all about Madonna

St. Petersburg NCA entered into a contract for Russia’s concert of famous Madonna, Intermedia reported yesterday. NCA hasn’t officially confirmed the information, but promised to make a statement in one of these days. The pop star will probably sing in the Moscow Red Square in September.
So far, Madonna has been generally thought a pop star, whose concert none of the touring companies in Russia is able to arrange. One of the reasons is her fee, which is said to range from $1 million to $2 million. What’s more, her concerts require equipment of extreme sophistication and the singer tends to put forward some special demands to Russia’s impresarios. By hearsay, she wanted a personal meeting with Boris Yeltsin in the 1990’s.
The agitation will start in Moscow once Madonna’s tour is formally acknowledged. “We won’t confirm anything for the moment. Wait for three or four days,”? said NCA CEO Mikhail Shurygin.
“By request of Madonna’s management, we provided to the U.S. party early this summer the drawings and layouts of service lines of all biggest facilities of Moscow including the Red Square, Vasilievsky Spusk (Slope) and the area close to Moscow State University. The matter in hand was the possibility to assemble a stage for September 12 concert. But we have no exact information, who will bring Madonna and where,”? said Alexey Kotelnikov from JSA, which supplies stage structures for all big concerts of the city.
source : kommersant.com

from Ask Billboard

Hello Keith.
I was wondering about the status of Madonna’s third single from “Confessions on a Dance Floor.” I heard that “Get Together” was her last commercial single from the album, although it seems that it contains a handful of other tracks that are single-worthy.
Also, is “Get Together” getting any attention at radio? It seems to have missed the Billboard Hot 100. Finally, how is “Confessions on a Dance Floor” doing sales-wise? Is it becoming a huge seller like “Ray of Light” or is it stalling in sales?
Thanks. I love reading your column every Thursday.
Nathan Gil
Sarasota, Fla.

Hello Nathan,
Don’t worry, “Get Together” is not the final single from Madonna’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor.” The fourth single will be “Jump.”
“Get Together” has pretty much stalled out on American radio. A handful of dance stations are spinning the track a lot, but the vast majority of outlets have ignored the song. (Unsurprisingly, “Get Together” is doing well on the radio in many countries outside of America.)
So far, the single has yet to enter the Billboard Hot 100. Even though the U.S. radio picture is bleak, the song could still chart based on its digital and retail sales. Perhaps if the psychedelic animated music video for the song starts to get some serious screen time on the video networks, consumers will be motivated to buy the track via digital download services.
If it gets enough sales, it could enter the Billboard Hot 100 and become Madonna’s 53rd chart hit.
So far, “Confessions on a Dance Floor” has sold 1.5 million in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan. That’s more than twice what her last studio album, 2003’s “American Life,” has sold (666,000). It’s still a long way from catching up to “Ray of Light,” which has sold 3.8 million in America.

Hot 200 Albums :
135 (141) Madonna – Confessions On A Dancefloor
151 (107) Madonna – I’m Going To Tell You A Secret

Billboard Comprehensive Albums :
149 (155) Madonna – Confessions On A Dancefloor
170 (111) Madonna – I’m Going To Tell You A Secret

Hot 100 Singles Sales :
09 (05) Madonna – Get Together
21 (15) Madonna – Sorry
41 (25) Madonna – Hung Up

Hot Dance Music/Club Play :
09 (04) Madonna – Get Together

Dance Radio Airplay :
01 (01) Madonna – Get Together

Hot Dance Singles Sales :
02 (01) Madonna – Get Together
03 (03) Madonna – Sorry
06 (05) Madonna – Hung Up

Top Music Video :
03 (01) Madonna – I’m Going To Tell You A Secret

Billboard Comprehensive Music Videos
03 (01) Madonna – I’m Going To Tell You A Secret

6 more Pictures – Madonna in New York (July 07 2006) – are added to the gallery.

Touring in support of her 2005 album, Confessions on a Dancefloor, Madonna’s 2006 tour is an all out disco spectacular that sees the Material Girl dancing her way across North America and Europe through the summer.
Perhaps this summer’s hottest concert ticket, this is Madonna’s second tour in a row in which lighting designer Roy Bennett has turned to a Martin lighting package. PRG’s Las Vegas office has supplied 47 MAC 700 Profiles, 31 MAC 2000 Washes, 82 Atomic strobes with Atomic Colors and other automateds for the tour.
“Some of what we did this year was based on what was done on the previous tour but we expanded on that,” Roy explains. “We have a combination of MAC 700 Profiles, MAC 2000 Washes and other automated lights both in the rig and on the floor, all over really, doing a lot such as the soft good washes over and around the stage area.
“The physical staging extends far out, it’s massive, with a lot of lights that come way out into the audience. It’s a huge video show and we use the moving heads to support the video elements – an extension of what’s going on video wise.
“All of Madonna’s shows are very theatrical with a lot of subtleties but with big, in your face looks too. The show has a prominent disco theme so we wanted to turn the venue into a huge disco at times. It’s a very dynamic show.”
source : lsionline

12 Pictures – Madonna in New York (July 09 2006) – are added to the gallery.

Some 80,000 tickets for Madonna’s concerts in Tokyo and Osaka went on sale on Sunday and were sold out in five minutes, promoters said Monday. This tour will be the 47-year-old singer’s first in 13 years in Japan, and her fans were waiting in line or calling up the ticket agency well in advance of the 10 a.m. start of sales. The most expensive seats sold for 50,000 yen.
In order to meet the demand, an additional concert will now be held in Tokyo on Sept 21 at Tokyo Dome, following the already sold out concert on Sept 16 in Osaka and Sept 20 in Tokyo. Ticket reservations for the extra concert will start on July 11 and go on sale July 15. For more details, contact Kyodo Tokyo (0180-993-999) or Ticket Pia (0570-029-111).
source : yahoo japan

8 Pictures – Madonna in New York (July 08 2006) – are added to the gallery.

After falling off a horse, most pop stars would cancel their tour, halt production on their album, freeze all promotional activity and stay in bed. But not Madonna. The music icon fractured three ribs after a riding accident at her home in England, but managed to squeeze into a slinky outfit and shoot the video for “Hung Up,” the single from her latest album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. “I have a high pain threshold,” explains Madonna, 47. “It’s remarkable.” It sure is. As her new tour ruffles feathers with it’s controversial content, we delved into the mind of the mother of two and wife of British movie director Guy Ritchie.

Misunderstood Madonna
I’m constantly, forever, defending sound bites. People are always taking things I say out of context, and then I have to defend that one line, when, if they had done their research, they wouldn’t jump to the conclusions that they jump to. You end up spending entire interviews saying, “I didn’t say that…. No, that’s not true.”

Free Time
I don’t have a lot of free time, so when I do, it’s all about being with my kids. The ice-skating rink, pizza, movies, being in the countryside watching my daughter ride her horse, going for walks… kind of boring, right? Times have certainly changed, but it’s all good.

Out on the Town
Last week I went to a club and danced with my friends, and it was really fun. I do it sometimes. When I’m on tour, I go to clubs with a few of my dancers. I don’t do it as music as I used to. Who’s got free time? Who can stay up all night?

My Latest Album
I’m ecstatic that people are digging the music. I just feel that my enthusiasm and my joy in connecting with people and that’s a great thing. I play the album when I’m in the gym or when I go for a run or am doing yoga.

Why a Dance Album?
Why not? I guess because I’ve been making records for 20 years now, and dance music is where life began for me– in a disco. My first love is dance music, and I wanted to get back to that.

Finding Inspiration
I think it’s about paying attention. For instance, I say David LaChapelle’s movie “Rize”, and it had incredible dancers in it. I found out who the dancers were and put them in my next video. I have an insatiable hunger and curiosity to find out about new things. Inevitably those things find their way into my work. I think that’s what we all do as artists and creative people. We’re all plagiarizing!

Going Back in Time
I didn’t go back and listen to my own old records, but a lot of my music and lyrics are a part of my unconscious and they come up without me even thinking about it.

My Producer, Stuart Price
We’ve known each other for five years now, and I think that working together on many things has helped us to feel more familiar with each other. When we started, I think there was a little of that intimidation factor and Stuart many have been nervous. Writing music with people is very intimate; you have to feel comfortable– famous or not. We spent a lot of time in the studio together. In all honesty, I got nervous being around him in the studio because when you write lyrics and then come into the studio and sing them for someone for the first time, it can be very nerve-wracking. You wonder if they might think the lyrics stink, or they may thing the melody is crap. You really have to make yourself vulnerable.

‘Hung Up’ — the Song
“Hung Up” came about when Stuart brought the track to me in the very rough form about a year ago. He asked me what I thought. I heard the ABBA sample and loved it. I cranked it up in my car and drove around the city. I told him I loved the track and that we needed to turn it into a song. I wrote the lyrics to it in about 10 minutes.

‘Hung Up’ the Video
The inspiration for the video was mostly “Saturday Night Fever”. I hope I was channeling John Travolta! I watched it about 20 times with Jamie King, the choreographer, and Johan Renck, the director, and we just wanted to create [an atmosphere] where everyone’s world revolved around dance music.

Dominating the Dance Market
I’m not claiming ownership over any territory. I’m just making music that I love to make. I didn’t start it. Chic started it, Donna Summer started it. It’s not mine. I don’t take the credit.

Before I Was Famous
I miss the freedom of going out to a nightclub by myself, walking in there, onto the dance floor, and dancing the night away without anyone bothering me or noticing me.

Family Feedback
My kids love all the stuff I’ve done, they love dance music. My husband, on the other and, is not a big dance music fan, so he likes some of the tracks, but not all of them.

Getting Philosophical
We live in a society that values fame and fortune. At the end of the day, will these things matter? Will it really matter how many records I’ve sold? Or how many times I was number one? Or how pretty or foxy I was? Or how popular I was? Will any of those things matter? I think lots of people ask that question.

Is It Worth It?
I think a lot of people in the public eye who are constantly being judged, putting themselves out there and taking risks, having highs and lows, all have to ask themselves that question at some point. You have to ask yourself, “What am I doing this for and how important is is to me?” because you have to make a lot of sacrifices along the way.

My Next Move
I just want to do more of what I do and be better at it. There’s nothing specific I want to achieve. I could do another dance album, but I don’t like to repeat myself. Maybe I could do a ballad album, or maybe I’ll write a musical, or I might direct a film and do all the music in the film, you know what I mean? Anything’s possible.

My Style
I consider myself to be a chameleon. I can be working on an Olivia Newton-John or a Farrah Fawcett look, it just depends. It’s all about changing and evolving. I never see myself as making one particular fashion statement. Any one of my looks is just one side to me. When I wandering around my house in the country, I’m not wearing polka-dot chiffon dresses, okay?! As soon as you think you’ve got me pigeonholed, I’m going to surprise you. There are many sides to my personality– there always have been and there always will be.

Pop superstar Madonna has quashed rumours she’s leaving obscure Jewish sect Kabbalah over concerns for her finances and family relations.
The Material Girl singer is reportedly fed up of the financial burden of championing the Jewish belief system, and also fears the teachings are compromising her relationship with husband Guy Ritchie and her children.
One area of alleged contention is Christmas – which the family currently do not celebrate. Madonna would now reportedly prefer her kids not to be alienated from conventional customs.
Adding weight to speculation of a religious rift, pals claim the singer is thinking of ditching Kabbalah’s trademark bracelet. However, a spokeswoman for Madonna insists she has no plans to cut any strings. She says, “As far as I am aware, it is completely untrue.”
source : contactmusic