for the animation project. There is a story called the Adventures of Abdey that could make a good animated film, she comments. But when asked if her seven year-old daughter Lourdes would have a starring role in any on-air project related to her books, Madonna immediately replied "Absolutely not?"
Regarding the excessive media attention that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez held responsible for the cancellation of their wedding last September, Madonna says that in a sense - they asked for it. Well, to a certain extent, they courted the media attention, she says.
At the end of the day I feel like that's their job, and then there needs to be a part of the relationship that you keep private. The pop star and best-selling author, who is married to film director Guy Ritchie admits that while it can be challenging to have such a public personal life, it should take a whole lot more than the media's attention to break up a truly solid relationship.
"You know, I'm not making a judgment call on Jennifer and Ben we can only make assumptions about why it did or didn't happen, she says. Ultimately, if you have a strong relationship, and there is understanding of what a committed marriage is, I don't think that having a lot of media attention can break it up." When O'Brien asked the busy mother of two if she planned on having a third child any time soon, Madonna replied I'm not ruling it out it's never too late.
~ So much for the "big exciting announcement"...
Maverick and Warner to split?
Source: NY Daily News - 30 October 2003"It could be high noon for Madonna and Warner Music. We hear that Madge and her Maverick Records partners are suiting up for a legal shootout in which they'll seek to end the label's 11-year-old partnership with Warner Bros. Records. "It's going to be a nuclear lawsuit," says one source, who predicts that parent company Time Warner will be named.
Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, wasn't commenting yesterday. Nor was Maverick chief operating officer Ronnie Dashev, who is a partner with Madge and Maverick co-founder Guy Oseary. The looming litigation may stem from Madonna's wanting to renegotiate Maverick's joint venture deal. Warner Music chief Roger Ames and Warner Bros.
Records chief Tom Whalley have argued that the agreement is still in effect, says a source. "They didn't choose to renegotiate now. There's been some tension." One source speculated Madonna may want to buy Warner Bros.' stake in Maverick before Time Warner chief Dick Parsons can sell the Warner Music Group.
"She may think Maverick won't be worth as much with a new owner," says the source. "Then there's the question of who'll get Maverick's artists," who include Michelle Branch, Alanis Morissette and Meshell Ndegeocello.
A lawsuit could also make Madonna an unhappy prisoner of her contract as a Warner Bros. artist. A Warner Music rep would say only, "We love Madonna and we love Maverick."
3MATM moves up to #38
30 October 2003In its third week in the Billboard Hot 100, Me Against The Music moves up from #43 to #38.
Love Profusion video ready?
30 October 2003According to MadonnaTribe, Madonna shot the video for Love Profusion last tuesday. The video should probably be ready to go on rotation in mid November.
No other details are available at the moment about the director or video plot.
Estée Lauder ad pays off
Source: Forbes - 29 October 2003Never underestimate the Material Girl. Madonna's music is now also hawking perfume by Estée Lauder. The new marketing pitch, for the Beyond Paradise brand, makes Estée one of the most attractive stocks in beauty products, says UBS Warburg's Andrew McQuilling.
The company stumbled in fiscal 2002 but has recovered nicely in the year that ended June 30, with sales up 8% to $5.1 billion and net income up 50% to $320 million.
Also helping was the company's purchase in May of Michael Kors Fragrances from LVMH. The prospect of further earnings gains makes the stock appealing even at 26 times trailing earnings, says McQuilling.
Frozen on Cunningham's DVD collection
Source: Madonna.com - 29 October 2003Chris Cunningham's amazing video of Madonna's Frozen is being released on a DVD containing his complete work. Frozen received an MTV VMA in 1998 for Best Special Effects In A Video (Chris Cunningham, director; Steve Murgatroyd, Dan Williams, Steve Hiam, Anthony Walsham). You can order a copy of the DVD at Amazon.com.
Chris Cunningham's career as a music video director began in 1995 when, aged twenty-five and passionate about music, Cunningham hooked up with the techno band Autechre and persuaded them to let him direct their promo. The piece played on heavy rotation by MTV. He joined Black Dog Films, and its sister company for commercials, Ridley Scott Associates, in April 1997.
In August 1997 Chris realised a long-term desire to collaborate with Richard James (the Aphex Twin) and directed the video for the single "Come to Daddy." The video has since won a plethora of awards, including the MCM Grand Prix du Jury 1997, Best Video, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing at the 1997 CAD Awards held by Music Week and two Silvers at the 1998 D&AD Awards.
Following the success of "Come To Daddy" both here and in the U.S., Chris worked with Portishead directing the critically acclaimed "Only You" (Best Dance Video of 1998 at the CADS and a Silver at 1999 D&AD), and the first release from Madonna's Ray of Light album, Frozen. He completed a video for Leftfield & Afrika Bambaata in March 1998, which was filmed on location in New York.
In May 1998 Chris shot a clip for Squarepusher to accompany the track "Come On My Selector" (Video of the Year MVPA and CADS and a Silver at the 1999 D&AD Awards). He then went on to shoot a sequel to "Come To Daddy" for the Aphex Twin in L.A. called "Windowlicker" (Best Alternative Video of the Year at the 2000 CAD Awards and two Silvers at the 2000 D&AD Awards).
In 1999 Chris directed Bjork's "All Is Full of Love" (four Silvers and the first Gold Award ever for a music video at the 2000 D&AD Awards). He also directed Sony PlayStation's "Mental Wealth" commercial with TBWA GGT Simons Palmer (one Silver at the 2000 D&AD Awards). More recently, Chris made a rare foray into commercials, once more working with Mother on a commercial for Orange entitled "Muck About."
Chris's success in commercials and music videos follows an accomplished career in feature films. Aged just seventeen, he led the creature FX team on Alien 3 (nominated for an Oscar for its special effects). He then spent a year working with Stanley Kubrick on six designs for the stillborn feature A.I.
***
There's also an interesting article at Director-File.com on the Frozen video:
"It's the video you saw all over MTV. It's Madonna's Frozen, her first single from Ray of Light. Out in the Mojave desert, the duo brought Madonna's image to a new level. Says Cunningham: "The nature of the artist is such that with Madonna I concentrated on her image, on how she came across. The styling of the video, the way it all looked. Whereas the Björk video was more conceptual." There must have been some sort of guidelines though. "No, not at all, she was quite good actually. She let me style her, and let me have a lot of input on how she was going to look. Madonna definitely likes to be directed, and let directors do their job. She was very respectful."
Every time you shoot anything, it's a nightmare but this was more of a compromising nightmare. I mean it was brilliant in one way because she's a great performer but the scale and the budget of the thing makes everything so restrictive. The irony of any big budget video is the more money you have the less you can actually do because every step has to be reorganized, discussed, and explained in endless meetings.
Cunningham utilized morphing technology to create several compelling images. One such shot is of Madonna falling: when she hits the ground, she breaks into dozens of flying ravens.
There also exist two other versions of the video: the 'club edit' and the 'Stereo MC's mix'. One of which features added images of lightning and such. The original version is available on Madonna: The Video Collection 93-99.
Concerning winning awards for best special effects, Cunningham said in the London Times: "God knows why," spits Cunningham, who remembers the shoot for the torrential rain which sank the crew's vehicles and scuppered his finer visual plans. "The effects are fucking bollocks. If I am unhappy with something, and it wins an award, that tells me others do not look at things the way I do."
Access Hollywood interview coming up
29 October 2003An exclusive Interview with Madonna by Pat O'Brian shot from inside her own Maverick Records' office will be on Thursday's episode of Access Hollywood. Some short clips of the interview were shown last night.
In one Madonna says something like: "I can't believe I'm telling you this", and in another clip she says something about this being the first nice thing the interviewer has probably ever said about her. Her hair was straight, just like in her MTV Latin Awards message. Some big news are also announced.
Here's what's mentioned on the site of Access Hollywood: "An exclusive unlike any other... For the first time, Access goes where no media has ever been allowed... Madonna's private office! Are you ready to see the real Madonna? She's at work, in control and breaking news about the future to us!"
Madonna gives Spears boast up charts
Source: AZ Central - 29 October 2003Expect the new Britney Spears single Me Against The Music to take a healthy jump up the Billboard Hot 100 singles listing this week, as her collaboration with Madonna heats up Top 40 radio playlists.
Although teen pop has cooled off considerably, the former queen of the genre couldn't be hotter, says music director Julie Pilat of KIIS-FM in Los Angeles. "It's the Number 1 request at the station right now," Pilat says. "The first day we got it, we played it every hour, and it's been our Number 1 phone song since." Pilat says she's heard other tracks from Spears' In the Zone album, due Nov. 18, and predicts that Me Against The Music won't be the album's only hit.
"The collaboration of two artists of their stature made it an event record," says Joe Riccitelli, Jive Records' vice president of pop promotion. "The challenge was to get it past event status to the point where it would be considered a real legitimate single." Initial interest, in fact, could have been attributed to simple curiosity over the pairing of two pop sex symbols or the fact that this is Spears' first new single in two years.
During that time, she has rarely been out of the news, from her busted romance with Justin Timberlake to myriad reports of her latest flames to her buzz-generating buss with Madonna on the MTV Video Music Awards show. But instead of making a flurry of requests and then tapering off as radio started playing it, listeners have continued requesting the song. It has tallied the greatest increase in the number of plays on radio stations nationally for two weeks straight, according to the trade publication Radio & Records.
"It's sort of undeniable having those two sing together," says Jeff Pollack, one of the nation's leading radio consultants. "Clearly, working with Madonna has helped significantly. When you have a big record on the radio that's getting the kind of spins this one's getting, it can't help but have a positive impact on both. It's been slow going for both artists recently. This is a way to heat things up."
"Heat" being the operative word for the sweat-drenched video and lyric for a percolating dance number that brings Spears back from the realm of gossip columns to the world of pop music. "A lot of people have been wondering whether her music career would be taking a back seat to being a celebrity," says Pollack. "This puts her back in the game."
Different tracklistings confirmed
Source: Madonna Electronica - 28 October 2003Warner France has issued a press release, specifying the different formats for the Nothing Fails single, including the mini album 'Remixed And Revisited'.
The release is set for November 25th and will be accompanied in France by a TV campaign on TF1 and M6.
CD 2-track Nothing Fails
1. Nothing Fails - Radio Edit
2. Nothing Fails - Peter Rauhofer's Classic House Mix
MAXI CD Nothing Fails - Europe
1. Nothing Fails - Radio Edit
2. Nothing Fails - Peter Rauhofer's Classic House Mix
3. Nothing Fails - Tracy Young's Underground Mix
4. Nothing Fails - Nevins Big Room Rock Mix
MAXI CD - Nothing Fails - US (over 70 minutes!)
1. Nothing Fails - Peter Rauhofer's Classic House Mix (7..)
2. Nothing Fails - Tracy Young's Underground Mix 7:28
3. Nothing Fails - Nevins Club Mix (7..)
4. Love Profusion - Blow-Up Version 6:09
5. Love Profusion - The Passengerz Club 7:00
6. Love Profusion - Ralphi's House Vocal 5:59
7. Love Profusion - Big Room Vox 6:58
8. Nothing Fails - Jackie's In Love In The Club 7:28
9. Nobody Knows Me - Peter Rauhofer's Private Life Part1 8:07
10. Nobody Knows Me - Above & Beyond 12" Mix 8:47
MAXI 12" vinyl - Nothing Fails - US
1. Nothing Fails - Peter Rauhofer's Classic House Mix (7..)
2. Nothing Fails - Tracy Young's Underground Mix 7:28
3. Nothing Fails - Nevins Club Mix (7..)
4. Love Profusion - Blow-Up Version 6:09
5. Love Profusion - The Passengerz Club 7:00
6. Love Profusion - Ralphi's House Vocal 5:59
7. Love Profusion - Big Room Vox 6:58
8. Nothing Fails - Jackie's In Love In The Club 7:28
MINI ALBUM - 'REMIXED AND REVISITED'
1. Nothing Fails - Nevins Mix
2. Love Profusion - Headcleanr Rock Mix
3. Nobody Knows Me - Mount Sims Old School Mix
4. American life - Headcleanr Rock Mix
5. Like A Virgin / Hollywood Medley - feat. Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears & Missy Elliott - 2003 MTV VMA
6. Into The Hollywood Groove (feat. Missy Elliott) - The Passengerz Mix
7. Your Honesty - previously unreleased track from Bedtime Stories
Besson to direct Love Profusion?
27 October 2003According to VH1, the video for Love Profusion will be directed by Luc Besson, the French director known for movies like The Fifth Element, Léon and Le Grand Bleu. Besson also directed the Estée Lauder commercial, which is set to Love Profusion.
Tracklisting of CD maxi
Source: Absolute Madonna - 25 October 2003Nothing Fails
01 - Peter Rauhofer's Classic House Mix
02 - Jason Nevins' Big Room Rock Mix
03 - Tracy Young's Underground Mix
04 - Jackie's In Love In The Club Mix
Love Profusion
05 - Blow-Up Version
06 - The Passengerz Club Mix
07 - Ralphi Rosario House Vocal Mix
08 - Ralphi Rosario Big Room Vox
Nobody Knows Me
09 - Peter Rauhofer's Private Life Mix - Part I
10 - Above & Beyond 12" Mix
Release Date: 11/25/03
Madonna's message at the Latin VMA's
25 October 2003Thursday night the MTV Latin VMA's were held in Miami Beach, Florida. Madonna was nominated for Best International Act, but lost out to Avril Lavigne. However, she recorded a message for the 10th birthday of the awards. Here's what she said:
"Silencio por favor!!!!!!!!!!!! Hola gente de todo el planeta y alrededores, me honra mucho estar con ustedes para celebrar los Mtv Latinoamerica y sus diez anos, celebrar la cultura y lengua de una de las regiones mas excitantes y sensuales del mundo. Feliz cumpleanos Mvt, Muchos Besos Muah!"
"Good evening Latin America, and all of you around the world that join us tonight in the MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamerica 2003. I'm honoured to be here to celebrate the music, culture and language of one of the most exciting and sensual regions in the world. Congratulations MTV, many kisses!"
Justify My Thug
Source: MTV - 24 October 2003Rapper Jay-Z unveiled [his new album] The Black Album during a private listening session Wednesday at Baseline Studios. [...] One high profile person who didn't make the album is Madonna. Madonna's cooing pillow-talk on Justify My Love is sampled on "Justify My Thug" over a sultry, electro-funk track produced by DJ Quik.
Jay explained that Madonna herself was to do the vocals live in the studio, but that he needed to have the album finished by last Friday and she was only available the following Monday. "I'm really late with this already," he said, "I couldn't wait. It's serious."
Swept Away contest
24 October 2003Reminder: Our Swept Away contest runs till this sunday October 26th, so grab your last chance to win the Dutch DVD!
MATM at no. 43 in Hot 100
24 October 2003Me Against The Music climbs from no. 50 to no. 43 in its second week on the Billboard Hot 100.
Kylie: 'Madonna carved the way'
Source: SMH, AFP - 24 October 2003During a press conference on her new album, Kylie Minogue talks about Madonna's influence:
[...]
When asked about Madonna's impact on her music, Minogue said: "I used to be heavily influenced and I suppose I still am, given the fact that she's carved this path that's almost a template for a lot of female singers and musicians."
On her status as a gay icon, she said she was not specifically targeting a gay audience, but admitted: "I'm pretty camp a lot of the time. I love to be a showgirl. They're probably a bit jealous that I get to dress up so much." Minogue will launch the album with a one-off free concert for 4,000 lucky fans at London's Hammersmith Apollo on November 15.
MATM video avatars
23 October 2003Both the MATM video and the Making Of can be seen at Platinum Stars. You can also stream a behind-the-scenes report from ABC's Good Morning America. Enjoy!
MATM video is out now
22 October 2003The video for Me Against The Music premiered on MTV yesterday. You can now stream it on Yahoo! Launch or download a low quality file at BritneyPlus.
Caresse Henry: "No Nothing Fails video; Love Profusion instead"
22 October 2003Madonna's manager Caresse Henry has answered some fan questions on Madonna.com. Most notably she says a tour is in the works, though it's unclear when. Surprisingly, she also announces that there won't be a video for the next sngle Nothing Fails, but they plan to shoot a video for Love Profusion next week! Does this mean it will be the fourth single?
"We get a number of questions about Madonna at Madonna.com and Caresse Henry (Madonna's manager) took some time out of her very busy schedule to answer them. Enjoy!
MADONNA.COM ASKS: Can we get an insiders point of view on how the VMA performance came about? And how were you able to keep it a secret?
CARESSE: The VMA performance came about thru discussions between Madonna, her choreographer Jamie King, myself and MTV. We were trying to find a way to celebrate Madonna and MTV's 20th year anniversary by utilizing Madonna's ground breaking performance of Like A Virgin and something current. Thus the idea was born, the rest is history. Plus, we are very good at keeping things to ourselves that is how the performance idea did not get out.
M.COM: Would Madonna ever do a voice role on the Simpsons?
CARESSE: I don't know if Madonna would ever do the Simpson's - if a great idea came up, possibly...
M.COM: Any updates on the Madonna Box Set? There are rumors going around about something being released for Christmas. Any truth to that?
CARESSE: We or shall I say Warner Bros. is not doing a box set to mark her 20th anniversary - I do anticipate doing something fabulous in the near future.
M.COM: Any updates on Madonna going on tour next year?
CARESSE: Madonna will definitely tour but we are not sure if it will by Summer 2004 or 2005 - but it will happen.
M.COM: What's in Madonna's CD player or being played the most in her iTunes right now?
CARESSE: Madonna's been listening to Jeanne Moreau CDs
M.COM: The illustrations in "The English Roses" are beautiful. How does Madonna select artists for the books?
CARESSE: Madonna chose the illustrators for each book by going through A LOT of children's books and artwork samples to narrow down the possibilities and then based upon the story content - picked out a different illustrator for each story - so they are all very different and unique.
M.COM: Is the "REAL" American Life video going to ever be available for sale?
CARESSE: I think the American Life video will be available at some point down the road.
M.COM: Is there a video for Nothing Fails?
CARESSE: There is no plan for a Nothing Fails video at this time - we will hopefully be shooting a video for Love Profusion next week.
M.COM: I am interested in learning about the diet Madonna follows. It's the macrobiotic diet isn't it? If so, what does it entail, (ie what foods can you and cannot eat)?
CARESSE: Madonna follows a macrobiotic diet which consists primarily of whole grains, vegetables and greens. Occasional fish is allowed. No dairy, no sugar, no refined foods."
Scans of NF and NKM promo
21 October 2003Many thanx to Mad-Eyes reader Kent Engholm Nielsen, who sent me the scans of the Nothing Fails and Nobody Knows Me promo's.Be sure to check his elaborate collection of scanned Madonna material at MaddyMusic.
Nothing Fails:
01) Radio Edit - 3:46.
02) Radio Remix - 3:59.
Cat. no. PRO-CDR-101230 - USA
Nobody Knows Me:
01) Peter Rauhofer's Private Life Mix Pt. 1 - 8:07.
02) Mount Sims Old School Mix - 4:46.
03) Above & Beyond 12" Mix - 8:50.
04) Mount Sims Italo Kiss Mix - 5:25.
Cat. no. PRO-A-101204. - USA
Remixes and Revisited press release: new song on EP!
21 October 2003A new Madonna song, remixes, and a spectacular live performance with Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and Missy Elliott make Madonna's seven-selection Remixed and Revisited EP a must-have for fans of the most popular and significant female artist in pop music.
TRACK TO RADIO: Nothing Fails, the new single, will impact Adult radio on 10/27 and Pop on 10/28. The album edit and Nevins radio mix will both be serviced to the above radio formats.
EP HIGHLIGHTS: The EP features Rock and Retro Remixes from her #1-charting, platinum-selling American Life album from earlier this year, her 2003 MTV VMA live performance of "Like a Virgin/Hollywood Medley" (featuring Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, & Missy Elliott), the full mix version of Into the Hollywood Groove (the music heard in her very popular Gap commercial with Missy) courtesy of the Passengerz, and the never-released "Your Honesty" from the Bedtime Stories recording sessions.
MARKETING: Expect major online, press, street, and club marketing. The music will also be featured in several retail listening station programs. Love Profusion is currently featured in a multi-million dollar TV campaign for Estee Lauder's new fragrance, Beyond Paradise. The TV spot was directed by famous film director Luc Besson. The campaign will air world-wide through mid-2004.
CD MAXI: A double-A side CD maxi will be available 11/25 featuring various mixes of Nothing Fails/Love Profusion with bonus mixes of Nobody Knows Me.
BACKGROUND: The newly remixed Into the Hollywood Groove melds the Madonna hit single Hollywood from American Life with a re-recorded version of her 1985 classic, Into the Groove. Nothing Fails was remixed by Jason Nevins (Janet Jackson, Lil' Kim, Run-DMC); Nobody Knows Me by neo-electro/new wave revivalist Mount Sims. "Your Honesty" was co-written and co-produced with Dallas Austin (Madonna's Bedtime Stories) and later mixed by Daniel Abraham. Love Profusion and American Life were proactively revamped by Headclanr (a.k.a. Ray Carroll) from the Sire electronic-duo the Waterlillies.
Remixed and Revisited Selections:
- Nothing Fails (Nevins Mix)
- Love Profusion (Headcleanr Rock Mix)
- Nobody Knows Me (Mount Sims Old School Mix)
- American Life (Headcleanr Rock Mix)
- Like a Virgin/Hollywood Medley (feat. Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, & Missy Elliott - 2003 MTV VMA Performance)
- Into the Hollywood Groove (feat. Missy Elliott - The Passengerz Mix)
- Your Honesty (unreleased song)
Street Date: 11/25/03
Maverick Films presents 'Chasing Fate'
Source: Reuters - 21 October 2003British music video veteran Nigel Dick, who shot clips for the likes of Guns N' Roses, Britney Spears and Oasis, will direct the romantic comedy feature "Chasing Fate".
The project, set up at Madonna's Maverick Films, revolves around a successful man whose life unravels after he dumps his fiancee. When she finds sudden fame and fortune, he becomes convinced they were fated to be together and goes on a journey to win her back.
"This is the kind of movie I've been wanting to get my hands on for years," Dick said. "When I first moved to Hollywood, I spent $12.98 on a book about screwball comedies, and I'm delighted that at long last I'll be seeing a return on my investment. I've even made a promise to the producers that I won't charge them for it in my expenses."
Dick has directed more than 260 music videos during his career including Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle", Spears' "Oops I Did It Again" and Oasis' "Wonderwall". He also directed the MTV movie "2Gether" and Sony's S Club 7 film "S Club Seeing Double".
MTV Making the Video
Source: MTV - 20 October 2003Tuesday, Oct 21 @ 11:00 PM
Thursday, Oct 23 @ 11:00 AM
Thursday, Oct 23 @ 3:30 PM
Friday, Oct 24 @ 1:30 PM
Friday, Oct 24 @ 7:00 PM
Saturday, Oct 25 @ 9:30 AM
Sunday, Oct 26 @ 8:30 AM
Also check MTV for preview pictures of this episode.
Nobody Knows Me: Hot Dance Club Play Breakout
Source: djricomixshow, Absolute Madonna - 20 October 2003Less than a week after we received first reports that a 12" promo containing remixes of Nobody Knows Me was being sent out, the song has already debuted at #2 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Breakout chart (for the week ending Nov. 1). Mads will most likely score highest debut honors on the actual Dance Club Play chart next week!
Breakouts for Hot Dance Club Play:
1 You're So Beautiful (Donna Summer)
2 Nobody Knows Me - P. Rauhofer, Above & Beyond, Mount Sims Mixes (Madonna)
3 Sweetest Sin Remixes (Jessica Simpson)
4 You Got Me (Giovanna)
5 Beautiful (Outside Velocity)
Madonna's the real singer
Source: NY Times - 20 October 2003Me Against The Music (Jive), the dance-floor ditty billed as Britney Spears featuring Madonna, is more rhythm track than song. The real question is, who's using whom?
Ms. Spears gets an apparent endorsement from her role model, but it's Madonna who comes out ahead: compared to the thin, computer-tuned husk of Ms. Spears's voice, Madonna sounds like a real singer.
Madonna's 50th Hot 100 entry at no. 50
Source: Billboard - 19 October 2003Hi Fred,
I once thought that among the biggest stars today that Madonna was the only one left who had sole credit on all her hits. Even though she had duets with Prince and Ricky Martin, they were album cuts and not promoted to radio.
This week she joins the "featuring" bandwagon with Me Against The Music. Britney Spears should consider herself honored! At the same time, I'm glad that Madonna is back on the chart, even though there should have been a lot of hits off American Life.
Joey Toledo
Quezon City, Philippines
***
Dear Joey,
I think Britney Spears felt "honored" by Madonna a few weeks ago. But seriously, it is notable that this is the first shared credit for Madonna on the Hot 100 in a career that stretches back 20 years (to the week!) See "Chart Beat Bonus" for details about chart achievements by both women:
Britney Spears has her highest new entry on Billboard's Hot 100 since she made her debut with "...Baby One More Time" in November 1998. That single started its chart life at No. 17 and reached the top in January 1999.
Me Against The Music (Jive) opens at No. 50. Credited to "Britney Spears Featuring Madonna," it's the first time Madonna's name has appeared on either side of the word "featuring" on this chart. The song is Madonna's 50th chart entry in a career that began 20 years ago this week with the debut of Holiday. It's Spears' 10th chart entry, and the first where she appears in the writing credits.
If Me Against The Music makes the top-10, it will be Spears' fourth hit to do so. Aside from "...Baby One More Time," her only other top-10 songs were "(You Drive Me) Crazy" (No. 10 in 1999) and "Ooops!...I Did It Again" (No. 9 in 2000).
Tracklisting Britney's album
Source: Music Today - 19 October 2003This is the tracklisting of Britney's new album 'In The Zone' (released Nov. 18th):
1. Me Against The Music - featuring Madonna
2. Breathe On Me
3. Showdown
4. (I Got That) Boom Boom - featuring Ying Yang Twins
5. Early Mornin'
6. Toxic
7. Outrageous
8. Touch Of My Hand
9. The Hook Up
10. Shadow
11. Brave New Girl
12. Everytime
Bonus Remix: Me Against The Music - featuring Madonna (Rishi Rich's Desi Kulcha Remix)
Pix from The Making Of MATM video
17 October 2003Check fansite MadonnaTribe for the first pictures of MTV's The Making Of the Me Against The Music video.
American Life EP and Nothing Fails single confirmed
17 October 2003According to WEA US:
* Remixed & Revisited (EP)
Street Date: 11/25/03
Catalog Number: Warner Bros. 2-48624
UPC CD: 0-9362-48624-2-0
* In addition, they announced that Nothing Fails goes to Top 40 radio on October 28th.
(thanx to HolidayGuy and MadKrissy)
This is the rumoured tracklisting:
- Nothing Fails (Tracy Young Remix)
- Nothing Fails (Peter Rauhofer remix)
- Hollywood (Camaione and Cilione blow-up version)
- Love Profusion (Camaione and Cilione blow-up version)
- Love Profusion (Ralphi Rosario remix)
- Nobody Knows Me (Peter Rauhofer Private Life remix)
- Nobody Knows Me (Mount Sims Old School Mix)
- Nobody Knows Me (Mount Sims Italo Kiss Mix)
- Nobody Knows Me (Above and Beyond remix)
- Into The Hollywood Groove (Peter Rauhofer remix
English Roses remains bestseller
Source: Madonna.com - 17 October 2003The English Roses is No. 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list for the 4th week in a row (10/26/2003)! Madonna's children's book The English Roses has sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide, according to US publisher Nicholas Callaway.
The Kiss still shocks Americans
Source: WSBTV - 17 October 2003Pressure from local residents outraged by a 96 Rock billboard depicting a much-publicized same-sex kiss has prompted the radio station to take the sign down. Scott Baker, director of marketing for Clear Channel Communications, which owns 96 Rock, said the station will remove a billboard showing music icon Madonna locking lips with pop princess Britney Spears.
"We've gotten about 10 to 15 calls regarding the billboard, and they haven't been very positive," Baker said. "They are expressing their desire that the billboard be removed, and we respect that."
The billboard, located in Marietta along Interstate 75, advertises 96 Rock's Regular Guys -- DJ's Larry Wachs, "Southside" Steve and Eric Von Haessler, who host the station's morning show -- and contains a sexually suggestive slogan. Baker said the station's billboards, which are allowed by Clear Channel, usually remain standing for four to six weeks at a time, depending on availability.
Baker said the billboard on I-75 was designed to "create some attention" for the station. "It created a lot of attention, which is positive for the station, but there was a negative backlash as well," Baker said. "It's the way of the world -- no one is going to agree on everything."
Rusty Roth, manager of Marietta's Planning and Zoning Department, said that although he received about three calls and e-mails from Marietta residents complaining about the billboard, it is up to state officials to determine whether the content of the billboard violates decency laws.
Baker said 96 Rock has about 50 billboards around metro Atlanta, including one on Buford Highway which shows the kissing pop stars.
Getting aggressive with Britney pays off for RedZone
Source: MTV - 17 October 2003
Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Penelope Magnet knew they were on to something when Britney Spears' handlers took interest in what was only the third song the duo had written and produced together.
The collective known as RedZone had only one problem. "She told us the song sucked," Stewart said, laughing. Fortunately for RedZone, Spears bonded with the 19-year-old Magnet — who, like the pop princess, hails from Louisiana — and spent a night in New York hanging out with the duo.
The next day Stewart and Magnet wrote Me Against The Music. "Getting a chance to hang out with [Britney] and talk to her and get in her world made it a lot easier to actually write and know what she would and wouldn't say, to know where her real vibe is," Magnet said. "We knew first we needed some energy," Stewart added.
Tricky, best known for co-writing and co-producing B2K's "Uh Huh," came up with the track, while Magnet came up with the melody on a piano and wrote the lyrics. "It's extremely aggressive," Magnet said. "It immediately makes you feel like something's happening. So the whole concept is kind of like she was battling the track.
Like she was hearing the music and trying to out-dance the track or out-beat the drum or out-pluck the guitar. It's as if she's in the club, losing herself in the music." Me Against The Music immediately won over Spears and eventually another music magnate, Madonna, who later collaborated on what would become the first single from Spears' upcoming In the Zone, due November 18.
RedZone were then enlisted to work on several more songs for the album, including writing the lyrics for the Moby-produced "Early Morning," recording vocals for the R. Kelly-produced "Outrageous" and writing and producing "The Hook Up," which Magnet described as having "a reggae feel."
Stewart said their Britney material is "the tip of the iceberg" of a new style RedZone are developing. "It's just a natural growth of what's going on in music," he explained. "It's half-rapping, half-singing. It's young, it's beat-driven, it's everything the kids are going to be looking for. It's a hip-hop dance genre. We don't have a name for it yet, but we're going to name it."
Since Me Against The Music hit the airwaves a few weeks ago, RedZone's phones have been ringing off the hook, but rather than accept invitations to collaborate, they want to extend them. "We have 10 songs right now we really, really love, and we want to find the best artists for each of our songs," Stewart said. "It's about finding more artists that want to get into the kind of vibe we're into right now."
Right now, RedZone have only one commitment, a song with Mya for the "Barbershop 2" soundtrack. The collaboration will find Stewart coming full circle, as Mya's "Case of the Ex" was his breakthrough track. Stewart, whose mother and aunts were backup singers for Curtis Mayfield and Aretha Franklin, wrote his first song at age 12. As a teenager, he wanted what every other teenager wanted — to be like his older brother.So Tricky, a nickname he earned with his football skills, used his family connections and at 17 produced his first album, for R&B trio Immature.
He went on to work with J.T. Money, Sisqó and Ginuwine and eventually built his own studio in Atlanta. Stewart also formed his own company, RedZone Entertainment, and signed Blu Cantrell, who scored a hit with "Hit Em Up Style (Oops!)." Magnet, who had recently moved to Atlanta and was already writing songs for rappers, tracked Tricky down at a club and impressed him enough to get signed.
"It's kind of funny because the artist I worked for before Britney was Too Short," she said, laughing. "To go from that to this in the same breath is pretty exciting." Along with writing and producing for RedZone, Penelope is recording an album as P Magnet. "I rap and I sing, and I like to place a smidgen of my sound on people I work with. My album will be taking [Redzone's production style] to the 10th power."
P Magnet's debut is due early next year, around the same time another Redzone Entertainment act, a Jamaican R&B trio named Brick and Lace, will be introduced. The production side of the company also expects to be highly active in the new year. "We're not going to join radio right now, we're going to fix it," Stewart said. "We're going to change the way radio sounds."
Evidently RedZone's confidence was not hurt by Britney's initial rejection. "It was a song called 'Pop Culture Whore,' so I can see why she would hate it," Magnet said, laughing.
Hot Shot Debut for MATM
Source: Billboard, Absolute Madonna - 16 October 2003Britney and Madonna's Me Against The Music has scored Hot Shot Debut honors on this week's Hot 100, coming in at number 50.
The song is ranked 49 on the overall Hot 100 Airplay chart, and it has debuted at #24 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart and #20 on Top 40 Tracks.
Below you can find the single cover (thanx to Britney.com
New Madonna remix albums
Source: MadonnaTribe - 16 October 2003The Justice reports this info from Dj Rico Mixshow:
November 25 will see two new Madonna items to hit the shops. The first one is supposed to be a 10 Tracks Maxi Single including remixes of Love Profusion, Nothing Fails and Nobody Knows Me. The second one is a 7 Tracks EP with remixes of Into The Groove, Hollywood, American Life.
Remixers include Tracy Young, Peter Rauhofer, Jason Nevins, Jackie Kristy, The Passengerz, Ralphy Rosario, Above & Beyond, Mount Sims and others. A Remixes EP part II should surface early 2004, whith no Box Set nor Remix Videos DVD on schedule anymore for the current year.
Dj Rico is known as a reliable source for infos, and this quite unexpected move, even if not confirmed by WBR yet, can explain why so many songs were remixed and rumoured to be the next single in the past few months.
Madonna in LA Family
16 October 2003Madonna is on the cover of the Los Angeles Family (distributed in LA only). Inside there's an interview about The English Roses.
Costume rage is exaggerated
Source: NY Daily News - 16 October 2003A spy on the set of the much-hyped Madonna-Britney Spears video, Me Against The Music, says reports of the Material Matron's mellowing are highly exaggerated.
I'm told that when her costume wasn't fitting properly, the 45-year-old children's-book author and mother of two delivered a bracing tongue-lashing to Paul Hunter, the hot auteur of "Moulin Rouge's" hit "Lady Marmalade" video and the Gap commercial featuring Madonna and Missy Elliott.
"In the beginning, it was tough because Madonna was upset about her outfit. She got upset with Paul," said the informant at the Silvercup Studios in Queens, where the three-day shoot was staged last week.
The video - the first single off Britney's upcoming album, "In the Zone" - won't satisfy audiences hoping for a repeat of the open-mouthed girl-on-girl action that won Madonna and Britney the Best Publicity Magnet prize at the MTV Video Music Awards. "It was very, very sensual," says the spy, "but I didn't see any kissing."
Nor was Britney kissing Columbus Short, the married dancer she's been linked to in recent weeks. Could their relationship be platonic? "They definitely get along really well, but they don't seem like they are together." Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's rep, confirmed that Madge and Brit will disappoint fantasy-mongers.
"Madonna did that already, didn't she? She doesn't like to repeat herself," Rosenberg said. As for the hissy fit: "I didn't see that happening. If her clothes didn't fit, she wouldn't be talking to the director anyway. She'd be talking to the stylist." Calls to Britney's record label, Jive, were not returned.
Nothing Fails single cover *rumour*
Source: MadonnaTribe - 14 October 2003Speculation has started about how the cover of the Madonna single Nothing Fails will look like.An artwork depicting a "tree of life" has started to circulate online.
Nothing has been confirmed yet, but it really reminds of the illustration Loren Long has made for Madonna's second children's book "Mr Peabody Apples" which comes out the same day of the new single.
MATM video storyline
Source: MTV - 14 October 2003Britney and Madonna may have already kissed, but now Madonna's playing hard to get. In Spears' upcoming video for Me Against the Music, Madonna lures the pop princess through a mazelike underground after-hours club, only to disappear into thin air when Britney gets close enough to touch.
According to the treatment for the video, shot last week in New York with director Paul Hunter, the pop singers discover they're reverse images of each other, from their dance moves to the way they dress. Britney wears black to Madonna's white.
Britney is hipster to Madonna's old-school. Britney's section of the club is populated with cool kids, flaunting pink and purple hair while taking whiffs from an oxygen tank, while Madonna's stakes claim to a territory filled with men in suits, smoking cigars.
Though the areas are separated by a wall, somehow Britney can sense Madonna on the other side. At first, it seems like they have a psychic or telepathic connection - but then Madonna's visage starts appearing on television monitors throughout the club, making Britney more determined to find her.
As if the ESP element wasn't enough, the club proves not to be governed by the usual rules of reality in other areas, such as when Madonna finds herself a room covered with fallen leaves, where she can stand on a swing to amuse herself. But instead of wondering how the leaves got inside in the first place, she's more concerned with coaxing Britney to rid herself of her inhibitions: "Hey, Britney, you say you wanna lose control/ Sexy lady, I'd rather see you bare your soul/ If you think you're so hot, better show me what you got/ Let me see you dance."
Madonna's solo, however, turns out to be but a siren's song, as she is nowhere to be found once Britney hears the call and makes it to the swing room. Over the course of several rooms, Britney searches desperately as Madonna plays an elaborate cat-and-mouse game with her. But fans can easily find both singers beginning October 21, when "Making the Video: Britney Spears" premieres at 11 p.m.
MATM on European radio
14 October 2003After conquering US radio, Me Against The Music seems ready to become a smash on European radio as well. Belgian radio Donna announced the single as 'Smaakmaker van de week' ('taste of the week'), which means it's being played once in every program all week long.
Yesterday listeners could vote for it in 'Maak 'em of Kraak 'em' ('make it or break it') and it received an incredible positive response (made by more than 70% of the votes).
Remixers hint at American Life EP and Love Profusion single
14 October 2003The following is taken from a remixer's website (thanx to Absolute Madonna):
"Paolo & Claudio have been quite busy all summer long writing, producing & remixing. here are a few releases to keep an eye out for.
- Madonna - Love Profusion (camaione & cilione blow-up version) the third single from the "american life" lp due out november 2003.
- Madonna - Hollywood (camaione & cilione blow-up version) included on the 'American Life EP' due out late october 2003 featuring unreleased remixes & bonus tracks."
~ It's about time Warner clears out whether the third single will be Nothing Fails, Nobody Knows Me or Love Profusion. All have their own remixes, but Nothing Fails seems most likely to be the actual single. Could it be that an American Life EP with remixes will be part of the box set?
Correction Swept Away release date
13 October 2003Yesterday we announced the release date of the Belgian DVD for Swept Away. However, it seems the DVD will be released on the 23rd, not the 16th.
Mad-Eyes gives away two copies; so don't forget to check out our Swept Away contest!
Nobody Knows Me 12" promo
13 October 2003According to DJ Rico, this is the tracklist of the Nobody Knows Me 12" Promo:
1. PETER RAUHOFER PRIVATE LIFE MIX PART ONE
2. MOUNT SIMS OLD SCHOOL MIX
3. ABOVE AND BEYOND MIX
4. MOUNT SIMS ITALO KISS MIX
You can find some of these remixes for download already; try the following links: Mount Sims - Above & Beyond - Rauhofer
Icon 39 is out
Source: Icon - 13 October 2003The new ICON issue has been sent out, containing the following letter from Madonna:
Dear faithful readers,
As you know, I have a new record out called American Life. I have been living on airplanes and in hotels the last few months promoting it and I have to say this is the most fun I have ever had. Doing small shows for my fans in surprise places and getting to see everyone's smiling faces has been incredibly inspiring.
Sorry if most of you didn't get to see my last video but like I said in interviews, it was conceived and created long before the war in Iraq ever started and it was meant to wake people up to the horrors of war. By the time it was finished we were at war and it felt like releasing it was the wrong thing to do. I am not sorry I did it but timing is everything and sometimes you can have the most amount of influence by taking a step back.
Onwards and upwards.
My new single is Hollywood and a video has been shot a few weeks ago in Los Angeles with Mondino, my favourite director. He is so much fun to work with. What is it with French people? I can't stop working with them!
As you know I have written five children's books and the first one is coming out in September. It's called The English Roses and I hope you get a chance to check it out. The books are for kids of all ages. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. Okay, That's all the news fit to print. I'm heading out in my Mini Cooper to get a soy latte
Take care, work hard, be kind!
Love, Madonna
P.S. Enjoy the sleek new look of ICON which is under new management!
You can also find a preview from the magazine at Madonna.com.
Swept Away DVD in Belgium
12 October 2003Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment will release Swept Away on DVD in Belgium. The Dutch version will be available in stores on October 16th. The French version will follow on December 4th. Click on the image on the right to view the Dutch cover.
Mad-Eyes exclusively offers two copies of the DVD to our Belgian/Dutch visitors; check out our Swept Away contest!
~ Correction: the Dutch version will be released on the 23rd, not the 16th.
Tracklist MATM single
Source: BritneyZpears.com, Madonna Information Report - 12 October 20031: Me Against The Music - Original version (radio edit.)
2: Me Against The Music - Rishi Rich's Desi Kulcha Remix 4.33
3: Me Against The Music - Rishi Rich's Desi Kulcha Instru. 4.33
4: Me Against The Music - Video Mix 3.47
5: Me Against The Music - Video Mix Instru. 3.47
MATM Billboard review
Source: Billboard, Madonna Information Report - 12 October 2003In the couple of years since Britney Spears' last musical output, she has never once left the headlines of the consumer press. In fact,if anything, the one-time teen queen is more renowned than ever before.
But now it's time for Brit to prove that her provocative state of undress and various sexcapades are only sidelines to her primary purpose here-hit songs. "Me Against the Music" is frantically busy, with Spears' voice often a mere accessory amid a swirl of rapid-fire lyrics, background vocals and a frenetic pogo-stick beat.
After repeated listens, however, the party-anthem rhythms sort themselves out and ripen into a series of infectious, albeit quirky, hooks. It's still much mor a jam du jour than a song-there's no real melody-but radio will be licking this up like a cherry lollipop.
The other shortfall: Madonna. She comes off like a great-aunt poseur, much like the Gap ads. Oops, she did it again.
MATM video concept *rumour*
Source: WorldOfBritney forum, Madonna Information Report - 12 October 2003The concept of the video is that Britney and Madonna are in a club trying to find each other. They're communicating telepathically.
Soon, it becomes a cat and mouse chase, and there is a maze. Britney is in the hipster part of the club. She wears a tie around her neck (think Avril Lavigne) and the backup people have streaks purple hair, bright pink hair, dress in Urban Outfitters-type gear.
One guy had a hip white jacket and a tie around his neck and wore a T-shirt. Madonna, wearing a white pants suit, is hanging out among businessmen in suits. At one point in the vid, Brit is on a huge swing, and there's a lot of smoke.
The video is directed by Paul Hunter, who has directed a lot of hip hop videos. Britney and Madonna would throw in suggestions and offer input to Hunter. It wasn't just the director in charge.
MATM bubbling under the Hot 100
Source: Absolute Madonna - 9 October 2003Me Against The Music will not appear on Billboard's Hot 100 chart this week.
Rumor has it appearing at #3 on the Bubbling Under chart. With no signs of the song slowing down, expect a splashy debut next week!
English Roses sells more than half million copies
Source: Reuters - 9 October 2003Madonna's publisher has an ambitious target at the Frankfurt book fair -- he is determined to hit 50 languages for her first children's book. Having just signed on the Indonesians, Koreans, Japanese and Georgians, Nicholas Callaway told Reuters: "We are now at 37 languages. We hope to reach 50 by the end of the fair."
The pop superstar reinvented herself yet again last month, turning children's author to launch her moralistic little tale "The English Roses" in a publishing blitz in 100 countries and 30 languages. The hype paid off. "We have surpassed 500,000 in sales around the world so far. We are on track to reach a million by the end of the year," Callaway said of the book, which is be followed up next month with the second of five Madonna tales for kids.
The United States is into its third print run. Madonna beat Harry Potter in the New York Times Children's Book List. Britain is into a fourth printing. Finland sold out in two hours. "We are not done yet," Callaway said. "I want to go into Arabic countries, Indian languages and Africa. Madonna is surprised and delighted."
Callaway was quick to praise JK Rowling for her Harry Potter wizard sagas that have transformed children's publishing. "They are epic tales of fantasy and imagination and they are glorious. Everyone should thank JK Rowling for taking children to wonderful places of the imagination. "But Madonna is using the power of her fame to encourage and inspire children how to live life rightly and thoughtfully."
At breakfast before a day meeting publishers, Callaway offered a peep into the next book, the lavishly illustrated "Mr Peabody's Apples". "The English Roses" was for the girls. This tale of a teacher falsely accused of theft in the Middle American town of Happville is one for the boys.
Madonna says of the book: "It is dedicated to teachers everywhere. It is a story about the power of words and how we must choose them carefully to avoid causing harm to others." The contrast with Madonna's last publication -- her 1992 X-rated photo collection "Sex" -- could not be starker.
But the mistress of reinvention -- now a demure mother of two reading to kids at book promotions -- is up front about her change of direction. At the Paris launch of the book, she said: "I'm actually quite proud of my journey because the 'Sex' book was about me and saying 'Hey, look at me!' and the children's books are hopefully imparting some wisdom."
More on The Alchemist
Source: Reuters - 8 October 2003Paulo Coelho ranks with JK Rowling and John Grisham as one of the world's most successful writers and now Hollywood is at last bringing his cult classic The Alchemist to the silver screen. The Brazilian author believes that "Matrix" star Laurence Fishburne will do justice to the book, the tale of an Andalusian shepherd who takes to the desert in search of treasure.
"I am confident he can make a good movie. He is directing, he wrote the screenplay and he is acting as the Alchemist," Coelho told Reuters at the Frankfurt Book Fair where he is publicizing his erotic new novel "Eleven Minutes." Coelho, who met Fishburne in London, said: "He is a nice guy and very sensitive. He is a person that I really trust."
British actor Jeremy Irons and U.S. pop icon Madonna also play leading roles in the film, which has an $80 million budget. Warner Bros Pictures plans to start filming in Jordan by the end of this year for scheduled release in 2004.
The bearded Brazilian author has climbed steadily to reach the rarefied ranks of multimillion-selling novelists. The first edition of the Alchemist in 1988 sold only 900 copies and its publisher decided not to reprint. But a larger publisher picked it up two years later. "At the end of the day it is a mystery -- how can I sell 55 million copies in so many countries and have such a faithful readership," he asked.
But the 56-year-old writer is certainly no shrinking violet about the statistics. "They made some research about two years ago. I was in third place. Rowling was in first place, the second was Grisham and I was third. I think that I am now probably selling more than John Grisham."
"Coelhomania" erupted among his devoted fans who queued for up to six hours in Berlin and London at recent signing sessions. Celebrity fans abound. Of "The Alchemist," Madonna said: "It is a beautiful book about magic, dreams and the treasures we seek elsewhere and then find on our doorstep."
But critics have torn into his "mind, body and spirit" literature, saying he spouts trite and simplistic truisms about finding your inner path. "Spiritual twaddle," wrote one British critic. Coelho is unperturbed. "I read critics but I don't listen to them. But I am glad they exist because they provoke me and they provoke my readers.
"They are tough but I am tough also. An angry, polemical reaction is always a compliment. Otherwise it would be a no man's land." His latest book is called "Eleven Minutes" because its heroine, a Brazilian prostitute working in Switzerland, calculated that is how long sex takes on average.
The book, inspired by the manuscript left at his hotel once by a prostitute working in Europe, certainly does not hold back on the steamy and sado-masochistic sex. But Coelho is well pleased with the results -- "I have never had such a reaction from my readers -- it was very positive."
MATM set for early debut on the Hot 100?
Source: Absolute Madonna - 8 October 2003With four full days of airplay, Me Against The Music has surged to nearly 24 million audience impressions according to the latest Mediabase figures.
This total should be enough to allow for a Hot 100 debut in the mid-60's range on the chart to be released tomorrow by Billboard magazine.
The song continues to score big at US radio, as 113 stations reported adding the song yesterday, a week before its official add date, per the Hitmakers report.
When Me Against The Music enters the Hot 100, it will become Madonna's 50th Hot 100 entry. For Britney Spears, it will be her 10th.
Liz denies video rumours
Source: Star Magazine - 8 October 2003As pop tart Britney Spears' outrageous behavior hits new highs, loyal fans are bound to blame Madonna, her companion in controversy, for leading her astray. But while the stars did share a sloppy kiss at the MTV Video Music Awards, reports that Madonna's husband Guy Ritchie will direct Britney and his wife in an S&M-themed video for Spears' new single Me Against The Music have been overhyped.
"Guy Ritchie is not directing," Madonna's rep Liz Rosenberg tells Star. "It's mostly a performance video. No dominatrix S&M stuff. Madonna did that years ago and you know she doesn't repeat herself. Paul Hunter is directing and the details are changing constantly."
As for Madonna advising Spears, Rosenberg continues, "I don't really think Britney needs career advice. 'Mentor' is too strong a word. I think Britney has respect for Madonna and they enjoy working together."
Madonna and Britney collaborated on the song from Britney's new album Get In the Zone, slated for release on Nov. 18, and the older star has been schooling Spears in the Kabbalah religion.
Meanwhile, Britney, who flew to Rome recently to film a Pepsi commercial, has been inseparable from her married backup dancer Columbus Short, which isn't helping her image. And she just parted ways with her highly-respected publicist, Dan Klores, who sources say tired of doing damage control for his high-maintenance client.
"Britney is vulnerable and confused at the moment," a Spears source told Star. "She idolizes Madonna. She thinks that by following in Madonna's footsteps she'll achieve 'staying power' long after her music gets tired."
Vote for Madonna at the American Music Awards
Source: Madonna.com - 7 October 2003Make your choice for the 'Michael Jackson International Artist of the Year Award'.
- Christina Aguilera
- Cher
- MADONNA
- Shania Twain
- Justin Timberlake
Head over to ABC.COM and cast your vote for MADONNA ! Then, tune in to the AMAs LIVE 8/7c on November 16 (tape delayed on the West Coast) to find out who will win!
Me Against The Music release date
Source: MadonnaTribe - 7 October 2003According to BMG, Me Against the Music featuring Madonna release to stores is pushed back to November 11, to allow some more production time. However, the production is 75% done and will be sent out on October 11.
Also, Britney's new album, "In the Zone" may be released as soon as November 12 instead of the 18th.
The video premiere for Me Against the Music has been postponed by one week in order to complete post-production, according to MTV, with a new air-date for the Making The Video: Me Against the Music premiere, Monday, October 20th 2003. The video shoot will take place this week in New York.
How Madonna and Britney got together
Source: Entertainment Weekly - 6 October 2003Here's how the two pop icons came together (sort of) for Me Against the Music. For some imaginative pop fans, the news that Madonna and Britney Spears recorded a song together may have conjured images of long, languid studio sessions, punctuated by the occasional soul kiss. The truth is slightly less lurid.
Spears originally completed the track Me Against the Music, by herself, and even sang the Madonna-free version of it Sept. 4 at the NFL season kickoff. "The song was done -- and then we added Madonna," says producer/songwriter Tricky Stewart (Blu Cantrell, Mya) who recorded the track with his Atlanta-based RedZone Entertainment team.
The Material Mom didn't glom onto the club banger -- the first single from Spears' Nov. 18 album ''In the Zone'' -- until after her tongue-tastic performance with the younger singer at the MTV Video Music Awards. ''Britney played the song for Madonna and she really, really liked it,'' explains Penelope Magnet, a RedZone-affiliated 19-year-old songwriter/producer who coproduced and wrote most of the lyrics for Me Against the Music (it'll be her first professional credit).
Predictably, Madonna took charge after RedZone handed over the song to her, arranging and recording her vocal additions on her own. (Madonna's publicist confirmed the producers' account of the collaboration; Spears' rep didn't respond to a request for comment.) ''She does what she wants to do,'' says Stewart. ''She's Madonna. If she says she wants to keep something, it stays on there.'' So on the finished track, she and Spears trade lines in the verses, making the song a true duet.
Though the lyrics hardly represent a radical step forward for Spears (the refrain is ''All you people on the floor/Let me see you dance''), Me Against the Music is the 21-year-old's most aggressively danceable single.
Retrofunk guitars rub against a rapid breakbeat as Spears and Madonna sing of the pleasures of letting loose on the dance floor (''I'm up against the speaker/Trying to take on the music/It's like a competition'') -- a subject they each know well. ''Britney likes to be bold in her visuals and be more lighthearted in the lyrical sense,'' says Stewart. ''She doesn't like things that make her sound like she was taking herself too seriously.''
Serious or not, if the song sounds sweaty, it's no accident. During Spears' time with RedZone this summer, the recording studio's air-conditioning died for three days, but she refused to abandon the increasingly sultry session.
''The equipment made the room so hot that it was unbearable, but she worked through that,'' says Magnet. ''She didn't complain or anything, and for me that shows she's where she is for a reason.'' The same production team also wrote and produced the ''In the Zone'' song ''The Hook-Up'' -- Spears' first stab at reggae.
In addition, they helped develop tracks submitted by R. Kelly (''Outrageous'') and Moby (''Early Mornin''') into finished Spears songs (like Madonna, neither Kelly nor Moby joined Spears in the studio). Says Stewart, ''The vibe that I got was this album is Britney's coming-out party.'' Funny, that's what we would have said about that VMA performance.
Pre-order Mr. Peabody's Apples
4 October 2003Madonna's second children book Mr. Peabody's Apples will be available in bookstores on November 10th. It's a story about the power of words and the importance of teachers.
The book counts 32 pages, is published by Callaway Editions and contains illustrations by Loren Long. You can pre-order it at Amazon.
Me Against the Music MP3
3 October 2003You can now download the MP3 of Britney's song Me Against The Music, featuring Madonna, on GoBritney.
Love Profusion remix confirmed
Source: Hydrate Chicago - 3 October 2003Congratulations Mr. Rosario for your soon to be released Madonna remix! Be sure to congratulate Ralphi on his recently accepted OFFICIAL remix for Madonna's Love Profusion (personally approved by the Diva!).
A very dark and energetic remix, that has a great intro build and then goes into Madonna's amazing bold vocal sound! Ralphi said Madonna and Warner were still not sure of the release date for the song but that Warner is still planning on releasing Love Profusion as a single!!
Russian Harper Bazaar
3 October 2003The Russian Harper's Bazaar uses a different picture from the Gap series on the cover.
EMA nominations
1 October 2003Madonna is nominated for Best Female at this year's MTV Europe Music Awards, competing with Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Kylie Minogue and Pink.
Her official website Madonna.com is also nominated for the web award. You can find a list of all the nominees at MTV.co.uk. Christina Aguilera will host the show in Edinburgh on November 6th.
Steven Klein to direct Nothing Fails video
Source: Absolute Madonna - 1 October 2003Currently we've heard that in a German magazine, Stephen Klein has confirmed he will be directing the Nothing Fails video.
Fans mob Madonna book signing
Source: Newsday - 1 October 2003It was billed as a book signing for children, but it sure didn't look that way. About 250 winners of a telephone lottery gathered Monday at the Rockefeller Center Barnes & Noble to hear Madonna read from "The English Roses," the first of five books addressing adolescent challenges.
Each winner was permitted to bring a child to the event, but only about 60 or so felt the pint-sized accessories were necessary. "I'm just here for me," said Leeanne Scarione, 29, of Bethpage. "Madonna's mom passed away when she was young, and my mother's been sick, so that's how I relate to her."
Security was tight and photographs were forbidden as the Literary Girl spent an hour handing out pre-signed copies of her work. The mother of two read a brief excerpt from the story, a 48-page hardcover with illustrations by fashion artist Jeffrey Fulvimari.
Those lottery winners with children had no qualms about exposing them to the woman who made her name on sexuality. "Madonna's done a couple of sexually shocking things, but a playful kiss with Britney Spears is small potatoes compared to exposing kids to gangsta rap, where every other word is an expletive and the lyrics are misogynistic," said Andy Anderson, 36, who was joined by boyfriend, Russell Ruble, and family friend Olivia Fountain, 8.
The second book from Madonna's series, due Nov. 10, is called "Mr. Peabody's Apples" and is about the damage done by false rumors and gossip. "I can't imagine how Madonna would find inspiration there," joked Nicholas Callaway, publisher of the book's American edition.
English Roses to top NY Times best-seller list
Source: Herald Sun - 1 October 2003Madonna has made the transition from sex goddess to doyen of children's literature. According to her publisher, The English Roses, Madonna's first attempt at a family friendly book, will top the next New York Times' best-seller list for children's picture books, selling 57,369 copies in the US in its first week.
The book is a 48-page, illustrated tale about a clique of four girls, the English Roses, who torment a smart, beautiful, but ultimately misunderstood classmate named Binah. It is said to be based on Madonna's delving into the Kabbalah texts of Jewish mysticism.
The book is the first in a series of five planned by the 45-year-old mother of two. The next book is Mr Peabody's Apples and is due out on November 10. Madonna's last book was the provocative Sex, which featured the singer in kinky and explicit positions.
Bourdin jr. sues Madonna over Hollywood video
Source: E! Online - 1 October 2003Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And then sometimes it isn't. The son of a late fashion photographer has slapped a lawsuit on Madonna, claiming the Material One copied his dad's racy images in a set of videos for her track Hollywood.Samuel Bourdin, who claims ownership to the images created by his father, Guy Bourdin, who died in 1991, filed suit on Friday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
According to the lawsuit, Madge is accused of copyright infringement for reenacting poses and images from at least 11 of Bourdin's photographs, the bulk of which were published in French Vogue from the mid '50s through the late '80s.
"It's one thing to draw inspiration; it's quite another to simply plagiarize the heart and soul of my father's work," Samuel Bourdin said in a statement. Bourdin Jr. wants unspecified damages from Madonna, her record company, MTV and director Jean-Baptiste Mondino, among others, for the creative "sampling."
A rep for the superstar said, "Madonna hasn't been served yet, so there's no comment for now." The elder Bourdin, whose work was the subject of a retrospective at London's Victoria and Albert Museum this summer, is hailed as an groundbreaking cameraman for changing the face of fashion photography by creating a complex narrative around an item or model, rather than just focusing on the product.
The suit includes comparisons of Bourdin's work to images from the Hollywood video. In one Bourdin picture, published online by the Smoking Gun, a lingerie-clad woman straddles a chair against a steamy red backdrop. Ditto Madonna. In another Bourdin image, a nearly naked woman straddles a black-and-white TV. Same goes for Madonna.
And the list goes on: A woman in red undies checks herself out in round mirror. Yep, Madonna's got that montage, too. Mrs. Guy Ritchie could turn to another diva for infringement advice. J.Lo recently found herself in a similar predicament with her video for "I'm Glad," an over-the-top homage to Adrian Lyne's 1983 film Flashdance.
Paramount cried foul and fired off a legal notice to Sony (parent company of Lopez's label, Epic Records) but ultimately it was a win-win for both sides. The matter was resolved out of court for an unspecified amount, label and studio both got press coverage out of the incident, and J.Lo's name was instantly linked to a much-rumored remake of Flashdance.
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