all about Madonna

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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

Visit Madona-TV to download latest MTV interview with Madonna.
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 more than any of us could ever imagine – unlike the wannabes wh hit the headlines after a drunken fumble with Calum Best.
Even in the short time she’s been here, Madonna has produced a lifetime’s work. She’s released two albums, written four children’s books, made one film with her husband and another with cult director Jonas Akerlund. She’s starred in a West End play and progressed to the Third Series in Ashtanga yoga, which makes her one of the most advanced yogis in Britain. Enough to make you want to sit down for a cup of tea.
It’s a shame her last album, American Life, was so ropey. Still, her forthcoming new one, reputedly called Defying Gravity (well, her body certainly does) is rumoured to be a return to form.
Saturday’s performance was a corker, proving that with a back catalogue that Britney would kill for, a dancer’s grace and a showwoman’s sense of occasion, Madonna is one of the few pop stars who can pull off a stadium show.
There’s been controversy about Kabbalah, a form of Judaism that’s become an important part of her life since she moved to London.
And though Kabbalah seems hokum to most of us, Madonna is a devotee and if it makes her happy, what’s the problem? If she’s donating money to a non-violent cause, one that promotes peace, she’s alright by me.
In her Re-Invention show, she showed a film of Palestinian and Israeli children holding hands.
It’s not going to change any politician’s mind, but it’s better than pretending such problems don’t exist, that it doesn’t matter if the West turns its back on the Middle East.
Whatever Madonna does, she’ll get attention, good or bad. She knows that, but it doesn’t stop her having a go, trying new ideas.
Sometimes she succeeds, sometimes she fails. But she doesn’t stop trying.
Live 8 proves her star still shines and reminds us how lucky we are to have her.
source : mirror.co.uk

So, who would you most like to spend the night with?
A survey has revealed that rather than get saucy with a current Hollywood hunk or hunkess, we’d much rather bed down with a classic star.
Sure, we’d all like to spend the night with a legend… but it seems that stars gone-by have more appeal than today’s sexy stars.
A poll, commissioned by Muller, revealed that the American man most ladies would like to get jiggy with is Elvis, followed by John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and James Dean.
Modern-day hunks only just manage to make their mark in the top ten, with Tom Cruise slipping in at 8 and Brad Pitt bagging the tenth spot.
The American woman most men would like to sleep with is Marilyn Monroe, followed by Doris Day.
The rest of the top ten is more in date than the male list, with Angelina Jolie stealing the third place, Madonna being fourth and Halle Berry coming in fifth.

Top 10 Women (voted by men)
1. Marilyn Monroe
2. Doris Day
3. Angelina Jolie
4. Madonna
5. Halle Berry
6. Jennifer Lopez
7. Renee Zellweger
8. Cameron Diaz
9. Natalie Portman
10. Gwyneth Paltrow

Top 10 Men (voted by women)
1. Elvis Presley
2. John Wayne
3. Frank Sinatra
4. James Dean
5. Humphrey Bogart
6. Robert De Niro
7. Clarke Gable
8. Tom Cruise
9. Kirk Douglas
10. Brad Pitt

source : skynews

Queen have beaten The Beatles to become the most successful music act in UK album chart history, according to Guinness World Records. The band – whose first self-titled album debuted in 1973 – have spent 1,322 weeks on the chart.
It is the first time Queen have overtaken the Fab Four in the chart, which is compiled by the Book of British Hit Singles and Albums.
Madonna, in seventh place, was the highest female artist in the list.
Queen, whose albums include A Kind of Magic, The Miracle and Innuendo, have spent 29 weeks more in the chart than the Beatles.
Elvis Presley, who earlier this year was named the most successful music act of all time by the British Hit Singles and Albums, was at number three in the album chart.
David Roberts, editor of the book of British Hit Singles and Albums, said: “Given that Queen’s chart career has been much shorter than those of The Beatles and Elvis, this is an incredible achievement.
“They’ve long been written about with reverence in the pages of our book, and this just serves to cement their legendary status.”
Queen frontman Freddie Mercury died in 1991, but the band have continued to perform.
They wind up their current 32-date European tour with former Free and Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers this week with a performance in London’s Hyde Park on Friday.
Other artists in the top 10 include Irish rockers U2 at four with 1,150 weeks in the chart and Michael Jackson with 966 weeks.

‘Top 10 UK albums chart of all time’
1. Queen (1,322 weeks)
2. The Beatles (1,293 weeks)
3. Elvis Presley (1,280 weeks)
4. U2 (1,150 weeks)
5. Dire Straits (1,136 weeks)
6. Simon and Garfunkel (1,114 weeks)
7. Madonna (1,032 weeks)
8. David Bowie (1,005 weeks)
9. Elton John (989 weeks)
10. Michael Jackson (966 weeks)

source : bbc

… Madonna – Her performance had everything that makes her the still reigning Queen of Pop; the shimmering Like A Prayer brought a tear. Music (the song) was a real celebration and her strong vocals silenced Elton’s recent snipe over her supposed lip-synching …
source : mirror.co.uk

Birhan, 24, was cheered as she was led on stage by Bob Geldof. She was hugged and kissed by a tearful Madonna, who held her hand for the opening of the classic hit Like a Prayer. Birhan said yesterday: “When I walked on, I could feel my body shaking. Then Madonna took my hand and looked into my eyes. I felt myself grow stronger.
“I knew I must get the message out. Live Aid helped save my life. Together we can save the lives of millions more.”
Birhan, who lost her mum and a sister in the Ethiopian famine, was given barely 10 minutes to live before she was saved by aid workers. She said: “I was so close to death. Now I know the outside world was generous and rescued me and many others.
“The famine was devastating. The pain is still with me and I pray it will never happen again. I was one of the lucky ones.”
Harrowing footage of Birhan inspired Geldof to set up Live Aid. The iconic picture of her as a child was shown on screen at Live 8. Birhan said: “It still upsets me.”
She is now studying plant science at a college in the Ethiopian highlands.
source : mirror.co.uk

…now a beautiful 24-year-old agricultural student. ‘Hello, from Africa,’ she told the spell-bound crowd.
Madonna looked stunning but nervous as she realised she had to follow this amazing girl. She grabbed Birhan during her opening song, Like A Prayer, as if using her as a crutch.
But by the time she’d sung Ray Of Light and Music, Madonna showed why she’s one of the biggest stars in history…
source : dailyrecord.co.uk

1. Madonna – “Like a Prayer”
She strode onto the stage, clad entirely in white, hugged and kissed Birhan Woldu, survivor of the Ethiopian famine that inspired Live Aid 20 years ago, and kicked off a powerful performance of “Like a Prayer” backed by the London Community Gospel Choir. With her question “Are you ready for a revolution?” Madonna had the crowd of 200,000 in London and much of the world in her hands. As Bob Geldof said in introduction, she is the “Queen Bee Of Rock.”

source : top40.about.com
thanks to Bill