all about Madonna

The first two Madonna concerts at New York’s Madison Square Garden sold out in a New York minute — well, 10 minutes, but still impressive.
Even the expensive $400 seats were gone minutes after the June 28 and June 29 tickets went on sale Monday, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.
Shortly after the sell-out, two more July dates were added to accommodate New York fans and those tickets were gone by early afternoon as well, the News said.
Promoters then added a fifth Madonna concert, July 18, in the Big Apple and those tickets go on sale Friday.
Other quickly sold out concerts included seven at London’s Wembley Arena, four in Paris, plus all the dates in Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal and Chicago.
Madonna’s world tour in support of her album “Confessions on a Dance Floor” kicks off May 21 at the Forum in Los Angeles.
source : upi.com

Madonna can breathe a sigh of relief after a Czech explosives firm cancelled plans to sue her for copyright infringement. The pop queen angered Explosia after creating a limited company in the UK called Semtex Girls Ltd – using the same name as the firm’s most famous product. The company claimed to own the international rights to the name, which it estimated to be worth $5.25 million (GBP3 million) – but has axed plans for a costly court case. Director Ladislav Lehky says, “Madonna uses the name for pure promotional purposes. We can’t really prove that we suffer a loss from that.” Madonna has yet to reveal what purpose Semtex Girls Ltd serves, only that it was named after a nickname she gives her three assistants. She said, “The Semtex Girl is a girl who is dynamic, a girl who explodes, who doesn’t know the meaning of nine to five, a girl who is unstoppable and who doesn’t take no for an answer. And has excellent taste. “Guys can be Semtex Girls too.”
source : contactmusic

A second Madonna concert was added to the superstar’s Valley lineup after tickets for her original show sold out quickly Monday morning.
The second local show on her Confessions tour will be June 10, two days after the original June 8 date.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Monday through Ticketmaster at (480) 784-4444 or ticketmaster .com. Members of some fan clubs will have earlier access. The price will be $60 to $355.
More than 13,000 tickets available for the June 8 concert were sold out within an hour on Monday, except for a few single tickets, according to Danny Zelisko, whose Phoenix office of Live Nation is promoting the Arizona shows. Within about 16 minutes after they went on sale, only single seats were available.
This is Madonna’s first appearance in the Valley since 1985.
She will spotlight her new Confessions on a Dance Floor album this time out. The CD marks a return to Madonna’s dance-flavored roots of the ’80s.
The Valley’s dates are early in Madonna’s North American tour. Additional shows were also added in New York, Boston and Miami.
source : azcentral.com

Madonna and Guy Ritchie are staying together for the sake of their children, his dad has revealed.
John Ritchie, 76, said the couple had vowed to put their marriage troubles behind them for their son Rocco, five, and Guy’s stepdaughter Lourdes, nine.
But the retired advertising boss said there was no guarantee their six year marriage would survive.
John said: “It’s the children that will keep them together. The children are everything to them.”
The couple had been hit by rumours that their marriage was on the rocks.
John said they were now enjoying family time together in Los Angeles. “LA seems to have helped them,” he said.
“It’s easier out there because there is less pressure. They seem to have left the bumps they were having over here behind them.
“You can never know that things will work, but they do seem to be fitting into each other more.”
John, who lives in Chelsea, West London, had dinner with his son before the family flew to the US.
He told Closer magazine: “They have put everything behind them and have gone to LA to enjoy themselves.
“They’re able to go home at night and be together. They both want to see the children.
“They are going to have a good time out there and be a family.”
Madonna, 47, gave birth to Rocco shortly before she married film director Guy, 37, in Scotland. She already had a daughter by fitness instructor Carlos Leon.
The Ritchies spend most of their time in England and have homes in London and a rural retreat in Wilts.
But in February the Mirror revealed friends’ feared for their marriage because Madonna appeared to be putting work first.
She was spending time working on ideas with producer Stuart Price, had a new album out and tour coming up.
The pop queen later dragged Guy to the Brit Awards in a show of unity but looked uncomfortable.
The Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ director appeared sullen as Madge -named top international female performer- flashed a forced grin.
Friend Sir Elton John offered them counselling.
source : mirror.co.uk

Madonna will be on the BBC this weekend talking about her marriage, her early years, her “~Sex’ book and being a gay icon.
The singer taped the interview last November with Michael Parkinson.
About her husband Guy Ritchie she says I saw him with his shirt off playing tennis, and that was a big plus. And then I sat next to him at a lunch and he was incredibly witty, which was another big plus. And finally I saw his first movie and I thought ‘God, he is incredibly talented,’ so those three things put together were a huge aphrodisiac.”
On her image of a gay icon, she answered “Maybe I’m a gay man trapped in a woman’s body?”
About her father she says “I don’t get any special treatment from him. When I go home, I have to do my laundry and my own cooking.” She also admits she is not his favourite singer. “I’m sorry to say it’s a toss up between Tony Bennett and Celine Dion.”
On Kabbalah she says “I used to be incredibly self-obsessed. I think it has helped me come to terms with the idea that there is a bigger world out there, that I am not the center of the universe.”
The interview will air on BBC America Saturday April 15 at 10pm.

Initial ticket sales for Madonnna’s upcoming Confessions tour have been predictably huge, with shows added in several cities and virtually all dates selling out.
The tour, which begins May 21 in Los Angeles, has sold out four shows in Paris at Bercy Stadium beginning Aug. 27, seven shows at London’s Wembley Arena beginning Aug. 1, two shows at the 40,000-capacity Amsterdam Arena beginning Sept. 3, and four shows in New York’s Madison Square Garden beginning June 28, as well as doubles in Los Angeles, Montreal, Miami and Chicago.
Also sold out are Las Vegas (May 27), Philadelphia (July 12), Hartford, Conn. (June 25), Phoenix (June 8) and San Jose (May 30).
Tour producer Arthur Fogel, president of TNA International, tells Billboard.com there has clearly been no resistance to ticket prices that range from $50 to $350. “What you have is a recognition that she creates and delivers a spectacular show every time she goes on the road,” says Fogel. “And this tour will be no different.”
With a gross potential in the $200 million range, Confessions could be the top-grossing tour ever for a female artist. In 2004, Madonna’s Re-Invention tour grossed $125 million and drew more than 900,000 fans to 56 shows.
source : billboard.com

High-ticket prices are not stopping Madonna fans from trying to secure seating for Madge’s Confessions tour this summer.
At latest check the Chicago, Las Vegas, Montreal, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and unfortunately Miami were sold out, with just a smattering of nosebleed seats still available.
Madonna fans in New York are handing over up to $384.50 a ticket for her June shows at Madison Square Garden.
At 10 am Monday morning other fans globally were also shelling out big bucks for tickets. However after just a couple of minutes it soon became clear that seeing the “Material Mom”? krump (an underground urban dance) on stage was not going to be easy.
The only show that does not seem to have a flurry of fans buying tickets is in Fresno, California.
In 2004 her “Re-Invention”? tour – the concert tour of the year – raked in $125 million.
source : allheadlinenews.com

From the British tabloid, The Sun: “The woman is incredible and I’m not afraid to publicly say it would be my dream to collaborate with her. To perform with her would be amazing. I love the way she reinvents herself constantly, she’s an inspiration.”
source : sohh.com

Albums :
29 (29) Madonna – Confessions On A Dance Floor

Singles :
18 (20) Madonna – Sorry

Downloads :
17 (15) Madonna – Sorry

Pop superstar Madonna took guitar lessons so she could play “The Sound Of Music” to her children Lourdes and Rocco. The Material Girl visited London guitar teacher Bobby Tider three times a week for four months in 2001, and was soon out-strumming her film-maker husband Guy Ritchie. Tider says, “I got a call from Guy. I didn’t know who he was, just some rich dude. I used to go to his flat and I was sitting there one day when Madonna came in. She asked me to give her lessons too. “Because I had been charging Guy GBP30-per-hour I had to charge Madonna the same – she was used to paying GBP60. “I taught Madonna the scales. She wanted to learn The Sound Of Music for her kids. She also wanted to play early David Bowie songs. “She was very good and worked very hard. You have to put in the hours. Guy was slow but Madonna was a good pupil.”
source : contactmusic