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Madonna news - April 2009
← March 2009 | May 2009 →
Madonna & Louis Vuitton part deux
Source: Madonna.com - 28 April 2009Madonna will once again be the face of the upcoming Louis Vuitton campaign for their Autumn/Winter 2009 collection.
Following the extraordinary success of the Spring/Summer 2009 ad campaign, Louis Vuitton, its creative director Marc Jacobs, and Madonna, are proud to announce they will be collaborating for a second consecutive season.
The iconic pop star will be photographed by Steven Meisel in New York City, under the art direction of Marc Jacobs.
The first images of the campaign should appear in August issues of fashion magazines.
~ The rumour section of Madonna's official site recently hinted at the possiblity of these pictures being used for Madonna's upcoming greatest hits collection, so stay tuned for more!
Madonna named Hollywood's hardest working mum
Source: Reuters via Yahoo - 25 April 2009With earnings of $110 million (74.8 million pounds) in 2008, Madonna topped Forbes' list of Hollywood's hardest working mothers, followed by actresses Reese Witherspoon and Gwyneth Paltrow.
The pop singer and mother of three, who was recently turned down in her bid to adopt a second child from Malawi, grossed $105 million on her tour and sold nearly a million albums in the United States. Madonna also signed several lucrative endorsement deals last year, according to Forbes.com.
"She had an incredible year in 2008," said Lauren Streib who helped to compile the list that was released on Friday .
"She had the top tour of any musician...The tour sold out around the world. So it wasn't surprising as much as it is a commentary on how successful her year was," she said.
Witherspoon, who earned an estimated $24 million last year, was second on the list, followed closely behind by Paltrow with $20 million in earnings.
In addition to her film career and raising daughter Ava and son Deacon, Witherspoon, who is divorced from actor Ryan Phillippe , is also the international spokeswoman for the cosmetics company Avon.
Paltrow's role in the blockbuster comic book film " Iron Man," which earned $580 million worldwide, and her endorsements for Estee Lauder and shoe and handbag maker Tod's propelled her to the third spot.
Streib said the list is based on estimated earnings of Hollywood mothers with at least one child. Earnings include album sales, salaries, box-office grosses and endorsements and licensing deals.
She added that for many of the women on the list endorsement deals are a significant part of their earnings.
"I think this is something that has been going on for decades now. We are seeing less and less models and more and more celebrity spokespeople. It is a big part of the business of being a celebrity," she added.
Mother of three Julia Roberts , who returned to the big screen in a starring role in the film "Duplicity," captured the fourth spot on the list, while actress Sarah Jessica Parker , who has a son with husband Matthew Broderick , rounded out the top five.
Angelina Jolie , who has six children but still earned $14 million last year, came in sixth, followed by model and television presenter Heidi Klum , who is pregnant with her fourth child.
Best actress Academy Award winner Kate Winslet, who has two children, and singer and mother of three Faith Hill also made the list, which is posted at www.forbes.com.
Madonna in recording studio with Oakenfold & Oseary
24 April 2009Last night, Madonna twittered again from Guy Oseary's account, while she was in the studio with Paul Oakenfold, recording a new track for the upcoming greatest hits album.
She joked around a bit: "Paul Oakenfold is running around the studio naked.. because i wont put the air on.. its hot in here.. but the music is hotter!!!! -M"
Many fans sent messages and some got a reply. A few hours later, Guy excitedly reported "Finally listening to the track!!!.. been waiting and waiting for the right mix.. another great DANCE track.. -guy". Hopefully we'll get a preview soon!
Madonna's new producer: Paul Oakenfold
22 April 2009After weeks of speculation and rampant rumours among fans, Madonna's manager Guy Oseary confirms on ICON that Madonna is indeed collaborating with Paul Oakenfold for the upcoming greatest hits album. She recorded a yet untitled song (an "amazing dance track") with him as the producer yesterday and hopes to do a second one with him this week.
Paul Oakenfold ended up producing Madonna eight years after his first collaboration with her, a remix of What It Feels Like For A Girl in 2001 (coincidentally, William Orbit remixed Madonna nearly eight years before he became Madonna's producer). Since then he's been regularly submitting remixes for Madonna's singles and is conveniently the opening act on all of her shows of the upcoming Sticky & Sweet Tour.
Madonna singles that were remixed by Paul Oakenfold:
What It Feels Like ForA Girl (2001)
American Life (2003)
Hollywood (2003)
Sorry (2006)
Give It 2 Me (2008)
Paul Oakenfold is famous for his club remixes spanning two decades, but it's the first time he's producing a mainstream artist as he becomes the latest addition to Madonna's long list of producers. For more on Oakenfold's work, check here.
What's your opinion? Discuss with fans on Facebook!
Madonna back in studio, records bonus track for greatest hits
22 April 2009Breaking news from the horse's mouth: Guy Oseary wrote on Twitter that on Tuesday he was with Madonna in the studio, who was recording a bonus track for her greatest hits album. The sound of the new song is - surprise - DANCE!
Currently there's no official confirmation about Madonna's collaborator for this track, or the actual tracklist of the compilation, but keep an eye on Oseary's Twitter as it's a cool new channel between Madonna and her fans for breaking news.
Paparazzi cause another horse accident, Madonna suffers minor injuries
Source: Usmagazine.com - 19 April 2009Madonna was taken to a New York hospital Saturday after falling from a horse while at the South Hampton, N.Y., home of friend and famed photographer Steven Klein.
The singer's rep, Liz Rosenberg, confirms Madonna was treated and released after suffering minor injuries and bruises.
"The accident occurred when the horse Madonna was riding was startled by paparazzi who jumped out of the bushes to photograph the singer, who was visiting friends on Eastern Long Island over the weekend," Rosenberg said in a statement to Usmagazine.com. "Madonna will be having further tests and will continue to remain under observation by doctors."
In 2005, Madonna -- a talented equestrian -- cracked three ribs and broke her hand and collar bone in a riding accident at her estate just outside London on her 47th birthday. The horse she was riding was a gift from her ex-husband, Guy Ritchie.
Seven months after her injuries, the singer, now 50, was photographed by Klein for a 58-page spread in W magazine, where she was pictured alongside six stallions and posed for the cover in her riding gear.
Later that year, at the 2005 MTV Europe Awards, Madonna spoke publicly about the accident.
"After I fell off my horse it was amazing to be able to get up and dance," she said, after performing Hung Up to open the show. "You don't beat singing live...my heart was just pumping out of my chest."
~ Guy Oseary also responded to fans on his Twitter saying "Madonnas accident today was caused by the papparazzi.. they spooked the horse she was riding.. these guys dont know when to stop!!'
Niki Haris dismisses Madonna fallout rumours
16 April 2009New England's largest gay newspaper Bay Windows published an interview with longtime Madonna backup singer Niki Haris and she dismissed the rumours:
To start: why the fallout? Diva drama?
"Maybe there was some drama, but I didn't buy into it. We were sisters for years," says Haris. "At the end of the day, really she [Madonna] is a gem and I'm so grateful."
"She threw my baby shower for me!" adds Haris, who gave birth to her daughter in 2003. It was shortly thereafter that Madonna launched her Re-Invention Tour, the first time she staged a show without Haris in over 15 years.
"People can talk all the crap they want, but we both knew by that last tour [Drowned World, 2001]," says Haris. "I had broken my legs, learned how to walk again, how to dance again, and did that tour with really bad injuries. It was okay, but painful. Now, I was 41 and pregnant. ... Of course, my ego was involved: 'Oh, she don't want me no more!' But at the end of the day, she gave me the greatest gift. Because of her, I got to spend every freaking day with my kid, doing the music I love to do. I'm close to 'the family' still. She knows I love her and she loves me."
Coincidentally, Madonna's last two tours have featured similarly named singer Nicki Richards as a backing vocalist. Haris doesn't mind.
"She can get Niki Two, if she wants to," she chuckles.
Continue the interview with Niki Haris here (thanx to Scott Kearnan)
Steven Meisel taught Madonna about reinvention
14 April 2009The May 2009 issue of Vogue magazine puts longtime Madonna collaborator Steven Meisel in the spotlight and Madonna shares some nice thoughts on him:
Even Madonna agrees that there is, indeed, "a great sense of mystery" about Meisel - so much so that after all these years she feels she still doesn't really know him very well. "I know that I love him," she says. "You get sucked into his aura. He knows things."
She learned this from one of their first collaborations, which was for the cover of Like A Virgin. "Before I worked with Steven," says Madonna, "I just showed up in the clothes I was wearing, stood in front of the lights, and got my picture taken. With Steven, a team of people descended on me, started to undress me. Someone grabbed my hair, another grabbed my face, another started helping me try on various bits of clothes, and they all seemed to be speaking a language I didn't understand - the language of Steven Meisel."
To hear Madonna talk about working with Meisel is like being let in on a long-held secret. She goes on, "Steven had a vision. He had done his research. He had very specific references. I really respected the care that he took with his work, how seriously he approached it, but at the same time he has a great sense of irony. He made me feel like I was part of something important. He treated each photo shoot like it was a small film and insisted that we create a character each time we worked but then would make fun of the archetypes we created. He was the first person to introduce me to the idea of reinvention." Who knew that Madonna, the goddess of reinvention, learned it from Steven Meisel.
Continue the article on Steven Meisel here
Madonna makes adoption plea to Malawi newspaper
Source: Usmagazine.com - 12 April 2009Madonna opens up about her failed attempt to adopt 3-year-old Mercy James in a new interview.
"I want to provide Mercy with a home, a loving family environment and the best education and healthcare possible," she e-mailed Malawi's Nation newspaper in response to its questions. "And it's my hope that she, like David, will one day return to Malawi and help the people of their country."
Madonna, 50, continued: "Though I have been advised that I cannot publicly discuss the pending appeal regarding my desire to adopt Mercy, I do want to say how much I appreciate the level of support that I have received from the people of Malawi and my friends around the world."
Judge Esimie Chombo turned down the singer's adoption application because she didn't meet the country's 18 to 24 month residency requirement.
Her lawyer Alan Chinula confirmed to Us earlier this month she filed an appeal.
Madonna adopted David Banda, 3, from Malawi in 2006 amongst outrage by human rights organizations who charged she was using her celebrity to bend local laws.
A dedication to Sticky & Sweet songs
9 April 2009Are you ready for Madonna's new Sticky & Sweet shows? Or do you need a reminder of all those fantastic performances? It cost blood, sweat and tears to the Mad-Eyes team to update all the tour song pages with juicy details of every performance. But that's just the kind of dedication that we give to our readers. :-) So check them out!
To celebrate this update, we've also launched a new poll, so let us know which tour segment you like the most.
Madonna's fight for Mercy
Source: People - 9 April 2009Madonna is ready to do battle.
The singer, who has appealed a judge's rejection of her request to adopt 3-year-old Mercy James from Malawi, isn't about to give up the fight for the little girl, who, according to a source, has already called Madonna "Mummy."
The pop star's appeal is expected to be heard in the next few weeks. Plus, her side scored a "morale booster" when the Malawi Human Rights Commission decided to get involved in the star's bid to adopt, according to her lawyer Alan Chinula.
"Judge Chombo's ruling was quite a surprise and the Malawi Human Rights Commission's [investigation] confirms this," Chinula says. "We believe the honorable judge erred in her ruling because we believe the rights of the child were not fully considered."
Grace Malera, the Commission's head of legal services, says the organization is investigating whether it is true that Mercy is better off at Kondanani Children's Village, the orphanage where she has spent most of her life, than she would have been with the multi-millionaire Material Girl.<
"We want to make sure that the rights of the child are fully protected," says Malera, who met with Chinula this week to discuss the judge's ruling.
Meanwhile, Mercy is under the care of officials of Madonna's Raising Malawi charity as everyone awaits the outcome of the appeal.
A source in Malawi says that although Mercy is young, "she understands what's going on."
"Mercy shouted 'Mummy' when she first saw Madonna and has been asking, 'Where is Mummy? Where is Lola?' " the source tells PEOPLE, adding that Mercy bonded well with Madonna's children, especially 12-year-old Lourdes, who fought back tears when she was told Mercy was not joining them on a flight to London.
A leading child psychiatrist in Malawi, Dr. Stewart Chipendo, says that Mercy has likely already formed an attachment to Madonna, 50. "When a kid is introduced to a new person, they develop what we call 'stranger anxiety,' " he tells PEOPLE. "Once they go over that they develop what we call 'figure of attachment.' In this case, although the little girl is only 3, she understands Madonna is supposed to be her mother."
Madonna spent last week in Malawi where she and her three children – Lourdes, Rocco, 8, and David, 3 (whose adoption was approved by a different Malawian judge in 2008) – reunited with David's birth father and visited with Mercy and officials from Raising Malawi.
Following a farewell party, the clan flew to England on April 5, where Rocco and David are spending time with their father, Guy Ritchie, before the Easter holiday, while Madonna has been spotted out in London having dinner with pal Stella McCartney.
Madonna donates money to Italian earthquake victims
Source: People - 8 April 2009When a devastating earthquake struck the Abruzzo region of Italy on Monday, the mayor of the hamlet of Pacentro made an appeal for help to the granddaughter of two former townspeople. The following morning, that granddaughter responded in a big way.
Madonna, whose paternal grandparents lived in Pacentro until 1919, made a "substantial donation" for the relief effort following the 6.3 magnitude quake that left more than 200 dead, says her publicist Liz Rosenberg.
The rep wouldn't give the amount, but a source says it's about $500,000. "I am happy to lend a helping hand to the town that my ancestors are from," Madonna tells PEOPLE. "My heart goes out to the families that have lost loved ones or their homes."
Madonna axes second Manchester show & Hamburg from tour itineary
3 April 2009Madonna.com posted a brand new press release, which focuses on unprecedented demand for her tickets, but in the end they list a "revised" tour schedule that unfortunately omits the 2nd Manchester date of July 8th and the Hamburg date of July 28th.
While no official explanation has been given, these shows were among the 2 three-nights-in-a-row parts of the itineary, so Live Nation will obviously use that as an excuse for the dates that didn't sell that well. Let's hope no other "non-sellout" dates are going to be canceled!
UPDATE: The tour section of Madonna.com reveals the schedule changes:
Due to the recent addition of the July 9th show in Paris, the previously scheduled performance for July 8th in Manchester has been cancelled. Refunds can be made at the point of purchase. There is no change to the July 7th show at Manchester's MEN Arena show.
As a result of the Oslo date change, the Sticky & Sweet tour will miss out on Hamburg this year. Madonna fans in Germany will still have the opportunity to see their superstar at the only German concert on August 18th at Munich Olympic Stadium. Tickets purchased for the July 28th concert previously scheduled for Bahrenfeld Horse Racing Trace will be fully refunded at the relevant box offices.
As already announced, due to overwhelming demand, a 2nd and final performance in Oslo was confirmed. However, due to logistical and scheduling changes, the Madonna's Sticky & Sweet performance previously schedule for 29-July will be moved to 28-July. Fans should keep their tickets as all July 29th tickets will be honoured at the July 28th event.
There is no change to the July 30th performance concert.
Malawi court rejects Madonna adoption request
Source: AP via Yahoo - 3 April 2009A judge has rejected Madonna's request to adopt a second child from Malawi because of a requirement that prospective parents live in the southern African nation for at least 18 months, a judge and a lawyer said Friday.
The judge who confirmed the decision did not make the ruling, but saw it. The lawyer was present when the ruling was made. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
The 50-year-old pop superstar can appeal the ruling to Malawi's Supreme Court.
The residency rule was waived in 2006, when Madonna was allowed to take her adopted son, David, to London before his adoption was finalized in 2008.
It was not clear why Judge Esme Chombo ruled differently Friday. Another judge had handled Madonna's previous adoption case. Madonna was not in court on Friday.
Madonna to bring Sticky & Sweet to Israel? *rumour*
2 April 2009The Israeli press claims that Madonna's management is in negotiations to bring the Sticky & Sweet Tour to Tel Aviv in early September. Supposedly the show would be sponsored by one of the biggest cellular telephone companies and reservations had already been made in one of the biggest hotels for her entourage.
Previously, Madonna performed in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1993 as part of the Girlie Show itineary. She intended to finish her 2004 Re-Invention Tour in the country, but was forced to cancel because of safety issues.
She still ended up visiting Israel after the tour, as seen in the I'm Going To Tell You A Secret documentary and participated in the international congress of the Kabbalah Centre and celebrated Rosh Hashana.
Malawi government backs Madonna adoption attempt
Source: Reuters via Yahoo - 2 April 2009Malawi's government supports U.S. pop singer Madonna's bid to adopt a second child from the southern African country, the information minister said on Thursday, a position likely to anger rights groups.
Malawi's High Court is expected to rule on Friday whether she should be granted an interim adoption of a four-year-old girl, Mercy James.
The government came under fire after Madonna adopted a 13-month-old Malawian child, David Banda, in 2006, with critics accusing it of skirting laws to give her special treatment.
Malawian Information Minister Patricia Kaliati said Madonna had helped in the country and was a worthy mother.
"Madonna has been good to us, she is supporting over 25,000 orphans in this country and she has proved that she can take care of David," Kaliati told Reuters.
"Very few rich and famous people can take time to fly all the way to Malawi to support our children we support her adoption process."
Malawi civil society groups oppose the adoption and a local human rights activist said it would amount to child trafficking.
Madonna, accompanied by David, arrived in Malawi on Sunday ahead of the court examination of her application.
The star, who was divorced last year from British film director Guy Ritchie, is one of the most successful singers of all time, with album sales of more than 200 million.
Habla español? Madonna goes to Zaragoza too *official*
Source: Madonna.com - 1 April 2009Madonna fans, we are happy to confirm that Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour will stop at Zaragoza's Recinto De La Feria De Zaragoza on July 25th. While the public ticket sale will start on April 3rd at 10am local time, please note that a devoted fan club pre sale will start on April 1st at 5pm local time [right now].
~ This summer, Madonna will be touring three different Spanish cities (Barcelona, Madrid & Zaragoza), something she hasn't done since the Blond Ambition Tour (when she visited Madrid, Vigo & Barcelona). Moreover, in 2008 the Sticky & Sweet Tour already made stops in Seville and Valencia. Is Madonna making up to Spanish fans for not bringing her Re-Invention Tour and Confessions Tour to them?
This is most likely the last tour stop to be added to the 2009 schedule. Unless Madonna still has a surprise in store...
Madonna 'not skirting legal issues' over adoption
Source: ContactMusic - 1 April 2009Madonna's attempt to adopt a second African child is not contravening any Malawian laws, according to the singer's publicist.
The 50-year-old attended a court hearing in Malawi on Monday and is expected to learn by the end of the week if she has been successful in adopting four-year-old Chifundo James.
Madonna caused controversy in 2006 when she adopted David Banda from Malawi, with some claiming the government ignored its own legislation against foreign adoption.
But despite human rights and child protection groups criticising Madonna's attempted adoption of Chifundo - whose name translates as Mercy in English - the Material Girl's publicist says the process is entirely above board.
"The adoption process for Mercy began over a year ago when Madonna met her on one of her visits to Malawi," Liz Rosenberg told the Reuters news agency in a statement.
"The connection was instant and profound. Madonna's desire to adopt Mercy is totally heartfelt."
Ms Rosenberg added: "She is not skirting any legal issues in her application to adopt this child and is looking to provide a loving family environment and the best education and health care possible for a child who has been in an orphanage since her birth."
Madonna is also the biological mother to Lourdes, 12, whose father is Carlos Leon and eight-year-old Rocco, her son with ex-husband Guy Ritchie.
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