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Madonna news - July 2006
← June 2006 | Aug. 2006 →
Madonna disappoints Greer
Source: Yahoo! Launch - 31 July 2006Superstar Madonna has been blasted by leading feminist author Germaine Greer for abandoning her pledge to front the "future of feminism".
Australian Greer criticises the 'Like A Virgin' hit maker for allowing religion, marriage and motherhood to overtake her desire to be a strong independent female role model.
Greer says, "She used to call herself the 'future of feminism'. Then she got DIY religion, married an Englishman and crumbled before our eyes. She started telling us that all she wanted to be was a good wife and mother, even though she worked out strenuously every day that she was honed to breaking point."
Greer also takes offence to the star's extravagant stage shows - in particular the Confessions tour which saw Madonna descend onto the stage on a cross made of disco-mirror.
She adds, "Madonna's massive cross was supposed to be covered with diamonds and Swarovski crystals, which seems a bit excessive, especially as behind were projected images of African Aids orphans."
Madonna scores another UK Top 10 hit
30 July 2006Madonna's latest single Get Together debuted at a healthy #7 on the UK charts today, earning her 58th Top 10 hit.
The album Confessions On A Dance Floor is at #33 rising from last week's #57 after it spent several weeks off the Top 75, while The Immaculate Collection is at #71.
With the UK leg of the Confessions Tour starting today, album sales will probably rise next week!
Madonna rehearses in Cardiff
29 July 2006Madonna has arrived in Cardiff to start rehearsing for tomorrow's show. Follow the rehearsals in our tour diary (contains spoilers).
Madonna tops Liverpool Summer Pops' wishlist
Source: icLiverpool - 29 July 2006Madonna is being lined up to headline the Summer Pops in Capital of Culture year. The star's name was linked with the Pops today as it emerged that last year's series of summer gigs cost Liverpool council £780,000 to subsidise.
Officials said the Queen of Pop was top of the list of artists being pursued as they start preparing the line-up for 2008. Luring Madonna to play in Liverpool for the first time would be a massive coup for the Pops as it moves to its new home at the Kings Dock arena.
Organisers said the venue's 10,000-seat capacity, compared with 4,000 in the Big Top, meant ahigher calibre of artist should be attracted to the city. Pops promoter Chas Cole said: "We intend to be exceptionally ambitious for the 2008 line-up and Madonna is right at the top of our wishlist." The near-£800,000 cost of last year's event was revealed in a report published after an investigation by councillors into how the Pops was operated.
But Mr Cole and Jason Harborow, chief executive of the Culture Company, said they were satisfied the Pops provided value for money, despite the subsidy.
~ Please bear in the mind that this article only states the 'wishlist'; there are no concrete plans for Madonna's appearance yet. Each year many festivals try to attract Madonna, but she usually refuses (with this year's Coachella being a rare exception)
H&M campaign
28 July 2006
"Hi, this is Madonna." That's how Madonna greets us in the new H&M radio campaign. With Get Together playing in the background, she continues: "Do you know what H&M stands for? I finally figured it out. H&M stands for Her Majesty. Wasn't that sweet of them."
A male voice takes over saying "Yeah OK, we love you too. Now win tickets for Madonna's show in London or Paris!" Madonna finishes the advert with: "Let's get together. See you at my show!"
The H&M website opens with the Madonna ticket competition, but strangely enough uses Madonna's signature and none of the new pictures. The winner of the competition receives two air tickets, one night in a hotel for two people, transport to and from the show, two great seats at the show and a light meal. Good luck to everyone participating!
Moments of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll
28 July 2006With MTV turning 25 next week, USA Today has compiled 25 key moments of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Madonna features in quite a few...
4. Not like a virgin
Sept. 14, 1984
The moment: Madonna ushered in 1984's inaugural Video Music Awards with a bang (and a bustier) by performing her hit Like a Virgin.
What made it special: Though relatively tame by today's standards, her writhing on stage and sexually suggestive moves helped cement her reputation as a risqué performer and set the stage for even more risqué MTV VMAs shows to come.
6. A united front 2
July 13, 1985
The moment: The multi-venue music collaboration Live Aid, organized by Geldof and Ure, aired to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. Bands such as The Who, Duran Duran and Hall & Oates performed around the globe, with main locations in London and Philadelphia.
What made it special: The outgrowth of Band Aid drew 1.5 billion viewers across 100 countries for the live broadcast, one of the largest-scale satellite linkups and TV broadcasts of all time. It raised more than $280 million. And in July 2005, artists including U2, Madonna, Pink Floyd and Jay-Z performed at Live 8, 10 simultaneous concerts around the world to raise awareness of world poverty. It drew an estimated 3 billion viewers.
17. You gotta Love it
Sept. 4, 1996
The moment: During the red-carpet arrivals at the Video Music Awards, Courtney Love interrupted Kurt Loder's interview with Madonna by hurling her compact at them. The rocker stole the Material Girl's thunder when she stumbled on stage — babbling about everything from Madonna's shoes to her desire to be a candy striper — then fell down.
What made it special: Although Madonna maintained her composure, Love's brazen interruption marks one of the most embarrassing moments in VMA history.
24. Girl meets girl
Aug. 28, 2003
The moment: Madonna performed her classic hit Like a Virgin with Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears at the Video Music Awards. The Material Girl caused a sensation when she shared an open-mouthed kiss with Spears.
What made it special: The network hyped a "big event" before the broadcast, but no one quite expected a same-sex kiss between a music icon and a pop sex kitten. "I didn't know it was going to be that long and everything," Spears told CNN.
The big 4-ohmygoodness! Are these women hot!
Source: The State - 28 July 2006There are a hundred reasons to still be crazy for Madonna - not the least of which are her abs, svelte thighs and toned butt.
Watch the Queen of Pop strut around onstage and it will be obvious that two kids and four decades have done little to keep Madonna from striking the sexiest of poses.
At nearly 48, Madonna is one hot mama. And that sex appeal has made her beloved by women of all ages, especially her peers.
"What Madonna says to women in particular is that at age 47 it can be done," says Deborah Wilker, a veteran entertainment journalist and bureau chief for The Hollywood Reporter. "You don't have to get married and live in the suburbs and look like (expletive)."
Wilker says the message is "43 or 44 is like the new 31. I think a lot of women find that very inspiring."
Madonna, of course, isn't the only middle-aged celebrity who remains a sex symbol. Fortysomething stars such as Demi Moore, Vivica A. Fox, Heather Locklear and Teri Hatcher are showing that youth doesn't have a monopoly on hotness.
"I think the idea of a woman being sexy has expanded a lot, and it has a lot to do with actresses turning 40 or above," says Ila Stanger, managing editor of More magazine, a popular lifestyle magazine dedicated to women 40 and older.
The attraction of today's fortysomething stars is not just that they make men salivate, Stanger says.
"I think what is attractive about them isn't just their looks - or in the case of Madonna, their incredible bodies," she says. "It is a sense that they are smart and they have a sense of humor. And I think that adds to the allure."
And that age-related je ne sais quoi is charming Hollywood's hottest younger men. Madonna, for example, is married to 37-year-old Guy Ritchie, the handsome writer-director of "Snatch" and, most recently, "Revolver." She gave birth to the couple's son, Rocco, when she was 42.
Last year, Moore married Ashton Kutcher, the "That '70s Show" heartthrob who is 15 years her junior. She is rumored to be pregnant with the couple's first, and her fourth, child.
"Friends" star Courteney Cox Arquette, 42, is expecting her second child with 34-year-old hubby David Arquette. And Vivica A. Fox, who will turn 42 in July, had a high-profile relationship - and breakup - with rapper 50 Cent, despite an age difference of more than a decade.
Though in real life she is married to a man about her age, critics and moviegoers didn't have any problem believing a then-40-year-old Angela Bassett could catch sexy 26-year-old Taye Diggs in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back."
Seeing close-ups of Bassett and other stars, it's not difficult to understand how they are landing young heartthrobs. Part of a celebrity's job is to look good, and the women easily play the part. Their skin is seemingly flawless, with nary a wrinkle or spot - arguably thanks to surgery in some cases - and their bodies are lean and toned. In other words, they don't look like your mother's - or grandmother's - 40.
In fact, if your mother or grandmother was a sweet woman who wore big, homemade sweaters and always had fresh-baked cookies on the table, then they probably have nothing in common with her.
"These stars are just a daily reminder that this is how 40 looks and this is what 50 looks like," Stanger says, "and it is certainly not the way your mother looked."
Billboard rates chances for Jump on US radio
Source: Ask Billboard - 27 July 2006Hi Keith,
I just read the Madonna article U.S. Radio Hangs Up On Madonna. It made a lot of sense. It put into perspective how radio handled each of Madonna's tracks.
My first question is, what is "call out research?" This phenomenon is supposedly responsible for her previous three tracks not getting the airplay that her fans feel they deserve.
To be fair, I am aware that her fans alone can't decide whether a song is going to be played. I also just recently found out after hearing that Get Together was going to be her last single released off her album, Jump is in fact going to be released. I am so excited about this news.
I think that this song is more pop-oriented than her previous releases off the record -- even though I think that Hung Up and Sorry were great songs. I wonder, what changed Warner Bros.' minds?
As everyone knows, Madonna's Confessions tour is hugely successful. Does this say anything to radio about Madonna's continuing appeal to attract and excite people? Also, her tour is going to be aired on NBC, I hear.
This would also be great exposure for her, as I'm sure people will tune in simply out of curiosity. I've said quite a bit, but what I really want to know is the concept behind callout research and your professional opinion on Madonna's Jump.
You were right on in your opinions on Sorry and Get Together facing an uphill battle. They both failed on the radio in the U.S. Do you think Jump will face the same fate here in America?
Thank you,
Matthew Tarantino, Boston
Hi Matthew,
Glad you enjoyed the article on Madonna -- and why her singles aren't getting play on American radio but are successful overseas.
Call out research is where radio listeners are reached by telephone (hence the term "call out") and are played short samples of songs. The listener is then asked their opinion on the tune –- usually by rating the song with a number. This research is then used to determine what stations should play what song, how often, at what time of day, etc.
Regarding Jump as the fourth single from Confessions -- I'm pretty sure it was always slated to be a single. I think the order of the third and fourth singles got re-arranged at some point. But, as far as I'm aware, Jump was almost always going to be a single.
Now, will Jump succeed on American radio? Warner Bros. is optimistic and they seem committed to getting it on the airwaves. They are aiming to make it a genuine hit on Adult Top 40 and Adult Contemporary radio stations before they bring it to Mainstream Top 40 outlets.
Personally, I really think Jump is a great pop song -- way better than Get Together. The latter was probably just too odd for American radio. Jump, however, is very accessible and stands a chance at success on U.S. airwaves.
Win front row tickets for London
26 July 2006Go to capitalgold.com now to find out how you can win FRONT ROW tickets to see Madonna live in London. You can also win top-price tickets to her concert on August 15th as well as a DAB Digital Radio by playing Beat The Intro: Madonna Edition.
There will also be more top-price tickets up for grabs in a special competition that goes online on Monday August 7. Good luck!
LAP video is 'top rule-breaker'
Source: BBC - 24 July 2006Madonna's Like a Prayer, condemned by Christian organisations as blasphemous upon its release in 1989, has topped a poll of videos which "broke the rules".
The clip showed the singer dancing around burning crosses and kissing a black Christ-like figure in a church.
It came first in a survey of 10,000 MTV viewers, with Madonna's songs Ray of Light and Vogue also in the top five.
Baby One More Time by Britney Spears was number two, with Michael Jackson's 13-minute epic Thriller in third place.
Madonna wraps up for the beach
Source: Daily Mail - 24 July 2006On a beach dotted with bikini-clad women, there is only one way to stand out.
But although she's notorious for cavorting semi-naked, Madonna had little choice but to cover up at a beach in Miami with her daughter Lourdes, who wore a normal swimming costume.
The queen of pop walked between the beach and her hotel wrapped in white cloth from head to toe, looking unusually modest and perhaps more like an Arab woman than a sunbather on a Miami beach.
The dramatic towel wrap-up, one can safely assume, was to protect her from the sun.
Not one to tan, Madonna is on her World Confessions tour and is no doubt keen to stay milky white.
Record amount of tour stops in Confessions Tour
23 July 2006A second show in the Osaka Dome has been added on September 17th. Tickets will go on sale on August 5th.
Meanwhile, an official announcement of the tour stops in Moscow is expected any day now. Media have been reporting these will take place in the Sparrow Hills, Moscow on September 11 and 12.
This would bring the total of tour stops for the Confessions Tour on 61 (34 shows in the North America, 23 in Europe and 4 in Japan). T
hat's 4 more than the Blond Ambition Tour, which held the record of most tour stops so far. The Girlie Show was the only tour that covered stops in other regions than North America, Europe and Japan.
Madonna closes Cardiff roads
Source: News Wales - 23 July 2006Fans travelling to Cardiff for the Madonna concert on Sunday July 30 need to plan their journey ahead of time and be aware there will be road closures operating in the city centre.
With a huge crowd expected at the Millennium Stadium and many central road closures operating between 7.30pm and 11.30pm, the best way to travel to Cardiff is by car share or by using the various park and rides sites.
Cars should exit at junction 33 of the M4 and follow signs for Millennium Stadium Park and Ride car parks. It costs £10 per car. The drop-off points in the city centre are within 5 minutes walk of the Stadium.
The car parks will be manned from 2pm, with the first bus at 2.30pm. The last bus will leave the pick-up point at 11.30pm after the concert, with the car parks closing at midnight. Stewards will be on hand to help any disabled drivers needing assistance.
Due to the city centre road closures, the public are advised that ALL buses travelling in, out and around the city WILL be affected.
More information is available from traffic-wales.com , Traveline Cymru on 0870 608 2 608 or traveline-cymru.org.uk, Cardiff Bus at cardiffbus.com, liftshare.com or sewtacarshare.com
US & Japan sales info
Source: jimmyrad @ MIR - 23 July 2006 Hung Up passes 700K in USA Digital Sales. This track has definite digital legs in the USA, especially considering the mediocre airplay it received.
Billboard 200 Rankings: Confessions on a Dance Floor drops 3 spots to No. 138, its 35th week on the chart. Sales increased 1% to 6,439; cume stands at 1,516,279. I'm Going to Tell You a Secret, as expected, plunges again, down to No. 199 in is 4th (and most likely final) week on the chart. Sales dropped 20% to 4,354; cume stands at 44,515.
COADF Certified 2 Platinum in Japan. That's for shipments of 500,000 units - her biggest album in Japan since The Immaculate Collection. Oricon sales of the title are around 390,000 to date.
Madonna clears up adoption rumours
Source: Yahoo - 22 July 2006Madonna has cleared up rumours she and husband Guy Ritchie are planning to adopt a child by revealing she's actually planning to play mum to an African village.
The pop superstar set tongues wagging when news broke about her reported links to African adoption agencies last month.
More recent reports even suggested the singer and her movie maker husband were even seeking new dad Brad Pitt's advice on adoption after he became the legal guardian of girlfriend Angelina Jolie's two adopted children.
But now Madonna has revealed, through her aides, she has much bigger plans.
In a statement released yesterday, a spokeswoman says, "Actually she is adopting a village of children... Madonna is participating in the building of a school and home for hundreds of kids in Malawi, Africa and that is her current passion and commitment."
Madonna to give first-ever Russia concerts
Source: Yahoo - 22 July 2006US pop queen Madonna will perform in Russia for the first time on September 11 and 12 as part of her Confessions world tour, a Russian organiser said.
Madonna's two concerts will take place on a specially-constructed stage on the Sparrow Hills overlooking the city centre, close to where Moscow State University is located, ITAR-TASS news agency reported.
"Decorations and costumes for the singer will arrive in Russia on 27 trailers," the organiser was quoted by ITAR-TASS as saying.
Madonna is set to perform in Britain, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands as part of her 2006 tour, according to the star's official website.
US radio hangs up on Madonna
Source: Billboard - 21 July 2006Madonna is in the midst of a sold-out North American trek that may end up being the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist. But this on-the-road success is not carrying over to American radio airwaves.
In the United States, the three singles from Madonna's latest Warner Bros. album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, have not been embraced by mainstream top 40 radio.
Hung Up got middling airplay, Sorry was barely played, and Get Together has been all but ignored by pop stations. Naturally, this state of affairs has left executives at her Warner Bros. label -- and more than a few fans -- wondering, what gives?
More than 3,300 fans have signed an appeal at petitiononline.com. The "End the Madonna on U.S. Radio Boycott" petition is addressed to Clear Channel Communications CEO Mark P. Mays.
Message boards at Entertainment Weekly and VH1, among others, are rife with everything from support for Madonna to conspiracy theories about why she can't crack the radio dial.
Warner Bros. was aware that the songs on Confessions could present challenges at mainstream top 40 radio, acknowledges Tom Biery, senior VP of promotions at Warner Bros. "Top 40 radio is so hip-hop-driven," he says. "We were coming in with a global pop star who made a dance record."
Guy Zapoleon, president of radio consulting firm Zapoleon Media Strategies, calls it an "interesting dilemma for the woman who certainly held the 'Queen of Pop' title for almost 15 years." Madonna's ability to redefine herself is well-documented, and Zapoleon says that this has helped her keep a "leading edge" to the new group of pop music fans that comes along every three to five years.
But this time, Madonna may have turned left while the pop climate was turning right. Other pop chameleons such as Nelly Furtado and Mariah Carey reinvented themselves with recent rhythmic/hip-hop-leaning singles. Madonna opted instead to return to her dance-pop roots.
Madonna has had no such airplay problems internationally. Since its release last November, Confessions on a Dance Floor has topped the charts in 29 countries and sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, according to Warner Bros.
For the week ending July 15, the album's third single, Get Together, had a radio audience of fewer than 1 million listeners in the United States (aggregate, based on market size and station share). Conversely, in the United Kingdom, where all three singles have been A-listed by BBC Radio 1, the single had 38.4 million listeners.
Except for dance radio outlets like KNGY San Francisco, KNRJ Phoenix and KNHC Seattle, Madonna is missing from the terrestrial radio landscape in the United States. John Peake, PD at KNGY, believes that mainstream top 40 radio programmers have completely missed the boat on this project.
"When Hung Up didn't get instant callout, the stations gave up on it," he says. "If they had given it more time, the callout would've come home."
Confessions has been healthy at retail: It has moved 1.5 million copies, already double that of its predecessor, 2003's American Life, which has sold 666,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. File-sharing stats from BigChampagne and support from MTV's "TRL" are also solid. But, Biery says, "Radio still looks at callout research."
As Warner Bros. gears up for the release of the album's fourth single, Jump, Biery remains optimistic, especially since the song was heard in TV and radio spots for the film "The Devil Wears Prada." The label will take a different strategy with this single, Biery says. "We'll begin with AC and hot AC formats," he notes. "Our goal is to have a true hit record with callout and then bring it back to the mainstream top 40 world."
Win Madonna's guitar!
21 July 2006Guitars = cool. Madonna = really cool. Seeing Madonna live on her birthday and taking her guitar home with you = bonkers! And that's exactly what we're offering...
Once again Madonna is heading out on a huge World Tour, the Confessions Tour.
On her travels, her Madgesty will take to the stage around the UK, including a special London date on her birthday - Wembley on August 16.
We're giving one lucky winner a pair of tickets to be the special London show on Madonna's birthday, plus travel to and from London (if you're not from London already!) and a plush hotel to stay in that night.
But does it stop there? Hell no!
We're also giving that lucky winner Madonna's guitar! And we're not talking about some guitar that Madonna's touched once, we're talking about a guitar that was actually owned and played on tour by Madonna! Cool huh. Visit MTV.co.uk to find out how to enter the competition.
Tour to be broadcasted in November
Source: Access Hollywood - 21 July 2006NBC will broadcast "Madonna: The Confessions Tour Live" - a two-hour special set to air in November 2006, the network announced Friday.
The special will be taped this summer at Wembley Stadium in London, UK during the pop icon's worldwide sold-out 25-city Confessions Tour.
The special marks the first-ever broadcast network performance by the international superstar.
"Madonna is one of the greatest artists of our time and never fails to generate excitement," said Kevin Reilly, NBC Entertainment President. "We think this is going to be a big event for television."
The concert special will feature songs from Madonna's recent multi-platinum Warner Bros. Records release Confessions On A Dance Floor, which debuted at No. 1 in 29 countries and has sold over eight million copies around the globe.
The broadcast will also include some of Madonna's greatest hits from her legendary career.
In the course of that career, thestar has racked up a staggering 35 No. 1 hits on Billboard's Dance charts.
The multi-Grammy winning artist, songwriter, producer, best-selling children's book author, video visionary and cultural icon has sustained an unrivaled reputation for astonishing stage spectacles and has made musical history many times over, including international record sales of over 200 million albums.
Madonna on cover of Next Magazine
Source: press release @ PR Web - 20 July 2006NEXT Magazine, the largest and most-widely distributed gay/alternative magazine in the New York City metro area, published an exclusive 7-page pictorial spread from Madonna's latest Confessions Tour that hit Madison Square Garden in late June.
The issue - billed as a special Madonna Collector's Issue - has already garnered press on several online sites such as fashiontribes.com, toptensources.com and others. This is the third time in the history of the NEXT Magazine that Madonna has been the cover girl.
~ Madonna is also on the cover of this week's Q Magazine in the UK (The 80s Issue) .
Madonna's upcoming projects *rumour*
20 July 2006From fansite MadonnaTribe: "Jump, the 4th and the final commercial single from Confessions On A Dance Floor, will include amazing remixes by Junior Sanchez and Axwell among others.
After the Confessions Tour, Madonna will be very busy promoting her new book, the sequel to The English Roses, with lots of appearances, but the most exiting news is, without a doubt, that there's a possibily of a new album towards the end of the year. "
~ Since the release of Confessions On A Dance Floor, Madonna has been busy with promoting the album on a promo tour and now a full-scale stage tour. This means she hasn't had time to spend in a studio recording a new album. If we're receziving new material in 2006, it is likely to be a remix album or something similar.
TIC is 5th best selling album in UK
20 July 2006A new update of the list of best selling UK albums of all time was published on the site of the BPI (British Phonographic Industry).
The Immaculate Collection appears as 5th in the list, passing Abba's 'Gold'.
This is the Top 10:
1. BEATLES - SGT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
2. MICHAEL JACKSON - BAD
3. DIRE STRAITS - BROTHERS IN ARMS
4. OASIS - (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY
5. MADONNA - IMMACULATE COLLECTION
6. ABBA - GOLD
7. SIMPLY RED - STARS
8. QUEEN - GREATEST HITS
9. MICHAEL JACKSON - THRILLER
10. SHANIA TWAIN - COME ON OVER
Paul Oakenfold to tour with Madonna
Source: Groovevolt - 17 July 2006Paul Oakenfold, who is currently on the road in support of his new album, A Lively Mind will join Madonna's Confessions tour in Cardiff, Wales, July 30.
He will also open shows in Rome, Italy; Dusseldorf and Hanover, Germany; Horsens, Denmark; and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
"This is a fantastic opportunity," Oakenfold said. "I'm really looking forward to the challenge - I've got a lot of respect for Madonna as an artist, and have enjoyed a great working relationship in the past-which I hope to continue."
The following are Paul Oakenfold's supporting dates on Madonna's Confessions tour:
July 30 – Cardiff, WAL (Millennium Stadium)
August 6 – Rome, ITL (Olympic Stadium)
August 20 – Düsseldorf, GER (LTU Arena)
August 22 – Hannover, GER (AWD Arena)
August 24 – Horsens, DMK (Forum Horsens Outdoor)
September 3 – Amsterdam, NET (Amsterdam Arena)
September 4 – Amsterdam, NET (Amsterdam Arena)
Williams worried about Madonna tribute
Source: ContactMusic - 17 July 2006Robbie Williams has written a tribute to his heroine Madonna - but is nervous that the pop queen will now think he's stalking her. The Rock DJ singer and The Pet Shop Boys penned the song She'S Madonna for his forthcoming album 1974.
Pet Shop Boys frontman Neil Tennant says, "Apparently she likes it. Rob feared she'd think he was stalking her"
Madonna apologizes to Australia
Source: Madonna.com - 14 July 2006A letter from Madonna
"To my fans in Australia:
Please forgive me. I really did hope and expect to come to Australia during the Confessions Tour and asked my managers to try to include some shows there. I have fond memories from previous tours.
Unfortunately, the logistics just didn't work out this time around. We looked into going from Japan to Australia and ending the show there but I have to get my kids back into school in England and they are, as you can understand, my most important priority.
The important thing to remember is that I'm not retiring anytime soon and I am gonna get to Australia as soon as I can. You remain in my heart and Thank you for your continued love & support.
Love,
Madonna
Billboard hints at 4th single release
Source: Ask Billboard - 13 July 2006Hello Keith,
I was wondering about the status of Madonna's third single from Confessions on a Dance Floor. I heard that Get Together was her last commercial single from the album, although it seems that it contains a handful of other tracks that are single-worthy.
Also, is Get Together getting any attention at radio? It seems to have missed the Billboard Hot 100. Finally, how is Confessions on a Dance Floor doing sales-wise? Is it becoming a huge seller like Ray of Light or is it stalling in sales?
Thanks. I love reading your column every Thursday.
Nathan Gil
Sarasota, Fla.
Hello Nathan,
Don't worry, Get Together is not the final single from Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor. The fourth single will be Jump. Get Together has pretty much stalled out on American radio. A handful of dance stations are spinning the track a lot, but the vast majority of outlets have ignored the song. (Unsurprisingly, Get Together is doing well on the radio in many countries outside of America.)
So far, the single has yet to enter the Billboard Hot 100. Even though the U.S. radio picture is bleak, the song could still chart based on its digital and retail sales. Perhaps if the psychedelic animated music video for the song starts to get some serious screen time on the video networks, consumers will be motivated to buy the track via digital download services.
If it gets enough sales, it could enter the Billboard Hot 100 and become Madonna's 53rd chart hit.
So far, Confessions on a Dance Floor has sold 1.5 million in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan. That's more than twice what her last studio album, 2003's American Life, has sold (666,000). It's still a long way from catching up to Ray of Light, which has sold 3.8 million in America.
Madonna plans another raunchy showstopper
Source: Digital Spy - 10 July 2006Madonna is planning another raunchy performance for this year's MTV Video Music Awards.
The singer caused a media frenzy after kissing Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the awards three years ago - and now hopes to cause further controversy with Jessica Simpson and Lindsay Lohan.
A source told The Sun, "Madonna's people contacted Jessica's representatives a few weeks ago and the talks are progressing well. With both Jessica and Lindsay's stock rocketing Madonna thinks they would be perfect to perform with.
"She's planning something even more sexy than a lesbian kiss. The whispers are all about a bondage-inspired show. Madonna will keep the details hushed up until the night."
UPDATE: The VMA is usually held in the last week of August. Since Madonna will be performing 4 shows in Bercy, Paris that week, it's almost certain that this story is FALSE!
Pix of H&M campaign
9 July 2006Fansites MadonnaTribe and MadonnaUnderground have posted the first pictures of the new H&M campaign, which features Madonna and her tour crew in H&M clothing. Check them in our Career section.
Interview OK! Magazine
9 July 2006After falling off a horse, most pop stars would cancel their tour, halt production on their album, freeze all promotional activity and stay in bed. But not Madonna. The music icon fractured three rib after a riding accident at her home in England, but managed to squeeze into a slinky outfit and shoot the video for Hung Up, the single from her latest album, Confessions on a Dance Floor.
"I have a high pain threshold," explains Madonna, 47. "It's remarkable." It sure is. As her new tour ruffles feathers with it's controversial content, we delved into the mind of the mother of two and wife of British movie director Guy Ritchie.
Check fansite DrownedMadonna for the full transcript of the interview in the new OK! Magazine out in the US. It's the July 17, 2006 issue.
Is Madonna losing her religion?
Source: The Independant - 9 July 2006Yes, say friends. They believe the singer is about to cut ties with the sect to which she has given millions.
The pop world's most unusual partnership may be over. Madonna and Kabbalah, the once obscure sect she championed - and upon which she has lavished millions of dollars - appear to be on the verge of separation.
Close friends say the singer has talked of loosening her red Kabbalah wristband and is wearying of the mystical Jewish belief system. She has decided to give it up, they say, having tired of the financial burden and the effect her strong beliefs have had on her relationship with husband Guy Ritchie.
Madonna is also said to be concerned that following Kabbalah separates her children from more conventional customs such as Christmas, which they do not currently celebrate.
If true, it would mark an extraordinary end to Madonna's high-profile crusade on behalf of the cause she adopted the best part of a decade ago - and a serious financial blow to the organisation that promotes it, the Kabbalah Centre.
Madonna has recruited other wealthy stars to the cause, most recently the actress Lindsey Lohan, and has bought a multi-million pound base for the sect close to her home in London.
The announcement would also come out of the blue. Madonna has arranged for tickets to be set aside for Kabbalah leaders at dates on her current world tour. She was photographed leaving the Kabbalah Centre in New York on Friday with her family. Ritchie is said to be making a documentary about Kabbalah, but it is unclear whether this will be critical or positive.
Yesterday a spokeswoman for Madonna, when asked about her support for Kabbalah waning, said: "As far as I am aware, it is completely untrue." The singer's links to the version of Kabbalah that she follows are so intimate now - personally and financially - that withdrawal would be difficult, complicated and initially kept very private.
The departure of Esther - the adopted Hebrew name by which she is known to fellow believers - would almost certainly provoke lengthy and expensive legal wrangling.
Japanese shows sold out
9 July 2006The shows for Osaka and Tokyo, Japan went on sale today and quickly sold out. A second show was added for Tokyo on September 21st (likely the last show of the Confessions Tour).
Tickets for this additional show at the Tokyo Dome will go on sale on July 15 (presale starting tomorrow July 10th). There's no news yet about a possible second date in Osaka.
Get Together video director details
Source: Madonna.com - 8 July 2006The ground breaking video for Madonna's most recent single, Get Together, was directed by the animation team called Logan, based out of Venice, California.
Logan has 20 employees and has worked on projects for Jurassic 5, Money Mark, and Felix Da Housecat, commercial campaigns for Apple iPod, Volkswagen, and Target, and experimental projects ranging from fashion to architecture.
Logan cites Italian erotic comic book art, American science fiction magazine, covers from the 30's - 40's, and explosions from Japanese cartoons as inspirations for the animation in Get Together.
The Logan team submitted 3 different versions of the video Get Together to Madonna before it was approved. The verdict is in, Logan & Get Together are a great match! Check out Logan at www.hellologan.com
Still a trendsetter?
Source: Boston Herald - 6 July 2006The Material Girl is now shopping on the less-expensive side of the Material World.
Madonna, whose Confessions Tour rolls into the TD Banknorth Garden for the first of three shows tonight, has signed on to be the new face of H&M, the cheap-chic Swedish retailer.
As part of the deal, Madonna and her 150-person touring crew received H&M wardrobes to wear offstage. Designer and longtime Madonna costume creator Jean-Paul Gaultier will still provide the singer's onstage outfits.
In mid-August, a tracksuit designed by Madonna and available in black, white and purple will be sold at H&M stores. At the same time, H&M will kick off an advertising campaign featuring Madonna and her dancers.
The Herald hit the streets and asked Bostonians: "Is Madonna still a fashion icon?"
"She's definitely still a fashion icon. She reinvents herself all the time."
- Leah Collier, 22, Israel, teacher
Favorite Madonna look: "The '80s. Who doesn't love pointy boobs?"
"Yes, she's so influential in her dressing."
- Priscilla Rand, 30, Texas, beauty adviser
Favorite Madonna look: The Blonde Ambition Tour, "when Jean-Paul Gaultier was her designer."
"I think anything she touches still becomes popular, but I don't think she's as in touch with the younger people."
- Scott LaFlamme, 26, South End, retail manager
Favorite Madonna look: "Music. The rhinestone cowboy look was fun."
"I don't believe so. She seems like she's left the spotlight in the U.S. (The H&M partnership) seems kind of strange, but she can make money doing anything."
- Andrew Gnash, 24, Boston, bartender
Favorite Madonna look: "I'd have to go with the cones."
Madonna & Guy to adopt?
Source: ContactMusic - 6 July 2006Pop superstar Madonna is considering adding to her family by adopting a California baby, according to new US tabloid reports.
The singer and husband Guy Ritchie have made tentative plans to begin the process of adopting a baby from Vista del Mar, California, according to a report in National Enquirer. According to sources, the couple will concentrate on their adoption plans once Madonna's Confessions tour wraps up in Japan in September (06).
A source tells the Enquirer, "They've begun the application process and currently are undergoing evaluation typical of adoptive parents. "So far they've been interviewed and fingerprinted to begin the process."
Madonna and Ritchie already have a five-year-old son, Rocco, together and the singer also has a nine-year-old daughter, Lourdes, by former lover Carlos Leon.
Madonna attends Carlos' musical
Source: ContactMusic - 6 July 2006Pop star Madonna took time out from her Confessions tour to see ex-lover Carlos Leon performing in a Broadway musical. The singer dated the former personal trainer from 1994-1997 and he is the father of her nine-year-old daughter Lourdes.
Leon was performing a small role in the Threepenny Opera on 24 June (06). A source tells American publication Us Weekly, Madonna sat sixth row centre during the performance and sent text messages during intermission.
Steinberg about writing Like A Virgin
Sources: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Fred Bronson, and Jeff Walker interview, 2/21/2006, Times Leader - 6 July 2006Madonna was already a pretty established singer when the song Like A Virgin fell onto her lap Ironically, her producer, the legendary Niles Rodgers, didn't want her to record it because he thought the words 'like a virgin' were just too lame to be the focus of a song.
But when he couldn't get the melody out of his head, he changed his mind and advised the young singer to record it.
The song was written by two guys, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. Steinberg explained that it was not really at all about purity, but that feeling of excitement you get when starting a new relationship.
"The idea for that song came from personal experience. I wasn't just trying to get that racy word virgin in a lyric. I was saying that I may not really be a virgin, and I've been battered emotionally like many people, but I'm starting a new relationship and it just feels so good.
It's healing all the wounds and making me feel like I've never done this before, because it's so much deeper and more profound than anything I've ever felt."
Madonna certainly played up the raciness of the lyrics and for her, it was her first time: her first time to hit the top of the charts. Like A Virgin spent six weeks at #1 beginning in November of 1984.
Chart update
5 July 2006Belgium: in its third week on the Flemish singles chart, Get Together stays at #22. In Wallonia it stays at #33. I'm Going To Tell You A Secret spends its second week on the album chart at #5 (Flanders) and #10 (Wallonia). In that chart, Confessions On A Dance Floor is at #25 (Flanders) and #40 (Wallonia) in its 33rd week.
Canada: I'm Going To Tell You A Secret is at #4 in the album chart.
Mexico: I'm Going To Tell You A Secret tops the album chart!
UK: I'm Going To Tell You A Secret enters the album chart at #18, while COADF drops to #112. Get Together debuts at #120 in the singles chart. Previous singles are higher: Sorry at #104 (18 weeks) and Hung Up at #97 (33 weeks).
US: I'm Going To Tell You A Secret is at #33 on the Billboard 200, selling 25,475 units. COADF spends its 32nd week at #135. Get Together has dropped off the Bubbling Under chart...
United World Chart: I'm Going To Tell You A Secret and Get Together are both Hot Shot Debut at #8 (albums) and #27 (singles) respectively.
Download Donna De Lory's new single
5 July 2006You've seen Donna De Lory singing and dancing with Madonna since the late 80's. Her new cd, "Sky is Open" will be available on July 15th. Go to DonnaDelory.net for a free download of her new song, "Fade In Time."
Madonna deserves a lot more credit than she gets from the media
4 July 2006Reader's letter at The Star South Africa:
"I refer to the article published on Thursday (The Star, Verve, page 17) in which R Simpson has a lot to say about the physical appearance of 47-year-old Madonna.
I respectfully submit that his article reflects society's obsession with looks and implies that, after a certain age, women have reached their sell-by date.
He is not alone, as Madonna's physique has become the target of much scrutiny and negative criticism the world over.
But it is not only her physical appearance that is subjected to vitriolic attack by the media.
Every aspect of her life is under the proverbial microscope, but her critics fail to see the magnificence of her many talents and achievements, which span more than 20 years.
The fact that she is a wife and mother of two children fails to impress her critics, who seem unable to reconcile the Madonna of the 1990s (referred to as "the sex years") with the woman who today enjoys a life of domesticity.
(This is not to say that Madonna has thrown the baby out with the bath water, as fans at her current "Confessions" tour are treated to her diehard ability to provoke and push buttons like never before, scantily clad as she is.)
Ironically, Madonna's earlier (almost desperate) need for public approval has seemingly dissipated as she finds satisfaction in her personal life.
Madonna has come a long way from the girl who arrived in New York with less than $50 and who lived on popcorn and icecream.
Yet her feisty ambition and work ethic remain as strong as ever, notwithstanding her phenomenal financial success.
Mr Simpson, perhaps Madonna's hands "… feature a virtual roadmap of veins …" because she has never been afraid to get her hands dirty.
Madonna Louis Ciccone Ritchie has certainly earned the title "Queen of Pop".
Would a kind word or two acknowledging her well- deserved successes be asking too much?"
~ Nadine Heather Bentel, Hyde Park, Johannesburg
Beat the Madonna intro
3 July 2006
London's radio station Capital Gold has a new Madonna-inspired online game and competition, called 'Beat The Intro: Madonna Edition'.
Identify the Madonna track just from the opening notes in the quickest time possible for the chance to win a digital radio. There's everything from smash hit singles to obscure b-sides, brilliant album tracks to soundtrack gems.
How good is your Madonna musical knowledge? Step up to the challenge, go against the clock and you could walk away a winner! Play at capitalgold.com!
Sexuality, glitz attract Madonna's most devoted fans
Source: Hartford Courant - 3 July 2006Shomari Cooper sips a pink Material Girl martini at his table at Tisane Tea and Coffee Bar in Hartford, a blue ring pop dangling from the base of his glass. It's Tuesday night, gay night, at Tisane's. And if the name of Cooper's C*cktail didn't give it away - the theme this evening is Madonna, a tribute before her Confessions tour hits Hartford this Sunday and Monday.
"Everyone loves Madonna, but it's one of those things they would never admit to," says Copper, 27, as Madonna's latest single, Get Together, blares in the background. "There are so many closet Madonna fans."
And then there are those fans who have come out of the closet. "Her most devoted following is her gay following," said Madonna's publicist Liz Rosenberg. "They've been with Madonna [since] she started in the early '80s."
But what is it that has hooked diehard fans for more than two decades? Steve Colangelo knows. Last week, he popped a video of the 1993 tour The Girlie Show into his living-room VCR. La Isla Bonita filled the room.
"Come on, look at this. You could just tell Madonna is no Miss Shania Twain," he says as the singer, dressed in a long military coat, marches on the small TV screen moments before breaking into a rendition of Holiday.
The 37-year-old's dining table is scattered with Madonna-covered magazines dating back to a 1986 Life issue. They lie alongside records, a 1985 Like a Virgin poster, a Madonna mouse pad and one of his favorites, "I Dream of Madonna," a book filled with dreams women have had of the singer over the years.
On Sunday, he will attend his fourth Madonna concert at the Civic Center, the artist's first performance in the state since a 1985 show at New Haven Coliseum.
"Hey, Steve! I've got the big Madonna portrait!" Colangelo's Hartford neighbor Michelle Cutrali, 30, yells from her second-floor porch across the street as he steps onto his front lawn. "You want it?"
"Hey, Michelle!" he yells back to Cutrali, who is eating dinner with her partner, Diana. "Why do gays like Madonna?"
"Cause she's sexy!"
Colangelo laughs.
"Hey, Michelle!" he yells. "Why do lesbians like Madonna?"
"Probably 'cause Madonna made them realize they were lesbians."
Since her risqué music video Erotica and her book "Sex" debuted in 1992 - not to mention her Girlie Show performance with whip in hand, backed by topless dancers - Madonna has been recognized for her bold sexuality.
At a time when AIDS and homophobia caused others to retreat, Madonna's pro-sex persona was a big deal, said Matthew Rettenmund, author of "Encyclopedia Madonnica" and editor in chief of Popstar! Magazine."Everyone is in the closet at some point, and you're told, 'Gay is bad.'...
Madonna was saying, `You know, there's nothing wrong with sexuality'... That's something gay people need to hear. ... She's a great icon in self-reliance and self-determination."
Rettenmund, who says he has been to nearly every Madonna concert, said the front of a concert, near the stage, will almost always be packed with gay men. "No one does fandom like gay men do fandom."
Richard Paul Salgado, 48, whose been a fan since Madonna's Virgin tour, said about 70 percent of fans at concerts he's been to were gay men.
"She's almost kind of inherited ...the gay torch from Cher or even Streisand," said George Plasketes, professor of radio, television, film and popular culture at Auburn University in Alabama.
But according to Rettenmund, concerts are swarming with fans from every walk of life: girls and women who "admire her feminist power," dance music lovers and - to Rettenmund's surprise - a lot of older married men. "It's quite a variety of people," he said. Then there are fans who go not for the music but for the "glitz factor."
This year's tour promises much glitz, including a $2 million Swarovski-crystal-embellished disco ball, a 40-foot turntable, seven costume changes, mink and diamond eyelashes and an enormous "discofied" crucifix from which Madonna, wearing a crown of thorns, will be suspended, according to Rosenberg.
"She's just captivating in her concerts," said Cutrali, who will attend her fifth Madonna concert on Sunday.
Andrew Schlapinski, 21, usually has a red wool string tied to his left wrist. So does Madonna. The thin red bracelet is a kabbalist tradition, worn to repel negative forces.
"A lot of people have found kabbalah because of Madonna, myself included," Schlapinski said.
He discovered the spiritual movement four years ago as a senior in high school, when Madonna's American Life album - littered with Kabbalist references - came out. What began as a small class project on the topic evolved into a lifestyle for Schlapinski, now a senior at the University of Hartford.
"I think it's cool that our entertainers are these modern-day prophets," he said. Though he's been a fan for years, the Confessions tour will be Schlapinski's first Madonna concert.
Tami Fagan's students at Rocky Hill High School can't escape their teacher's love for Madonna.
"What color dress was Madonna wearing in the Material Girl video?" Fagan asks her ninth-grade English class at the end of a vocabulary quiz.
The bonus question is met with blank stares or drones of "WHAT?" from students. Fagan, 31, says high-schoolers know little about the era in which Madonna became famous.
"She just represents a different time, and if you lived during that time,... there's a bond that you share with other people growing up," Fagan said. "It's not just the music."
Tomorrow's NYC after-party
1 July 2006DJ Jaffo has informed us about the after party that will follow Madonna's show in Madison Square Garden, NYC tomorrow. The party will be held at 251 W. 30th st. NYC (between 7th & 8th aves., only 2 blocks from the Garden).
Doors open at 9pm with dancing until 4am, on 3 floors with nothing but Madonna! Hear rare and custom remixes of Madonna's hits, B-sides and previously un-released songs. Also hear fabulous covers of Madonna's songs by various other artists.
Songs by Madonna's back-up singers, Donna Delory & Niki Harris, will be played too! There will be several contests to win tickets for Madonna's final NYC show on July 19th. Don't miss the ultimate MEGA-MADONNA party experience! More info on MadonnaNYC.com.
