all about Madonna

Click on images bellow to watch short clips of Madonna performing “Jump”, “Like A Virgin”, “La Isla Bonita”, “Lucky Star”, “Erotica” and “Hung Up” at Confessions Tour”

An 8th and final date at London’s Wembley Arena has just been announced on London’s Capital Radio. The date is Wednesday 16 August. which also happens to be Madonna’s 48th birthday!
Tickets for this date go onsale this Friday morning at 9:00am via the usual outlets.
source : madonnalicious

A better title for Madonna’s Confessions tour might be the Go to Confession Tour, as you feel like you need to by the time the show is over. As we’ve come to expect from Madonna, her latest tour, which she kicked off Sunday at the Forum, is so provocative that it’s hard to count the ways.
Let’s see, there was the whole hanging on a cross, wearing a crown of thorns thing. The riding the rhinestone-studded, black leather carousel like she’s the main attraction at the erotic shop across town thing. And, of course, that nasty George Bush comment thing, which she brought back from her Coachella show last month.
The show started off nice and sweet with images of horses on the screens and Madonna in full equestrian attire descending from the ceiling in a one-ton disco ball. A closer look at that outfit, however, revealed she’s going for the dominatrix look and that whip wasn’t meant for a horse.
As Madonna sang “Future Lovers,” mixing in a little of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” for good measure, her leather-strapped male dancers slithered around her like a lost scene from “Eyes Wide Shut.” “Get Together” offered more of the same, but nothing could have prepared the capacity crowd for what would follow – and we’re not talking about her own X-rays on the screens.
Bringing “Like a Virgin” out of the vaults, Madonna introduced the song by asking the audience if they wanted to go for ride. She then saddled up on a carousel-like set piece and rode it like no carousel should be ridden.
The moves sent the room into a frenzy and caused one of the only sing-a-longs of the set, which featured 10 Confessions on a Dancefloor tracks and, unlike the Re-Invention Tour that launched in the same venue almost two years ago (see “Madonna Twirls Rifle, Lifts Up Her Kilt At Tour Opener”), only a few old favorites.
As is the case with all of her tours, however, Madonna gives you a lot to watch. Her fourth tune, “Jump,” might have featured the most impressive eye candy of all. Between the jungle gym that descended onto the runway and the crew of perfectly-toned tumblers racing around, it was like the Olympic gymnastics freestyles finals on Red Bull.
For her next tune, Madonna made one of her seven costume changes and returned to the center of the stage a la Jesus Christ on the cross (if that cross were built in 2006 … by Marilyn Manson), singing “Live to Tell.” Like Kanye West on the cover of Rolling Stone, it was a fascinating image, whether or not you think it’s immoral.
The middle of the set was mostly a showcase of Confessions, including a stirring rendition of “Issac” featuring the song’s namesake guest voice (see “Madonna Denies Blasphemy Charges, Explains Origin Of ‘Isaac’ “) and a video montage for “Sorry” that managed to knock most of the world’s leaders. “Don’t say forgive me,” Madonna sang as pictures of the war in Iraq flashed with shots of President Bush.
In “I Love New York,” during which Madonna played a black guitar surround by her six-piece band suddenly covered head-to-toe in white, the singer not only added “but not you guys” after the “Los Angeles is for people who sleep” line, but changed the “Just go to Texas/ Isn’t that where they golf” lyric to a derogatory Bush remark (see “Madonna, Kanye Just Add To Coachella’s Eclectic Atmosphere”).
Aside from those references, though, Madonna kept her political comments to a minimum. In fact, she kept all her comments to a minimum, only encouraging them to dance when the time was right, like “Ray of Light.”
After delivering the back-to-back ballads “Drowned World” and “Paradise (Not For Me),” Madonna got back to her business of catering to the dance floor and her band launched into a version of “Music” that mashed with “Disco Inferno.”
While dancers whisked around her on roller skates, Madonna donned a white suit and danced down the runway to the small stage in the middle of the arena, where she did her best “Saturday Night Fever”-era John Travolta routine, complete with the “hitchhike” (you know, thumbs to the side).
“Erotica” was, well … you guessed it (let’s just say it was performed in a body suit) and “La Isla Bonita” was reinvented with a salsa groove.
With the exhausted crowd at their peak, Madonna brought out another oldie in “Lucky Star” but modernized the track with a techno beat that slowly morphed into “Hung Up.”
For the Confessions single, Madonna returned to center stage for the same provocative (told you there were many) performance she gave at the Grammys, only this one included a few new twists.
And as the curtain (or in this case, a giant curved screen) came up and the lights came on – no encore for the second straight tour – a message flashed across the screen: Have You Confessed?
The Confessions Tour returns to the Forum on Tuesday and Wednesday before moving Las Vegas for the weekend (see “Madonna Sets Dates For Confessions World Tour”).

Set list:
“Future Lovers”
“Get Together”
“Like A Virgin”
“Jump”
“Live to Tell”
“Forbidden Love”
“Issac”
“Sorry”
“Like It or Not”
“I Love New York”
“Ray of Light”
“Let It Will Be”
“Drowned World”
“Paradise (Not for Me)”
“Music”
“Erotica”
“La Isla Bonita”
“Lucky Star”
“Hung Up”

source : mtv.com

Seventeen years after she suffered the wrath of Pope John Paul II and was condemned by the Vatican for her provocative performances, Madonna has outraged political figures once again.
During her latest world tour, the pop star donned a crown of thorns and suspended herself from a giant cross, no doubt testing the patience of successor Pope Benedict XVI.
She went on to launch a political attack on Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George Bush, by showing a video likening their tactics to reviled dictators Adolf Hitler, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and Osama bin Laden.
To add insult to injury, the Material Girl also changed the lyrics of her song I Love New York to make a crude reference to Bush and a lewd act.
It is not the first time Madonna has upset religious groups and political leaders.
In 1989, the Vatican wanted her banned from performing in Italy after it deemed her video for Like A Prayer as blasphemous.
Madonna will be performing in Britain in July and August and fans are expected to pay up to L200 for a ticket.
source : daily mail

Madonna kicked off her Confessions Tour Sunday night at The Forum in Los Angeles. USA Today’s Edna Gundersen was there to give you the inside scoop.
The music: The beat-crazy energy seldom flags in a highly polished two-hour show subdivided into Equestrian, Bedouin, Never Mind the Bullocks and Disco sections, though it’s the heady pulse of dance music, fortified by a sharp band, that dominates throughout. The rhythm-driven bonanza plucks nine of its 22 songs from Madonna’s sweaty Confessions on a Dance Floor album, and the new tunes hold up well live, especially Sorry, Jump and I Love New York. Latter-day hits eclipse classics, with the shimmery Ray of Light and boisterous Music easily outshining a tinny Lucky Star. Madonna is as fit vocally as physically, effortlessly nailing tender passages or a demanding upper register after strenuous bump-and-grind workouts.
The set: The visual orgy includes a giant disco ball that peels open like a lotus, hidden trapdoors, a saddle bobbing on a pole (yes, she rides it), a flashing catwalk that leads to a lighted dance floor at the center of the arena, sweeping tilted ramps for dance escapades and huge screens flashing cutting-edge videos of, well, mostly more Madonna. The visuals dramatically enhance the sonics, except in two cases of gratuitous excess – when horrific horse accidents crop up during Like a Virgin and when Madonna strikes a mock crucifixion pose on a geometric cross while singing Live to Tell, spoiling one of her most intimate and haunting ballads.
Fashion and choreography: Madonna looks fab in Jean-Paul Gaultier get-ups, from bondage riding duds to glam-punk black, all designed to flaunt a designer physique. The dance troupe dazzles with krumping, acrobatics, roller skate rumbles and goosestep rhumbas.
The merch: For fans who pay up to $350 for tickets, the $85 long-sleeve black shirt is a bargain. Pink Ts with a glittery ‘M’ go for $80, and baseball caps fetch $35. Kids on a tight allowance can opt for the $10 sticker sheet. The hot seller on opening night: $30 photo-packed programs.
The crowd: Mostly boomers, teens, gays, Hispanics. Opening night devotees sported tiaras, go-go boots, rubber dresses, black corsets and bejeweled belts. And those were the guys. Madonna wanna-bods squeezed size 14 forms into size 4 hip-hugger minis.
The inside scoop: Salma Hayek, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rosie O’Donnell and Nicole Richie were spotted at Sunday’s launch. Only friends and family were admitted to Saturday night’s secret run-through, staged for a cozy gathering of 3,000. Every crewmember was allowed to invite 15 pals. On Sunday, Madonna’s rehearsal left several people steamed at the curb. They were upset not about being left outside but because Madonna was inside after crossing picket lines. The stagehands are in a dispute with the venue’s management. Actually, it’s a wonder the scandalized singer got in at all. The Forum is owned by The Faithful Central Bible Church.
source : usa today

The Church of England has criticised Madonna’s appearance on a cross to kick off her latest tour in Los Angeles.
“Why would someone with so much talent seem to feel the need to promote herself by offending so many people?” said the church in a statement.
Madonna performed the ballad Live To Tell while suspended from a giant mirrored cross on the opening night.
David Muir of the Evangelical Alliance also accused the singer of “blatant insensitivity”.
“Madonna’s use of Christian imagery is an abuse and it is dangerous,” he said.
“She should drop it from the tour and people need to find their own means of expressing their disapproval.”
Madonna’s spokesperson was not available for comment at the time of publication.
This is not the first time the pop star’s concerts have upset the Church.
In 1990, the Pope called for a boycott of the Blond Ambition tour, in which Madonna simulated masturbation during Like A Virgin.
The video for Like A Prayer also brought condemnation from the Vatican for its burning crosses and depiction of a black Jesus.
The 51-date Confessions world tour kicked off in Los Angeles on Sunday. It will reach Britain in July.
source : bbc

Music experts in America expect Madonna’s Confessions tour to sail past the $200 million (GBP111 million) mark, which will make the pop superstar the top female performer ever. CHER currently holds the record with $192.5 million (GBP107 million) from 273 shows on her recent “farewell” world tour. Madonna’s figures, predicted by music industry trade magazine Billboard, are astonishing when you consider she is expected to play less than 60 dates.
source : contact music

Madonna performing at Confessions Tour Rehearsal in Los Angeles (May 20 2006)

There’s no stopping Madonna. The star quit movies after a series of flops but she’s making a new documentary, to be directed by real-life hubby and movie director Guy Ritchie. And the documentary, which follows one about herself, is on one of her all-time favorite movie icons, the tragic Jayne Mansfield – a rival to Marilyn Monroe’s crown in the fifties. Madonna said she finds the story fascinating; she plans to produce the film too.
source : sky.com

Click on images bellow to watch Madonna’s Speach, “Like A Virgin” and “Music” performances from Confessions Tour Rehearsals yesterday.