Madonna crowned ARTE Queen of Pop

French/German TV channel ARTE broadcast live from Hamburg last night (Saturday 30 July) to announce the results of fans online voting to name the Queen of Pop, 70,000 votes were counted and (of course) Madonna was crowned Queen of Pop.

Here are the full breakdown of results:

1 - Madonna 24.2%
2 - Britney Spears 20.9%
3 - Lady Gaga 15.9%
4 - Aretha Franklin 9.7%
5 - Kate Bush 7.7%
6 - Beyoncé 5.5%
7 - Mariah Carey 4.5%
8 - Debbie Harry 4.4%
9 - Diana Ross 4.3%
10 - Donna Summer 2.9%

Thanks to Didier

UK Magazines: Hello!

UK magazine Hello! (25 July issue) featured this small article illustrated with a new picture of Madonna and family at JFK airport earlier this month.

Thanks to Elmira

Madonna film to air at Venice festival

Madonna's film about King Edward VIII's relationship with an American divorcee and Roman Polanski's 'Carnage' are set to be among highlights at the 2011 Venice film festival.
Twenty-one films will vie for the top Golden Lion award at the 68th edition of the world's oldest film festival, which runs from Aug 31 to Sept 10 this year on the Lido seafront.
Madonna's directorial debut on a feature film, 'W.E', is a drama that compares a modern day relationship with the controversial love between the king and divorced American Wallis Simpson, and will screen out of competition.

From Reuters / Yahoo! News

Billboard in Slovakia

madonnalicious reader Kajo spotted this advert campaign for 10th aniversary of restaurant Paparazzi in Slovakia. The billboard picture seems to look like Madonna, but is it photoshop magic, an outtake or a look-a-like? Click to enlarge.

UK Magazines: Hello!

The 11 July issue of UK magazine Hello! featured this small article on the new Material Girl Collection launch and Madonna's date with Brahim in Paris.

Thanks to Elmira

W.E. at the Toronto International Film Festival

Billboard.com are reporting that Madonna's W.E. will receive its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in a gala presentation.

The TIFF takes place from Thursday 08 September to Sunday 18 September.

Forum Back Online And Gallery Updated!

The madonnalicious forum is back online after a summer break - you can log in again at the normal link: z8.invisionfree.com/madonnalicious

We have also updated our gallery with over 2000 pictures - bringing the total pictures in the gallery to over 30,000 images at madonnalicious.com/gallery

Second week in the studio for Madonna

Guy Oseary tweeted earlier that Madonna will be starting her second week in the recording studio today (Monday 25 July).

He also said that he had shown her the video of Beth Ditto performing Vogue (view the video on madonnalicious here) and that Madonna 'thought Beth was great'.

French/German TV: Arte

The magazine for German-French channel ARTE featured Madonna in this advert for their series to Elect the Queen of Pop.

A repeat of Madonna's show (and the other nominees) will be broadcast on Saturday 30 July before the grand final broadcast live from Hamburg.

Fans can still vote for Madonna as the Queen of Pop at this link: www.arte.tv/fr

Thanks to Juergen

Italian Magazines: Vanity Fair

This great vintage picture of Madonna was used to illustrate the news about the Biografilm Festival that took place in Italy in June. Click on the image to enlarge.

Thanks to Elmira

Rihanna: 'Madonna is my biggest inspiration'

Rihanna has named Madonna as the pop icon who has inspired her the most.
The 'California King Bed' star praised the 52-year-old singer for being able to continually reinvent herself successfully after three decades in the industry.
When asked about her inspirations, Rihanna told We Love Pop: 'I think that Madonna was a great inspiration for me, especially on my earlier work.'
She added: 'If I had to examine her evolution through time, I think she reinvented her clothing style and music with success every single time.'
'And at the same time remained a real force in entertainment in the whole world.'

From Digital Spy

Beth Ditto covers Vogue

Here is a clip of Beth Ditto performing Madonna's Vogue at Moscow Miller Party.

Thanks to Ralph

More on the new Material Girl Collection

Teens everywhere have been amping up their wardrobes with eclectic pieces from Madonna and daughter Lourdes’s juniors clothing line, Material Girl. And now, the mother-daughter team is building up the brand to include beauty products, intimates and sleepwear, plus outerwear, party dresses and an expanded denim line.
First up are intimates and sleepwear, which debut in stores this month and will include everything from solid and polka-dot push-up bras to bustiers, sweatpants and even girly boxers.
Next will come beauty products, including nail polish, lip glosses, body sprays and lotions, all hitting stores on Aug. 15, with eye palettes launching on Sept. 15.
After girls everywhere start smacking their lips with the new glosses, they can stock up on fall fashions like studded and acid-wash skinny jeans, outerwear like cape coats and bomber jackets, and a collection of sequin-covered, feather-accessorized dresses, also coming to stores in fall.

From People.com / Material Girl Beauty

Vote: Best '90s Video

It is now time for fans to vote in the Billboard online poll for the best 90's video, Madonna's Vogue is included in the voting list.

Vote for Madonna at: billboard.com/poll-best-90s-video

Thanks to Tia and Brianna

Madonna launching Material Girl Beauty

Madonna's Material Girl is launching a beauty collection.
The fashion label - which the singer designs with her 14-year-old daughter Lourdes - will expand to include a range of nail polish, lipgloss, body sprays and lotions in Macy's New York next month with eye-shadows following in September and Lourdes loves choosing her favourite products.
She explained to WWD: 'It was so much fun getting to pick all of my favourite scents for the Material Girl body products and lip glosses. The body products have fun names like Wicked Watermelon, Flirty Fruit, Midnight Magnolia and Sinful Sugar. I chose scents that I loved.'
Lanie List, chief merchandising officer at Iconix Brand Group - who have partnered with Material Girl on the collection - revealed Lourdes has a 'very sophisticated eye' but all choices have to be approved by her mother.
She said: 'Lola is 14 but she lives in New York City and has a very famous mom, so she has a very sophisticated eye. Lola is here once a month and sometimes more. She brings stuff from her own closet for inspiration. For the bath and body products she probably had 100 scents in front of her. She has a very mature approach to product development.'
'Madonna definitely has creative input also. It's a collaboration between the two. If Lola goes to a place with an idea that Madonna doesn't think is appropriate for the brand, she'll veto it. She's a branding expert.'

From contactmusic.com

Magazines: Arte

The magazine for German-French channel ARTE have featured Madonna on the cover and an article inside about the 10 nominees for Queen of Pop.

The channel will be broadcasting a program on each of the ten nominees with Madonna's show airing on Friday 22 July (with a repeat on Saturday 30 July).

Fans can vote for the Queen of Pop in an online poll at this link: www.arte.tv/fr

Thanks to Juergen

Events: London 2011 Birthday Party

Madonna, Rocco and David at Heathrow Airport

Madonna was photographed arriving at London's Heathrow Aiport with Rocco and David on Monday. To view the pictures visit: www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz

Vote: Best '80s Video

Billboard are running an online poll to find out what was the best video in the 1980s, Madonna's iconic Like A Prayer is included in the voting list.

With the launch of MTV on Aug. 1, 1981, video took on a new role in the music world - and as the first song played on the cable network ('The Buggles' -Video Killed the Radio Star-) declared, video did, indeed, kill the radio star.
These days, music videos are standard practice for artists both big and small, and needless to say, the scale of and technology behind these clips has escalated over the years. But even back in the 1980s - what some may consider the infant age of the music video - clips like Michael Jackson's 14-minute, John Landis-directed 'Thriller,' Madonna's controversy-filled 'Like a Prayer,' and Peter Gabriel's laborious stop-motion narrative 'Sledgehammer' set the bar very high for future decades.

Vote for Madonna at: billboard.com/poll-what-is-your-favorite-80s-music-video

Note: It looks as though fans can vote for Madonna as many times as they want!

Thanks to Giannis

Liz Smith looks back at her 'great Madonna scoop'

'I am my own creation. I am my own work of art.'
That was Madonna, way back before Lady Gaga began saying things like that.
I’ve been reminding you (and myself!) of some of my 'great scoops' over the decades - breaking the Woodward/Bernstein book 'The Final Days' ... The Donald and Ivana Trump divorce ... Elizabeth Taylor’s wedding to Larry Fortensky.
Inevitably we arrive at Madonna. Aside from Miss Taylor, Madonna has surely taken up the most space in my column. I didn’t 'get her' at first, but eventually I was charmed by her brash attitude, her supreme confidence, her various tributes to great stars of the past, her brilliant videos and quite a lot of her music, even. And, she was a marketing genius. She spoke openly about issues of homophobia, violence against women and being true to one’s nature - 'Express Yourself' was her anthem.
By the time I finally clapped eyes on her, in 1991, at the premiere of 'Truth of Dare,' she was very much aware of the extensive support I’d given her. She was brunette and heavily painted and wearing something revealing. I thought she seemed like a little girl dressed up, trying to be a big girl. I was there being interviewed for 'Primetime Live.' The producers wondered if Madonna would give them a moment of her time and speak about me?
As this was her premiere, I doubted it. I was wrong. 'I love Liz Smith because she has big balls like me!' she said, laughing. Although it didn’t make the final cut, on air, of course. (I have her compliment embroidered on a pillow given to me by Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols.) A few years later, I was interviewing her for real. As we prepared, she looked me straight in the eye and said, 'You’re not afraid of me. I like that.'
Over the years I found her warmer, nicer, much more vulnerable than she ever let on, publicly. She had (and still does) a wonderful press rep, Liz Rosenberg, with whom I am also friends. My column had the best access to her, first dibs on her latest videos and albums. I was in her corner, especially when such press pleasure was taken at her mistakes or failures. She was always supposed to be 'over,' but somehow never was.
I had championed Madonna to star in the film version of 'Evita' way before anybody else thought of it. When she finally captured the role, I felt I was a part of that triumph. Two weeks into filming 'Evita' in Argentina, I received a call late Friday from Liz R. 'Liz,' she said 'I have some news.' Pause. 'Madonna is pregnant.' 'What?!' I shouted. 'How far along? 'Two months.' I was sputtering in shock.
The world had been waiting for 'Madonna and Child' for years. Now it was happening. (The father was trainer/actor Carlos Leon, who was desperately in love with her, and one of the nicest men she ever loved.) 'But filming has just begun. How can she hide it? And all the strain...' Suddenly, Madonna herself got on the line - 'Liz, I’m pregnant, and I’m having my baby, now write!'
I sure did. Only one teeny problem. I had to hold the story for 78 hours! Even in 1996, this was almost impossible. I had to wait till the very last moment to send my column Monday morning. The syndicate was going crazy. Then I had to alert my papers, so they could clear the front page. I was sure I was going to lose the scoop. But I didn’t. It held. And as with Donald and Ivana and Elizabeth’s wedding, the day the story broke news crews awaited me in the lobby of my building and the phone rang nonstop. Yes, that is always kind of absurdly thrilling.
Madonna paid me back for all my support by giving me what I needed most - a great big juicy exclusive. And she was grateful in other ways. Once, at the height of her 'unpopularity' - the duel release of her 'Body of Evidence' movie and her 'Sex' book - she called me. 'It’s Madonna. I just want to thank for all you’ve written. I know you take a lot of shit for it.'
I was charmed. It was almost - but not quite - as good as a scoop.

From www.wowowow.com/culture/liz-smith - thanks to Alex and Liz

German Magazines: In Touch

The latest issue of German magazine In Touch featured this picture of Lourdes and Kelly Osbourne promoting the new season of the Material Girl collection.

Thanks to Kirsten

Events: madonnalicious.com presents 'A Madonna Odyssey'

It’s the 5th Anniversary of us celebrating Madonna's Birthday! 53 this year but who’s counting... Come join us on August 14th at the fantastic central London venue, Punk - 14 Soho Street

There'll be celebs getting into the groove, an 'Express yourself' Madonna exhibition, outstanding performances, including a madonnalicious cabaret show, an amazing charity auction with 'cherish'-able prizes, a Material girl shop, the best 'Hey Mister' DJs in town and we'll be searching for a mega-Madge fan who will get to be a 'lucky star' in a Madonna documentary.

THE HOSTESS
Your hostess for the evening's extravaganza is none other than the stunning and legendary Chrissy Darling; the UK's most outrageous, fabulous, door whore and nightclub host!

THE EXHIBITION
To kick off this very special night an exhibition celebrating all things Madonna will include expressions of Madonna love in the form of electric art installations, photography, and a selection of unmissable artworks from Roberto Rashella, Magda Prus, Kurt Hoffman and ten year old Alexander Graham. Rare never before seen Madonna memorabilia will be the highlight of the show!

THE MOVIE
Lights camera action... Jelena Rozenko, budding art house movie director will be filming for the Madonna documentary 'A Madonna Odyssey'. They're searching for a star, so our incomparable Master of ceremonies, Kizzy Black, will be holding screen tests in the Madonnalicious Video lounge, no casting couch pun's intended...

THE SHOW
Fresh from their dazzling main stage performance on Trafalgar Square at London Pride - Vanilla Lush, Baga Chipz, Vicki Vivacious - the UK's top showgirls - will star in an all dancing, all singing, seven song set!
This amazing show-stopper will be complimented by a touch of cabaret with Myra Dubois who has performed at the UK's most prestigious burlesque nights and venues, also toured the UK and received almost sycophantic reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Pop sensation on the rise, Glen Charleston, takes to the stage with an electrifying mix of classic Madonna hits. Glen is currently putting his songwriting talents to use on his second studio album, catch him in a rare London performance!

THE DJs
The Very Miss Dusty 'O' - Club land legend writer, club host, recording artist and The Queen of Soho herself...
The legendary DJ Craig Jones - Resident DJ at G-A-Y and having been fortunate enough to play for Madonna and all of these amazing acts - Lady Gaga, Kylie, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, Alicia Keys and so many more.
David Robson - long term resident pop DJ in some of London's most iconic Gay venues is fresh from a spot supporting the Streets, Eliza Doolittle and Chase & Status with the Ministry of Sound tour crew.
Tasty Tim - He gigs all over the UK as well as Italy, Germany, New York, Australia, South Africa, Japan and Russia. Tasty is also one half of T-Total, whose remixing credits include The Pet Shop Boys, Danny Tenaglia and Cevin Fisher.
Neil Prince - resident DJ at Guilty Pleasures, Carpet Burn and Wig Out and also has played parties for the BAFTAs, MTV, Lovebox, Gatecrasher Sound System festival, indigo2, Somerset House, Hed Kandinsky and the Met Bar.
Dejay Kurt - Mr.MC himself. Originally from Oxford started a club night with James Lavelle and then worked with Soul II Soul, James Hymen,Roger Sanchez, Eddie Colon, Joey Musaphia and MTV. Now the man behind Madonna Celebrate.

THE MADONNA AUCTION & SHOP ETC...
A silent auction will be held to raise money for the charity and a shop with heaps of Madonna memorabilia, records, videos, DVDs, CDs, T-shirts and posters and loads more. So bring some cash!

A very special gift for all who attend the party is a one-off bespoke chocolate Madonna confectionary courtesy of (DC of London).

The official event photographer is the celebrated Fabio Taveres, from Brazil.

Punk, situated in the heart of Soho, is an amazing nightclub, just off Oxford Street 2 mins walk from Tottenham Court tube (5 mins from Oxford Circus). Top of Soho Square.

Advance early bird tickets are just £10 from ticketweb.co.uk (£15 on the door)

Doors open at 7.00pm

All money raised will go to Stonewall. For more information visit: stonewall.org.uk

US Magazines: Us Weekly

US magazine Us Weekly (04 July issue) ran a poll asking 'Who wore it best?'. When comparing Madonna and Kate Middleton in a Stella McCartney dress Madonna won with 62% of the vote. Click on the article to enlarge.

Thanks to Elmira

More news from MTV about new album producer

A few weeks ago, Madonna’s manager Guy Oseary took to Twitter to announce that the Queen of Pop was about to hit the studio to begin work on her twelfth studio album – her first since 2008’s Hard Candy. At the time, we had a few suggestions for Madge. We recommended she A.) stay away from 'hot' producers like RedOne or Dr. Luke, B.) make some real dance music, and C.) use the ups and downs of the last few years to write about something substantial.
And guess what? She’s taking our advice!
Oseary tweeted that Her Madgesty began work on the untitled album on the Fourth of July. Now the first producer has been named and he’s someone to get excited about: Martin Solveig. Solveig is a French electronic music DJ and producer best known for work with Canadian electropop group Dragonette and the song 'Hello,' which became a hit in the U.S. after being featured in commercials for Trident.
Remember what happened the last time Madonna worked with a lesser-known French DJ? Music happened.
'David Guetta, Joachim Garaud, Martin Solveig, Bob Sinclair - these dudes are all part of the French guard of house music coming onto the scene in the early 2000s,' MTV News' resident dance music expert Akshay Bhansali tells us. 'He's [Solveig] always been well respected, but this year, singles-wise, he's probably made more commercially on music than Guetta.'
Solveig's good rep and ear for commercially viable dance music will be important, because this is an especially important album for Madonna. As silly as it may sound, it’s her first post-Gaga record and because of that, it will be viewed and critiqued through that lens. Earlier this year, Gaga was slapped on the wrist by music critics who felt her smash 'Born This Way' sounded a little too close for comfort to Madonna’s 1989 hit 'Express Yourself.' Gaga’s aesthetic is also often compared to Madonna’s.
So anyone who thinks Madonna won’t experience this same scrutiny in reverse as soon as she produces something new is naïve. Critics’ first question won’t be, 'What does it sound like?' Instead they’ll ask, 'Does it sound like Gaga?' And the answer needs to be no (or at least 'not really').
That’s why we recommended she avoid in-demand producers. If a producer is famous enough for the mainstream public to have some idea of who they are, then people will be able to spot their sound immediately - think RedOne’s bombastic beats for Gaga or the slick thump Dr. Luke puts together for Britney Spears and Katy Perry. Madonna at her best is forward-thinking and ahead of the musical curve; she doesn’t want to sound derivative (like she did working with 'hot' producers Pharrell Williams, Nate Hills and Timbaland on Hard Candy).
'He's a very capable producer, and maybe the fact that he’s an electronic dance music producer that has made two huge songs that don't sound too clubby is something that drew Madonna,' Bhansali says of Solveig. '‘Hello’ doesn't feel like your average fist pump song. It feels more cultured than that - and perhaps that's what she's after.'
Madonna was the primary songwriter on Music, Ray of Light and Confessions on a Dance Floor, and on all three she worked closely with little known European DJs/producers, Mirwais Ahmadzai, William Orbit and Stuart Price, respectively. It’s great that she seems to be reverting back to a formula that has worked well for her in the past. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

From MTV.com

Rolling Stone reconfirm Madonna as Queen of Pop!

As if we needed telling! Madonna has been named as the Queen of Pop in a new poll run by Rolling Stone magazine. To read the full story visit rollingstone.com

Last week we did some serious number crunching and created the Rolling Stone Queen Of Pop Index – a ranking of the current top 16 female pop recording artists. To be as up-to-date as possible, we only examined data from the last two years – which excluded all artists that hadn't work in that time period. Needless to say, this pissed off some fan communities. Madonna fans were particularly enraged, even though her last album was released in early 2008 and she's been off the road since the summer of 2009.
With all the fan feedback, we decided to poll our readers so they could name their own queen of pop. Here are the results:

1. Madonna
To say that Madonna won this poll in a landslide would be like saying that she was a kind of popular pop singer in the 1980s. It wouldn't even begin to explain the scope of the situation. She received five times as many votes as Lady Gaga, who landed in second place by a very comfortable margin. The only persistent criticism that Gaga has dealt with in recent years is that she's too much like Madonna. It's a hard shadow to escape. Madonna is a musical icon without peer. Her run of hits over the past 30 years is simply astounding, and when she hits the road, tickets sell like it's a Led Zeppelin reunion tour.
Sure, her last few albums didn't match up to the classics. Nobody cares. She's Madonna. Lady Gaga has accomplished more in recent years than any artist of her era, but she's still got a long climb until she reaches Madonna level. It's very likely that no other artist will ever reach it though. Her manager Guy Oseary recently tweeted that she's started recording her 12th studio album, so clearly she has no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

Thanks to Codrin and Dreamer

US Magazines: Us Weekly

Here is a look back at how US magazine Us Weekly covered Madonna's appearance on Oprah Winfrey's farewell show last month. Click on the article to enlarge.

Thanks to Elmira

Poster for W.E. revealed

Stefano Gabbana has given fans a sneak peek at a poster for Madonna's W.E. on twitter and in the process revealed the film tagline, in love... we trust.

Thanks to Paris

Darren Hayes covers Angel

Darren Hayes has released a cover of Madonna's Angel. It is included with his new single Talk, Talk, Talk as a bonus track (B-side). Visit his YouTube channel here.

madonnalicious spoke to Darren recently and asked him:
'Knowing you are a huge Madonna fan I was wondering what in particular about Angel made you want to cover the song?'

It was one of the first records I ever bought and one of the first songs I wish I'd written. As a kid - without much money and with nothing but a pocket full of dreams - I would imagine that it was me up there singing. The 12inch version especially cast a spell on me.
It was a pivotal time in my life when I started to realise that this is what I wanted to do for a living.
As an adult with my own career, recording a cover version 'Angel' was like coming full circle. Like a Virgin is still one of my favourite Madonna albums and 'Angel' remains probably my favourite Madonna song of all time.

Thanks to J.T.

Madonna pictured in London

Madonna was photographed leaving a recording studio in London on Saturday 02 July as this picture below shows.

Picture from www.popoverdose.com

Thanks to Ruben

Behold she is coming soon....

Here is the news fans have been waiting for! Guy Oseary tweeted this news today:

It's official.. Madonna's 1st day in the recording studio for the new album... Very exciting.. Happy 4th of july...

Thanks to Anna-Clare

Vote: Queen of Pop

German-French channel ARTE are running an online poll to find out who is the Queen of Pop at this link: www.arte.tv/fr it looks like fans can vote once a day.

The channel is showing a program on each of the ten nominees - Madonna's show will be broadcast on Friday 22 July.

Thanks to Didier

Video: Behind-the-scenes of MG + NYC

Here is the behind-the-scenes video clip of Madonna, Lourdes and Kelly Osbourne on the set of the Fall 2011 Material Girl collection photoshoot.

From Material Girl

Madonna 'to open Malawi orphan care centre'

Madonna has revealed plans to open an orphanage in Malawi.
The '4 Minutes' singer, who adopted son David and daughter Mercy from the impoverished South African country, explained her charitable goals in an interview for Ovation's new series American Revolutionaries: The Hitmakers.
Madonna explained: 'My short term goals are to build an orphan care centre that will service and reach at least 1,000 children and I'm also actively involved in funding several orphanages that already exist.'
It was reported in March that Madonna's charity Raising Malawi had squandered more than £2.4 million ($3.8m) over plans for a school that was never built, leading to an upheaval in the foundation's board of directors.
Madonna was later said to be considering taking legal action against the directors following the financial mismanagement.
She revealed in January 2011 that she planned to restructure Raising Malawi so that the charity could operate on a 'bigger scale' in the coming years.

From Digital Spy