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Madonna news - April 2013
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Madonna Fashion Exhibit to open at Macy's
Source: Madonna.com - 23 April 2013 
Madonna, Material Girl and Macy's are offering consumers the ultimate insider experience with the unveiling of a thrilling one day pop-up fashion exhibit, "Madonna's Fashion Evolution" at Macy's in Century City, California. On Thursday, April 25th, from 6-8pm, several of Madonna's most iconic fashion items including her infamous Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra corset from her Blonde Ambition Tour, her Re-Invention Tour ensemble by Christian Lacroix, her Like A Virgin wedding dress, and other legendary pieces will be on display for fans to get a firsthand view of the evolution of Madonna's fashion. The exhibit will take place surrounded by the hugely successful fashion forward Material Girl line that Madonna created exclusively for Macy's with her daughter, Lola.
Madonna personally handpicked eight of her favorite costumes from a vast archive of tour costumes and her personal collection for the one day pop-up exhibition. Madonna and the Material Girl team went to great efforts to gather these iconic pieces for the exhibition, which marks the first time these items have been displayed together for the public to view. The cone bustiers were flown in from a Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit in Amsterdam, her Like A Virgin wedding dress is on loan from the legendary Hard Rock, while the remaining items are from Madonna's personal archives.
"The pop-up exhibit at Macy's perfectly exemplifies the inspiration and spirit of the Material Girl line and will give my fans a great opportunity to see the evolution of my style over the years," commented Madonna.
Arianne Phillips, Madonna's longtime collaborator, styled and helped to curate the exhibit. About the Like A Virgin wedding dress Madonna wore to the MTV VMA's in 1984, Phillips commented, "This was one of the most shocking, liberating and influential moments in pop culture/fashion history." "Fashion has never been the same. Bold and unforgiving, humorous and shocking, we can depend on Madonna to challenge us to rethink fashion. Madonna has taken sacred garments like the wedding dress and religious embellishments, and re-contextualized them," she added.
"It's a magical thing to bring all these iconic pieces together in one place," said Dari Marder chief marketing officer at Iconix Brand Group, Inc. "This will show customers how influential Madonna has been to fashion and how that influences Material Girl today," she added.
"We are so thrilled to bring this unique experience exclusively to Macy's customers," said Martine Reardon, Macy's chief marketing officer. "An homage to Madonna's revolutionary style and influence on our Material Girl collection, 'Madonna's Fashion Evolution' pop-up exhibit offers a rare opportunity to see some of her most iconic looks curated together in a never-before-seen display."
Madonna gets 3 nominations at Billboard Music Awards 2013
Source: Billboard - 22 April 2013Madonna received 3 nominations at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, which will air live on Sunday, May 19 beginning at 8/7c on ABC from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Madonna is nominated in the category 'Top Touring Artist', together with Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen and Roger Waters.
In the category 'Top Dance Artist', Madonna competes against David Guetta, Calvin Harris, Skrillex and Swedish House Mafia.
MDNA is nominated for 'Top Dance Album', against Nothing But The Beat (David Guetta), Deadmau5, Sorry For Party Rocking (LMFAO) and Bangarang (Skrillex).
The Billboard Music Awards finalists were based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital singles sales, radio airplay, touring, streaming and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, VEVO, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music.
The award show will be presented by comedic actor Tracy Morgan.
Something To Remember: Am I gonna be a star?
22 April 2013Ten years ago today, on April 22nd, 2003 Madonna released her tenth studio album. 20 years after her debut, American Life turned out to be her most interesting yet most misunderstood effort. Right up from the Che Guevara-inspired artwork, combined with the video of the title track, everyone assumed Madonna was just being opportunistic and comment on the war in Iraq, but the pictures of the booklet can be interpreted in a more simple way: Madonna rebelling against expectations created by fans and critics alike. She continued to work with Mirwais instead of once again being pressured to find something new and she composed, arranged and produced the whole record almost solely with Mirwais, just adding a little help from Guy Sigsworth, Mark Spike Stent, Stuart Price, Monte Pittman and Michel Colombier. Because of that, it's her most consistent record in her discography, unmatched by any of her other entries.
With a slight exaggeration the album is just Madonna's voice accompanied by an acoustic guitar and sometimes strings, yet it does not feel like lazy, repetitive or boring. Breaking the formula are I'm So Stupid that's directly a result of Madonna embracing the electric guitar on tour and the only two real dance-club tracks Nobody Knows Me & Die Another Day that logically continued the sound Madonna & Mirwais created for the Music album. The subject matters of most songs were contradictory combining both disappointment and hopefulness, regarding both society and Madonna's own private life. The latter best described by the sweet but confident Intervention that's layered by different messages.
Even though Madonna went out of her way to promote American Life with several tv performances and low-key appearances in intimate settings, showing off not only her brunette looks but also her less-theatrical and calculated live performances, the album and its singles didn't really make a dent due to the focus on the first video, the un-commercial nature of the lead-off single, and let's not kid ourselves, because Madonna had been on top for so long that the media and the industry was no longer interested in supporting her fame and success. Unfortunately many people jumped on the bandwagon and labeled Madonna as out of style and lost many fans in the process. Madonna and her record label did not want to give in and continued to please the dedicated fans with several more singles and a host of remixes, including the famous Hollywood remix by Stuart Price. That single also had a memorable video with Madonna dressed up in several striking styles, but the lack of video for the gospel-tinged Nothing Fails is considered as one of the biggest mistakes in her career.
Unfortunately the album did not get to shine either on the Re-Invention Tour a year later as its tracks were drowned in a sea of hits, focusing more on Madonna's catalog instead. Fortunately the performances of Nobody Knows Me, American Life and Nothing Fails were true show-stoppers, but after this tour, American Life was relegated to video interludes on her treks, it seems unlikely that she'd ever perform an American Life song live again. On the flipside, the 2009 Celebration compilation treated the album equal by including Hollywood, one of Madonna's best tracks of the past decade.
American Life remains not only a highlight in Madonna's career, but in my opinion, one of the biggest musical artistic achievements in our lifetime. It's also remembered for being the album Madonna spent the most time on, yet disrupted the process by movie and theatrical projects, further fueling the paradox in fans' minds about whether they will enjoy an album based on how much time Madonna spends on making it...
Madonna to be banned from Russia?
Source: The Inquisitr - 18 April 2013Madonna looks set to be banned from from Russia all because she lent her support to the pop group Pussy Riot.
The pop icon voiced her backing for the anti-Vladimir Putin protest group, and she has continually spoken in favor of gay rights too.
Madonna actually performed in Moscow and St. Petersburg last year, but now various Russian officials have claimed that any visa she applies for would not be granted, and the one she currently possesses does not allow her to work for money in the country.
An MP for the country claimed that Madonna was guilty of "illegal commercial activity." It was at the concerts in Russia where she said she backed the two Pussy Riot singers that were jailed after they protested President Putin.
The Foreign Ministry for Russia states, "Invitations and visas for the purpose of cultural ties are issued to foreigners who come to Russia to develop cultural cooperation and to participate in non-commercial art exhibitions festivals and guest performances."
A local MP, Vitaly Milonov now wants to check the legality of Madonna's entry into the country, citing that she didn't fit in with the above document.
After hearing her support of Pussy Riot and gay rights last year, members of the St. Petersburg public filed lawsuits against the singer and her concert organizers. However, in November 2012, a court dismissed each of the nine suits which were for around $10.6 million.
Madonna remains deeply committed to the children of Malawi
Source: Madonna.com - 12 April 2013There have been many reports regarding Madonna's recent visit to Malawi. Some of these reports include inaccurate information and accusations by the Malawian Government on Madonna's character and the work of her foundation Raising Malawi. Despite the accusations, Madonna and her organization Raising Malawi remains committed to the health and education of the children of Malawi.
"I was very happy to visit with the children of Malawi earlier this month and to see with my own eyes the ten new primary schools in Kasungu province that Raising Malawi and buildOn completed this past year. These schools are now educating more than 4,800 children with girls attending in equal numbers. These children who were formerly learning outside on the ground, in unsafe buildings or not at all, now get to attend classes on a daily basis. My children and I were overjoyed to visit these schools and see what amazing progress has been made. I will continue to follow through on my commitment to help educate the children of Malawi. I'm saddened that Malawi's President Joyce Banda has chosen to release lies about what we've accomplished, my intentions, how I personally conducted myself while visiting Malawi and other untruths. I have no intentions of being distracted by these ridiculous allegations. I came to Malawi seven years ago with honorable intentions. I returned earlier this month to view the new schools we built. I did not ever ask or demand speial treatment at the airport or elsewhere during my visit. I will not be distracted or discouraged by other people's political agendas. I made a promise to the children of Malawi and I am keeping that promise" commented Madonna.
Madonna originally planned on building a Girls Academy in the impoverished country but realized that a more sustainable model would be to build smaller schools in villages around the country with buildOn who have had 20 years of success building schools in Africa. The original team that Raising Malawi first put in place included Anjimile Oponyo, the sister of Malawi's current President Joyce Banda. Due to major organizational problems that occurred during that time, the original team was disbanded. President Banda has since appointed her sister to a senior post within the Ministry of Education. Madonna's decision to change course on her education projects has subsequently been met by deep resistance from Oponyo, the President, and the Ministry of Education. But Madonna is not letting politics stand in the way of her deep commitment to help build schools there and educate as many children as possible.
In addition to the school projects, Raising Malawi has spent millions of dollars in Malawi to support orphans and vulnerable children through multiple community-based organizations. This includes Home of Hope which supported 595 beneficiaries including orphans, vulnerable children and their caregivers in 2012 alone. Raising Malawi also supports Dr. Eric Borgstein, one of three pediatric surgeons in Malawi. Dr. Borgstein performed more than 500 surgeries in 2012 alone and he sees thousands of children each year.
Malawi pictures of Madonna and her 4 kids
Source: Metro - 2 April 2013Madonna has paid a family visit to Malawi to show her adopted children their country of birth. The singer, reported to be the single largest charitable donor to the African country, adopted her son David Banda and daughter Mercy James from Malawi.
The singer’s manager has said that the family are visiting 10 schools that have been built with Madonna's money and the organisation BuildOn. Madonna and her children, including biological daughter and son Lourdes and Rocco, attended a class and meet some of the pupils at the school.
Madonna makes surprise visit to Malawi schools
Source: Daily Mail - 2 April 2013Madonna has brought her adopted children Mercy and David back to their native Malawi for the first time in two years.
The Material Girl, 54, flew into the South East African nation on Monday morning via private jet, according to government sources.
It wasn't clear if she brought her older children Lourdes and Rocco, however Madonna had previously promised Malawi's court she would bring back Mercy and David to visit the country of their birth 'every two or three years'.
A source at the exclusive Kumbali Lodge in Lilongwe, which is where Madonna has stayed on previous visits, said all guests had been checked out and they were preparing around a dozen rooms.
A source at the Lodge said: 'All the guests who had checked into the lodge were asked to check out on Thursday and we are not checking in any new guests now.'
After flying in at 10am on Monday morning, Madonna and her party were driven to the western border district of Mchinji, which is where the singer adopted her first child David Banda in 2006.
The superstar adopted Mercy James from the eastern district of Zomba in 2009.
It is unclear whether Madonna will meet David's biological father Yohane James, who met up with David on a previous visit in 2009.
At the time, the peasant farmer, who gave David up for adoption when his wife died weeks after childbirth, revealed his son did not recognise him.
Meanwhile, Mercy's surviving relations grandmother Lucy Chekechiwa and uncle Peter Baneti are hoping to see the eight-year-old.
Baneti said: 'No one told me anything about Madonna's visit. I hope she has brought Mercy, we desperately want to be reunited with her.'
When Madonna first adopted David in October 2006, it was a smooth process.
However, when she adopted Mercy, a judge initially rejected the initial attempt to adopt the child on the grounds that Madonna not continuously lived in Malawi for two years prior to the adoption as required by law.
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