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Madonna news - Oct. 2012
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Madonna gets 3 nominations for Billboard Touring Awards
Source: Billboard - 30 October 2012Finalists for the 2012 Billboard Touring Awards boast a diverse mix of genres, touring strategies, venue types, and positions on the career arc and their broad geographic footprint points to the increasingly global nature of the touring industry.
Among the finalists are mega-tours by such veteran artists as Roger Waters, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Madonna, Coldplay and Kenny Chesney, along with newer stars like Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum, the Black Keys and Taylor Swift.
The Billboard Touring Awards are primarily based on actual numbers reported to Billboard Boxscore, reflecting real business being done, as opposed to any sort of voting procedure. [...]
The finalists for the Top Tour, based on Boxscore gross, are Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's Wrecking Ball tour, Madonna's MDNA Tour and Roger Waters' The Wall Live tour.
Among the industry awards, finalists for Top Manager are Jon Landau Management (Springsteen), Mark Fenwick (Waters) and Guy Oseary (Madonna).
TOP TOUR
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Wrecking Ball
Madonna, MDNA
Roger Waters, The Wall Live
TOP MANAGER
Jon Landau Management (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
MFM/Mark Fenwick (Roger Waters)
Guy Oseary (Madonna)
CONCERT MARKETING & PROMOTION AWARD
Demi Lovato/Hallmark
Lady Antebellum/Lipton
Linkin Park/Honda Civic
Madonna/Smirnoff
Tim McGraw/Pennzoil
Zac Brown Band/Jack Daniel's
Madonna booed after touting Obama during New Orleans concert
Source: Detroit Free Press - 29 October 2012Madonna drew boos and triggered a walkout by several concertgoers after she touted President Obama on her MDNA Tour in New Orleans.
The Material Girl asked during Saturday night's performance: "Who's registered to vote?" She added: "I don't care who you vote for as long as you vote for Obama."
Drawing boos in touting Obama over Republican Mitt Romney, Madonna followed: "Seriously, I don't care who you vote for ... Do not take this privilege for granted. Go vote."
Madonna is often outspoken. Some Colorado fans, mindful of a mass shooting there, complained she used a fake gun to shoot a masked gunman in a recent concert act in Denver.
A Madonna concert in Paris in July drew ire when a video showed a swastika on a politician's forehead.
Madonna is UK's biggest-selling female single artist of all time
Source: Digital Spy - 29 October 2012Madonna has been named the biggest-selling female singles artist in UK chart history.
The iconic singer has sold over 17.8 million singles in the UK since her chart debut with Holiday back in January 1984.
The track peaked at number six and it wasn't until 1985 that Madonna claimed her first UK number one single with Into the Groove.
However, Rihanna is quickly catching up with the legendary performer after shifting 11.4 million singles in the UK in just seven years, reports The Official Charts Company .
The Bajan star has sold over 3 million singles in the UK over the last year alone and could realistically overtake Madonna's lead within the next two and half years.
Kylie Minogue is at number three will 10.2 million singles sold across her 25-year career, while Whitney Houston is at four (8.5m) and Lady GaGa is at five (7.329m).
The Official Biggest Selling Female Singles Artists of All Time are as follows:
1. Madonna (17.8m)
2. Rihanna (11.4m)
3. Kylie Minogue (10.2m)
4. Whitney Houston (8.5m)
5. Lady GaGa (7.329m)
6. Britney Spears (7.324m)
7. Beyoncé (6.9m)
8. Celine Dion (6.7m)
9. Mariah Carey (6.62m)
10. Olivia Newton John (6.61m)
'Broken' vinyl gets send out to ICONers
22 October 2012It was promised two years ago, but now ICON Platinum members finally got their gift: a beautiful vinyl of the previously unreleased song Broken. Recorded by Madonna and Paul Oakenfold, the song was cut from the Celebration album, but now it gets this exclusive release after all. The Limited Edition Vinyl Single contains the Original Extended Mix on Side A and the Instrumental Version on the B-side. The visuals are taken from the video background that Tom Munro did for Die Another Day on the Sticky & Sweet Tour. Inside, the lyrics of Broken are printed. The vinyl itself is in transparent pink.
Abel Korzeniowski gets 2012 World Soundtrack Academy Public Choice Award for W.E.
Source: World Soundtrack Academy - 20 October 2012 
The World Soundtrack Academy announced tonight the winners of the World Soundtrack Awards 2012, the closing event of the 39th Ghent Film Festival. Alberto Iglesias was chosen as Film Composer of the Year 2012, for his soundtracks for 'Le Moine' ('The Monk'), 'La Piel Que Habito' (The Skin I Live In) and 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'. He also went home with the award for Best Original Film Score of the Year for 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'. Brian Byrne received the World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written for Film for 'Lay Your Head Down' from the film 'Albert Nobbs'. Byrne also won the Discovery of the Year Award. The Public Choice Award went to Abel Korzeniowski for the film 'W.E.'. Pino Donaggio received a World Soundtrack Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by Mike Stoller.
The award ceremony took place in the presence of the Flemish Minister of Culture Joke Schauvliege and the Flemish Minister of Energy, Housing, Cities and Social Economy Freya Van den Bossche.
Congratulations Abel!
Something To Remember: Dita turns 20
20 October 2012Today it has been 20 years since Madonna released her Erotica album. The album came out as Madonna celebrated her first decade in the music industry. In the 80s, Madonna had caused quite a lot of controversy. Performing a song with the title "Like A Virgin" in a white wedding gown was enough to shock conservative America. Papa Don't Preach unwillingly started an debate on abortion. The Catholic church screamed blasphemy when the music video for Like A Prayer came out. And then there was the whole Blond Ambition Tour, with Madonna simulating masturbation while dressed in a pointed bra. But people who thought Madonna had now done it all, were in for quite a surprise.
On October 20th, 1992 Madonna released her most sexually explicit album ever. Where she had previously sung in metaphores, the Erotica album contained very explicit lyrics on various sexual acts. Madonna launched her alter-persona Dita and presented her most daring fantasies.
The title track, which served as debut single, was the embodiment of the album. The song narrated a sexual fantasy and left little to the imagination. The accompanying music video was immediately banned by MTV and was shown only a few times after midnight.
The other singles were less explicit. Deeper And Deeper became a disco dance record, while the uptempo cover of Peggy Lee's Fever got a single release too. Bad Girl was about a woman with lose sexual morals, but got her karma in the magnificent video. Rain was the only single that completely abandoned the sexual undertone.
The album was only part of the Erotica project. A day after the album release, Madonna also presented her famous Sex book, containing a series of explicit photographs exposing Madonna and her friends (among who were Naomi Cambell, Vanilla Ice, Big Daddy Kane and Isabella Rossellini)
Some months earlier, Madonna had already presented her raunchy Truth Or Dare documentary. And a year later, in 1993, she appeared in the S&M thriller Body Of Evidence, which was largely panned by critics.
Whether Madonna went too far or the world wasn't ready for her 'free love', is up for debate. Fact is that the backlash was huge. For the first time, Madonna's singles didn't top the charts. She got criticized, ignored, spit out. But the worst part was that the great music got overlooked. This era also produced some of the best Madonna videos ever made.
Among many fans, the Erotica era holds a special place. Madonna had pushed the boundaries of sexuality, giving her gay followers the re-assuring they could freely live their sexuality, and giving her female fans a sense of empowerment. And of course, the message came with many good songs and videos. Unfortunately, the era has mostly gotten shunned on recent tours, with a beautiful exception here and there.
MDNA sales in Ask Billboard
Source: Billboard - 20 October 2012Hi Gary,
I'm an avid Madonna fan, have been since her debut. I've noticed that her latest album, MDNA, has re-entered the Billboard 200 a couple of times recently, surely due to her touring the U.S. I'm curious to know exactly how many units it has sold and how it compares to her three prior albums: American Life (2003), Confessions On A Dance Floor (2005) and Hard Candy (2008). I truly believe that MDNA is a brilliant album and is suffering in sales due to poor singles choices and little radio airplay. I have not heard one track off the set on any top 40 radio station.
Thanks,
John O'Sullivan
Sacramento, California
Hi John,
I agree that MDNA is likely underrated, with Love Spent a potential hit that, sadly, may never get its chance as a single. Give Me All Your Luvin' and Girl Gone Wild peaked at Nos. 24 and 38, respectively, on Pop Songs. Third single Turn Up The Radio looks unlikely to chart. (Perhaps Superstar might?)
Madonna's current tour has seemingly spurred sales. Three weeks ago, as Madonna toured the East Coast, MDNA was No. 94 on the Billboard 200 - but No. 21 in Boston and No. 29 in New York, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
This week, MDNA re-enters the Billboard 200 at No. 181. The set has sold 512,000, trailing Hard Candy (744,000), Confessions (1.7 million) and Life (680,000). (Remember, though, that MDNA has been out for six months and sales were heftier earlier in the 2000s).
Madonna's MDNA show in Dallas October 20th is cancelled due to 'severe laryngitis'
Source: Madonna.com - 20 October 2012Madonna has been forced to cancel her Saturday, October 20th show at Dallas' American Airlines Center due to "severe laryngitis", it was announced today by the tour's promoter Live Nation.
Under doctor's orders, the Material Girl has been put on "complete vocal rest" for the next 36 hours. All tickets for the October 20th show to be refunded at the point of purchase. Tickets purchased online will refunded directly. Madonna regrets any inconvenience to her fans.
The second scheduled show in Dallas on Sunday, October 21st is expected to go on. There are a very limited number of seats currently available for that show.
For complete your information, visit: www.madonna.com and www.livenation.com
MDNA certified Gold in the US
Source: RIAA - 15 October 2012 Madonna's 13th studio album MDNA has just got a Gold certification in the US for shipments of 500,000 copies, according to the website of the RIAA. It is Madonna's 3rd consecutive Gold album, after Hard Candy and Celebration and is overall Madonna's 20th album to reach the treshold of Gold certification.
Madonna launches new fragrance Truth or Dare by Madonna Naked
Source: NST - 13 October 2012
Madonna will launch Truth or Dare by Madonna Naked, a new fragrance for women, in December. Truth or Dare Naked is a flanker to her debut fragrance, Truth or Dare, and was developed by the same perfumer, Stephen Nilsen.
Truth or Dare by Madonna Naked is a provocative and sexy scent that reveals Madonna's sensual inner qualities. Blending a sense of richness and flirty femininity, the fragrance is playful yet confident. A bold combination of creamy woodiness is paired with addictive vanilla nuances and sparkling florals for a scent that is immediately captivating.
Truth or Dare Naked is a woody floral; notes include honeysuckle, peach blossom, neroli, vanilla orchid, cocoa flower, lily of the valley, cedar, benzoin, oud accord and sandalwood.
Truth or Dare by Madonna Naked will be available in 50 and 75 ml Eau de Parfum.
Madonna dedicates L.A. performance to child activist shot in Pakistan
Source: Rolling Stone - 11 October 2012Jessica Alba, Heidi Klum, Neil Patrick Harris and Darren Criss were all in attendance at Wednesday's Staples Center show.
Madonna brought her eye-popping MDNA Tour to L.A.'s Staples Center on Wednesday night, where she dedicated a song to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani child activist shot in the head and neck on Tuesday by a masked member of the Taliban.
Dressed in a leather skirt and black beret, the music icon took a break from the evening's theatrics to tell the sold-out crowd of 18,000 that it was time "to have our serious chat."
"This made me cry," Madonna said. "The 14-year-old schoolgirl who wrote a blog about going to school. The Taliban stopped her bus and shot her. Do you realize how sick that is?"
"Support education! Support women!" she shouted, to the crowd's cheers of approval.
Yousafzai, one of the most outspoken and influential advocates for girls' rights to education in the Middle East, remains unconscious in a hospital since the shooting. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said of the assassination attempt, "Let this be a lesson," and pledged that the Taliban would try again to kill her should she survive her injuries.
Later in the show, Madonna performed a striptease, during which she turned her back to the audience to reveal the name "Malala" stenciled across it.
"This song is for you, Malala," she said, then launched into Human Nature.
At past tour stops, Madonna's back has read things like "Obama" -- which was accompanied by her controversial proclamation that the country had "a black Muslim in the White House" -- and "Pussy Riot," a reference to the punk rock group sentenced to two years in a Russian prison camp for a guerrilla performance in a Moscow cathedral.
One of the three convicted Pussy Riot members has since had her sentence suspended, but Madonna's thoughts were with the two who still sat behind bars.
"One thing I've realized during my travels is how lucky we Americans are," she told the L.A. audience. "We are for sure an imperfect country with an imperfect government. But I tell you -- the s--- I have seen in the Ukraine and in Russia... May I remind you that two members of Pussy Riot are still in jail. In St. Petersburg, 75 men were arrested for being gay."
But the serious talk was just a few minutes of a staggering, two-plus-hour multimedia spectacle, the likes of which the pop music world rarely sees.
Madonna, now 54, kept up impressively with her chorus of physically gifted (several literally double-jointed) dancers, ably commandeering a set heavy on new material that featured gothic monks, space samurai, a Tarantino-esque murder scene, Bollywood train surfing, an Art Deco voguing ball, a flying marching band and ... whew ... much more.
The star took some delight in taunting the L.A. crowd -- which included the likes of Jessica Alba, Heidi Klum, Neil Patrick Harris and Darren Criss of Glee -- by throwing around the dreaded "J" word.
"They say the people in L.A. are so jaded. That they're not excited about anything because they've seen it all and have done it all. True?" Madonna asked.
She then took the liberty of answering on behalf of the rowdy crowd. "F--- no!"
And the effort was a family affair, with son Rocco Ritchie grooving with mom to Open Your Heart -- a sweet nod to the song's classic music video -- and her other son, David Banda Ciccone Ritchie, joining her re-mixer Martin Solveig onstage for his pre-show DJ set.
Madonna plays a second show at the Staples Center on Thursday, then brings the tour to Las Vegas on Saturday for the first of two dates at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Madonna's MDNA tour by the numbers
Source: LA Times - 11 October 2012Madonna's MDNA tour has gotten plenty of ink for what the pop performer has done onstage.
But while bared breasts, firearms, religion, Nazi imagery and odd presidential endorsements have dominated conversations about the tour, Pop & Hiss is more interested in what keeps the show together.
Before her latest world tour stops at Staples Center on Wednesday and Thursday nights, we checked in with Team Madonna to gather some facts about what has gone into the show, which reportedly could become one of the top 10 biggest tours of all time.
Here's a breakdown of Madonna's MDNA show by the numbers:
2.1 million fans are expected to have seen the show by the time it wraps in South America.
72,000 fans saw Madonna's sold-out show in Quebec, the largest attendance of the entire tour.
16,630 miles of road were traveled during the U.S. leg alone.
700 wardrobe pieces are required for all the performers onstage.
410 bottles of aspirin have been used, so far, by the 130-person crew.
374 is the weight, in tons, of Madonna's massive stage.
116 minutes of approximate stage time for the Material Girl, unless she adds Holiday to the night's setlist.
90 speakers are hung onstage.
89 shows in total in 28 different countries -- 18 of those stops were in cities where Madonna had never performed.
29 trucks carry the tour's production (36 will be required for the South American leg).
24 guitars are used by Madonna and her band each night.
16 different salad dressings at required by the crew for nightly craft services.
15 buses to take the show from city to city.
9 drummers soar in the air during Express Yourself, with another 9 on the floor.
7 songs from Madonna's latest album, MDNA, are on the setlist.
4 customized microphones in gold, silver, chrome and black are used by Madonna during the show.
3 physical therapists are on hand for the 22 dancers.
1 son of Madonna, 12-year-old Rocco, also performs in the show.
Madge draws veil on terror bride
Source: The Sun - 9 October 2012IF there's one woman who doesn't take kindly to being told what to do, it's MADONNA.
Yet the singer has backed down from staging one of her most dangerous stunts yet — messing around with a traditional Muslim bridal costume.
Madge had planned to prance around in her new music video — and possibly on stage — dressed as a “Terror Bride” as a comment on women's oppression and war.
She already had the outfit — a mix of a traditional Iraqi bridal veil and a US soldier's uniform — stitched up to fit her and had tried it on.
But when Madge's advisers warned her the stunt was asking for trouble, she took the unusual step of backing down at the last minute.
A source said: “Madonna had the outfit ready to go. She was really proud of it and said it was her ‘Terror Bride' costume.
“She had paraded around in it and said she was going to wear it in her next music video.
“At first when people started telling her it was madness she just brushed it off.
“But when they mentioned that her actions could put her life at risk she decided to ditch it from her video and certainly won't be wearing it on stage.
“She was really disappointed as she was so adamant about it.
“And even when she said she wasn't going to go ahead she winked that it was being put aside ‘for now'.”
The video clearly wasn't intended for the track off her latest MDNA album I Don't Give A ... as she obviously does.
She will now change the next video to the inoffensive track Superstar.
Wise choice to drop it — but sad to see Madge censoring herself.
Over the decades she's withstood threats from everyone from stalkers to the Russian mafia and Muslim fanatics who despise her dedication to the Jewish Kabbalah sect.
And on her current tour she's been defying anti-gun lobbyists by gleefully blasting weapons on stage.
Some critics got especially worked up when she got her guns out at her Edinburgh gig in July — just 48 hours after the Batman cinema massacre in Colorado.
Madge's tour is still going strong and last night she played the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.
It has to be said Madge still likes a good row.
I wouldn't have liked to have been the messenger telling her the Terror Bride wasn't one of her brightest ideas.
~ Mad-Eyes: Please note that it's only a rumour that Superstar will be the next single. So far, nothing has been confirmed about any new single release.'Everybody' single turns 30!
6 October 2012
On October 6th, 1982 Sire Records released Madonna's debut single Everybody. The single sold about 250,000 copies. It only reached #107 on the US Billboard chart, but it made it to #3 on the dance charts.
The song only made it into a tour setlist twice. It was the 4th song performed on the Virgin Tour. Eight years later, it served as the final encore on the Girlie Show. Although it was sampled on the Blond Ambition Tour and Sticky & Sweet Tour, it wasn't performed on tour in the past decade. The last live performance was during the Confessions promo tour at London's G.A.Y club, Koko club, and Studio Coast in Tokyo. It was also her final song at the Coachella Festival.
Of course, Everybody's most important value is the symbolic start of Madonna's career. Happy 30th, Everybody, and many happy returns!
Marlon Brando estate to sue over Vogue performance
Source: Spin - 1 October 2012Turns out being a Material Girl doesn't protect you from getting shook down by the ethereal world. Marlon Brando's estate wants $300,000 from Madonna for her use of the deceased star's image on her 2012 tour.
Her 1990 megahit Vogue famously lists off the names of the famous — "Greta Garbo, and Monroe / Dietrich and DiMaggio / Marlon Brando, Jimmy Dean / On the cover of a magazine." — and during live performances, she flashes their likeness across the stage in time with the lyrics. This is indeed a privilege that Madge pays for.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, when she did the song at the Super Bowl in February, Madonna dolled out $3,750 each to the relevant estates, which included those listed above, along with Jean Harlow, Lana Turner, Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Gene Kelly, and Grace Kelly. As it turns out, most of those estates are repped by a single Indiana-based company called CMG Worldwide, but Brando's is not. At the time, Madonna's touring company Bhakti worked with CMG to negotiate with Brando's people, but when it came time to approach the topic again for her current tour, well, that's when everything went to shit.
First, the fee per dead star was upped to $5,000 per appearance. No big. But then Brando Enterprises' legal team at Brand Sense Partners apparently smelled blood in the water and insisted on $20,000 instead. But each celebrighoul entered this unholy agreement with a "most favored nation" clause, which means that they're all paid the same no matter what. And suddenly, Madonna's cost per show for that one song became a potential $200,000 total, give or take. CMG sued Brando for breach of contract, and now Brando's people have moved the case to a federal court in Indianapolis.
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