Facebook Gallery Instagram Madame X Tour News Twitter

The 20 Greatest Final Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of All-Time: Staff Picks

Monday, 29 June 2020
Billboard staff have chosen the 20 Greatest Final Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of All-Time.

Madonna landed at Number 6 with her Global smash 'MUSIC' from 2001
'Her Madgesty started off the 2000s still sounding like the absolute future of pop, with the sleek electro-funk of the Mirwais co-produced "Music." A compulsory floor-filler about the power of music to unite "the bourgeoisie and the rebel" - depends on the tone and subject of the music, perhaps - "Music" was one of Madonna's most successful reinventions yet, and showed that the defining female artist of MTV's first two decades was still nowhere near losing her touch.'

From Billboard.com - thanks to Micheal

Posted at 04:00 AM in Music | | Comments (2)

| | |

The Past Catches up to the future....

Friday, 26 June 2020
The Past Catches up to the future....

this video was made 30 years ago and caused so much controversy Because —-
1. I depicted police brutality and an arrest of an innocent Black Man.
2. I went to a church to pray for justice and discovered a Black Saint
3. That Saint was crying-he had feelings
4. I kissed that Black Saint
5. I did my best to get him released from prison for a crime he did not commit.
My contract with Pepsi. was cancelled
We all have such a long way to go but this long overdue Revolution that is happening right now in America is so great to not only witness the Change but to see all these great young leaders emerging #blacklivesmatter #likeaprayer #nojusticenopeace

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (0)

| | |

Madonna joins LA Black Lives Matter protest

Thursday, 11 June 2020
Every Weds for the last few years Black Lives Matter LA, has gathered in front of City Hall to demand the resignation of D.A. Jackie Lacey and to grieve with mothers mourning the loss of their children to police brutality. I urge you to join them next Wed. And every Wed .I did today and had the honor of meeting these two compelling and impassioned activists @janayathefuture and @kendrick38 I cried for two hours feeling the anguish of the mothers who spoke but at the same time I saw hope in the leaders of this generation.#defundthepolice #bld.pwr #blacklivesmatter #endpolicebrutality

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (2)

| | |

Madonna, U2 Manager Guy Oseary No Longer Running Maverick; What Does it Mean for the Collective?

Wednesday, 27 May 2020
Guy Oseary has “stepped down” from the day-to-day running Maverick, the management collective he founded in 2014. “I’m ready for my new chapter and welcome the opportunity to have more time to focus on management of Madonna and U2 while furthering my passion for identifying and incubating revolutionary businesses,” said Oseary in a statement, first published by Billboard.

Moving forward, Oseary will segue to a consulting role with Live Nation, specifically for CEO Michael Rapino for the next three years, while continuing to represent Madonna and U2 under the Maverick banner. A statement by Live Nation notes that Oseary will be “concentrating on his entrepreneurial interests, investing in and incubating companies on the cutting edge of technology and entertainment.”

Said Rapino: “Guy built an incredible team at Maverick and his work with U2 and Madonna is unmatched. Live Nation has always been about putting the artist first and no one knows that better than Guy. I look forward to continuing our work together on projects including U2, Madonna and beyond.”

What does the move mean for such seasoned managers as Adam Leber (Miley Cyrus. Lil Nas X), Larry Rudolph (Britney Spears, Pitbull), Sal Slaiby (The Weeknd, Doja Cat), Scott Rodger (Paul McCartney, Andrea Bocelli) and Lee Anne Callahan-Longo (Ricky Martin) - just a handful of the power brokers under the Maverick umbrella - and their clients? Not much changes, it seems, as most of the Maverick collective is contracted for employment by Live Nation and their deals made with Rapino.

Indeed, the number of acts Live Nation manages has ballooned over the last five years and, as of 2019, counts more than 500 acts represented by “70 managers across 16 management companies,” the company notes of its Artist Nation management arm which is also partnered with such concerns as Roc Nation (home to management clients Rihanna, Shakira and Mariah Carey, among many more). Live Nation “will continue to invest in this division,” the statement continues.

Still, it stands to reason that some managers might want to pivot off of the Maverick brand to another firm within the Live Nation-Artist Nation ecosystem.

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

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (0)

| | |

Madonna Calls George Floyd Murder 'Most Sickening, Heartbreaking Thing I've Seen in a Long Time'

Tuesday, 26 May 2020
Yet another incident of police brutality against the black community surfaced on social media Tuesday (May 26), and the Internet is outraged, rallying in support of George Floyd.

The family attorney was arrested on Monday (May 25) on suspicion of forgery. In the viral clip, Floyd was unarmed and cried out that he couldn't breathe as an officer kneeled on his neck. He later died at the hospital.

Madonna is among the growing number of celebrities speaking out against the horrifying injustice. She shared the video to her Instagram page with the caption, "Watching this Cop suffocate George Floyd with his knee on his neck, handcuffed and helpless, crying for his life with his face in the street is the most sickening, heartbreaking thing ive seen in a long time."

"This Officer knew he was being filmed and murdered him with arrogance and Pride. This has to stop!! Until we can over come Racism in America— no one should be allowed to carry a gun. Most of all cops," she continued. "God Bless you George Floyd Im so sorry for you and your family. And all the senseless killings that have gone before you. Will it ever end? I pray to GOD it does one day."

Until then—F--- The Police!" she concluded. "Yea I said it. Im not interested in being PC. Im interested in Justice."

From Billboard.com

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (0)

| | |

Why Madonna Brought 14 Cape Verdean Drummers on Tour - And What They Taught Her

Thursday, 21 May 2020
In 2017, Madonna thought she was moving to Portugal to “be a soccer mom,” but instead, the 61-year-old icon found inspiration for her then-upcoming album, Madame X, thanks to a friend she calls her “musical plug,” Dino d’Santiago. One night, the Cape Verde-born, Lisbon-based singer — who coached Madonna on how to speak Portuguese and sing in Portuguese and Creole — had arranged a concert for her by Batukadeiras Orquesta, a group of female drummers specializing in batuka, a rhythmic call-and-response style created in Cape Verde during the early days of the slave trade. “I’d never seen anything like it, never heard anything like it. So of course, I couldn’t get it out of my head,” says Madonna.

She invited several members of the collective to perform on her album and even brought some to the United States for her intimate Madame X tour that began last September in New York. (Its final two dates were canceled due to the pandemic.) “I thought about [my manager] Guy Oseary’s response to the cost of taking 22 women on the road with us,” says Madonna. (They ended up taking 14.) But her goal was set: “I wanted the audience to get a glimpse of [their] history.”

How did you discover the Orquesta Batukadeiras?
I discovered them once I met Dino d'Santiago, who I call my musical plug. He understood that I wanted to meet musicians and experience all the different traditions and genres that Portugal had to offer. He called me one day and said that he had something very special for me, but he couldn't tell me what -- he just said to show up at this place, at this time. At this point, he had already introduced me to some amazing musicians and brought me to some really cool places, clubs, etc. So, I went to this place -- it's hard to describe -- it was like a bar that hadn't been open in a while. They had opened it expressly for me. There was Abstract art on the wall and a few deer -- you know, antlers. It was filled with people. There was a DJ playing electro-African-house music, and a girl singing in a silver lamé suit, and I thought, "Oh this can't be what he asked me to come here for." Dino said, "No, this is not what I want you to hear. It's coming up." There were some people dancing and eventually the music stopped -- the crowds parted and on the other side of the room was a group of women sitting in a semi-circle in chairs, exactly as you saw them on my stage, but there were a lot more of them. They started playing their drums, drums that they held in their laps, and they started beating out these rhythms, and then they started singing and taking turns getting up and dancing. I was drawn to them and we walked closer and closer to them. It was wild – the way they played and the organic way they got up and took turns dancing together and singing solos. I asked Dino what language they were singing in. They were singing in Cape Verdean Creole.

It didn't seem terribly rehearsed; it seemed like second nature to them. They were like a family, a community of women. I marveled at the age range of the women -- from teenage girls to women who looked like they could be grandmothers. It was an amazing, immersive, musical, familial, matriarchal experience. The music was mesmerizing and hypnotizing and it blew me away. We just sat there, stood there, with our mouths hanging open. I'd never seen anything like it before. They were joyous and enthusiastic. There was an abandonment, for lack of a better word.

Afterwards, Dino said, "This style of music is called batuka, this is the Batukadeiras Orquesta." I met some of the women, not all of them. Dino told me they had to rush out as they all came on buses from far outside of town, especially to play for me. I was extremely moved that they made such an effort and even more so that they were so amazing.

To read the rest of the article visit: www.billboard.com/articles/madonna-batuka-sisterhood

Posted at 04:00 PM in Madame X Tour | | Comments (0)

| | |

On This Day In Billboard History: Madonna Brought the Transcendence of 'Vogue' to No. 1

Tuesday, 19 May 2020
At the start of the '90s, Madonna had seven Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s under her boy-toy belt and could pretty readily make the case she was the defining female pop star of the '80s. The only thing arguably working against her was the embarrassment-of-riches issue of figuring out how to follow-up a career-defining smash such as 1989's "Like a Prayer."

She solved that problem by dropping another world-shifting pop hit. "Vogue," which became her eighth Hot 100 No. 1 30 years ago today (May 19, 1990), topped the chart for three consecutive weeks and remains one of her most enduring hits. Over the course of this lush, gradual ascent into thumping house-disco bliss aided by co-writer and co-producer Shep Pettibone, Madonna lays out yet another masterful manifesto about ecstatic liberation on the dancefloor.

Inspired by the visually dramatic dance style of voguing that grew out of Harlem ballroom culture (as depicted in the classic 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning), Madonna tapped dancers/choreographers Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza and Luis Xtravaganza from that world to show America how it was done. While Madonna hardly invented the iconic moves, her global reach propelled voguing into the mainstream, a double-edged sword that season 2 of FX's Pose thoughtfully dealt with in 2019 (on one hand, it gave scene players an industry launch pad, but some queer people of color felt their culture had been appropriated, then discarded, after the craze went out of, well, vogue).

Thirty years after "Vogue" topped the chart, it's truly difficult to think about something related to the song that isn't iconic: There's the irresistible choreography; David Fincher's black-and-white art deco music video; her Marie Antoinette-styled VMAs performance of the song; the movie-star roll call near the end; and also every damn lyric. Really, the only thing "Vogue"-adjacent that isn't a clear victory is the album it first called home: I'm Breathless: Music From and Inspired By the Film Dick Tracy. It was a hit, certainly, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, but remains one of the more neglected titles in her otherwise essential catalog, in no small part because its biggest single shares almost nothing in common with the rest of the LP other than an affection for Golden Era Hollywood.

It probably wouldn't surprise anyone to learn "Vogue" wasn't even intended for that collection of Sondheim numbers and Jazz Age throwbacks. According to Pettibone, it was given a budget of $5,000 and slated as a b-side for "Keep It Together," but when execs heard it, the plan changed. "The attitude was like, ‘This isn't gonna be a b-side. How can we get this out there?’” Pettibone recalled to Billboard in 2015 of the decision to tack it on to the Dick Tracy companion album.

Regardless, three decades later, its power remains undiminished. When Madame X trotted out "Vogue" at Pride Island 2019 during New York City's 50th anniversary of Stonewall World Pride celebration, the response was deafening, with the crowd surging like a tsunami. But even then, it was so much deeper and deeper than just bumping and grinding: It was a magical, life's-a-ball moment of transcendence few dance songs dare to reach.

From Billboard.com

Posted at 04:00 PM in Music | | Comments (1)

| | |

Law firm hackers shift ransom target from Trump to Madonna

Monday, 18 May 2020
The hackers who stole confidential files about stars including Lady Gaga from an A-list power lawyer claim to have sold all their “dirty laundry” on President Trump to a secret buyer, and now they’re demanding at least $1 million for details on Madonna.

Hacking group REvil cyberattacked top entertainment attorney Allen Grubman’s NYC law firm and stole 756 gigabytes of documents on stars including Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey and U2. They doubled their ransom demand to $42 million last week after Grubman refused to pay, stating the FBI considered the hack “an act of terrorism.”

The hackers upped the ante by posting on the dark web, “The next person we’ll be publishing is Donald Trump … We found a ton of dirty laundry.” It was not clear why the hackers connected Grubman to Trump, who has never been a client of the lawyer’s firm.

Then on Monday, REvil revealed the Trump documents were off the market, stating, “Interested people contacted us and agreed to buy all the data about the US president … We are pleased with the deal and keep our word.” They added, “We are preparing to auction Madonna data … The buyer has the right to do whatever he sees fit with the data.”

It is not known what was in the alleged Trump trove, but sources who viewed a sample on the hackers’ site said it related to snarky mentions of Trump in emails from Grubman’s clientele.

Brett Callow, from cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, told Page Six, “What information REvil had on Trump we may likely never know. But they were almost certainly bluffing about it being ‘presidency-ending material.’ But let’s assume this is being treated as a terrorist matter, perhaps because of Trump, so the law firm was prevented from paying the ransom or negotiating.

“The hackers were also prevented from making any money, so they went to Plan B, removing Trump from the deal and instead auctioning off the celebs’ information separately.”

From PageSix

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (0)

| | |

Madonna reveals she's set to undergo regenerative treatment for missing cartilage

Wednesday, 13 May 2020
Madonna has revealed she is set to undergo 'regenerative treatment' in a bid to relieve pain in her knee.

The iconic singer, 61, told fans that she is 'missing cartilage', after having to cancel a string of tour dates due to injury earlier this year.

Sharing a photo of herself wearing black lingerie and a net bodysuit, the star wrote on Instagram: 'Finally going to get my regenerative treatment for my missing cartilage!! I would be jumping up and down if I could after 8 months of being in pain. Wish me luck!'

Regenerative medicine seeks to develop techniques to regrow or replace damaged cells, tissues or organs to restore their function.

From Evening Standard

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (0)

| | |

Madonna has donated so much money that she may legally become the EU's newest member

Saturday, 09 May 2020
As if 2020 wasn't weird enough already, Madonna may end up replacing the United Kingdom as a member state of the European Union.

Because of an obscure EU law unearthed by Politico's Paul Dallison, Madonna can join the organisation because she pledged more money to fight coronavirus than several of its actual members.

Madonna pledged $1m during an online summit held by EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen aimed at raising money to research coronavirus vaccine development and produce tests.

$8bn (£6.5bn) was pledged altogether from 40 countries and donors from the EU and beyond, including £388m from the UK.

Madonna's donation puts her ahead of Estonia and Lithuania, who didn't donate, and the US and Russia who didn't take part.

Because of the UK's recent departure from the EU, Madonna could theoretically step in.

The queen of pop would be well placed to take up our absent spot, given that she lived here for almost a decade whilst married to English director Guy Ritchie.

And who's to say the 'mother of reinvention' isn't up for a new, if not slightly bizarre, chapter of her career?

To qualify for full membership status, Madonna would in fact need to be an actual country, and we're not exactly sure how she'd go about reinventing herself as such. However, if she managed it, it would be pretty simple for her to join the EU: she'd just have to agree to uphold article two of the Treaty on European Union: upholding "human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities".

She might also have to rustle up some legislation that she could then whip into line with EU laws.

But if it all proved too much, it's not like she can't leave.

Madgexit anyone?

From indy100.com

Posted at 04:00 AM in General News | | Comments (0)

| | |

'A Freudian nightmare': Madonna's Blond Ambition tour turns 30

Friday, 08 May 2020
In Toronto, Madonna simulated masturbation on a velvet bed under the watchful eye of the Canadian police, who threatened her with arrest if her show went ahead. In Italy, unions called for a general strike if Madonna performed, and Pope John Paul II declared her concert “one of the most satanic shows in the history of humanity”. The Blond Ambition tour, which turned 30 years old last month, remains among the most controversial tours of all time.

It seems bizarre now that so much fuss was made over a little fake frotting and a few gyrating nuns. But this was 1990, when Kylie Minogue was still performing in straw hats, Bananarama were deemed dangerous and the gossip pages raged over Annie Lennox singing Would I Lie to You in a bra. Into this age of relative wholesomeness landed Blond Ambition Madonna, on a mission to combine fashion, rock, Broadway theatricality and performance art, to “be provocative” and “break useless taboos”. Mission accomplished. Jean Paul Gaultier’s famous conical corset has been described as a “Freudian nightmare”, a generation of teenagers asked their parents what S&M stood for, and the coy suggestiveness of the live pop spectacle was blown wide open.

The themed set-pieces - religion, German expressionism, art deco, Madge’s rubbish new movie Dick Tracy - set a new bar for confrontational theatricality that only greater shock tactics could ever challenge. Marilyn Manson’s onstage Bible shredding is straight out of the “Madonna 90” guidebook, and with her firework bras, stage blood and copious dry-humping, Lady Gaga looks as if she was conceived at a Blond Ambition gig. But the key taboo Madonna broke that summer was that of feminine sexuality as strength rather than titillation, as something owned by the artist not cashed in by the svengalis. That’s what gave us SexKylie, “zig-a-zig-AH!”, Wrecking Ball-era Miley and Nicki Minaj’s bottom-obsessed Anaconda. It’s one of the reasons female artists feel comfortable singing about sex and desire today.

Sex sells, though, and more sex sells more. Over the decades, overt sexuality became the expected – nay, contractual – pop norm. Attention-grabbing boundaries were pushed to their limits, and artists were pressured to play this new, ever raunchier game. Enter Billie Eilish, defiantly covered, mocking the uber-sexualised expectations of modern pop with a film of her stripping off beneath blackened water: “If I wear more, if I wear less, who decides what that makes me?” she intones, shaming the bodyshamers and staring out the monetisable male gaze. By asserting ownership of her body she is not re-establishing any old taboos, she’s breaking the oldest one of all – subservience. Her image, her body, her art, her rules. Which was Madonna’s point all along.

From The Guardian

Posted at 04:00 AM in Tours | | Comments (4)

| | |

Madonna says she caught coronavirus on tour in Paris

Thursday, 07 May 2020
Madonna battled coronavirus during her 'Madame X' tour in March, along with a number of others working on her live show.

The 61-year-old singer recently revealed she has antibodies for the respiratory condition and sparked confusion when she was then seen out and about, but she's now explained she actually fell ill some time ago, along with a number of others working on her live show.

Alongside an image of a news article explaining she has donated over $1 million to help find a vaccine, she wrote:
'I'm Grateful that I can be a part of supporting Research to Find the cure for Covid -19!! And just to clear things up for people who would rather believe sensationalist headlines than do their own research about the nature of this virus, I am not currently sick. When you test positive for anti-bodies it means you HAD the virus which I. clearly did as I was sick at the end of my tour in Paris over 7 weeks ago along with many other artists in my show but at the time. We all thought we had a very bad flu. Thank God we are all healthy and well now. Hope that clears things up for the band wagon jumpers!! Knowledge is Power! #covid19 (sic)'

The 'Hung Up' hitmaker revealed she had tested positive for coronavirus antibodies last week when she explained she was looking forward to going out for a ''long drive'' after weeks in lockdown.

She said: 'I took a test the other day. I found out I have the antibodies, so tomorrow I'm just going to go for a long drive in the car. I'm going to roll down the window, I'm going to roll down the window and breathe in the COVID-19 air.'

In contrast to Madonna's claims, the World Health Organisation has warned there's 'no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection'.

From contactmusic.com

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (0)

| | |

Madonna celebrates Steven Klein's birthday in Bridgehampton

Tuesday, 05 May 2020
Pop icon Madonna has stoked controversy after attending celebrity photographer Steven Klein's birthday party days after claiming in a video that she had tested positive for coronavirus antiboides, which would indicate that she had been exposed to the virus. The 61-year-old singer was pictured ignoring social distancing rules at the party, hugging and standing very close to Mr Klein who is a longtime friend and neighbour. The party was held either at Madonna's or Mr Klein's home - both live in Bridgehampton, New York. Most guests at the party attended virtually via Zoom; Madonna was one of the handful of in-person attendees.

Madonna has been criticised for attending a social gathering, especially because her quarantine companions include her children, two of whom are very young. Comments on social media have also pointed out that none of the guests who attended in-person were wearing masks or social distancing. USA has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world.

Celebrity manager Michele L Ruiz, who works with Madonna, shared a video and wrote indignantly that "She was in her own home... There were about 5 people that came to her home (or Steven's?) to celebrate Steven's birthday, and all these people have been quarantined for over a month as well. Please stop the madness. She would never put herself or her children at risk."

From ndtv.com

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (0)

| | |

Madonna wants to ‘breathe Covid-19 air’ as she discovers she has ‘antibodies’

Friday, 01 May 2020
Madonna determined to breathe in ‘Covid-19 air’ after learning she has the anti-bodies to ‘protect her’.

The Like A Virgin singer created a film noir style Quarantine Diary explaining that she had a test done for coronavirus and was told she has tested negative. Of course, the first thing she wanted to do was drive around town with the windows down.

She began: ‘Quarantine Diaries 14. I think it’s quite significant that the paper I’m typing on just caught on fire and consumed my paper,’ before picking up the paper and feigned looking worried.

‘I took a test the other day,’ the 61-year-old said. ‘And I found out that I have the antibodies so tomorrow I’m just going to go on a long drive in a car, roll down the windows and I’m going to breathe in the Covid-19 air. ‘I hope the sun is shining. I have not been wanting to write lately but that does not mean I’m not thinking, thinking about what I want to write or want to say.’

The star went on to discuss how actions are more important than words before she jokingly began talking to her candle. She said: ‘You must now go to bed, you naughty little candle.’

From Metro.co.uk

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (0)

| | |

How Did Older Albums by Madonna, Mariah Carey & Janet Jackson All See Sales Gains This Week?

Friday, 01 May 2020
A sale promotion in the iTunes Store lifted a number of older albums to sales increases, and fans took notice. It might be the year 2020, but if you glanced at the U.S. iTunes Store’s Top Albums tally this past week, it’d be hard to tell what decade you were in.

Thanks to sale pricing and fan promotion, a trio of older albums by Mariah Carey, Madonna and Janet Jackson all jumped into the iTunes Store's always-updating Top Albums tally. On April 27 and 28, Carey’s 2008 album E=MC2 was No. 1 on the iTunes Store’s Top Albums tally, while Madonna’s 1994 set Bedtime Stories visited No. 1 on April 30. Meanwhile, Jackson’s 1986 album Control also visited the top 10 during the week -- and at one point, all three albums were together in the top 10.

According to initial sales reports to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, E=MC2 sold about 2,000 copies total across all retailers in the U.S. in the week ending April 30. About half of that sum was driven by digital sales on April 27, the day the album topped the iTunes tally. Traditionally, the album sells a negligible figure on a daily basis.

As for Bedtime Stories, it shifted a little over 1,000 copies for the week, while Control sold just under 1,000. Again, the bulk of each album’s sales were driven by digital sales - nearly 1,000 for Bedtime Stories on April 30 (the day it was No. 1 in the iTunes Store) and a little under, 1,000 for Control across three days (April 28-30). Like with E=MC2, both Bedtime Stories and Control generally sell a negligible figure on any normal day.

It doesn’t necessarily take a large number of sales to reach No. 1 on the iTunes Store’s Top Albums ranking, especially considering album sales have been on the decline for years, and it was a particularly soft week for new releases on April 24. The trio of albums were part of an iTunes Store promotion where more than 100 pop albums were discounted to $4.99 and advertised in a banner ad that appears at the top of the front page of the Store, directing consumers to “$4.99 Pop Albums at a Great Price.”

As generally happens with deeply discounted albums (most new titles sell for at least $9.99), they start to rise up the iTunes Store Top Albums list, since it reacts in real time to customers’ purchases. After that, fans of the divas took notice of the albums dotting the iTunes Store Top Albums list and began awareness campaigns on social media to drive attention to the albums. That promotion then helped engineer more sales for the albums, which brought them to the top 10 of the store. At that point, the albums got much wider attention, since the top 10 of the Top Albums list is visible on the front of the iTunes Store, and casual music fans likely saw the albums in the top 10 - perhaps encouraging even more sales.

E=MC2 debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated May 3, 2008. Bedtime Stories debuted and peaked at No. 3 (Nov. 12, 1994), and Control hit No. 1 on July 5, 1986. None of the albums are expected to re-enter next week’s Billboard 200 chart, despite their surge on the iTunes Store.

From Billboard.com

Posted at 04:00 AM in Music | | Comments (0)

| | |

Madonna and activists send 100,000 surgical masks to jails and prisons

Wednesday, 22 April 2020
Madonna is partnering with Meek Mill's advocacy group REFORM Alliance to send much-needed personal protective equipment to jails and prisons which have become coronavirus hotspots across the country.

More than 50,000 surgical masks will be donated to Chicago's Cook County Jail, which has been hit hard by the pandemic. Six inmates have died, while 210 staffers and 235 inmates have tested positive, according to the county sheriff's department. Another 192 detainees and 120 staffers have recovered from the virus.

The Louisiana Department of Corrections will also receive 20,000 masks, while another 30,000 will be sent to California's Vacaville Prison, FCI Ray Brook in New York and the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department in Massachusetts.

REFORM and Madonna's Ray of Light Foundation worked with several activist groups for the initiative, including apparel company Pair of Thieves, The Bail Project and #cut50.

'More than 2 million lives in prisons across America are currently at stake due to the COVID-19 pandemic,' REFORM co-chair Michael Rubin said in a statement. 'It's absolutely crucial that we protect our inmates and prison staff, especially since social distancing guidelines are difficult to abide by in these facilities.'

Earlier this month, REFORM sent 100,000 face masks to facilities including the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman and Rikers Island jail complex in New York City.

From CBS News

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (0)

| | |

The Story Behind Madonna’s Iconic Jean Paul Gaultier Cone Bra

Sunday, 19 April 2020
On the first night of Madonna’s Blond Ambition tour, held in April 1990 in Chiba, Japan, few in the audience could have prepared themselves for the spectacle about to unfold. With its $2 million dollar stage set, explosive choreography by voguing legends from the New York City ballroom scene, and headline-grabbing aesthetic fusion of Catholic imagery and BDSM, the show solidified Madonna’s position at the top of music’s pantheon. In less than two hours, she was no longer just a pop star—she had graduated to become a fully-fledged pop culture icon.

00_story%2520(1)

For her fans, though, it was less of a surprise: Madonna was merely following up on the string of controversies that accompanied her latest album, Like a Prayer, a year earlier. A $5 million sponsorship deal with Pepsi was swiftly pulled after she debuted the video for her lead single, “Like a Prayer,” the plot of which implicitly drew a link between racial injustice and organized religion. Featuring Ku Klux Klan-style burning crosses and Madonna receiving the stigmata, it led to a direct call from the Vatican to boycott Pepsi and its subsidiaries. “Art should be controversial, and that’s all there is to it,” Madonna told the New York Times with nonchalance in the lead-up to the album’s release. (This laid-back response may have been due to the fact that Pepsi, eager to extricate themselves from the kerfuffle, let Madonna keep the $5 million check.)

To read the rest of the article visit: www.vogue.com/article/madonna-blonde-ambition

Posted at 04:00 AM | | Comments (1)

| | |

Madonna says she's lost three people in 24 hours in 'quarantine diary'

Monday, 13 April 2020
Madonna has shared her latest “quarantine diary” in which she says she has lost three people in 24 hours.

The Queen of Pop, 61, has regularly been updating fans during the coronavirus lockdown.

Her latest Instagram video sees her tapping away on a typewriter as she reveals she has lost three people close to her.

“We can’t always have a good day … I didn’t sleep last night, not one minute and today I have been dysfunctional,” she starts the message.

The singer goes on: “The pain-o-meter was on 10 and when it’s on 10, I just need to, want to, have to, get out of my body.

“The burning spear makes its way into the core of me and slithers down my leg, and I can concentrate on nothing except the idea of escape, and I wonder what form that will take.”

Madonna then announces that in the last 24 hours her cousin, her security guard’s brother and dance music executive Orlando Puerta - who the star worked with - had died.

“These three people I have lost in the last 24 hours,” she said.

“Today wasn’t a good day,” she added. “I’m over it.”

Madonna did not give details of how the three people died.

From Yahoo! News

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (0)

| | |

Madonna Donates $1 Million to Gates Philanthropy Partners’ Coronavirus-Relief Efforts

Friday, 03 April 2020
Madonna has donated $1 million to the Gates Philanthropy Partners’ COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, a rep for the organization confirmed to Variety.

'Her contribution is alongside the commitments by the Gates Foundation, Wellcome, Mastercard, U.K. Government and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative - all partners in the initiative,' the rep said, clarifying that 'The money will go through the COVID-19 Response Fund operated by Gates Philanthropy Partners, so not directly to the Gates Foundation.'

In a statement on her website, Madonna wrote:

'I’m joining the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation effort to find a drug that will prevent or treat COVID-19. We need this to protect our health workers, the most vulnerable, and all of our friends and families.'

'I’m talking about this: I am so impressed by the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator’s urgent efforts to find new or existing drugs that could effectively prevent or treat the disease. Harnessing the strength and knowledge of the research community, the Accelerator’s critical scientific progress will inform how we end this pandemic and prevent future impact from the virus. I send enormous gratitude and strength to the courageous first responders, medical professionals and scientists who are protecting our communities, those suffering and our most vulnerable.'

An excerpt from an update on the Accelerator’s progress posted on its website reads: 'There are two trials starting pretty much simultaneously, using chloroquine and a drug with a slightly different structure, hydroxychloroquine. Now, you may have heard of the WHO SOLIDARITY Trial that was announced two weeks ago, which will look at chloroquine as a treatment for people who are sick, to see if it shortens the duration of their sickness. The two Accelerator studies are looking instead at prophylaxis - stopping people exposed to the virus from getting sick.

'From the existing data, which need validation in a trial, it looks like hydroxychloroquine could be a good agent for prophylaxis. It actually blocks the entry of the virus into the cell, so the hypothesis makes a lot of sense: if you have the drug in your system and you get exposed, you won’t let the virus get into your cells and you won’t get onset of disease. That is what the trials are aimed at showing.

From Variety

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (1)

| | |

Happy 30th Birthday Vogue!

Friday, 27 March 2020
With its striking music video, empowering lyrics and a middle eight section name-checking some of the biggest stars to ever grace the silver screen, Madonna’s song Vogue had all the makings of an instant hit.

It’s now been 30 years since she released the track, which reached number one in more than 30 countries and gave the Queen of Pop a brand new signature tune.

But despite being a song that’s now recognised all over the world - and still has everyone recreating those famous moves - there’s a lot you probably don’t know about Vogue.

To read the 30 things you may not know about Vogue visit: uk.style.yahoo.com/madonna-vogue-music-video

Posted at 04:00 PM in Music | | Comments (0)

| | |

Madonna Honors Desperately Seeking Susan Costar Mark Blum, Who Died from Coronavirus Complications

Friday, 27 March 2020
Madonna is mourning the loss of her Desperately Seeking Susan costar Mark Blum, who died due to complications associated with the novel coronavirus.

“I Want to Acknowledge the Passing of a remarkable Human, fellow actor and friend Mark Blum, who succumbed to Coronavirus,” the actress and singer, 61, wrote of her onscreen love interest in a touching social media tribute, shared alongside two stills from the film on Thursday.

“This is really tragic and my heart goes out to him, his family and his loved ones. I remember him as funny warm, loving and professional when we made Desperately Seeking Susan in 1985!!” she added.

As she concluded her post, Madonna wrote that Blum’s death at 69 is “another reminder that this virus is no joke, nothing to be casual about or pretend wont affect us in some way.”

“We need to stay grateful -be hopeful- help each other-and follow the quarantine rules!” she added.

News of Blum’s death was reported on Wednesday and later confirmed on Thursday by his representatives.

The character actor, who was born in New Jersey, began his career on the stage before taking on a series of notable film and television roles, although he remained a regular fixture on the New York City stage for the rest of his life.

His death was also mourned by many of his costars and collaborators, including Rosanna Arquette, another Desperately Seeking Susan costar. “I’m so deeply sad for his family and for his fans,” she wrote. “He was a wonderful actor and a very good and kind man. May you Rest In Peace and power mark. God bless you.”

Judith Light, who starred alongside Blum in the 2013 Broadway production of The Assembled Parties, his last Broadway credit, remembered their time together onstage as a “true joy.”

“Mark Blum, so generous, so kind, so humble, so talented. Our time together in the play The Assembled Parties at MTC was a true joy,” she wrote. “May he rest in peace knowing that he transformed the lives of so many and was cherished by so many; me among them.”

Blum is survived by his wife, stage and screen actress Janet Zarish, also 69.

From People.com

Posted at 04:00 AM in General News | | Comments (0)

| | |

Madonna Brings You the Fish-Fry Remix of 'Vogue' You Didn't Know You Needed

Sunday, 22 March 2020
It's Lenten Friday, and though she's a good Catholic, Madonna couldn't get out to a fish fry because, well, like the rest of us, she's on a coronavirus quarantine. 'Living in Special Times,' she wrote alongside a post in which she sings a special fish-fry remix of her iconic 1990 hit 'Vogue' in her bathroom.

'C'mon, go, let's go eat some fried fish (fried fish)!,' she sings into a hairbrush, while lamenting the supermarket frenzies that have cleared the shelves of pasta as some Americans continue to stockpile staples for what promises to be a long, lonely spring.

Plenty of artists have taken to singing and dancing in their bathrooms, bedrooms and yards during this COVID-19 social-distancing period, from Kelly Clarkson to Jennifer Lopez, Norah Jones, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lin-Manuel Miranda and Niall Horan.

From Billboard.com

Posted at 04:00 PM in General News | | Comments (7)

| | |

Last two shows in Paris are cancelled due to coronavirus

Monday, 09 March 2020
And so the Madame X Tour comes to a sad end. Madonna.com have just announced that the last two shows on Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th March have now been cancelled due to French action on Coronavirus:

Following official notification from the Office of the Police this morning prohibiting all events with an audience attendance of over 1000, Live Nation regrets to announce the final two Madame X performances previously re-scheduled to 10-March and 11-March are forced to be cancelled.

Tickets are refundable at point of purchase.

We regret the disappointment to fans.

From Madonna.com

Posted at 04:00 PM in Madame X Tour | | Comments (6)

| | |

UK Magazines: Classic Pop

Wednesday, 04 March 2020
The new issue of UK magazine Classic Pop features a review of the opening night of the Madame X tour at the London Palladium.

It is a great review but only gets 4 out of 5 stars! They even say that Frozen deserves to be 'mentioned amongst the all-time great concert performances'.

C3

C2

C4

Posted at 04:00 PM in Magazines | | Comments (0)

| | |

Here I Am - Flesh and Blood

Monday, 02 March 2020
View this post on Instagram

Here I Am——Flesh and Blood 🩸 If only knees didn’t twist and cartilage didn’t tear and nothing hurt and tears never fell out of our eyes.........But alas they do and Thank God for this important reminder that we are human. I Fell 2 nights ago on stage when a chair was literally pulled out from underneath me by mistake and I landed on the floor on my tail bone. I made it thru the show last night but just barely because I hate disappointing. However today even I can see that this broken doll held together with tape and glue, needs to stay in bed and rest for a few days so she can finish the tour with a smile on her face and in one piece. ❌ Thank You for your understanding Paris! 🇫🇷 🙏🏼 #madamextheatre

A post shared by Madonna (@madonna) on

Posted at 04:00 PM in Madame X Tour | | Comments (6)

| | |

Sunday night show in Paris cancelled due to injury

Sunday, 01 March 2020
From Le Grand Rex's website:

Sunday, 1-March, 2020 MADONNA'S MADAME X SHOW THIS EVENING AT THE GRAND REX IS CANCELLED.

We regret to inform you that tonight's Madame X concert at The Grand Rex is cancelled as a result of ongoing injuries.

Fans who ordered tickets online will have to contact point of sale to be refunded.

For additional refund requests, please contact them.

We regret the disappointment to fans.

Posted at 04:00 PM in Madame X Tour | | Comments (0)

| | |

Previous Next