madonnalicious

Sticky & Sweet Tour to visit Budva

Madonna's official website have just confirmed the news that the Sticky & Sweet Tour will stop in Budva, Montenegro:

We are happy to confirm that a show in Budva, Montenegro, was just added to Madonna's 2008 tour itinerary. The show will take place at Budva's Jaz Beach on Thursday 25 September. Tickets will go on sale Friday 11 July at 10:00am, local time. A devoted fan club presale will start on Wednesday 09 July at 10:00am local time.

Billboard Hot Dance Airplay Chart

Madonna's Give It 2 Me continues to struggle for adds on US Top 40 radio BUT the track is burning up Dance Radio airwaves. In just 3 weeks 'Give It 2 Me' is now the #1 Billboard Hot Dance Airplay chart song.

Thanks to Micheal

Athens sells out!

After only a couple of days Madonna's tour date in the Olympic Stadium (with a 75,000 capacity) in Athens has now been declared a sell out!

Thanks to Maximillianism D

Madonna and Guy dine out in New York City

Diners at New York City's 'Cesca, an Italian eatery on the Upper West Side, got a surprise Tuesday night when Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie walked in, holding hands.
They looked 'like a normal couple that just wanted to have a nice dinner out,' says an onlooker. 'They looked very unassuming. Not like they were looking for attention.'
Seasoned New Yorkers are quite accustomed to spotting celebrities at the restaurant (and Madonna does have an apartment in the neighborhood). Still, seeing the queen of pop and her director husband together in public is a rare occurrence – and a meaningful one.
'Everyone was whispering and saying, 'Wow, that was Madonna. She is supposed to be separating from her husband. I can't believe she is here,'' the observer adds.
But Madonna and Ritchie didn't flinch. The couple, who've been plagued by breakup rumors, continued with their cozy, hour-long dinner before leaving - also hand-in-hand.
'Madonna's husband Guy arrived in New York last night to be with his wife and family (not in a last-ditch attempt to save his marriage which does not need saving),' the singer's rep Liz Rosenberg told PEOPLE Tuesday. 'There are no plans for Madonna and Guy to divorce.'

Visit www.people.com to view pictures of Madonna and Guy in New York City.

From People.com

Events: London Give It 2 Me Party

Saturday 12 July
12:00pm - 8:00pm
G-A-Y basement bar

Liz Rosenberg speaks up about the rumours

Madonna's spokeswoman has released an exclusive statement to PEOPLE rejecting reports that the singer's marriage to her film director husband Guy Ritchie is on the rocks.
'Madonna's husband Guy arrived in New York last night to be with his wife and family (not in a last ditch attempt to save his marriage which does not need saving),' Liz Rosenberg told PEOPLE. 'There are no plans for Madonna and Guy to divorce.'
Rosenberg also denied a published report of a relationship between the singer and New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez. 'Madonna and Alex have the same manager, Guy Oseary,' Rosenberg says. 'They have met. They know each other and Madonna took her kids to a Yankees game last week. There’s really not anything to comment on beyond that.'
Adds Rosenberg: 'It's nothing new that people are airing tons of dirty laundry Madonna’s way lately – much of it untrue.'

From People.com

Argentinian Magazines: Miradas

Madonna is featured on the cover of the July 2008 issue of Argentinian magazine Miradas. The magazine features a four-page article inside - click on the images to enlarge.

Thanks to Mariela

Vote: Give It 2 Me

The VH1 Top 20 Countdown has added Madonna's Give It 2 Me to the list for voting. The voting link is www.vh1.com/shows/series/top_20_countdown/vote

Fans can also vote for Give It 2 Me on MTV TRL at www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/trl/voting

Thanks to Christopher and David

Events: Mexico Party

Liz Smith reports from the tour rehearsals

US newspaper columnist and Madonna champion Liz Smith attended the Sticky & Sweet Tour rehearsals and offers this report:

'UHHH....I can't jump rope in high heels!'
'Really?'
'Well, not that high a heel.'
OK folks, who do we know who would jump rope (double dutch, too) in heels? Of course! It is our old friend, the indomitable Madonna.
La Ciccone has been rehearsing her 'Sticky and Sweet' tour in a massive space in New York. Her latest troupe of beautiful dancers is present, as is every other member of a massive Madonna undertaking. When the boss works, everybody works! It is 80 degrees and humid outside. Inside, it's a steam bath. Madonna does not enjoy air conditioning. (Audiences tend to leave her concerts having lost about 10 pounds in water weight.) Everybody looks whipped. Not Madonna.
Without makeup, her long blond hair lank, dressed in funereal black rehearsal togs, she looks fresher, younger and more vital than she does on the red carpet. (She also looks less muscular. Concert lighting and flash photography tends to over-emphasize her toned sinew.) She certainly shakes a tail feather like she is still writhing along the canals in Venice for the 'Like a Virgin' video, filmed before most of her dancers were born.
People close to Madonna, those who love her, are always saying, 'Why don't you relax more, have some fun?' Sometimes she will agree. But most of the time she doesn't bother to give concerned parties her life memo: hard work - pushing herself to the limit and most of all, dancing is her fun and relaxation. So many of her songs celebrate the power of dance and how it can free you - perhaps just temporarily - from immediate care.
Watching this star go through her paces, she seems not to have a care in the world, except to perfect her show. 'That sucked!' she declares after failing to execute her double dutch without error. 'I have to be better.' Madonna pauses and gives a mock scowl to her dancers, 'And so does everybody else.'
Later, she painstakingly explains her vision on one of the numbers. The choreographer is working only from an e-mail he just received from Madonna. She has her vision, now she has to communicate it. The number will feature four girls who are dressed up in various iconic versions of Madonna images past. She's laughing at her old 'looks' and discussing the particulars. 'At first I thought mannequins, then no, real girls would be better. Truthfully, I wanted drag queens - who does me better? But I figured that might be too much drama, you know - those girls love their scenes. And I provide enough of that!'
As Madonna recruits the dancers who'll stand and strike a pose, each holding or wearing a prop, the star will snatch away, the choreographer beams, 'Oh, this is getting so wickedly weird. Now I'm really loving it!'
Throughout the afternoon and evening, Madonna never flags, and never loses her sense of humor or the maternal camaraderie she always shares with her dancers.
Happily lost in her greatest love - her work - it doesn't seem the time or place to bring up her supposedly failing marriage or the betrayal of her brother, Christopher Ciccone, and his tell-all book. (Poor Christopher. He has made his bed, and already the peas in his mattress are the size of boulders. In the end, he will have helped sell a gazillion more tickets to his sister's concerts.) Will Madonna and Guy Ritchie separate? I don't know. I do know they have been deeply in love, very much in sync (certainly at one time), and both these strong-willed people have tried hard to accommodate the other.
The last time I saw Guy and Madonna together they couldn't have been more convivial and affectionate. They were in public, of course, so we take the proverbial grain of salt on that one. I don't think the towel is thrown in yet. It's damp and well used. It's hanging crooked on the shower stall. But it's not quite ready for the hamper. She has three children. She is not cavalier when it comes to divorce. (Remember, this is only her second marriage.)
Certainly Madonna does not look or behave like a woman whose marriage is on the rocks. She wouldn't show that face anyway; that's a great part of her appeal. She doesn't beg her audience for love or understanding. You either understand or you don't. Seen through the oft-distorted prism of the media, her ambition and 'manipulation' is not always admired. Still, many do admire her, without really admitting she has talent. Millions more worship her as a figure of empowerment and forging success in a man's world on a man's terms.
She's the music industry's Hillary Clinton, jumping rope in high heels.

From New York Post

Belgian Magazines: Zizo

Madonna is featured on the cover of the July/August 2008 issue of Belgian magazine Zizo - click on the cover to enlarge.

Thanks to Els

Fire at Madonna's childhood home suspicious

A weekend fire that destroyed a childhood home of Madonna has been deemed suspicious by arson investigators. The Oakland County Sheriff's Arson Unit and the Rochester Hills Fire Department are investigating the Friday night blaze.
A passer-by had noticed flames coming out of the unoccupied house in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills and called the fire department.
Rochester Hills Fire Chief Ron Crowell told The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press the fire appears to have started in the living room area. He said it caused extensive smoke and fire damage throughout the two-story brick house.
The 49-year-old Madonna, known then as Madonna Louise Ciccone, spent some of her younger years as one of six siblings living in the home.

From AP Via Yahoo! News

Austrian Magazines: Seitenblicke and TV Media

Madonna's Malawian documentary and her Victorian bloomwers made the Austrian press in the last couple of months - here are scans from Seitenblicke and TV Media - click to enlarge.

Thanks to Margit

Australian TV: Madonna Specials

MTV Channel
Madonna Unwrapped: A Hard Candy Special
Friday 04 July at 4:30pm
In Celebration of Madonna’s new album, Hard Candy, MTV Australia bring you this exclusive Madonna special. Including exclusive interview footage with Madonna discussing her latest album.

MAX Channel
Max Masters: Madonna
Tuesday 08 July at 8:30pm
Her Madgesty sits down with MAX to discuss her enviable career and fans will rejoice as the celebration continues the whole month long on Channel MAX.

Thanks to pishpose

UK Magazines: Word

Stuart Price talks to UK music magazine Word (July 2008 issue) about the working process behind the creation of Madonna's I Love New York - click on the article to enlarge.

Dutch Magazines: Gala

Dutch magazine Gala (18-24 June issue) featured this one-page article about Madonna's Malawi documentary I Am Because We Are - click on the article to enlarge.

Billboard Hot Dance Airplay Chart

Despite not being added across the board on US Radio stations so far, according to Billboard, Madonna's Give It 2 Me is already #7 in on the Hot Dance Airplay chart in just two weeks!

Thanks to Micheal

Sticky & Sweet Tour: Athens ticket frenzy!

Tickets for Madonna's Athens Sticky & Sweet Tour date went on sale to the general public this morning - here are some reports and pictures from madonnalicious readers:

From Gerasimos:
Very early this morning (at about 06:00am) about twenty people were standing in front of the ticket stand of the Olympic stadium.
Two hours later there were about 300 waiting to buy tickets for Madonna's concert (at the other sales point in the heart of Athens about 1000 people waiting for the TicketPro shop to open).
I was the second one in line but I got the first ticket (the one pictured below). A friend of mine also just informed me that the show is already SOLD OUT an there is a possibility of an extra date!

From Jason:
Today the Madonna tickets were on sale in Greece! Total hysteria! People slept outside the box offices. Everything was and is beyond any expectation. More than one hundred fans slept outside that box office. I went at 6:00am and I couldn't believe the people there already.
The internet ticket sales crashed for a few hours. And Madonna is everywhere on the TV, a lot of TV channels and newspapers were reporting sale from the box office.

Here are Jason's pictures of the queues outside the Athens ticket office.

Filth and Wisdom to be released in France

News is coming in that Madonna's Filth and Wisdom will be released in France on Wednesday 17 September.

Thanks to Stephanie

Sticky & Sweet Tour: Vienna Ticket

Here is a look at a ticket for the Sticky & Sweet Tour date in Vienna, Austria on Tuesday 23 September - note that 'gold circle' tickets at this show are called 'wavebreakers'!

Thanks to Michael