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For a variety of reasons, Madonna's documentary feature did not go to the Cannes Film Festival, and it has become clear that it's not going to be screening at the Venice cinema jamboree either.
So where will it get shown? Um, television.
The singer and her many associates have decided, or rather been advised, that the film - which is a behind-the-scenes and in-front- of-the-scenes look at her last tour - would work better on the small screen.
At one point, the Cannes czars were going to give Madonna a place on the jury and show the documentary as a work in progress.
Cannes festival boss Thierry Fremaux told me he had seen three hours' worth of footage but, in his view, "it wasn't ready".
Others have seen more footage, and it appears that wasn't ready, either.
Documentaries about artists' exploration of their work often come across better on the box than on the big screen.
One tends to want to doze at the cinema, whereas at home one can hit the pause button while pouring a glass of cranberry juice to stay awake.
One wag commented last night: "What's happened to Madge? Is she too busy feeding her chickens to sort this thing out?"
Some films that will be at the Venice Film festival include Proof, which stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Gyllenhaal, and Casanova, with Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller.
Sienna is hoping to attend the festival for Casanova's world premiere screening on September 3, but first she will have to work out whether it would be feasible to miss a performance of As You Like It, which is running at Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End.
While I'm on the Sienna topic, it's worth remembering that Jude Law is one of the few actors in this country whose work has been honoured with Oscar nominations.
And by the way, the producers of Casanova want to know if they are booking a suite in Venice for one, or two.
source : dailymail
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Christina Aguilera's Dirrty has clinched the title of sexiest music video.
Eric Prydz's Call On Me, which featured a women's aerobics work-out, came second behind Aguilera, whose video was set in a boxing ring.
Benny Benassi's Satisfaction, which stars scantily-clad women clutching power tools, was third.
Nerd's Lapdance was fourth, followed by tATu's All the Things She Said, famous for its lesbian clinch in pouring rain.
Madonna's erotic black-and-white video Justify My Love came sixth, followed by Kylie Minogue's Spinning Around, in the online poll for FHM Music TV.
Mariah Carey's Heartbreaker - which features a girl-on-girl fight - was eighth, followed by Britney Spears's Toxic, and Narcotic Thrust's I Like It.
FHM Music TV spokeswoman Vikki Timmons said of the winning video: "David LaChapelle created this erotic masterpiece in a sweaty boxing ring.
"Dirrty oozes sex appeal from start to finish. Christina is one of the sexiest women in music.
"It was a tough decision for the public to make but I think few would dispute the winner."
FHM Music TV is presenting the Top 100 Sexiest Music Videos of all time on Channel Q, co-hosted by Myleene Klass and ex-England footballer Lee Sharpe. More than 150,000 votes were cast in the online poll.
source : launch
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Don't believe those reports that Madonna is teaming up with Christina Aguilera. "Christina is working on an album in the [same] building [as Madonna] but they have not seen each other,"? Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, tells The Scoop. She went on to debunk another rumor. "Gwen Stefani is not guesting on the record either. It's all Madonna, all the time " a total dance record called 'Confessions on a Dance Floor.' No ballads, no messages. Her fans will go insane when they hear it. It's back to Madonna the queen of the dance floor."?
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Madonna has announced details of the first release from her new album, "Confessions On A Dancefloor".
The comeback single will be "Hung Up", which has been produced by Stuart Price, aka Jacques Lu Cont, reports madonna.com. An autumn release is expected.
Lu Cont is understood to have produced "Confessions On A Dancefloor", Madonna's first new album since 2003's "American Life". The album is apparently currently being mixed in Los Angeles.
According to reports, Madonna will shoot the album cover next month with Steven Klein, who is also expected to direct the video for "Hung Up".
Producer Lu Cont was the musical director for Madonna's "Re-Invention Tour" last year and also co-wrote the track "X-Static Process" from "American Life".
source : launch.com
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Madonna.com is happy to announce the name of the first single off of the new album is called Hung Up (produced by Stuart Price). The album, Confessions on a Dancefloor, will be released this fall. Stay logged in to Madonna.com for more exciting album news!
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Madonna is the new Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, albeit more To the Manor Bought than Penelope Keith's dowager. She has been shot in jodhpurs (only with a camera, not a 12-bore) enjoying British aristo pleasures and wafting grain around the lawn of her Wiltshire pile wearing a catwalk gown.
Her transformation from one who played the pop ho to one who might bank at Hoares is complete. So if I were her husband I'd be very nervous. Guy Ritchie might have anticipated retirement as a squire as his film career nears the end of its reel, but how long before the old girl wearies of green wellies? The chanteuse has talent, above all, for reinvention; the material girl is a mercurial woman. When she masters one look, she is soon shopping for the next. By the time toffs pile round for the start of the pheasant season she may even have adopted peasant chic " as long as it keeps her in the manner to which she has become so very accustomed.
source : drownedmadonna/timesonline.co.uk
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"Who would have thunk it?" says Madonna with a laugh. "The last thing I thought I would do is marry some laddish, shooting, pubgoing nature lover"and the last thing he thought he was going to do was marry some cheeky girl from the Midwest who doesn't take no for an answer!"
Speaking in carefully modulated tones, dressed with faux-bourgeois sobriety (this afternoon in Issa's prim satin blouse with a print of flying ducks, black Kate Hepburn pants, and Marc Jacobs teal lizard shoes), a flotilla of charming, noiseless assistants close at hand and a courtly husband making polite but distracted small talk, she has the air of an Edwardian dollar princess"the moneyed American belles who were married off to impecunious British nobles in the golden age"and the fragile beauty and substantial real estate to match. But no one understands metamorphosis better than Madonna; she even named her 2004 tour "Re-Invention." That tour is the subject of Madonna's documentary I'm Going to Tell You a Secret, directed by Jonas Ã…kerlund and to be released later this year. In some ways the new movie is a pendant to 1991's Truth or Dare, which a mellower Madonna now admits "in some ways is hard for me to watch. I was a very selfish person. You go through periods of your life where the world does revolve around you, but you can't live your whole life that way. On the other hand, I kind of admire my spunk and directness!"
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Madonna and her quest for movie success continues at a fast pace... but she is now planning to hit the screen as a producer. While she may have been the undisputed star of the recent Live 8 show in London, as far as movies are concerned, Madonna's star doesn't shine so bright.
But she plans to rectify this by making a big-screen version of the life of Sixties singing legend Dusty Springfield - who scored worldwide success with tracks like I Only Want To Be With You. Madonna told my mole: "In order to work at the level I want in movies, I have to create my own vehicles. This is a story I can relate to well."
Not only will she produce the movie, but she's also hinted that she will take a small role... that of Dusty's manager. Fans of Musical Madonna, take note that her new album - provisionally called Confessions Of A Dance Floor - will be out towards the end of October this year.
source : sky.com/madonna.nu
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Summertime, and the living is easy . . . so naturally American Vogue prints a photo-shoot of the English countryside, showing how the cream of English society disports itself during our brief but ravishing belle saison.
Now, who is this patrician figure, clad in buttermilk chiffon and cashmere, her wheat-blonde hair curled into immaculate waves, laughingly enacting a Petit Trianon charade of feeding her flock of happy hens from a dainty porcelain bowl, while in the background there looms the rose brick frontage of some small but perfectly formed English country house?
Here she is again, on horseback this time, dressed in hacking jacket, breeches and a slightly peculiar pair of boots. Last and prettiest of all is the set piece with evening dress and small children. A flowing silk skirt, the creamy smile of a woman who knows that she has fulfilled her destiny in every possible way, and two angelic moppets, a little girl in fairy frills, a small boy in chain mail, brandishing a sword as big as himself.
So go on, who is she, the girl in the pictures? Matriarch, countrywoman, grande dame. I give you one guess. The hens are the clinching detail. It's the Duchess of Devonshire, isn't it? Archive pictures from the Thirties, showing her at the height of her beauty. Odd about wearing chiffon to feed the poultry, but that's eccentric Brits for you, right?
Wrong. The rose-and-blonde aristo, posing so charmingly with hens, hunter and lovely home is, in fact, none other than the Material Girl herself " Madonna, fetchingly got up for the photographer from American Vogue as Our Lady of the Manor. Fancy that!
Not, it is true, that Madonna's latest incarnation comes as a total surprise. Between her dizzying variety of personae " the nasty-mouthed dominatrix in spiky fetish gear, the studious seeker after Kabbalistic knowledge, the sweet, Prada-clad librarian of her book launches " Madonna has been offering for some time periodic glimpses of herself in tweeds and wellies as the Country Wife.
Still, isn't it a trifle rum that she chooses to offer up this vision of herself as an English gentlewoman at a time when the English gentry has never been more unfashionable or more energetically reviled? Do you think she's losing the keen edge that has kept her ahead of the game for so long? Well, no, of course she isn't. In fact, I think what she has done is to take a long, keen-eyed look into the future to see what awaits her there, and come up with a wonderfully pragmatic solution.
I'm always amazed when I read the things that fat, ugly, balding male journalists allow themselves to write about Madonna, their fabulously well preserved contemporary. "Menopausal"? and "the old girl"?, were a couple of the milder descriptions that appeared after her performance at the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park. Yeah, right, Mr Love God, and just look at you, I always think, on reading the painfully misogynistic prose of these barrel-shaped boobies.
However, I suspect that the secret of the Madonna phenomenon is a certain restlessness which ensures that she doesn't sit around fulminating about patronising press but is instinctively always moving on to the next thing, and the next, and the one after that. The trouble is that, at 46, you begin to run out of next things.
However fabulously well preserved, an intelligent woman (and Madonna is certainly that) knows that there is no mileage after a certain point in pretending to be luscious. The result is simply sinister, as a brief tour d'horizon of Botoxed and desperate former beauties will confirm. So, what's the alternative?
In the States there is no alternative. Unless you're Barbara Bush, you just carry on getting thinner and thinner, more and more wide-eyed, sadder and madder, until you vanish altogether. You'd think Madonna might have been able to thrive in France, where allure is reckoned to be ageless, but the French are so intolerant of eccentricity (and their music scene is so peculiar). Besides, she's married to an Englishman.
So, what have the Brits to offer a 46-year-old rock star " apart from an unpleasant claque of paunchy, sex-starved male journalists? Actually, more than you'd imagine. One always thinks of Latin nations as being supremely matriarchal, but in Britain we entertain a long and robust tradition of pale, willowy beauties who deal with the transition from flower-like nymph to middle age and older by becoming Formidable.
Even luckier for Madonna, our version of Formidable comes in an assortment of incarnations. There is Rock Chick Formidable, as modelled by Anita Pallenberg, Marianne Faithfull and Jane Birkin, all of whom are quite as much adored now " wrinkles, shattering life experiences and all " as they were in their dewy prime.
But if Madonna is too grand for that slightly down-at-heel form of celebrity, luckily we do a fabulous line in straight-up Dowager Formidable, which might suit her down to the ground. Consider the picture of the 50-year-old Queen Mary, or (to bring the matter up to date) Lady Annabel Goldsmith. Observe the wonderful posture, the ineradicable self-belief, the immense quantities of diamonds (or glitter of some sort, at any rate), and tell me if you don't see there the very pattern of the Material Girl in later life.
Looking again at those Vogue pictures, I think Madonna has made a clever choice. At 46 she is still pretty enough to conceal the power behind the charm. Catch her again in 30 years' time and she'll have turned into one of P. G. Wodehouse's aunts. Rock chick, bellowing to rock chick, like mastodons across the primeval swamp.
source : timesonline.co.uk
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from MadonnaTribe : MadonnaTribe has heard some fresh and exclusive news about Madonna's upcoming album.
The Queen of Pop is currently in Los Angeles mixing her album with Stuart Price and the first single to be released from the new album is called "Hung Up". In mid-August Madonna will shoot the album cover in the UK with Steven Klein who will also direct her new video, also shot in August and also in the UK.

from DrownedMadonna : As DrownedMadonna revealed some weeks ago, Madonna and Stuart Price are currently mixing her new album in Los Angeles. We have been told that one of the possible songs to be chosen as first single is called "Hung Up".

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Chris Martin played a song for Madonna with his wife Gwyneth Paltrow at a recent party in the English countryside, according to reports.
The Coldplay singer and American movie star were invited to a party hosted by the Queen Of Pop at her home at Ashcombe Manor, in Tollard Royal on the Wiltshire-Dorset border.
Madonna has revealed in an interview with Vogue magazine that all the guests were asked to contribute a song, poem or piece of acting, leading to Martin and Paltrow's song.
Apparently they were joined by Paul McCartney's daughter Stella in a rendition of "American Wife", a reworking of Madonna's "American Life".
Madonna said the party was to mark her fourth wedding anniversary. She explained: "Gwyneth did a fantastic rap and Stella sang background vocals and, well, Chris played the piano."
Elsewhere at the showbiz knees-up, Sting reportedly played a lute, while Madonna herself performed a scene from the play "The Town Wench Or Chastity Rewarded".
source : launch.com
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Pop singer Madonna has reportedly hired a string of fashion experts to catalogue her famous costumes she has donned during her career, and wants them all to be exhibited and conserved.
"I've kept everything - the Like A Virgin dress, pieces that Jean Paul Gaulter made for the Blonde Ambition tour, all the costumes from all of my shows, all the dancers' costumes."?
"My goal is a travelling exhibit, like the Jackie Kennedy show, not just costumes but video imagery and film and interviews and concert footage,"? rate the music quoted her as saying.
However, she has been cautious, and has destroyed costumes that could bring about humiliation, and get her into bad news. "We didn't want anything to end up on the internet,"? she said.
source : ani
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Madonna makes no secret of the fact that she no longer approves of the straight-talking, provocatively posing, attention-demanding sex siren she once was, and her latest appearance in US Vogue is absolute proof. The 46-year-old singer is pictured feeding chickens, styled like a modern day Grace Kelly in pale yellow Alexander McQueen, playing with her children and chatting to her husband Guy Richie on their £9 million estate on the Wiltshire and Dorset border. "I was a very selfish person," she tells the magazine, when talking about her past life. "You go through periods of your life where the whole world does revolve around you, but you can't live your whole life that way."
source : vogue.co.uk
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When Madonna starts sporting Cashmere, elegant but modest Grace Kelly inspired dresses and publicly gushing about her desire to just be a good old fashioned, stay-at-home mother, you can be sure that times are changing.
Even as Britney Spears, who infamously exchanged an onstage French kiss with Madonna the "Material Girl"?, prepares to further stir the tabloid pot by releasing a new "˜reality' series in which she reportedly expresses her obsession with sex, curious eyes are turning towards Madonna's newest makeover.
In the upcoming August edition of Vogue, Madonna admits regret about her more tumultuous years: "I was a very selfish person,"? she said. "You go through periods of your life where the world does revolve around you, but you can't live your whole life that way."? The issue focuses on her life with director husband Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) at their English country-side estate.
"To me, Ashcombe [their estate] is a reflection of me and my husband in many ways, because it reflects our willingness to make a commitment," she said. "Not necessarily to each other but to the idea of having a home somewhere, instead of living like gypsies." According to Madonna she has developed a new love for the peace and quiet of the English countryside, admitting her and her children don't even watch television or read magazines.
If Madonna has proven anything throughout her often-times scandalous and lengthy career it is that she is remarkably, even eerily, attuned to cultural changes. Although in the past the aging but ever popular pop-star rode with, and largely defined the cultural movement towards the scantily clad, sex-selling bubble-gum pop-star, her most recent makeover, to all appearances, is shockingly wholesome.
Many have speculated recently that the sexy pop-star trend is reaching the end of its tether as various stars shamelessly attempt to outdo each other in scandal to grab tabloid headlines. More modestly dressed and conservative stars such as Christian singer Rebecca St. James have been increasingly featured as counter-cultural alternatives. Even the widely popular pop-rock star Avril Lavigne demonstrates this new cultural trend in action with her relatively modest jeans and t-shirt fashion.
It is ironic that just as Madonna's new-found respectability is receiving the public eye, Sarah Hampson of the Globe and Mail, in a full-length article, described Rebecca St. James as "an alternate pop-icon"the Other Madonna."? St. James, who has racked up nine No. 1 Christian-music singles has proven that sex is hardly necessary to success: "I don't show cleavage, and if I wear a skirt, I generally wear pants underneath,"? said the music star in an interview with the Globe and Mail. She has long made it known that she will wait until marriage to have sex, and that attitude has gained a lot of attention and respect with the popular "True Love Waits"? movement. Since 1993 that chastity-friendly movement has seen over two and a half million youth sign a pledge to remain chaste until.
But, even more importantly, St. James has made chastity cool. "Her image is not prudish or sexually repressive, like that a Victorian high-collared, buttoned-up schoolmarm. She is more like a vision of a beautiful, unplowed field, hair wafting in the wind. She is the America that the pioneers first glimpsed, full of hope and promise,"? Hampson continues somewhat melodramatically. But the point remains, that St. James' beauty (and she is very beautiful) in many ways arises from the very purity of her sexual restraint.
Skeptics will probably point out that Madonna's new makeover is little more than a publicity stunt, and considering Madonna's past, that seems most likely; but that hardly makes a difference. What many find encouraging is that Madonna is clearly tapping into a growing cultural movement that is distancing itself from the raunchy publicity stunts of the mainstream pop-icons, and moving towards a more wholesome image that recognizes that there is more to life than sex and money. And women like Rebecca St. James, who truly and earnestly embody that philosophy, are giving today's teens, who need an alternative to Britney Spears and her cohorts, a model worthy of emulation.
source : lifesite.net
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Madonna loves to change her image. She's been a young teen rebel, a slightly scary oversexed floozy, the wife of the Argentinean President and a terrible, terrible actress. Now she's ready to reveal her latest look.
In the forthcoming issue of Vogue magazine, Madonna reveals herself to be the lady of her English manor. And she's bleedin' well chuffed.
Gone are the simulated sex acts with black priests. Gone are the pictures of her showing her minge off to Naomi Campbell. Gone are all the swearwords - except for at Live 8, of course. And in their place is the new Madonna (CDs), a middle-aged woman in a cardy that likes to shoot animals. The Queen would be proud.
She's been married for five years to pretend cockney film director aristocrat Guy Ritchie, and they've both settled down to live in their 1,000 acre Wiltshire country estate to raise her children Rocco and Lourdes.
Revealing that she wears sensible shoes and feeds chickens all day, Madonna tells Vogue "To me, Ashcombe is a reflection of me and my husband in many ways, because it reflects our willingness to make a commitment."
She adds "The last thing I thought I would do is marry some laddish, shooting, pubgoing nature lover " and the last thing he thought he was going to do was marry some cheeky girl from the Midwest who doesn't take no for an answer!" Which, as far as we can tell, means "Guy Ritchie is the luckiest cockney in the world".
Just so long as he stops making rubbish films for her to star in, that is.
source : typepad.com
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Madonna has fallen in love with English country life and there is no going back.
"Who would have thunk it?"? she told the August edition of American Vogue.
"The last thing I thought I would do is marry some laddish, shooting, pub going nature lover - and the last thing he thought he was going to do was marry some cheeky girl from the Midwest who doesn't take no for an answer.
"But now I love England and want to be here and not in America. I see England as my home."?
The Material Girl has mellowed. She wears sensible shoes around her country estate, caters to a beloved flock of chickens, has learned to ride horses, shoot and fish.
Her preferred mode of transport is bicycle, and she insists she "could be a connoisseur of ales if I wanted to."?
The 46-year-old singer admits she is very different from the sexed-up star of the early 1990s.
"I was a very selfish person,"? she said. "You go through periods of your life where the world does revolve around you, but you can't live your whole life that way."?
Her children, Lourdes, 8, and Rocco, 4, do not watch television, the family does not even read newspapers or magazines.
The singer said she and her husband, director Guy Ritchie, immediately fell in love with Ashcombe, their 1,000-acre estate on the Wiltshire/Dorset border.
When she is in residence she plays guitar, goes for long walks and rides her bike.
"To me, Ashcombe is a reflection of me and my husband in many ways, because it reflects our willingness to make a commitment,"? she said.
"Not necessarily to each other but to the idea of having a home somewhere, instead of living like gypsies."?
source : IrishExaminer.com
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Koch Records announces the release of "Re:Made Volume 1," a new dance compilation series featuring 14 mixed remakes of huge pop anthems strictly for the dance floor.
Released for the first time in the U.S., these remixes have been packaged into one amazing compilation. Remakes of hits by Nelly, U2, Tears For Fears, Irene Cara, Madonna, Vanity 6, The Bangles and more are remade as dance floor anthems.
The compilation also features an exclusive electro remake by The Horrorist of "Mr. Roboto," the smash pop song released by STYX in 1984.
Tracklisting :
1. Tiga "Hot In Herre" originally performed by Nelly
2. Inaya Day "Nasty Girl" originally performed by Vanity 6
3. King Britt presents Sylk 130 "I Can't Wait" originally performed by Nu Shooz
4. Seamus Haji "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" originally performed by Indeep
5. Digital Offspring "Flashdance...What A Feeling" originally performed by Irene Car
6. Pussy 2000 "It's Gonna Be Alright" originally performed by Sterling Void
7. Funkstar vs. Tom Jones "She's A Lady" originally performed by Tom Jones
8. Divided "Easy Lover" originally performed by Phil Collins feat. Philip Bailey
9. Theresa Owens "Wicked Game"(Mr. Mig Remix) originally performed by Chris Isaak
10. Stephanie "Dress You Up" originally performed by Madonna
11. Maxum Deejays "Eternal Flame" originally performed by The Bangles
12. DJ Renegade "Shout" originally performed by Tears For Fears
13. Res-Q "Where The Streets Have No Name" originally performed by U2
14. The Horrorist "Mr. Roboto" originally performed by Styx
source : top40-charts.com

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She may be an international singing superstar, but it seems Madonna is happiest as the lady of her own manor. These pictures show Madge with daughter Lourdes, seven, and four-year-old son Rocco at the magnificent Ashcombe House estate she and husband Guy Ritchie own.
And the 46-year-old's not content with sitting back and letting the staff run the 1132-acre Wiltshire estate.
She's often seen feeding the chickens.
But to be fair, most aristocrats don't wear an Alexander McQueen chiffon dress and cashmere cardie to do it.
Still, after paying £9million for it, she can wear what she wants on the front green. For more pictures of Madonna's country home see the August issue of Vogue magazine.
source : dailyrecord.co.uk
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Madonna, George Michael, Victoria Beckham and Robbie Williams are just a few of the A-list stars who have copped a verbal bashing from Sir Elton John in the past year.
But the Rocket Man has claimed he is about to turn over a new leaf - and stop his incessant bitching.
Elton, who currently has two singles in the top five, reckons he has fallen out with so many stars it's time to change.
He admitted he was changing his ways when asked if he had spoken to Madonna since launching an attack on her last year.
The Sun quotes him as saying: "I haven't spoken to her. She's been in Kaballah meetings ever since.
"I don't think I will ever be forgiven for that one. I had a hell of a time last year and this is the end of it.
"There was the Madonna thing and then I had the George Michael thing and the Posh Spice thing... I will keep my mouth shut now."
Elton accused Madge of lip-synching while he only recently made it up with George Michael after commenting on his state of mind.
He also said Robbie was "not a well budgie" and even described Cherie Blair's controversial lifestyle guru, Carole Caplin, as a "turd".
Elton has already shown his caring side, trying to get Kate Moss' boyfriend Pete Doherty off drugs.
But how long do we give Elton before he's back on form?
source : sky
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Don't look for Madonna to return to her Midwest roots anytime soon.
England, she tells the August Vogue, is home forever.
"The last thing I thought I would do is marry some laddish, shooting, pubgoing nature lover " and the last thing he thought he was going to do was marry some cheeky girl from the Midwest who doesn't take no for an answer!"
In the interview, which arrives Thursday, Madonna says she has mellowed. She says she wears sensible shoes around her country estate and caters to a beloved flock of chickens, and her children, Lola, 8, and Rocco, 4, don't watch TV.
She even shows off her whopping wedding album (until now seen only by her "closest friends") from her 2000 marriage to director Guy Ritchie. So, for the record: She was married in a traditional, cinched-waisted gown with a long train and veil.
She acknowledges that she didn't fall in love with England initially, but since meeting Ritchie, 36, Madonna, 46, has learned to ride horses, shoot and fish. Her preferred mode of transportation: bicycle. And she "could be a connoisseur of ales if I wanted to."
Ashcombe, the 1,000-acre estate the family calls home, was once the home of the late photographer Cecil Beaton, and Madonna says she and Ritchie were immediately in love with it.
"To me, Ashcombe is a reflection of me and my husband in many ways, because it reflects our willingness to make a commitment. Not necessarily to each other but to the idea of having a home somewhere, instead of living like gypsies."
source : usatoday

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Madonna isn't the person she once was - and that's the way she wants it. These days, the former Material Girl spends more time with her two children than she does performing. She collects art instead of boyfriends, and she's traded in her leather and lace undergarments for more demure outfits.
In the August issue of Vogue magazine, Madonna is featured in a lengthy interview and a photo spread at the English country estate she shares with her children, 8-year-old Lourdes (Lola) and 4-year-old Rocco, and her director-husband, Guy Ritchie ("Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels").
The photos include Madonna feeding chickens on the lawns of Ashcombe wearing a cream-colored Grace Kelly-inspired chiffon dress and cashmere cardigan and playing dress-up with her children in her sitting room while wearing a yellow cashmere cardigan and multicolored polka-dot silk dress.
She shares her wedding album with writer Hamish Bowles, finally allowing an outsider to see her in her gown, an ivory duchesse satin dress with an hourglass corset bodice and crinoline skirts. (Madonna and Ritchie were married in December 2000.)
The 46-year-old singer-actress says she's different from the sexed-up star featured in 1991's "Madonna: Truth or Dare." In some ways, that film is hard for her to watch, she tells Vogue.
"I was a very selfish person. You go through periods of your life where the world does revolve around you, but you can't live your whole life that way," she is quoted as saying. "On the other hand, I kind of admire my spunk and directness!"
Madonna stars in a new documentary, "I'm Going to Tell You a Secret," that is due out later this year. She says the film "starts with the struggle of a dancer trying to get into a show" and ends with her visit to Israel.
The film also features parts of Madonna's most recent tour, called "Re-Invention."
source : associated press
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all about Madonna Forum is finally online, click here to join.

Dear Fans,
I have been burning the midnight oil, finishing up my tour documentary and this has been consuming most of my time since October 2004. Being a perfectionist, I can't stop making last minute changes and revisions!
A film is such a different process than an album or a tour and I've learned so much. It has been exciting reliving the tour again and again....and I look forward to sharing the finished product with all of you.
I am going back in the studio to finish my album next month and I hope to put the album out by the end of the year. It has been a lot of fun collaborating with Mirwais again, and my musicial director, Stuart Price.
I wish you all the best and send you lots of love.
Madonna

Madonna : She's the ultimate diva, what with her "˜conical bras' hogging as much limelight as her feminine seductress act in Material Girl. Madonna progressed to sexier numbers and her image changed along with her.
source : lexpress

We asked, and our readers responded and one thing is clear, our readers like their music with a lot of guitar (and maybe even a little cowbell) and they like it loud. In response to our call to send in your picks for the best album of the past 20 years, our readers flooded us with enthusiastic selections. Thank you! Here is a sampling of your picks.
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Madonna, "Ray of Light"?
It has to be included in the best albums of the last 20 years. "Ray of Light"? was definitely a comeback album for the "Queen of Pop."? True fans felt the intimacy of "Ray of Light,"? not seen since 1989's "Like a Prayer."? Both albums allowed listeners to peer deep into the life of Madonna. Plus "Ray of Light"? was the beginning of Madonna's new love for electronic music, which has been featured on each album since. "Ray of Light"? is one of my favorite albums to relax and fall into. " Jaime San Felippo, San Francisco
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source : msnbc

AOLMusic's online coverage of Live 8 continues to reap rewards, almost two weeks after the concert itself. AOL has announced that over 8.5 million different people have visited AOLMusic.com in the week following Live 8, with over 25 million on-demand plays of the performances. With the overwhelming response to the Live 8 broadcasts, AOL will extend the availability of the performances for an extra three weeks, and they will now be available until September 5. Pink Floyd's reunion performance was the most played, followed by Madonna, U2 and Green Day as the most-watched artists. The most popular individual performances were Paul McCartney and U2's London opener of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and Coldplay's team-up with Richard Ashcroft on "Bittersweet Symphony."
source : fmqb

from DrownedMadonna.com : In "Heart & Soul: Revealing The Craft Of Songwriting" by Chris Bradford, Billy Steinberg recalls the moment he finally met Madonna after writing Like A Virgin:
Once you have sold your song " and in Nashville alone some 50,000 songs are pitched each year to fewer than 100 major artists " sit back and wait for a hit. It could be a fraught time. Even then, don't expect much in the way of recognition or thanks from the artist. After writing Madonna's signature hit, Like a Virgin, Billy Steinberg waited five years to meet her. At a swish Beverly Hills party he was finally introduced to her and her beau Warren Beatty. "I gave her my biggest smile and said, "˜Madonna, I've wanted to meet you for so long.' She said: "˜Well now you did,' grabbed Warren and walked away. I was devastated."?
Heart & Soul: Revealing the Craft of Songwriting by Chris Bradford is published by Sanctuary

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Posted by Johnnox on MadonnaNation : I met him at the screening of Extras, his new show, and he said the newspaper reports of his meeting Madonna at Live 8 were accurate.
He and his writing partner Stephen are going to wait until they see how the first series goes down with the public before they start writing a second series.
Now Madonna has shown an interest, they will write an episode specifically for her, like they did with all the other starts of this first series. They then submit it to her and its up to her whether she says yes or no.
They're doing the same with Brad Pitt.
When I interviewed him a few weeks ago, before he met her at Live 8, he said rumours she would be in series one were unfounded as she hadn't been approached by them.
He said: "She's welcome to give me a call though."

To some it's a revolution, to others it's just evolution. But, whatever you call it, TAI, the nocturnal troika of Tommy Pooch, Alan Roth and Ingrid Casares, has just lost its I. According to Casares, who was with TAI for just over a year, the parting is purely amicable -- it's just that the partners didn't see eye to, uh, I.
''It's nothing personal,'' she says. "We just want to do different things. No hard feelings.''
Her former partners agree.
''Ingrid is great, and Tommy and I will always care for her. But we just had different directions we wanted to take the company,'' Roth says.
On Casares' to do list: ''I'm working on Madonna's new album, which is a dance record,'' she says. ''I'll be working on that nationwide.'' She's also doing an MTV Video Music Awards party at the Raleigh with Maverick Records honcho Guy Oseary; Pink, the gay-friendly monthly event at the Raleigh, and she's reteaming with former Joia partner Nicola Siervo in the restaurant biz again when Quattro opens on Lincoln Road in December.
''I get offers every day,'' she says. ''Thank God, life is good.'' How can it be bad when you're BFF with Madge?
source : miami herald

Two notorious portraits of Madonna painted by a Scottish artist later angrily condemned by the pop star are headed for public auction.
Painter Peter Howson's portraits -- one of a nude Madonna squatting over a grave and the second of the singer in a transparent blouse -- are being sold Aug. 29 and 30 by Sotheby's auction house in Perthshire, Scotland, the Scotsman reported.
The paintings, described by the newspaper as "deeply unflattering," were first exhibited in Ayr three years ago and purchased by anonymous collectors. A horde of international collectors is expected to attend the auction at Gleneagles resort.
Howson told the Scotsman he painted Madonna's likeness from "memory and imagination." Once a close friend of the singer, Howson said he has not heard from Madonna since she angrily condemned him and his work after the Ayr exhibit.
Scotland on Sunday art critic Iain Gale said the paintings will generate plenty of interest now that the formerly racy star is "Mrs. Respectable."
source : washingtontimes.com

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...But a few hours into the 10-hour concert, the London show really hit its inspirational stride. Geldof took the stage and introduced some Ethiopian famine footage that had been shown 20 years ago. When it ended, he brought out Birhan Woldu, a healthy and beautiful 24-year-old woman who had appeared in the video, and, he said, barely escaped death thanks to funds raised by Live Aid. It was a powerful mooment, and it could have been marred when Geldo immediately introduced, the next performer, Madonna. But, unexpectedly, the juxtaposition worked: Madge and Woldu's embrace will likely become Live 8's most enduring image.
As Madonna fought back tears, she quickly launched into her set opener, a gospel-fired rendition of "Like a Prayer" that built a solemn moment into a truly uplifting performance. That joyous mood was sustaind by dance-pop hits "Ray of Light" and "Music," which she extended into an epic vamp that had most of the crowd clapping and singing along...

Going by sales for the Live Aid DVD, EMI is betting the Live 8 sequel should also hit a high note.
Released through Warner Music Group's Warner Strategic Marketing, the Live Aid DVD, shipped more than 500,000 units to retail since its Nov. 2004 release. That's hefty for a music DVD, most of which are fortunate to do half that business.
And now EMI has agreed to a relatively huge advance and royalty rate in order to lock up the worldwide Live 8 DVD rights. Well-placed sources said EMI is paying Live 8 organizers an advance worth north of $5 million to distribute the massive concert, where blue chip acts played simultaneously around the globe July 2.
EMI also apparently signed onto a 35% royalty rate off DVD sales, which kicks in after the label makes back its advance.
EMI spokesman Adam Grossberg declined to provide details about the DVD negotiations but said the label did pay a "multimillion-dollar advance to the Live 8 organization, which helped make the July 2 concert possible. Once we break even [after resulting sales], there will be future contributions. It was an exceptionally generous royalty rate."
Discs tailored to different countries are expected to land at retail in November. Starring talent should include Madonna, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd and Elton John.
source : videobusiness.com

Responding to viewers and critics, MTV Networks has announced that it will broadcast 10 hours of Live 8 performance footage " including sets from Jay-Z, U2, Paul McCartney and others " commercial-free on MTV and VH1.
MTV and VH1 will each offer five hours of uninterrupted performance footage with differing artist lineups on Saturday. VH1 will air its Live 8 highlights from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, while MTV's batch of highlights will roll out from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
"At MTV and VH1, we're in a constant and candid dialogue with our audience, and in the wake of the live events last Saturday, our viewers have resoundingly told us online they want to see full-set performances from their favorite artists," MTV Networks Music Group President Van Toffler said of the move. "As a result of viewer demand and thanks to the Live 8 organizers and performers, MTV and VH1 will air 10 consecutive hours from one of the most important musical events of our time."
MTV has also announced plans to roll out a half-hour special on the issues behind the Live 8 event on Friday at 9 p.m. "Live 8: Next Steps" will re-air at 8 p.m. on Saturday immediately following the Live 8 highlights.
source : mtv

Due to massive bandwidth use in the past two weeks, I had to temporarily remove downloads section. Everything should be back online in 7-10 days.

"Terrorism is the worst way to make your voice heard, instead of killing innocents, try and learn from them. PEACE"

from Peter Rauhofer messege board : According to sources in Warner, Huerta and Madonna's team has contacted Basement Jaxx, Jacknife, Superchumbo, Rauhofer, Jan Driver, and Fierce & Coppola about re-mixing Madonna's new single. They sent a copy of the first single to them. They are not confirmed yet. Again Madonna hand picks each remix.

Madonna is to appear as herself in the second series of "Extras".
The new series from the creators of "The Office" features writer-director Ricky Gervais as bit-part actor Andy Millman on-set with celebrity guest-stars.
Actors appearing in the first series include Kate Winslet, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Stiller, Patrick Stewart, Ross Kemp, Vinnie Jones and Les Dennis.
Madonna met Gervais backstage at Saturday's [July 2] Live 8 concert in London.
She told Jo Whiley: "My highlight of the day was that I got to meet my favourite, favourite, favourite comedian in the whole world, Ricky Gervais."
"I worship him and I told him that I would sweep his floor for him if he would employ me in such a fashion and he agreed with it, so that was cool."
The Sun reports today [July 7] that she is now set to appear in the second series.
A source told the tabloid: "When Madonna asked for a part in the next series of "Extras" she shook hands with Ricky and he said, 'You do know that's a verbal contract'."
"They are both keen and Ricky's planning on keeping Madonna [to] her word."
"She's a massive fan of "The Office" and she'll be great in "Extras" as all the stars have to play against type so Ricky and Stephen [Merchant, co-writer-director] will have great fun with her.
source : yahoo

Meanwhile, it seems Madonna used her downtime at the London Live 8 show to slip in some networking.
"She was spending quality time backstage with Paul McCartney, and they had a 15-minute chat about her new CD and him possibly doing something with her for the record," says a witness.
The Material Mom leaves this week for a 12-day family vacation in Greece and Italy that's costing a reputed $300,000. Says the insider: "She even had pal Donatella Versace whip her up duds just for the vacation, including some hot bikinis."
source : newyorkdailynews

Paris Hilton told tonight's US TV show "The Insider" that she flew to London just to see Madonna perform at Live 8. "I had to see Madonna....I had to watch her from the front row with all of the fans... I Love Madonna!"
source : drownedmadonna

Some of the biggest names in showbiz joined thousands of Mirror readers in calling on G8 leaders to Make Poverty History on the eve of the Gleneagles summit.
Among those to sign our Stop Them Dying pledge was Madonna, one of the stars of the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park on Saturday.
She was joined by Sting, Joss Stone, Miss Dynamite, Fran Healy of Travis and Pink Floyd bass player Roger Waters in putting their names to our petitions.
source : mirror.co.uk

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Kelly Smith remembers the first time she heard a Madonna song.
The year was 1983, and Smith was living in Alexandria.
"I was getting ready for work and I ... had the radio on," she recalled. The station was playing "Holiday," Madonna's first hit. "I was like, 'Who's that girl?'"
Smith went to a record store later that week, and bought the album. "I played the hell out of that record," she said.
In the years since, the 46-year-old Smith has seen the Material Girl in concert seven times. "I missed the first tour ... because I was moving (to Lynchburg)."
Smith remembers the date she moved to Central Virginia - Sept. 14, 1984 - because it was the day Madonna performed writhing around in a wedding dress on the first MTV Video Music Awards.
Still, it wasn't until the following year that Smith's interest in the singer turned into a passion for all things Madonna.
"I've been obsessed since 1985, that's when I really started collecting stuff," she said.
Smith's two decades of Madonna devotion were recently rewarded with the chance to meet her idol. A well-deserved honor, according to sister-in-law Lisa Cooke. Smith is "an extreme fan," said Cooke. "She's been following Madonna since day one."
Smith's Madonna obsession is not shared, but is tolerated, by her husband. He even allows a "Madonna room" in the house, which includes a three-wall mural of clippings, as well as "at least $10,000" worth of Madonna memorabilia. The collection includes more than 100 T-shirts, as well as more obscure items, such as Madonna nesting dolls.
"I get a lot of stuff from eBay," she admitted with a smile. "Madonna is my hobby."
When asked what it was about the Boy Toy that inspired such dedication, Smith took a minute to gather her thoughts. Finally, she explained, "I like her because she's not afraid to take chances. She's a strong-minded woman. She's beautiful and very talented. I think she's just a fabulous human being."
Smith recently got the chance to meet the "fabulous human being," thanks to her writing skills.
Smith, who has been a Madonna fan club member since 1991, entered a club contest at the end of May. Interested members were required to submit 200-word essays for the opportunity to interview Madonna for Icon, the club magazine. The winner would get to meet Madonna at the launch party for her latest children's book "Lotsa de Casha," and proceeds from the event would be going to UNICEF.
In her submission, Smith cited her communications degree from James Madison University, and recalled her own memories of trick-or treating for UNICEF - a hunger relief organization - as a child.
On June 2, Smith discovered she would be going to the New York City Bergdorf Goodman department store for the June 7 launch. She called family members to share the good news.
"I was screaming at the top of my lungs, crying and laughing at the same time."
Travel and hotel expenses were not included, but Smith turned the trip into an opportunity to sightsee with her mother, Pat Charnock.
"I was real happy for her," said Charnock. "She was real thrilled to meet (Madonna)."
When Smith arrived at the event Tuesday evening, "the line was wrapped around the block" she recalled.
Inside, "there were jugglers ... and rose petals all over the floor," and celebrities wandering around.
"(Magician) David Copperfield walked by, out of the blue," said Smith, and she spotted journalist Matt Lauer as well.
Although the book signing was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., the author didn't arrive until 8, according to Smith. After the demands of the red carpet, it was 8:30 before Madonna sat down, said Smith.
In person, Madonna "is very petite, very small," said Smith. "Her skin is iridescent, it's like white silk," she added, gushing a little.
After a short wait, Smith was permitted to pass through the velvet rope.
Madonna's publicist, Liz Rosenburg, introduced Smith.
"(Madonna) had a very firm handshake, which I thought was good," said Smith, who quickly became overwhelmed at being in such close proximity to her idol.
"I was star-struck ... I sat down with her and I was getting ready to freak out." But Smith remembered her duty as honorary Icon magazine reporter, and pulled herself together.
Smith asked Madonna how she had gotten involved with UNICEF (the answer was through business contacts) and asked her if she had collected for UNICEF as a child (she said she had).
Although the interview was over quickly, Smith still had the opportunity to meet other stars. She spoke with well-known journalist Liz Smith and "I bumped into Rosie O'Donnell," she said.
Even though it was barely a nudge, "(O'Donnell) goes 'I'm so sorry, I didn't meant to knock you over,'" Smith recalled, doing an O'Donnell impersonation.
"I'm like, 'Don't worry about it, I'm OK, I'm tough,'" Smith replied with the New York accent "and (O'Donnell) just started cracking up."
Afterward, the event "felt like a dream," according to Smith. "I felt like Cinderella - you know, the glass slipper's off, the cab turned into a pumpkin."
Smith has already submitted her article, which should appear soon in Icon magazine, although she's unsure in which issue. In the meantime, she said she'll continue to spend "a couple of hours" daily fraternizing online with her fellow club members, who are "almost like a family."
"The thing I've noticed about Madonna fans is that we're all very caring, loving people," she added.
If or when Madonna retires, Smith said she'd spend more time on her other hobby, growing roses, but it doesn't look as if that will happen anytime soon.
As Smith's mother, Pat Charnock, explained, "I guess once a Madonna fan, always a Madonna fan."
source : newsadvance.com

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Madonna is revealing that the title of her new album will be "Confessions on a Dancefloor" and that the tour documentory is almost done, but there's still no release date ...

On A day when rock and pop veterans showed the new kids how to do it, Madonna stole the show.
Whether welcoming Birhan Woldu, the Ethiopian famine survivor saved by Live Aid's efforts, or berating VIPs in the "golden circle" in front of the stage - Lady Madge was in complete control.
All in white, an angel in strides, she led her band and dancers through an uplifting set that included Like A Prayer, Ray Of Light and Music.
Memories of a plump chick in leggings rolling about at the original Live Aid were forgotten as 21st century Madonna proved the older generation can do it better.
More than 20 years of performing means she know what she's doing - and 47 years of life means she knows why.
Madonna, like Bono, understands the power of a perfect moment. And she was bold enough to seize it, combining both the Live 8 message and its medium, pop music, in a performance nobody watching will ever forget.
And it was a reminder of just how famous and special Madge still is. The girl has still got it - by the bucket-load.
Just weeks ago at the London premiere of Sin City, a red carpet paparazzi-fest where Brittany Murphy posed prettily alongside Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Michael Madsen and Jessica Alba, she stole the show.
When Her Madgesty and Guy turned up unexpectedly, it triggered a frenzy of photos. Her impromptu night out made the crowd's day and was covered in every paper.
And even the fuzziest of camera phone pictures couldn't disguise how great Madonna looked. In slick black gown, with beret, footless tights and T-bar shoes to remind us that she knows a) where fashion is at and b) that this wasn't her night (no upstaging premiere frock), she looked sparkly-eyed, glossy-haired and gorgeous.
Before Saturday night's breathtaking performance we were in danger of taking Madonna, a middle-aged working mother-of-two who just six years ago made London her home, for granted.
At the time, we couldn't believe it - the world's most famous woman has decided to move in with us.
Is that allowed? Shouldn't she be ensconced in some Beverly Hills enclave, some Miami mansion, New York penthouse, Cannes hideaway?
What's she doing in the UK, doing British things? Can that really be the Queen of Pop, in flat cap and baggy tracksuit, nipping along bus lanes on a bicycle?
Next thing she'll be extolling the virtues of drinking beer. Oh... "I love ale," said Madge last year. "I get drunk, but all it takes is half a pint. I'm a cheap date."
Yes, Madonna has fitted in just fine, adapting her efficient US habits to the UK's more relaxed way of life. When I interviewed her in 2000, she bemoaned British slackness - "At six o'clock, everyone goes home and no one works at the weekend and people go away for a month in the summer," she said, incredulously. But she also admired the way we enjoy "music and art and literature and nature".
Now, ever the culture sponge, she's taken on our characteristics. So we see Madonna going hunting (boo), going to a public gym (hooray) and writing children's books (hmmm).
A combination of a British marriage and British environment has changed her from distant superstar into a high-achiever who knows her way around, one who combines American drive with UK humour and a European appreciation of life's joys.
She's part of the British furniture these days. But has this familiarity bred contempt? Have we stopped caring what Madonna is up to? Judging by the crowd's reaction at Live 8, the answer is no - she's still one of the world's brightest, shiniest most talented celebrities.
A star who's famous because she's achieved