Madonna Ignored Friends' Pleas Against Performing In Belgium

The Vogue singer decided against cancelling any performances on her Rebel Heart Tour in the aftermath of the gun and bomb attacks in the French capital on 13 November, which claimed the lives of more than 130 victims.

She continued her trek through Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Italy, but she was warned against keeping her date in Antwerp, Belgium as it is closer to Paris and the gig followed a lockdown in the country's capital Brussels.

However, she took to the stage at the Sportpaleis on Saturday and called out Islamic State militants, who claimed responsibility for the atrocity, branding them 'motherf**kers' and saying she will not be stopped from performing.

'Many friends told me not to come to Belgium,' she told the crowd. 'I have not listened. I want to continue to do what I want! And do not ever tell me to stop!....There are many tragic things happening in the world. It seems there is a lot of darkness. We do not bow to fear, but to love.'

Madonna continue to perform the night after the Paris attacks, but broke down in tears onstage in Sweden as she paid tribute to the victims.

From contactmusic.com

Events: Living for Madonna UK Fan Party

There is a little 'Get Together' for the UK fans to 'Celebrate' the 'Iconic' Rebel Heart era at our favourite back street ally, The Retro Bar (just off The Strand).

Expect usual Clips, Hits, Misses and a Madonna Quiz hosted by lifelong Madonna enthusiast David Robson.

PLUS...think you can hold the Living for Madonna crowd? Well, now is your chance. I'm asking the fans to come on the decks and give us there best Madonna set.

That's right it's a Madonna fan DJ off and only one person can be triumphant. The winner will get to play a set at the next Living for Madonna big party at a venue to be confirmed.

Only one rule. NO REPEATS. If it's been played already then you best pick another and quick. Are you with me?

FREE ENTRY

For more information visit: www.facebook.com/events/995928770479597

Exclusive Rebel Pop HeART Collectible Serigraph Set

The official Madonna online store has just release a limited-edition collectible individually numbered (1/500) 'Madonna Rebel Heart Pop Art' Serigraph Set. Each Serigraph print measures 18" X 18". Comes with 4 exclusive 'Madonna Rebel Pop HeART' individually numbered Serigraphs.

For more information and to buy visit: madonna.fanfire.com

Madonna backstage in Barcelona

Guy Oseary shared this picture of Madonna backstage with Shakira and Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué after the second Barcelona show on Wednesday.

Madonna herself also posted this picture with this caption: 'So nice to have @shakira and Pique at my show last night! 🎉🎉🎉🎉💘U Barcelona ❤️ #rebelhearttour'

Happy Thanksgiving from the 👑 and her Rebel Heart gang!

Happy Thanksgiving from the 👑 and her rebel heart gang! We give Thanks! 🙏🏻. ❤️ #rebelhearttour pic.twitter.com/6u0s4igniQ

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 26, 2015

Madonna's Instagram: 'Playing the Adam and Eve game!'

Madonna was joined on-stage in Barcelona last night by Spanish model and actor Jon Kortajarena during 'Unapologetic Bitch' - no banana this time though....he got an apple instead.

'Playing the Adam and Eve game‼️ My lovely UNAPOLOGETIC BITCH ‼️Jon Kortajarena💋 Thank You!! ❤ #rebelhearttour'

'My Un Apologetic Bitches last night! We don't mess around! 💘🔫🔫🔫🔫. ❤ #rebelhearttour'

More MDNA Tour Rehearsal Footage

Here is a great clip of the studio rehearsal for the MDNA tour performance of Turn Up The Radio, Open Your Heart and Masterpiece.

Barcelona R U ready? So excited to be here! ❤️

Barcelona R U ready? So excited to be here! ❤️ #rebelhearttour pic.twitter.com/Ug5B7oN07u

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 24, 2015

Into the groove: how we taught Madonna to krump and thrust

In the late 70s, Madonna Ciccone was a young dancer just arrived in New York, living on popcorn and self-belief between classes at the legendary Martha Graham’s dance school, and clubbing the night away at Danceteria.

Thirty-five years on, and the queen of pop’s life might be unrecognisable, but her instincts aren’t so different. Dance, from serious art to club trends, is still at the heart of Madonna’s live shows – her latest, Rebel Heart, arrives in the UK in December. Over the years she has incorporated everything from flamenco to Basque folk dance, tango, pole dance and parkour.

She’s known for reinventing her music, recruiting fashionable producers to update her sound, but she does the same - arguably more successfully - with dance, seeking out street and club trends and bringing them into mainstream pop culture. It started with 1990’s Vogue, but more recently there’s been krump (in her videos Sorry and Hung Up), Chicago footwork (Sticky & Sweet tour) and the arm-twisting, extra-bendy Brooklyn dance style bonebreaking (MDNA tour). You don’t get that from Katy Perry.

'The thing that separates her from everyone else is that she started off as a dancer. She has that dance itch,' says choreographer Richmond Talauega, who with his brother Anthony (AKA Rich+Tone) has worked extensively with Madonna. 'She has taste, and she has that eye that knows what’s good out there.'

It takes time to find the right team - 'She’ll fire a lot of people that come through,' says Tone Talauega - but one who made it is French choreographer Sébastien Ramirez, who normally works in theatre, making arty contemporary hip-hop with partner Honji Wang (they recently performed at Sadler’s Wells in London).

Ramirez got the job after accompanying Wang to the dancer auditions in Paris. Wang might be the only dancer to get through the gruelling audition process - 5,000 auditioned for the current tour, in Paris, New York and Los Angeles - and then turn down a job, because it would demand she put her own company on hold for a year. But Madonna liked what she saw of their work, and hired Ramirez to make two numbers for the show.

What was it like working for her? 'She’s very impressive,' says Ramirez. 'She’s into all the details. She knows who you are and what you do. She’s really looking into your eyes and trying to get you. She’s analysing a lot.'

'She’s a very impressive authority,' says Wang. 'When you see her arriving there’s an energy around her. But as well, I see this fragility in her. She’s so natural and accessible. She’s just one of us, working hard on the artistic vision.'

To read the rest of the article visit: www.theguardian.com

Sound check swag!

Sound check Swag with Big Mijo! Wearing Fausto Puglisi ❤️ #rebelhearttour pic.twitter.com/sTQ7yXFnP3

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 22, 2015

Idris Elba to be Madonna's support act in London

This is the current show information for fans heading to the first Rebel Heart Tour show in London on Tuesday 01 December.

Madonna's support act is actor Idris Elba....wonder if he will take another turn on-stage at being Madonna's Unapologetic Bitch?

Doors - 6:30 PM
Support Act - Idris Elba: 8:15PM
Madonna - 9:00 PM

Turino you showed me your heart!

Turino you showed me your heart! ❤️ Italians do it Best! ❤️ #rebelhearttour pic.twitter.com/NyllVuaH8Z

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 22, 2015

Italians Do It Better! Thank you Turin!

Italians do it Better!💃🎉‼️. Thank you Gucci! 🙏🏻. Thank you Turin! ❤️ #rebelhearttour pic.twitter.com/k8bSrZI2z7

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 20, 2015

Rita Ora: 'Madonna Gave Me A Good Grab'

Rita Ora was a special guest during Madonna's concert in Berlin, Germany earlier this month when she was pulled onstage to take part in a raunchy segment to the track Unapologetic B**ch.

During the routine, Madonna spanks and kicks her guest before simulating a sexual act, and Rita admits the music veteran grabbed more of her private area than she expected.

'I am not going to lie, it was pretty impressive. It was like a good grab,' Rita explains to U.K. talk show host Alan Carr. 'It went right where it needed to be. It wasn't too uncomfortable but it was enough.'

When Alan cheekily asked if she 'had a tingle', or became aroused, Rita replies, 'No. I didn't have a tingle. It didn't tingle the mingle....Bit of a shame really.'

Speaking of her guest appearance at the Berlin show, she adds, 'So Madonna does this thing where she gives you five seconds to tell (her) what you want to do on stage, which really isn't much time....She drags you around everywhere. She told me what we going to do and she said, 'You're going to bend over, I'm going to spank you and then I'm going to hump you.' Pretty Madonna fashion, right? We were going down the little aisle thing (at the show) and all these handsome guys in suits just distracted me.'

From contactmusic.com

The 👑 is here! R U Ready Italy?

I don't smoke but i like to start fires.......🔥! The 👑 is here‼️R U Ready Italy??? ❤️ #rebelhearttour pic.twitter.com/ytrQaneso5

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 19, 2015

Harbourside screening of In Bed With Madonna to be held in 2016

SYDNEY: A special outdoor screening of the classic music documentary, In Bed With Madonna, will be held in February next year.

Presented by Queer Screen and Ppart of the Mardi Gras Film Festival, the film will be shown at the Fleets Streps, Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, on Wednesday, February 24, at 8pm.

The screening will mark the 25th anniversary of the groundbreaking film, which paved the way for concert documentaries for years to come.

The intimate, all-access film - titled 'Truth or Dare' in the US - follows Madonna and her dancers during the singer’s 1990 Blonde Ambition tour. From her health troubles as she loses her voice on tour, through a difficult return to her home town of Detroit, and tensions with then-partner Warren Beatty, it’s a rare insight into one of the world’s most private celebrities.

For more information visit: tix.queerscreen.org.au

From Gay News Network

'Thank you Denmark from the bottom of my Rebel ❤️'

Thank you Denmark from the bottom of my Rebel ❤️ #rebelhearttour pic.twitter.com/e6VnLt1jLD

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 17, 2015

Madonna insists she is just a 'simple girl' at heart

Madonna is just a 'simple girl' at heart. The 57-year-old singer is currently in the midst of her 'Rebel Heart' tour and says the overriding theme of the shows is about believing your dreams and overcoming adversity.

She said: 'The theme of the show is romance, love, living for love, being a rebel heart....They're all kind of intertwined. It's about rising above, believing in your dreams, overcoming heartbreak, things like that - you know, the simple things in life. [Am I just a simple girl at heart?] Deep down inside I am, yes. But I tackle pretty complex themes, I guess, in my work.'

The 'Like a Virgin' singer appreciates her 'provincial' upbringing in Detroit and thinks she wouldn't be the artist she is today if she'd grown up in luxury.

She told HELLO! magazine: 'I appreciate my provincial upbringing - it's my people, y'know. To me it's really important that I come from the Midwest. My father and the people that I was surrounded with had a very strong work ethic and a very practical approach to work. There weren't a lot of frills. The fact I come from a small town in the Midwest has a lot to do with the kind of open notebook that I had to start my journey, creatively. I don't think I would be as creative as I am if I had grown up surrounded by everything at my fingertips.'

From contactmusic.com

Madonna's Instagram: #prayforparis

Madonna published more pictures and thoughts on the Paris attacks on her Instagram and Twitter feeds:

'Thank you Stockholm! Tonight's show was difficult but there was so much love in this arena it made me feel like we were turning darkness into light. And that is our jobs as human beings! ❤ ‪#‎rebelhearttour‬'

The Revolution of Love starts now! #prayforparis #prayforpeaceaceintheworld We are O.N.E.!!❤️ #rebelheart pic.twitter.com/Vx1hRFo9Mn

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 16, 2015

Madonna asks crowd to hold moment's silence for Paris victims

Madonna made an emotional speech at a concert on Saturday before asking the crowd to observe a moment's silence for the victims of the Paris attacks.

To huge applause and cheers, the singer said she had considered cancelling the show in Stockholm, Sweden, but did not want to let the terrorists stop them doing what they love.

Her eyes welling up and voice cracking, she told the crowd: 'In many ways I feel torn. Why am I up here dancing and having fun when people are crying over the loss of their loved ones? That is exactly what these people want to do, they want to shut us up, they want to silence us. But we won't let them. There is no one in this world who should have the right to stop us doing what we love.'

Madonna said it had been hard to get through the show, which she said was 'about celebrating life and standing up for your rights', and that the attacks had 'disturbed' her.

The singer then asked the crowd at the Tele 2 Aren to fall silent and say a prayer for the victims and their families.

From ITV News

Madonna's Instagram: 'Pray For Peace!'

We Are All Immigrants‼️ #ELLISstory We all bleed the same color......We are all ONE🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 Pray For Peace! In Paris and all around the World

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 13, 2015

Madonna's Instagram: 'Tired Unapologetic Bitch!'

Tired Unapologetic Bitch! 🍌. Go to Bed!! ❤️ #rebelhearttour pic.twitter.com/0oUypPUeq2

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 12, 2015

'Blondes have more fun in Berlin! Sexy Bitch Rita Ora!'

Rita Ora joined Madonna on stage as her 'Unapologetic Bitch' in Berlin on Wednesday night:

'Rita Ora is our Surprise UnapologeticBitch!!! What a 🔥🔥 night! In Berlin! We are going to share a banana later! 🍌. ❤ #rebelhearttour'

'Blondes have more fun in Berlin! Sexy Bitch Rita Ora! 🍌💋🍌💋🍌💋🍌💋. ❤ ‪#‎rebelhearttour‬'

Madonna lives 'disciplined' life

Madonna lives a very 'disciplined' life. The 57-year-old singer has admitted she doesn't tend to socialise with her friends because she'd rather focus on her career and stay in shape to benefit her career.

She said: 'I have a very disciplined life. I don't do a lot of socialising. My life revolves around my show and my four children and trying to live a very healthy lifestyle.'

However, the blonde stunner - who is mother to four children, Lourdes, 19, Rocco, 15, Mercy and David, both nine - has admitted she feels exhausted all the time. She explained: 'The only thing I'm lacking now is sleep.'

And it's not wonder as Madonna is currently on her 10th world tour but has admitted she's struggling to put together a unique experience because she's been doing it so long.

She said: 'It's hard to choose. Sometimes I have to let go of things I love because they don't sound right or go with the theme. Or I go, 'Oh I did that the last three shows. Even though I love that song let's do something new.'

The 'Ray of Light' hitmaker even has to drop her favourite songs in favour of what she knows her fans want to hear.

She told Britain's HELLO! magazine: 'I tend to like my more abstract, less commercial songs, but I realise I have to have songs that people are familiar with and want to sing along to. So I have to balance it out and not just do a creative show that is going to please me.'

From contactmusic.com

Madonna's Instagram: 'Thank You Idris Elba! Thank You Berlin!'

Madonna shared two pictures on her Instagram page of herself and Idris Elba who was the opening act at the Berlin show last night:

'The O.G. Of Unapologetic Bitches🍌🍌🍌Thank You Idris Elba ‼️ thank you Berlin🎉🎉❤ #rebelhearttour'

'Idris Elba saves the world one banana at a time🍌‼️ House DJ extraordinaire the 👑is Happy😂. ❤ #rebelhearttour in Berlin

Idris Elba to open for Madonna in Berlin

Madonna is bringing her Rebel Heart tour to Berlin on Tuesday night (10 November), and she revealed The Wire star, who performs under the name Driis, will kick off her gig at the Mercedes-Benz Arena with a DJ set.

Elba has made a successful side career out of his musical talents, playing all over the world and even performing at Britain's iconic Glastonbury Festival in June.

From contactmusic.com

Madonna: We love you Prague! ❤️

Thank you for having us in your beautiful mystical and mysterious city! We love you Prague! ❤️ #rebelhearttour pic.twitter.com/AEE9eryNiC

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 9, 2015

Rebel Heart Tour: Cologne Fan Pictures 2

madonnalicious reader Dirk shares more of his pictures from Cologne, this time from the second show in the city that took place on Thursday 05 November.

Rebel Heart Tour: Cologne Fan Pictures 1

madonnalicious reader Dirk shares his pictures from the first European show on Wednesday 04 November in Cologne, Germany.

Jessica Chastain is Madonna's 'Unapologetic Bitch'

Actress Jessica Chastain was Madonna's 'unapologetic bitch' on stage in Prague last night. Both Madonna and Jessica tweeted these pictures from the night.

Tonights Sexy and Beautiful Unapologetic Bitch🎉💋💘. Thank you Jessica Chastain‼️.Thank you Prague! ❤️ #rebelhearttour pic.twitter.com/9hAEKxxUCA

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 8, 2015

The moment before @Madonna handed me a banana. The fkn QUEEN. #RebelHeartTour #unapologeticbitch pic.twitter.com/IB0QwtAd2P

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) November 8, 2015

Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour: $46 Million Grossed (So Far)

The diva's tour has played to more than 300,000 fans....and counting.

Madonna heads up Billboard’s weekly ranking of concert touring artists, landing at No. 1 on the Hot Tours recap based on $25.4 million in sales reported from her Rebel Heart world tour. This tally includes the final 12 stops on the first leg of the tour that played 20 cities in North America during September and October.

Since the tour launched on Sept. 9, Madonna has performed for more than 300,000 fans at 24 shows, generating box office sales totaling $46 million. The trek through U.S. and Canadian markets wrapped on Oct. 29 in San Diego, but the tour began its second leg just six days later. A seven-week jaunt through 11 European countries began on Nov. 4 in Köln, Germany and will continue until Dec. 20, wrapping for the year in Glasgow, Scotland.

Top box-office stats from the tour so far include a $5.2 million gross from two shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sept. 16-17, the highest-grossing engagement among all of the venues on the schedule. The Garden’s sold ticket count of 28,371 is also the highest attendance recorded. Among the arenas that hosted the tour for just one performance, the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas produced the top sales total with $3.5 million on Oct. 24. Brooklyn’s Barclays Center logged the largest crowd among the single-show dates with 14,258 present on Sept. 19.

From www.billboard.com

'My little cabaret in Koln!'

My little cabaret in KOLN ! 🌹 tonight was La vie En Rose! ❤️ #rebelhearttour pic.twitter.com/cZdHxPUvL6

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 5, 2015

Madonna Launches Rebel Heart Tour in Europe

Madonna returned to Europe this week launching the European leg of her top selling and critically acclaimed Rebel Heart Tour. After 24 shows across 20 cities in North America, The Rebel Heart Tour kicked off with a sold out show in Cologne, Germany where the Material Girl played two nights to packed houses and will continue its seven-week trek across eleven European countries before it returns to North America and heads to Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand in the first few months of the New Year.

'Love and thanks to all of the Rebel Hearts who joined me in North America. You sure do know how to make a girl feel special. Europe, I'm coming for you next!'

The Rebel Heart Tour is the best selling tour on the Billboard's Hot Tours Chart this week selling over 350,000 tickets, grossing over $45 million dollars and holding 12 of the top 17 tour dates on the Current Boxscore. Madonna performed three SOLD OUT shows in the New York City area (two at Madison Square Garden and one at Barclay Center) and two SOLD OUT shows in Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton and Cologne. She will also perform three SOLD OUT nights in Turin and a sold out show to over 40,000 in Stockholm. The Material Girl will also stage two concerts in Prague, Berlin, Barcelona, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Mexico City, Miami, San Juan, Taipei, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Macau, Manila, Auckland, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. This will be the first time Madonna will perform in China, Taiwan and the Southeast Asian markets.

From MarketWired

#RebelHeartTour finally hits Europe tonight!

Tonight Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour finally hits Europe! It seems such a long time in coming....and means it is nearer for madonnalicious to see our first show! Can't wait!

At last! The night has come. #TheQueen takes over Europe starting 2nite in #cologne @_madonnalicious #rebelhearttour pic.twitter.com/hLEywnLgH7

— Brett Allan (@buddhaboy74) November 4, 2015

MDNA Tour 'Girl Gone Wild' Rehearsal Footage

This video footage of rehearsal for the MDNA Tour Girl Gone Wild performance was put online yesterday. The footage shows the amazing amount of work and people involved to make the performance absolutely perfect.

Thanks to Aaron

Never-Before-Seen Photos of Madonna, Warhol, Basquiat and More

Some It-girls of the ’80s may regret that their youthful glory predated social media, but Interview magazine’s former associate publisher Paige Powell doesn’t have to. Powell arrived in New York in 1980 from the Pacific Northwest, looking like a granola version of Edie Sedgwick and armed with the work ethic of Mary Tyler Moore. She was soon swept up in Interview’s bid to be a more serious publication - 'At first it was more for friends, like, Fran Lebowitz drove the delivery truck to drop off issues at different newsstands,' she remembers - and Andy Warhol’s select social whirlwind of downtown clubbing, midtown shopping and uptown lunches. 'Andy always said, ‘Work is fun and fun is work,’' Powell says. 'It was just the way I thought New York City was, all the time, for everyone - exuberant.'

Powell often carried the latest camera or camcorder from Japan with her and used them often to capture intimate snapshots of her coterie: including Warhol, Madonna, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, who was her boyfriend from 1982 through 1984. For nearly 40 years, she’s been sitting on ('literally; they were stashed in boxes under the bed,' she says) a treasure trove that’s remained largely unexamined. Powell returned to Portland in the ’90s to focus on animal rights advocacy work, and it’s there that her images will be showcased for the first time, in two interactive multimedia installations, 'The Ride' and 'Beulah Land,' opening this week at the Portland Art Museum. Still in possession of plenty of influential friends, Powell asked David LaChapelle to mix a musical soundtrack for the show and Kenny Scharf to create a signature 'Cosmic Cavern' to accompany it. 'Half of the photos in the new installation will be from the ’80s, and half will be photos moving forward to the present,' Powell says, noting that the installation is meant to be 'interactive,' just like the one she created at the art bar also called Beulah Land in the ‘80s (see slide 7) - visitors can add notes to the walls. 'So we’re having a cocktail party for the guards at PAM, to prepare them,' she notes, 'because we don’t want them to be alarmed.'

'Paige Powell: The Ride' and 'Beulah Land' are on view Nov. 5 - Feb. 21 at the Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., Portland, / portlandartmuseum.org

'Fresh 14 was a short-lived club with great energy and a horrible sound system, which might account for the expression on Madonna’s face,' Powell says of this photo. 'Unfortunately, two kids shot each other there and it closed. When I was in New York recently, I noticed that space is now a Forever 21.'

To view the rest of the pictures visit: www.nytimes.com

Events: Madonna Dance Party / Encyclopedia Madonnica 20

Madonnathonnyc and Madonnasworld present:
Madonna Dance Party + Celebrate the Release of Encyclopedia Madonnica 20!

Friday, Nov 6 2015 at 9pm

DJ set by DJ JENE

Rockbar
185 Christopher street
NY, NY (bet. Washington and Weehawken)
(212) 675-1864

Join us at NYC's only ALL MADONNA DANCE PARTY plus on this night we will be celebrating the release of Encyclopedia Madonnica 20! Meet the author Matthew Rettenmund, as he autographs copies of his brand new book for you, hot off the press; You will be able to buy your own copy from 9-11pm.

Our monthly Madonna parties are a time to celebrate the queen of Music with all of your friends, near and far. Its your invitation to get into the groove; your spotlight is waiting!

Doors open at 9 P.M.
Exclusive Madonna giveaways all night including your chance to win a limited edition copy of Encyclopedia Madonnica and much more!
Madonna Drink specials / $5 cover

Visit: www.madonnathonnyc.com www.djjene.com www.Rockbarnyc.com for more info