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Madonna news - May 2017
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Madonna parties with Bono and Stella McCartney at Noel Gallagher’s 50th bash
Source: Hello Magazine - 29 May 2017Madonna gave her fans a rare glimpse inside an A-list party this weekend, when she shared a photo from Noel Gallagher's 50th birthday party on her Instagram page. In the picture, Madonna can be see with her famous friends Bono of U2 and fashion designer Stella McCartney. The three pals looked to be having a great time at the private bash for Oasis singer Noel, who turns 50 on Monday.
Madonna looks fantastic in the picture, wearing a fun black blouse by Dolce and Gabbana, which features pictures of cocktails. Her long, blonde hair is worn down and the star's make-up is glamourous with a strong black eyeliner. Bono wore his trademark coloured glasses and Stella was dressed in black with her hair down like Madonna's.
Beside the photo, Madonna wrote: "Worlds collided at Noel Gallagher's birthday Bash!” with a series of celebration and heart emojis. The singer's fans loved the photo of the three stars, with one commenting: “Wow what a pic. M, Bono and Stella love, love, love it." Another follower said: "Bono and Madonna!! The two I've seen the most in concert... love their music and what they do to make peoples life's better." A third fan wrote: "If Madonna and Noel are best mates, this is the best thing I've heard all week." We can only imagine the other famous faces who attended the exclusive party.
Noel and Madonna's perhaps surprising friendship goes back a few years. In 2015, Noel revealed that his wife Sara MacDonald is a huge fan of Madonna's. Speaking about the singer's fall down steps at the Brit Awards that year, he told Vogue magazine: “"I think it was just her ego that was bruised. I'm not sure she was bashed up all that bad. She was nice though. My wife is a superfan - my wife honestly thinks that she is one of the greatest human beings that has ever lived." When asked for his view on the Holiday singer, Noel replied: "She's nice. She's very nice."
Details of Rebel Heart Tour release
Source: BBFC - 26 May 2017The website BBFC has posted the following details for the commercial release of the Rebel Heart Tour recording:
TYPE OF MEDIA Video
APPROVED RUNNING TIME 138m 16s
RELEASE DATE 15/09/2017
BBFCINSIGHT strong language, sex references, drug references
GENRE(S) Documentary, Music
DIRECTOR(S) Nathan Rissman,Danny Tull,Steven Klein
CAST INCLUDES Madonna, Kevin Antunes, Kupono Aweau, Allauné Blegbo, Lil Buck, Derreck Bullock
CUT This work was passed uncut.
This work is made up of a number of separate components:
Zac Efron on the time he met Madonna, reveals: 'She tapped this'
Source: E! Online - 26 May 2017While chatting about his upcoming film “Baywatch” with Jimmy Kimmel, Zac Efron reveals even he couldn’t resist the power of Madonna.
The “High School Musical” alum told the talk show host he was at a UFC fight in New York City where he was conveniently seated next to the Queen of Pop.
“The seats are named as you get to the centre of the ring, and I was ring side so I was really very close to this fight,” he reveals. “I keep getting closer and closer and I wasn’t seeing my name, and then I see several famous people’s names until I see ‘Madonna’, ‘Zac Efron’, and I was like ‘what?’. I was like ‘I’m next to Madonna for this entire fight.'”
But Kimmel wasn’t about to let Efron get away without spilling more juicy details, “Is it possible that she was trying to have sex with you?” he asked. “Is it possible that Madonna maybe switched the signs so that maybe you would be seated together, because Madonna is an irresistible person. When she sets her sights on someone, there’s no escaping.”
While Efron slowly got more embarrassed, he confessed she’s hard to turn down, “She is captivating in that way. I can’t confirm or deny that,” Efron spilled. “Madonna was lovely, she is amazing. She’s rad. She tapped me, she tapped this.”
Queen of Pop ‘wants to live in Portugal’
Source: The Portugal News - 26 May 2017Speculation is mounting that Madonna could become the latest A-list celebrity to take up residence in Portugal after she has been seen out and about in the Portuguese capital on various occasions with her children.
Reports in the national media suggest the ‘Queen of Pop’ could be looking to make a more permanent move to this country, after she was spotted at the Lisbon Oceanarium and on Comporta beach, as well as having uploaded photos of her stay at the Lisbon Ritz to her Instagram account.
Madonna is believed to have been in Portugal for at least a week, accompanied by her adopted twin daughters Stella and Esther, and her older adopted children, Mercy and David Banda.
The most recent media buzz is that the 58-year-old singer has “fallen in love with a luxury estate,” reportedly worth €18 million, in Sintra, as per newspaper Correio da Manhã, which she could be looking to make her new home.
The newspaper claims the hit-maker has looked at various properties during her stay in Portugal, but it was the 42-hectare, 16th century Quinta do Vinagre estate in Colares, Sintra, which stole her heart.
Complete with a tennis court, chapel, swimming pool and seven hectares of vines with its own wine cellar, the property further comprises two palatial buildings which would offer more than enough space to accommodate Madonna and her brood.
The singer is also said to have met with Lisbon Mayor, Fernando Medina, as well as with representatives of the national tourism board.
Other reports suggest moves have already been made to enrol her four youngest children in a private school in the capital, while more Instagram photos have emerged of David Banda recently training with the Benfica under-12s team, in Seixal.
Should she decide to up sticks and move to Portugal, Madonna would join a growing list of international celebrities making Lisbon their home, including actress, Monica Belucci and actor, Michael Fassbender.
Matthew Modine remembers Madonna's 'Vision Quest' scene: 'She looked like Boy George'
Source: Yahoo! News - 22 May 20171985 was the year a rising pop star named Madonna went supernova thanks to her starring role in the hit comedy Desperately Seeking Susan and her first blockbuster North American concert tour. But the singer didn't look like the next big music sensation when she turned up on the set of the high school wrestling movie Vision Quest — which was released in February 1985, two months before Susan and the Virgin Tour — to film a small role as a nightclub singer serenading the movie's stars, Matthew Modine and Linda Fiorentino.
"She looked like Boy George," Modine tells Yahoo Movies. "The producers were saying this girl was going to be such a big star, but I remember people not really being impressed.” Even her songs left listeners cold. First, she performed the largely forgotten "Gambler," followed by "Crazy for You," which has since become a staple of proms around the world, but slightly underwhelmed listeners at the time. "We thought, 'Oh, that's a sweet song,'" Modine says of hearing that slow dance anthem for the first time.
Within a year, though, the actor discovered just how big a star Madonna had become. While visiting Rome to discuss a potential film role, Modine saw a giant poster of the singer's face, with "Crazy for You" printed in Italian. "I thought, 'Oh, she must be doing a concert here.' But then I looked at the poster a little bit closer and at the bottom I saw myself [in a scene from the film] with my arms in the air. The movie had gone from being a Matthew Modine movie that Madonna was in to a Madonna movie that Matthew Modine was in! That's how fate would have it."
Watch Madonna's "Crazy for You" video from Vision Quest:
Thirty-two years later, Vision Quest's Madonna-scored montages are among the highlights of a teen sports movie that’s clearly made in the image of The Karate Kid— a box-office sensation the year prior — but has its own unique moves. Available for the first time on Blu-ray, Vision Quest is notable for how it avoids giving the underdog hero, Lowden Swain (Modine), a Cobra Kai-style nemesis to defeat on the wrestling mat. Instead, his final opponent, Brian Shute (Frank Jasper), is presented as a decent guy who is on his own "vision quest" — a self-imposed rite of passage that leads teenagers into adulthood. In Lowden's case, that quest involves dropping 22 pounds to wrestle Brian, who is in a lower weight class.
And when the two meet before their climactic match, Shute reveals himself to be anything but a Johnny Lawrence clone. "He's a good athlete trying to be the best athlete," Modine says of Jasper's character. "He's not this monster Lowden is going to slay. Anyone who has ever put on a wrestling singlet knows that the person you're actually wrestling is yourself. It's about discovering what your own personal strengths and weaknesses are." In fact, in the novel that inspired the film, author Terry Davis declined to reveal the outcome of the Swain vs. Shute throwdown, from which Lowden emerges the victor onscreen.
"It's just about him achieving his goal of being there to wrestle Brian," Modine says. "Of course, with a movie we want a little bit more than that. We want that euphoric moment of seeing a person accomplishing their goal. There's been talk about remaking this movie, but I think whenever a screenwriter tries to approach it from a 2017 perspective, it's impossible to make. The world that Lowden Swain exists in is so different than the world we live in today."
'Vision Quest': Watch a promo:
Madonna's best live vocals
Source: Popcrush - 18 May 2017What can we say? She's the Queen of Pop.
The inimitable Madonna has entertained the globe for well over 30 years and counting with myriad hit singles from "Everybody" to "Living for Love," dozens of unforgettable looks, iconic performances and acclaimed world tours that have rightfully earned her the title of highest-grossing female touring artist in Billboard history.
While the "Like A Prayer" legend has always made headlines for controversy (and occasionally outrage), it's easy to forget that, underneath all of the spectacle and sass, there's a talented singing-and-dancing superstar who hungrily worked her way up from pennies in her pocket to pure pop royalty — and it all started with her incredibly emotive and distinct voice, from fronting bands in New York City to selling out arenas worldwide.
It's no easy task, but we've amassed some of Madge's greatest live performances as part of our ongoing Best Live Vocals series, from her earliest years stirring up controversy while writhing in a wedding dress on MTV all the way up to her stirring rendition of "La Vie En Rose" on the Rebel Heart Tour.
And these are her best dance breaks, according to Popcrush:
Forbes names Madonna wealthiest female musician of 2017
Source: Forbes - 18 May 2017It's become a yearly tradition, where Madonna leads Forbes' list of America's wealthiest female musicians of the year.
1. Madonna ($580 million)
Her Rebel Heart tour, which ended in March 2016, grossed $170 million. She also cashes in on clothing and perfume. A savvy spender, Madonna has scooped up New York real estate and fine art--reportedly including works by Picasso and Man Ray--as well as a stake in Jay Z's Tidal streaming service.
She's joined in the top 5 by:
2. Celine Dion ($400 million)
3. Barbra Streisand ($390 million)
4. Beyoncé ($350 million)
5. Taylor Swift ($280 million)
Inside Madonna's 'Express Yourself' video on its 28th anniversary
Source: Entertainment Weekly - 17 May 2017When you're the queen of pop, only the most over-the-top music video will do. So for the second single off her Like a Prayer album, Madonna teamed up with director David Fincher, who was working almost exclusively on music videos at the time. (It'd be another six years before he broke big as a film director, with Se7en.)
Inspired by Fritz Lang's dystopian film Metropolis, the clip starred Madonna as a crotch-grabbing doyenne of a factory filled with enslaved shirtless Adonises, most notably model Cameron Alborzian (who's now a noted yogi). Not surprisingly, "Express Yourself" was an instant sensation on MTV — and, at the time, the most expensive video ever made — raking in accolades for its flipping of gender norms. "Madonna was a strong female presence," says producer Gregg Fienberg. "In that video she really stepped into the forefront, promoting women's power."
Twenty-eight years after the video's worldwide release, on May 17, 1989, EW talked to Alborzian to learn some secrets from the set.
That cat was a champ…
To cope with working as late as 4 a.m., Alborzian adopted an inspirational mantra: "I thought, ‘If the cat can get through this, then I can too,'" he says. But unlike the model, the feline had a stand-in. "It was very professional, but it could only work a certain amount of hours."
…but also a troublemaker
"There were quite a few takes," Alborzian recalls of one of the video's most memorable shots, in which Madonna drenches herself in milk. "Because it was liquid, we had to take it five, six, seven times to get it right. It's tricky when you have liquid and a cat in a scene."
Madonna was a little naughty…
Despite having to simulate sex with a pop star, Alborzian insists there was nothing awkward about their love scene. "Madonna likes to play, so it made things a lot more fun," he says. "She was probably more naked than she needed to be."
…and she was a blast to hang with
Alborzian recalls an upbeat, social vibe on set: "[Madonna's then boyfriend] Warren Beatty was there, Herb Ritts was there, it was just an amazing time. We hung out in each other's trailers and she was very positive about life, just living it up."
Unauthorized 'Behind Me' track removed from online music stores
Source: Gay Times - 16 May 2017The Queen of Pop's fans were given an unexpected surprise over the weekend, but not all was as it seemed.
A "new" Madonna song appeared on iTunes on Friday, but now it has been removed from the store, as well as numerous streaming services.
Titled Behind Me, die-hard fans instantly recognised the song as an unreleased demo called Two Steps Behind Me, which leaked back in 2014.
Madonna recorded the track for her 2015 album Rebel Heart, but never finished it for the final collection.
This new version that was briefly put on sale for a few days featured a guest verse from Guido Dos Santos.
Despite it having a low-key unofficial release with no major promotion, the track still managed to chart in 17 countries on iTunes.
In fact, it peaked within the Top 50 in eight of those territories.
However, it seems Madonna's team caught wind of the unofficial release as the song was finally removed from sale on Monday.
Rebel Heart Tour dvd/blu-ray/live album will be released on September 15
Source: Official press release/Udiscovermusic - 12 May 2017As the top grossing touring female artist in the history of Billboard, Madonna sure knows how to draw a crowd. Her record-breaking Rebel Heart Tour showed the Material Girl at the top of her game, taking her on a whirlwind tour of 55 cities across four continents over the course of seven months.
Luckily all of Madonna's signature visual theatrics, extravagant costumes and awe-inspiring choreography were captured on film for the concert documentary, Madonna: Rebel Heart Tour, which initially aired on Showtime and now will be available on DVD for the first time on 15 September.
Photo courtesy of Josh Brandao
Co-directed by Danny B. Tull and Nathan Rissman, the film was recorded around the world and features both live and behind-the-scenes material, as well as previously unreleased footage culminating with performances at the Sydney Qudos Bank Arena in Australia in March of 2016.
The Queen Of Pop has also announced a new live album featuring 22 songs from the Rebel Heart Tour, available on double-CD and digital download, as well as the concert film via DVD and Blu-ray with bonus content.
The tracklist for the film and live concert album spans all decades of her illustrious career, including songs from her chart-topping Rebel Heart album to new interpretations of her classic fan favourites and timeless hits. The tour itself grossed $169.8m with 1,045,479 in attendance and reaffirmed Madonna's pop culture dominance. Popcrush described the spectacle of the Rebel Heart Tour thusly:
"The concert is a massive all-out explosion of song, dance and depravity with vague social commentary, proving for the umpteenth time that Madonna is, was and truly always will be the Queen."
Madonna has made a career pushing boundaries and testing the limits of what artists can and cannot do. For the Rebel Heart Tour she pulled out all the stops, whether it's playing a Flying V for 'Burning Up', singing Edith Piaf's ballad 'La Vie En Rose' in French or doing intricate choreography in full samurai gear, the unstoppable renaissance woman shows us all of the "blood, sweat and tears" that goes into just being Madonna.
Artwork by Aldo Diaz
Alfred Haber acquires broadcast rights for Rebel Heart Tour special
Source: Rapidtvnews - 12 May 2017Alfred Haber Distribution has secured the exclusive international rights to the two-hour Showtime television special, Madonna: Rebel Heart Tour.
Shot around the world and featuring a collection of live and behind-the-scenes footage culminating in performances at the Sydney Olympic Park, the show includes new hits and the beloved classic songs.
"Madonna has remained the reigning Queen of Pop by being relevant, controversial and an influential voice in pop music," said founder Alfred Haber. "This seven-time GRAMMY Award winner is one of the most exciting artists to have ever performed on stage, and we are extremely proud to be offering this special to broadcasters around the world."
The set list spans all decades of the iconic superstar's career, including songs from Rebel Heart (the No 1 dance hits Living for Love and Bitch I'm Madonna) to classic fan favourites like Material Girl, Holiday and a Dress You Up medley that includes Into The Groove, Everybody and Lucky Star. Memorable highlights from the tour include her first-ever live concert performance of Take a Bow, as well as acoustic versions of Like A Prayer, Secret and Don't Tell Me.
Patti LuPone: 'Madonna is a movie killer'
Source: Huffington Post - 10 May 2017Now that's blunt.
Patti LuPone assessed Madonna's acting skills on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" Tuesday night ― and she didn't sugarcoat a thing.
The takedown started when LuPone, a two-time Tony and Grammy winner with extensive film and TV credits, was asked about Madonna's performance in the 1996 movie "Evita". LuPone played the title role in the original Broadway production.
"I thought it was a piece of shit," LuPone replied. "Madonna is a movie killer. She's dead behind the eyes. She couldn't act her way out of a paper bag. She should not be on film or on stage. She's a wonderful performer for what she does, but she is not an actress."
The Material Girl has not appeared in a lead onscreen role in a movie since 2002's "Swept Away", according to Box Office Mojo.
HuffPost reached out to a Madonna rep for comment.
Mad-Eyes:
Note that LuPone has based her opinion on the music video for Buenos Aires, not the entire movie. It's also ironic that Madonna talked about Patti LuPone during her interview with MTV's Kurt Loder after the Evita release.
When Madonna had her vocal classes from the same vocal coach as Patti LuPone. According to that vocal coach Joan Lader Patti had said she believed Madonna would do a good job. "So there you go, Italian chicks supporting for each other!", Madonna joked to Kurt Loder. It seems Patti forgot about that loyalty 20 years later...
Guy Ritchie: 'Madonna divorce was like a death'
Source: Sunday World - 10 May 2017Guy Ritchie says the breakdown of his marriage to Madonna was "like a death".
Although the 48-year-old director is now happily married to Jacqui Ainsley, 35, he admitted that his divorce from Madonna, 58 - the mother of his sons Rocco and David - in 2008 was tough.
He told the Mail on Sunday's Event magazine:
"A marriage breakdown is a death. That is all I can say. Now I just want to say positive things about her. I don't regret being married to her, I don't, you know, not in the slightest.
"She's a wonderful mother and has been very good to the kids, and her new kids, the twins, will have a wonderful education and receive lots of love. No one could say anything negative about that."
Meanwhile, Rocco was arrested for possession of cannabis at the age of 16 last year and Guy admitted he took drugs when he was a teenager but does not condone it.
He said:
"Hallucinogens was what I was interested in, so mushrooms, LSD, and smoking a lot of weed. But it runs its course, and then one day I was all done. By the age of 19 I was finished with drugs.
"It was a shift in consciousness. It's a dirty world out there. Everyone's got a bucket that can accommodate a certain amount of filth and eventually my bucket got filled. They were things I began to find repugnant for the soul and the psyche. I could no longer entertain anyone who was up to some form of shenanigans. It's a world full of people having to dodge the law, but my intolerance of filth now is so unambiguous, and for that I'm grateful.
"It's simple: I don't condone anything that's illegal or dangerous. I'm not ambiguous about that. If you live in one of the busiest, most sophisticated cities in the world there is an endless deluge of opportunities and temptations. Everyone has to go on their own journey to navigate their way past that gauntlet."
Madonna and Jeremy Scott in the MET Gala dance booth
Source: MadonnaVevo - 3 May 2017MET Gala: The most dramatic fashion photography, featuring a daring Madonna
Source: W Magazine - 3 May 2017With Rei Kawakubo's genre-defying, silhouette-defying Comme des Garçons as the subject of the 2017 Met Gala, it was anyone's guess how fashion insiders and celebrities would interpret her avant-garde aesthetic on the red carpet. It ranged from the perfectly on-theme—Rihanna—to the fantastical—Katy Perry in custom Margiela, with a veil reading "Witness" across her forehead—to the classic—co-chair Gisele Bündchen in silver Stella McCartney.
Then Madonna arrived, Moschino's Jeremy Scott on her arm, and shut the whole thing down—as is her wont. (It's not known as the Oscars of fashion for nothing, a night where you need to bring your A-game.) While you're catching up on all the night's highlights, see every angle of fashion's most exclusive, decadent red carpet, as captured by photographer Benedict Evans.
Madonna at the Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between, Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by Benedict Evans. Visual Editor: Biel Parklee.
It gets crazier! Madonna changes into camo slacks and COMBAT BOOTS for Met Gala post party
Source: Daily Mail - 3 May 2017Madonna wore a Moschino camo dress to the Met Gala in NYC on Monday evening complete with parachute straps and a canteen.
The look was far from feminine and instantly was criticized for being distasteful. Tweeters accused her of mocking the military. Sarah Paulson even seemed shocked when she set eyes on the Rebel Heart singer, making a scared face.
But instead of slipping into something pretty for the Met after party, Madonna took her battle style a step further by changing into camo slacks and black combat boots.
VIDEO: Red carpet interviews by Vogue, Access Hollywood and more
Source: Youtube - 2 May 2017VIDEO: Madonna arrives at the MET Gala red carpet with designer Jeremy Scott and goofs around with Sarah Paulson.
VIDEO: Madonna and Jeremy Scott talked with Vogue's André Leon Talley about her army-inspired outfit and canteen of rosé.
On the red carpet at the 2017 Met Gala, Madonna and designer Jeremy Scott talk with Access Hollywood's Scott Evans about the inspiration behind her gown. Plus, find out how many grills she owns!
Madonna explains her crazy Met Gala army dress, reveals she has rosé in her canteen
Source: ET Online - 2 May 2017Madonna's got a little extra help to get her through the Met Gala.
ET's Carly Steel caught up with the 58-year-old singer on the red carpet ahead of the event in New York City on Monday, where she revealed that her army-inspired look came with a canteen of rosé.
PICTURES: Sarah Paulson's jaw drops as Madonna declares war on fashion
Source: Daily Mail - 2 May 2017Sarah Paulson's face perfectly captured the world's reaction to Madonna's Met Gala look on Monday night.
The America Horror story actress, 42, was pictured in a state of shock and awe when she clapped eyes on the 58-year-old pop star wearing a full length camouflage Moschino gown.
The hilarious moment was captured on camera and Madonna proved a good sport by sharing the snap and laughing along on Instagram. The pair also exchanged giggles on the red carpet when Sarah tugged on the diva's camouflage net shawl.
The diva accessorized the look with long black leather gloves, an army green bag and diamond grill.
She posed with Moschino's designer Jeremy Scott, who was also her date to 2015's Met Gala.
'Ready butches!' she captioned the photo with five gun emojis.
The Met Gala is the highlight of the fashion calendar.
And with ground-breaking Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakuboas named as this year's theme, the famed fund-raiser is sure to provide plenty of spectacle.
The Tokyo-based designer has been deemed worthy of the solo focus of this year's gala - which inaugurates the museum's eagerly-awaited accompanying exhibit of her label.
It is the first time the gala and exhibit has focused on one living designer since 1983, when it highlighted the work of Yves Saint Laurent.
Vogue editor Anna Wintour co-chairs the gala, joined by Katy Perry, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen and Pharrell Williams.
Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton, told AP that Kawakubo is considered the world's 'most important and influential designer' of the moment and 'has consistently defined and re-defined the aesthetics of our time.'
Madonna attends MET Gala in Moschino camo dress
Source: Various - 2 May 2017Madonna attended the 2017 MET Gala with designer Jeremy Scott from Moschino, who designed an elegant camouflage dress for her.
Madonna posts MET Gala preparations
Source: Instagram - 2 May 2017Madonna posted a few pictures on Instagram as she was getting prepared for her appearance at the 2017 MET Gala.
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