all about Madonna

4 Pictures - Madonna leaving gym in London (September 29 2006) - are added to the gallery.

2 Pictures - Madonna leaving gym in London (September 28 2006) - are added to the gallery.

source : madonna-connexion.com

Veteran pop singer Madonna supplants younger rival Britney Spears in the latest edition of Guinness World Records, winning the title of highest annual earnings by a female singer after she took home an estimated $US50 million ($A66 million) in 2004.
source : abc,net.au

Click here or on the image bellow to watch the interview.

source : madonnanation / yahoo

Visit the Backstage section at Confessions Tour website to read the interview with Madonna's back-up singer Donna Delory.

19 Pictures - Madonna performs in New York during 'Confessions' World Tour (Madison Square Garden, New York, July 18 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Top Electronic Albums :
06 (06) Madonna - Confessions On A Dance Floor

Hot 100 Singles Sales :
14 (26) Madonna - Get Together
31 (49) Madonna - Sorry
37 (43) Madonna - Hung Up

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
28 (-) Madonna - Jump

Hot Dance Music/Club Play
42 (52) Madonna - Jump *Hot Shot Debut*

Dance Radio Airplay :
15 (14) Madonna - Get Together

Hot Dance Singles Sales :
03 (05) Madonna - Get Together
09 (13) Madonna - Sorry
10 (12) Madonna - Hung Up

As announced a few days ago, the maxi-single for Jump will include an unreleased song called 'History'. Today, we are happy to reveal the finalized tracks-listing of the U.S.A single release, which will feature amazing remixes by Stuart Price, Junior Sanchez and more! If you are a member of Icon, Madonna's Official Fan Club, be ready for an exclusive preview of 'History', coming very soon!

Radio Edit 3:22
Jacques Lu Cont Mix 7:47
Axwell Remix 6:38
Junior Sanchez's - Misshapes Mix 6:49
Extended Album Version 5:09
History (Unreleased Song) 6:54

source : madonna.com

While finishing her world tour in Japan, Madonna took time out from her busy schedule to shoot the video for her latest single Jump! The shoot took place in many outdoor locations through out Tokyo, as well as a sound stage. Madonna and hair stylist Andy LeCompte decided to take her look to a whole new level and try using a platinum blonde bob wig for this video. The result is everyone loved the wig so much, that it made a cameo in the last two nights of the Confessions Tour! Check out the exclusive picture of Madonna conferring between takes with her choreographer Stefanie Roos, Manager Angela Becker, Hair Stylist Andy LeCompte, and getting touched up by Make Up Artist Gina Brooke.

source : iconmadonna

8 Pictures - Madonna leaving gym in London (September 26 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Click here to sign the petition.

In an effort to raise money for charity, Australian cricketer Shane Warne is reportedly planning to get pop queen Madonna, Hollywood actor Hugh Grant and Trudie Styler, the wife of singer Sting together for a poker gambling event.
Other guests, who would be helping to raise around 300,000 pounds, include footballer Teddy Sheringham and Tom Parker Bowles, son of the Prince of Wales' wife Camilla Parker.
Along with Warne, environmentalist Zac Goldsmith, editor of the Ecologist magazine will organize the fundraiser.
Money raised from the poker event will be donated to the Shane Warne Foundation, which works for children in need, and another organization that distributes funds to environmental charities.
Warne, writing in his Internet blog, said: "Madonna and Hugh Grant are playing and we are raising around 300,000 British quid for my foundation and Zac's Ecology Trust," reports the Sun.
source : ani

74 Pictures - Madonna performs in Paris during 'Confessions' World Tour (Bercy Stadium, Paris, August 28 2006) - are added to the gallery.

source : madonnalicious

Slinky Madonna goes for an amazing red-tro look in these photos to celebrate a milestone in rock.
The main shot appears on one of 20 different covers to mark Q Magazine's 20th anniversary.
And the singer looks a million dollars in the stunning 80s-style dress and a huge matching cocktail ring.
In the magazine, Madonna tells how her horse-riding accident last year, in which she broke her collarbone, ribs and hand, changed her whole outlook.
She says: "It was a wake-up call to appreciate my life, to be more grateful for what I have. It reaffirms my continued aspirations to learn and do as much as I can while on this earth."
The 48-year-old, who first appeared on the cover of Q in June 1991, also reveals how the births of her children, Lourdes, nine, and six-year-old Rocco were the high points of her life.
But the lows, she adds, were "watching many friends die from Aids". Madonna also touches on other lighter issues, such as her hair - and particularly her worst-ever style.
She says: "It was when I made an attempt to do the Princess Leia buns. But she had hair extensions. Not fair."
And despite her sometimes controversial past, she owns up to a rather low-key favourite vice... double espresso.
Other stars who will appear on Q's 20 different covers include Sir Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Noel Gallagher, Britney Spears, Beyonce and U2. The anniversary edition is out on September 30.
source : mirror.co.uk

15 Pictures - Madonna performs in New York during 'Confessions' World Tour (Madison Square Garden, New York, July 02 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Pop queen Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie may adopt twins from an African orphanage next month, The People can reveal.
They will fly out to poverty-stricken Malawi to find a child and may even adopt either twins or ordinary siblings.
They will even consider kids with special needs.
A source close to the celebrity couple confirmed: "Originally Madonna and Guy planned to adopt only one child.
"But when they were told that might mean breaking up a family unit they immediately said they would take siblings or twins if that was the right thing to do.
"They want the children to be as young as possible but are prepared to take kids up to the age of four.
"And they are also willing to consider a child with special needs arising from being abandoned in an orphanage."
Madonna, 48, and 38-year-old British-born film director Guy will spend a week in Malawi meeting adoption lawyers.
If the process runs smoothly they could be the legal parents by the time they leave the country.
Our source added: "It will be a very hectic trip with each day packed with meetings, but they are both really cited. They understand the implications of adopting a child from another country and are confident they can provide a loving and stable home.
"They are determined to make sure their child or children learn about their roots."
The couple already have a six-year-old son Rocco together, and Madonna has a daughter Lourdes, who will be 10 next month, from a previous relationship.
The source said: "Both youngsters are also really excited ex about having a brother or sister - or even both."
Earlier this month The People revealed how Madonna and Guy hoped the adoption would help save their stormy marriage.
The couple decided to approach an adoption agency in Los Angeles earlier this year after struggling to conceive again naturally.
They have been vetted and had their parenting skills assessed. Next month's trip will be the first chance Madonna has had to visit Malawi since her sell-out Confessions tour.
The singer and Guy may meet Malawi's President, Bingu Wa Mutharika.
Malawi is one of the world's poorest countries and one million of its 13 million population have HIV/AIDS.
Last night a spokesman for Madonna confirmed: "Madonna will go to Africa in the next six to eight weeks for her charity."
source : people.co.uk

Should NBC include the "crucifixion" in it's Madonna special?
What do you think of the "crucifixion" stunt?
Click here to vote !

3 Pictures - Madonna leaving her hotel in Rome (August 05 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Confessions & Re Invention Tour Dancer Cloud has been a fan favorite since he started dancing with Madonna. Cloud has many talents and interests. For Madonna's birthday, Cloud decided to make her a video. Click below so that you can see the behind the scenes video Cloud created for Madonna!
Quicktime: Low | High
Windows Media: Low | High
source : madonna.com

9 Pictures - Madonna performs in London during 'Confessions' World Tour (Wembley Arena, London, August 01 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Madonna has topped a poll naming the coolest people of all time, beating out competition from Johnny Depp and the late Steve McQueeen. The Material Girl was voted for by a panel of prominent media workers and 1,725 consumers in the survey by marketing firm CoolBrandsUK. Others in the list included Audrey Hepburn and James Dean.

The Top 10 Coolest People Of All Time are:
1. Madonna
2. Johnny Depp
3. Steve McQueen
4. Audrey Hepbrun
5. James Dean
6. Brad Pitt
7. David Beckham
8. Sean Connery
9. Kate Moss
10. Elvis Presley

source : contact music

27 Pictures - Madonna performs in New York during 'Confessions' World Tour (Madison Square Garden, New York, July 18 2006) - are added to the gallery.

As Madonna's Confessions Tour comes to an end in Japan this week, the artist has released a statement regarding the much talked about Crucifixion scene.
"I am very grateful that my show was so well received all over the world. But there seems to be many misinterpretations about my appearance on the cross and I wanted to explain it myself once and for all.
"There is a segment in my show where three of my dancers 'confess' or share harrowing experiences from their childhood that they ultimately overcame. My 'confession' follows and takes place on a Crucifix that I ultimately come down from. This is not a mocking of the church. It is no different than a person wearing a Cross or 'Taking Up the Cross' as it says in the Bible. My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous. Rather, it is my plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole. I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing.
"My specific intent is to bring attention to the millions of children in Africa who are dying every day, and are living without care, without medicine and without hope. I am asking people to open their hearts and minds to get involved in whatever way they can. The song ends with a quote from the Bible's Book of Matthew:
"'For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you took care of me and God replied, "Whatever you did for the least of my brothers... you did it to me."'
"Please do not pass judgment without seeing my show."
Madonna's "Confessions Tour - Live From London" is scheduled to air on NBC this November. NBC has not confirmed whether they will include this portion of the show in their broadcast.
The artist is scheduled to come to New York at the end of October to promote her new children's book "The English Roses - Too Good To Be True" and has also announced her plans for a trip to Malawi for several weeks in November to participate in the building of an orphanage and care center for the children of that country (www.raisingmalawi.com).
source : marketwire

9 Pictures - Madonna performs in Tokyo during 'Confessions' World Tour (Dome, Tokyo, September 20 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Top Electronic Albums :
06 (03) Madonna - Confessions On A Dance Floor

Hot 100 Singles Sales :
26 (21) Madonna - Get Together
43 (38) Madonna - Hung Up
49 (39) Madonna - Sorry

Dance Radio Airplay :
14 (16) Madonna - Get Together

Hot Dance Singles Sales :
05 (04) Madonna - Get Together
12 (11) Madonna - Hung Up
13 (12) Madonna - Sorry

Madonna will wrap her Confessions tour Thursday at the Tokyo Dome as the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist.
Although final numbers are not all in, tour producer Arthur Fogel puts the tally at $193.7 million (102.6 million pounds) from 60 shows that drew nearly 1.2 million in paid attendance.
That gross narrowly puts Madonna over Cher's benchmark of $192.5 million. However, it took Cher an endurance-testing 273 shows between June 2002 and April 2005 to reach that mark on her marathon Farewell tour.
Madonna's Confessions tour, which began May 21 in Los Angeles, followed the same model of the $125 million-grossing Re-Invention tour in 2004 and the $75 million-grossing Drowned World tour in 2001.
Rather than visit 100 global markets a la mega acts like the Rolling Stones and U2, Madonna opted to play multiple nights in a limited number of major international locales. The strategy has led to a staggering $400 million in ticket sales in just six years.
source : reuters / billboard

7 Pictures - Madonna performs in Tokyo during 'Confessions' World Tour (Dome, Tokyo, September 20 2006) - are added to the gallery.

The NBC television network in the US is still making up its mind about whether it will allow pop star Madonna to stage a mock crucifixion on its airwaves as part of her upcoming prime-time concert special.
The 48-year-old entertainer has made the crucifixion stunt, in which she performs while suspended on a giant cross wearing a crown of thorns, a centrepiece of her global "Confessions" tour.
Her stage act drew storms of protest from the Roman Catholic Church and Russian Orthodox Church during recent performances in Rome and Moscow, with church leaders condemning the mock crucifixion as blasphemy.
But executives at NBC, owned by the General Electric Co.
will wait for makers of her concert special to submit the production for review before deciding whether to allow the mock crucifixion to air.
"We're awaiting the delivery of it, and once we've seen it in its entirety, we'll make a decision," an NBC spokeswoman told Reuters on Thursday. The program is slated to air in November, but no specific date has been set.
Madonna's manager, Guy Oseary, had no comment on the issue, according to an assistant in his office.
In July, when the network first unveiled plans for the Madonna concert special, NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly gave mixed signals about how much artistic freedom Madonna would be given. The mock crucifixion was known then to be a central part of her stage act.
"She's not revising her act," he told a gathering of TV critics at the time. "We've discussed what content will be in and what is out, and we've come to a healthy place that represents her show but is appropriate for television."
source : reuters

Steven Klein and Madonna's Photography and Videography Collaboration "X-STaTIC PRO=Cess" Exhibition - Arrivals (September 19, 2006 - Louis Vuitton Roppongi Hills Store). Visit WireImage to see the photos.

Female :
Madonna
Shakira
Beyoncé
Christina Aguilera
Nelly Furtado

Pop :
Madonna
Christina Aguilera
Shakira
Robbie Williams
Justin Timberlake

Album :
Confessions On A Dance Floor - Madonna
Stadium Arcadium - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Back to Basics - Christina Aguilera
Loose - Nelly Furtado
Black Holes and Revelations - Muse

Click here to vote !

Check out the backstage section of the Confessions Tour site for a great interview with Dave, the man who takes care of everything that is floating above your head during the show. You saw his face in the H&M ad? Time to get to know more about him and his brilliant work! Click here to read the interview.

Music videos from artists like Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sean Paul will be legally available for the first time on YouTube, a popular online video sharing site, after signing its first commercial partnership with Warner Music Group.
YouTube, which has over 100 million video viewed everyday, and Warner Music, the world's fourth biggest record company, said on Monday that the pact would help Warner distribute music videos, behind-the-scenes footage, artist interviews and original programming.
The companies said YouTube users would also be able to incorporate music from Warner's catalog into the videos they create and upload.
source : reuters

A Gibson Les Paul custom-designed for Madonna for her Drowned World tour in 2001 -- the first time the singer played guitar onstage -- will be auctioned on eBay beginning on Oct. 6. After the tour Madge signed the guitar, the only survivor of two identical models made for her, and gave it to John Griswold, a veteran guitar technician (Eagles, George Harrison, Shania Twain) who served in that role on the Drowned World tour.
What's in a (tour) name? In a strange twist, Griswold is parting with the guitar because his family lost most of their possessions in Hurricane Katrina -- they were living in New Orleans when it flooded.
The opening bid for the guitar is $49,999. The seller says it has been appraised at $400,000-600,000.
source : aol

Madonna.com is happy to confirm that Madonna is releasing a never before heard song called History as the B Side to the next single, Jump! Speaking of Jump, Madonna is taking time out of her busy schedule in Japan to shoot a brand new video. Check Madonna.com news for more information!
source : madonna.com

8 Pictures - Madonna performs in Osaka during 'Confessions' World Tour (Dome, Osaka, September 16 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Best Ringtone :
Ð"ород 312
A' Studio
Black Eyed Peas
Madonna
Юлия Савичева

Best Foreign Artist :
Black Eyed Peas
Depeche Mode
Gwen Stefani
Madonna
Shakira

The ceremony will take place on September, 21 in Ledovi Dvoretc of St.Petersburg.
Online voting is available at MTV.ru.

Pop diva Madonna has decided to extend her charity work in Malawi to the country's water supply when she visits next month to set up an orphan care centre in the southern African country, local officials said.
Expectations are running high in Malawi, an impoverished country dependent on tobacco exports, as Madonna prepares to join a flood of stars searching for a good cause in the world's poorest continent.
The advance party preparing her first visit to Africa was shocked to see young girls in the capital Lilongwe walking long distances with buckets of water balanced on their heads.
"The team was appalled at what they saw and how women and children walk long distances to fetch water," said Adrina Michiela, principal secretary in Malawi's Ministry of Women and Child Development.
"Her team immediately pledged to support any government initiatives to improve access to water points," Michiela told Reuters.
No date has been announced for the visit, during which Madonna has said she will set up the Raising Malawi centre to feed and educate about 1,000 orphans, many of them left by parents killed by AIDS, a major scourge in the region.
In plans announced in an interview with Time magazine last month, Madonna said she was raising $3 million to fund programmes mostly to help orphans in Malawi.
Malawi has a population of 13 million, an estimated 1 million of them children who have lost at least one parent.
While her plans have excited impoverished local people, many of them villagers who had never before heard of the mega star, many critics in the West say the project is little more than a publicity stunt by one of the world's best self-promoters.
The fact that orphans at the centre will be taught a curriculum based on Spirituality for Kids, linked to the Kabbalah school of mysticism to which Madonna adheres, has added to the cynicism.
source : reuters

Ten inmates of Children's Home No.80 are the only Russian citizens who can boast of having autographs given by world's pop star No.1 - Madonna.
Shortly before her departure from Moscow on September 13, the next day after she gave a hugely successful performance on Moscow's largest Luzhniki Stadium, Madonna (pictures) visited orphans living in Children's Home No.30. Correspondents of the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper visited the home as well to ask for children's impressions of meeting one of the greatest singers of our times.
Children were told about Madonna's visit only 20 minutes before her arrival. Boys rushed to pick flowers that they were growing on a flowerbed. The bouquet of flowers for Madonna was made of five roses. "We gave her the flowers which we had grown ourselves," tenth-grader Viktor Nosov said. Viktor was beaming with happiness demonstrating a photograph on his cell phone showing himself and Madonna hugging.
Madonna was given a tour of the orphanage and answered all the children's questions even though she was tired after performing last night. She advised the children to read more and watch less television!
"At first I thought that she was telling me that she loved me. I misunderstood her at first. When she entered our ward we all jumped off our beds. I was the closest one to her. And then she said " How do you do ?" I forgot my English entirely, I thought that she said "I love you" to me. I was standing there all blushing and speechless. I came back to my senses only when a translator told me that Madonna was asking how I was doing," Viktor said.
Madonna's bodyguards were trying to play the role of men on duty in the beginning. They could not stand near their client and watch little kids pulling her sleeves. The bodyguards relaxed several minutes later when one of the boys, Anton (8 y.o.) started jumping on his bed and screaming: "Look, this is my bed!"
"Little kids did not realize how lucky they were. Smaller children were pulling Madonna's sleeves saying "Mama, mama." Madonna smiled when she heard that," another teenage boy Viktor Lakeyev said.
The superstar brought 20 boxes of cakes with her and several winter coats for the children.
"In addition to the flowers we gave her a mascot. It was a so-called guardian doll (a traditional Russian fabric-made stuffed toy). Children make those dolls here themselves. It is believed that those dolls bring happiness to their owners," the Director of the children's home, Yuri Yevdokimov said.
However, Madonna did not donate any money to the children's home that she visited. "The singer promised to donate a certain amount of funds to charitable foundations Pomogi.Org and Naked Hearts. The foundations will distribute the money between children's homes and boarding schools. Probably we will receive a little of it for our children too," Yevdokimov said.

source : pravda.ru

from Madonnalicious : The November TV listings for NBC have just been released and on Wednesday 22 November at 9:00pm (for a duration of 1 hour 59 minutes 30 seconds) they have a program which is entitled NBC Specials: Madonna: The Confessions Tour Live From London.

5 Pictures - Madonna performs in Moscow during 'Confessions' World Tour (Luzniki Stadion, Moscow, September 12 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Pictures by Julianna

Madonna in Rolling Stone (September 2006 Issue, Russian Edition) - scans are added to the gallery.

Madonna in Time Out Magazine (September 2006 Issue, Russian Edition) - scans are added to the gallery.

Madonna in Huper Magazine (September 2006 Issue, Serbian Edition) - scans are added to the gallery.

16 Pictures - Madonna performs in Amsterdam during "Confessions" World Tour (Arena, Amsterdam, September 03 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Pictures by Leonoor

Top Electronic Albums :
03 (03) Madonna - Confessions On A Dance Floor

Hot 100 Singles Sales :
21 (20) Madonna - Get Together
38 (32) Madonna - Sorry
39 (38) Madonna - Hung Up

Dance Radio Airplay :
16 (15) Madonna - Get Together

Hot Dance Singles Sales :
05 (04) Madonna - Get Together
11 (10) Madonna - Hung Up
12 (08) Madonna - Sorry

Watch : YouTube
Download : Mega Upload or SendSpace

Picture - Madonna leaving Moscow (September 13 2006) - is added to the gallery.

Natalia Vodianova and Stephen Klein took Madonna to meet Russian orphans as she was in Moscow for her Confessions show.
After the concert, attended by 50,000 fans, and before boarding a plane to Japan, Madonna visited an orphanage for handicapped children. The visit was organized by the Moscow-based Pomogi.org charity foundation.
Accompanied by fashion photographer Stephen Klein, who arrived in Moscow to open his X-STaTIC RRO=CeSS exhibition, the singer walked through school premises, met children and fielded their questions, such as where she had learned to speak English so well and whether she really lived in the U.S. Klein kept taking pictures of children.
The night earlier, four children from different Russian orphanages visited Madonna's concert for free, met the singer and her guests, top model Natalia Vodianova and her husband Lord Justin Portman.
Vodianova also took part in the Pomogi.org project. She and Klein visited another orphanage near Moscow to donate blankets, diapers and napkins.
source : mosnews

4 Pictures - Madonna visits orphanage in Moscow (September 13 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Pictures courtesy of pomogi.org

Click on image bellow to see the chart :

4 Pictures - Madonna singing 'Give Peace A Chance' during her concert in Moscow (September 12 2006) - are added to the gallery.

71 Pictures - Madonna performs in Moscow during 'Confessions' World Tour (Luzniki Stadion, Moscow, September 12 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Madonna took to the stage of Moscow's biggest stadium Tuesday night in spite of religious protesters' threats to disrupt the performance.
At Luzhniki Stadium, a crowd of about 35,000 watched Madonna perform a concert that has been met with increasing opposition as the pop star's "Confessions" tour traveled across Europe. The Russian Orthodox Church in particular has objected to religious imagery in the performance.
On Tuesday, no disorder was reported, although 10 Orthodox activists were detained outside the stadium for trying to conduct an unsanctioned protest ahead of the show. Other Orthodox faithful in small groups prayed outside the stadium.
Some 7,000 police officers were to be on hand in and around the stadium, on a bend in the Moscow River near Gorky Park.
At the heart of objections to the show is the culmination of the concert, when Madonna sings while suspended from a cross. She drew protests at earlier stops in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, where last week a priest was arrested for phoning in a fake bomb threat.
"I think a deeply believing person would never go to the concert," the Rev. Vsevolod Chaplin, a spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, told Associated Press Television News. "This lady ... plays with religious symbols, and I think it's not only a matter of financial advancement of her production but it's also a kind of attempt to justify and sanctify her message and her sins, using something holy."
The Russian Orthodox Church has objected to the performance, pushing hard for the organizers to push it back from the initially planned date of Sept. 11 _ both in a sign of respect for the victims of the terror attacks in the United States five years ago, and because that date coincided with a church holiday, the Feast of St. John the Baptist.
The venue was also switched. The concert originally was planned for a stage on the Vorobyovye Gory (Sparrow Hills), overlooking the Moscow River, but the Orthodox Church said that would be inappropriate because two churches are located there. The organizers scrambled to find another site after police said they could not ensure security in such a sprawling area.
City authorities pushed for the concert to be held at Tushino Airfield, the site of many outdoor rock extravaganzas. However, Tushino is on the outskirts of the city, it is anything but scenic and its security image is shadowed by an incident in 2003 when a double suicide bombing killed 14 spectators.
Scores of Orthodox protesters, dressed in religious costume and carrying religious symbols, have held noisy rallies over the past few weeks to protest the concert.
Madonna next scheduled concerts are in Osaka, Japan and Tokyo on Sept. 16 and 20 respectively.

4 Pictures - Madonna leaving Ararat Park Hayat Hotel in Moscow and going to Luzhinki Stadion (September 12 2006) - are added to the gallery.

3 Pictures - Madonna arrives at Ararat Park Hayat Hotel in Moscow (September 11 2006) - are added to the gallery.

4 Pictures - Madonna arrives at Moscow International Airport (September 11 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Madonna has come under fire for her use of religious imagery in her stage show ahead of her first ever concert in Russia. The Like a Virgin singer has courted controversy throughout the European leg of her Confessions world tour with her decision to perform while suspended from a giant cross. A Dutch priest was arrested earlier this month (03 SEP 06) when he phoned in a fake bomb threat in a bid to have Madonna's Amsterdam shows called off. And the 48-year-old has angered Russian Orthodox priests with her re-enactment of the crucifixion of Christ ahead of her show at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium tonight (12 SEP 06). Father Vsevolod Chaplin, a spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, says, "This lady has been glorifying human passions with the help of religious symbols for years - crosses, statues and beads. Now she thinks it is time for her to crucify herself in public. It means the singer is in need of spiritual help."
Source :Contact Music

5 pictures - Madonna leaves the gym London - September 08 - are added on the gallery.

The world pop star Madonna is expected to arrive in Moscow on Monday, Madonna's international tour promoter Arthur Fogel has announced.
Madonna is arriving in Russia tomorrow and will reside at a hotel. She is eagerly awaiting her Moscow performance and wants to come to Russia, Fogel told the press in Moscow on Sunday.
It will be the best show in her world tour, Fogel said.
The pop star will sing 18 songs - a special set for the whole of her world tour. She did not demand anything special for her stay in Moscow and has yet to make up her mind on the sightseeing program, Fogel said.
In remarks about the Luzhniki stadium, where Madonna will sing on Tuesday, Fogel said it is a world-class venue for both sports competitions and shows.
The pop singer's tour manager Chris Lamb said rain would be an unpleasant occurrence. Madonna will dance a lot during the show and the stage must be dry, he said.
The organizers have been following weather updates. The forecast has been good thus far, he said. sd
Source: Interax.ru

Death threats from the Russian mafia have kept pop star Madonna confined to a hotel room during her concert tour.
The pop diva stayed locked in her Prague hotel room only venturing out to perform two sell out concerts this week following alleged assassination threats by Russian crime bosses.
According to reports in the Czech daily Blesk, Madonna cancelled her original plans to visit the historic town centre and go shopping and instead stayed locked in her room at the luxury Four Seasons hotel.
The newspaper reported that the Russian mafia have threatened to kill the singer and her two young children.
"She is unbelievably nervous and is worried about performing in Moscow. Because of that she wants to get home as soon as possible and doesn't want to be away a minute more than is necessary," a source told the newspaper.
The 48-year-old looked pale and anxious, and didn't smile or wave at dozens of waiting fans as she stepped straight into a waiting car with darkened windows outside the hotel she was staying at during three-day visit to the Czech capital.
She is is to play in the Russian capital on Monday and Tuesday as part of her Confessions tour.
source:contact music

Fourth time's a charm, right? As her smash concert tour winds down, Madonna has released "Jump," the fourth single off "Confessions on a Dance Floor." Maybe its radio fortunes will be better than her last single, "Get Together." But we're being realistic here: If programmers turned up their collective noses at the super-catchy "Sorry," then why would they suddenly come to the table for "Jump"? That said, the song is a pulsing pop tune that has a positive, universal message about believing in yourself, not wasting time and taking a chance in life. Dance clubs will obviously jump all over the single, while adult top 40 radio seems like the natural starting place for the tune to get its footing. - Keith Caulfield

5 Pictures - Madonna performs in Prague during 'Confessions' World Tour (Sazka Arena, Prague, September 07 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Amsterdam prosecutors said Friday a 63-year-old priest has confessed to phoning in a fake bomb threat to a Madonna concert in the Dutch capital city last week.
The scene, a mock re-enactment of the crucifixion of Christ, offended some Christians during earlier concerts in Italy and Germany. Two Amsterdam concerts went ahead as planned on Sunday and Monday, despite a handful of protesters.
The priest was arrested almost immediately after making the threat Sunday, since he used his home phone to make it, and he called an emergency services number where the call was automatically traced.
"Maybe he should have to learn all her lyrics by heart" as punishment, he quipped.
source : ap

5 Pictures - Madonna performs in Prague during 'Confessions' World Tour (Sazka Arena, Prague, September 06 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Contrary to a previous report, pop icon Madonna will not play the Witch in the Royal Albert Hall's gala benefit performance of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods, which will be presented on Sunday, October 22nd at 3 PM and 7:30 PM.
Into the Woods will star Joanna Riding as Little Red and Olivier Award-winner Laura Michelle Kelly (Mary Poppins) as Cinderella. Other previously announced cast members include Anita Dobson and Vinnie Jones.
More casting is expected to be announced in a few days.
source : broadway world

Private meditation with a leader of the 1989 Velvet Revolution helped inspire Madonna Thursday before the pop star strutted onstage for her Prague concert. Vaclav Havel, a former Czech president and communist dissident, joined Madonna backstage for a "small, private prayer just between her and her people" before the Wednesday night show at a Prague arena, Havel spokesman Jakub Hladik told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa Thursday.
"Madonna doesn't usually meet with people before a concert, but Vaclav Havel was the exception," Hladik said.
The meditation focused on "the humanistic mission which she tries to promote," he said, adding that compared with similar Madonna warmups "it lasted longer than usual."
Hladik said that "so far we haven't heard" whether Havel's meeting with the controversial singer bothered religious leaders.
But before Madonna arrived for the Wednesday and Thursday shows - her first appearances in Prague - - Czech church leaders joined others in Europe this summer by objecting to her crucifixion stage prop and crown of thorns.
A spokesman for the head of the nation's Roman Catholics, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, called the show "entirely unacceptable."
"It is most undignified that millions can be earned these days through contempt for the Christian faith," he said.
No clergy participated in the backstage meditation, which ended when Havel presented two of his books to Madonna as gifts, Hladik said.
Since the Czech Republic overthrew communism in 1989, Havel has befriended several big names in music including Lou Reed, Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson. He often attends major rock-music events in Prague and, before retiring in 2003, entertained some at Prague Castle.
source : raw story

The overcrowded Sazka arena in Prague, a multipurpose hall for 17,000 viewers, has hailed U.S. pop music megastar Madonna who gives her ever first concert in the Czech Republic today, an event that had been widely awaited as exceptional long in advance.
The singer, clad in black, let herself down in a giant ball right on a platform amid the excited fans, opening the concert with Future Lovers, a hit from her last year´s album Confessions On A Dance Floor.
Like at her previous concerts abroad, she was wearing a big cross on her chest and a headdress shaped as a crown of thorns. In Prague, too, she sang tied to a large cross.
This style has displeased the church circles all over the world, including Czech Christians.
Madonna´s Prague concert is a two-hour impressive show including more than twenty songs, mostly ones from her latest album, Confessions On A Dancefloor.
She is accompanied by some twenty musicians and dancers. She changes her costumes several times during the evening.
The audience today includes many well-known persons, such as former Czech President Vaclav Havel and his wife.
In reaction to the great interest of Czech fans, Madonna will give another concert in Prague on Thursday.
source : prague monitor

For two charity performances, pop icon Madonna will take on the role of the Witch in the Royal Albert Hall's gala benefit performance of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods, which will be presented on Sunday, October 22nd at 3 PM and 7:30 PM.
Into the Woods will also star Joanna Riding as Little Red and Olivier Award-winner Laura Michelle Kelly (Mary Poppins) as Cinderella. Other previously announced cast members include Anita Dobson and Vinnie Jones.
With music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by Lapine, Into The Woods "combines classic fairy tales into a story about 'the complications of living in modern society and the difficult choices we encounter on the paths of our lives'. The stories - including Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel - are joined with a new creation; the tale of The Baker and His Wife," according to Royal Albert notes. The show premiered on Broadway in November 1987 and ran for 765 performances at the Martin Beck Theatre. Lapine and Sondheim--as well as actress Joanna Gleason--won Tonys for their work.
Peter Penny and Paul Savident will produce the event for The Childrens' Society.
The chameleonic Madonna has been a cultural icon for over two decades. A multi-Grammy Award-winner, she has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide. Her stage credits include Speed-the-Plow on Broadway, as well as (more recently) Up for Grabs in London. She also won acclaim for taking on the title role in the 1996 film version of Evita, and previously performed songs by Sondheim in Dick Tracy. Other film credits include Swept Away, The Next Best Thing, Body of Evidence, Shadows and Fog and Desperately Seeking Susan.
source : broadway world

The first 15 lorries with equipment for Madonna's Moscow concert arrived. The trailers brought stage decorations and a part of light equipment from Hanover to the capital. In total there is more than 200 tons of equipment. Despite the long and hard way, the workers started unloading immediately. The decoration's assemblage has already started.
Ticket exchange to the concert of pop star Madonna is going on in the Luzhniki, Interfax reports. One can exchange tickets in one place only: in the Luzhniki ticket office, where five windows will be working. Only tickets to stands will be exchanged.
There will be entrance to the dance floor with the same tickets, where the date "September, 11" and the site "Vorobyovy Hills" are indicated. It is worth reminding that Madonna's concert is to take place at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on September, 12. At the same time, architect Nodar Kancheli, the designer of the Luzhniki roof and the bad known Transvaal Park, does not exclude an opportunity of the roof collapse during Madonna's concert. The architect reminded the famous law of physics. Under the law, a construction is collapsed if audio-signals frequency coincides with its own oscillation frequency. Kancheli stated that on air of "Ekho Moskvy" Radio. Nevertheless, Kancheli noted it might not happen in reality. The stadium had stood concerts of groups using much lower and tougher sound than Madonna. In particular, the Luzhniki survived the concerts of the Prodigy and Nazareth.
source : newslab

Hot 100 Singles Sales :
20 (16) Madonna - Get Together
32 (34) Madonna - Sorry
38 (50) Madonna - Hung Up

Dance Radio Airplay :
15 (14) Madonna - Get Together

Hot Dance Singles Sales :
04 (05) Madonna - Get Together
08 (09) Madonna - Sorry
10 (11) Madonna - Hung Up

Top Music Video :
-- (31) Madonna - I'm Going To Tell You A Secret

Billboard Comprehensive Music Videos
-- (31) Madonna - I'm Going To Tell You A Secret

An estimated 2,500 Madonna fans braved the rain to exchange their out-of-date concert tickets at Luzhniki stadium on Wednesday, six days before the pop diva's debut gig in Moscow.
The concert -- originally scheduled for Sept. 11 at Vorybyovy Gory -- was moved back a day by organizers and switched to the 84,000-seat stadium for security reasons.
Ticket holders began lining up more than two hours before the Luzhniki ticket windows opened at noon, but after the initial rush, the line did not exceed 100 people throughout the day.
Though some fans complained that their new seats were not as close to the stage as the seats they had for the original venue, most were simply relieved to get a ticket.
"We're not happy about our new seats. We originally had tickets for the dance floor," said Vika, 21, a Madonna fan who was placed 33 rows away from the stage at Luzhniki.
"But we're so happy to be able to see Madonna; we've waited so long," said her friend Yulia, 19. The pair was looking forward to Madonna's controversial crucifixion scene, which has spurred protests across Europe this summer.
A number of Orthodox Christian groups have called for the cancellation of the concert because of the scene.
"We're afraid [of protests], of course, but we would do anything to see Madonna," Yulia said.
A smartly dressed man who asked not to be named said he had arrived from St. Petersburg on Wednesday morning for the swap, but was left waiting for hours while staff inspected his original ticket.
"They think it's not a genuine ticket," he said.
Ticket scalpers outside the stadium were offering seats at the concert for 10,000 rubles ($375).
The stadium's ticket offices will be open through Monday for ticket holders to exchange their old tickets, from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
source : moscow times

3 Pictures - Madonna performs in Prague during 'Confessions' World Tour (Sazka Arena, Prague, September 06 2006) - are added to the gallery.

2 Pictures - Madonna leaving Four Seasons hotel in Prague (September 06 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Madonna leaving Palffy´s Palace restaurant in Prague (September 05 2006)

Madonna arriving in Prague (September 05 2006)

Singer Madonna will arrive in Moscow on September 10, Interfax was told by Mikhail Shurygin, president of NCA, the Russian partner of the main promoter of Madonna's "Live Nation" world tour.
Madonna's concert will be held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on September 12.
The organizers say that a cultural program is also awaiting Madonna in Moscow.
Anton Atrashkin, PR manager of the Russian leg of the tour, told Interfax that construction of the stage at Luzhniki for Madonna would begin on Tuesday. Constructing a 200-ton stage takes about five days.
source : interfax

6 Pictures - Madonna leaving the Crillon hotel in Paris (August 29 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Madonna is planning a studio collaboration with Lenny Kravitz after he joined her live on stage.
Now that really will be a titanic clash of the perfectionists.
Lenny appeared with Madonna in Paris at the weekend on her Confessions world tour.
They did a version of I Love New York with Lenny adding a scorching guitar solo while Madonna pulled appropriate grimaces.
The pair got on so well they have pencilled in time later this year to go into the studio together to record some material.
I pity the studio staff. You wouldn't want to do or say anything wrong with those two formidable characters in charge.
source : the sun

9 Pictures - Madonna going back to Amstel hotel after her concert at Amsterdam Arena (Amsterdam, September 03 2006) - are added to the gallery.

7 Pictures - Madonna leaving Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam (September 04 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Song Of The Year :
Maná "Labios Compartidos"
Madonna "Hung Up"
James Blunt "You're Beautiful"
Julieta Venegas "Me Voy"
Shakira "Hips Don't Lie"

Best International Pop Artist:
Madonna
Robbie Williams
Ashlee Simspon
Nelly Furtado
Kelly Clarkson

source : madonna nation

Orthodox and patriotic forces are meeting in Pushkin Square in downtown Moscow in a demonstration against Madonna's forthcoming Moscow show.
Some 100 people holding banners and orthodox flags with a large crucifix placed in the center are participating in the meeting.
"We declare a new Holy Inquisition that will fight against the sacrilege of crosses, icons, Russian Orthodox symbols, including during Madonna's show. The singer is an advocate of Kabbalah," chairman of the Union of Orthodox flag-bearers Leonid Simonovich-Nikshich said at the meeting.
The main goal of the inquisition will be "to fight against slander, rather than to kill people," he said.

source : AFP / Interfax

5 Pictures - Madonna arriving in Amsterdam (September 03 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Al Pacino has revealed pop queen Madonna once performed a sexy private dance for him, during which she opened her coat to expose her completely nude body. The pair first met when they co-starred in 1990 movie Dick Tracy, while Madonna was dating screen idol Warren Beatty. But although Pacino is tight-lipped as to when this cheeky incident occurred, he insists he will never forget the time the Material Girl secretly writhed in front of him in all her naked glory. He says, "It's private information. She was doing a dance and she was naked under her coat. "Over the course of the dance, she became inspired and opened her coat, and there she was. "She has an extraordinarily beautiful body, like cut out of ivory. "One day, when I'm old and I'm wheeled out on my porch wrapped in a blanket, if I have a beatific smile on my face, I'll probably be thinking of that."
source : contact music

28 Pictures - Madonna performs in Amsterdam during "Confessions" World Tour (Arena, Amsterdam, September 03 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Rome (Aug 06) and London (Aug 09) pictures by Rebeca (Impressive Madonna)
Paris (Aug 27) pictures by Félix (Impressive Madonna)
Paris (Aug 28) pictures by Rinaldo Cavaiuolo

To submit pictures please contact us here
Registered members of Madonna Gallery can also upload their pictures directly to the gallery - here.

The 36,000 Madonna fans who bought tickets back in August for Madonna's first concert in Russia can begin exchanging them Wednesday at Luzhniki stadium.
The concert was originally scheduled for Sept. 11 at Vorobyovy Gory. After weeks of confusion and backroom wrangling, however, the show was moved to Sept. 12 at Luzhniki.
Serge Grimaux, head of Ticketpro, the company handling the ticket exchange, told reporters Friday that ticket holders would have no problem making the swap, Interfax reported.
The exchange of tickets for the Madonna concert will begin Wednesday, Sept. 6, at 12 p.m., and will take place at one location only -- the Luzhniki ticket office, where five windows will be dedicated to exchanging tickets. The exchange will run until approximately 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 11.
source : moscow times

5 Pictures - Madonna going back to hotel after her concert at Bercy stadium (Paris, August 31 2006) - are added to the gallery.

6 Pictures - Madonna in Paris (September 01 2006) - are added to the gallery.

9 Pictures - Madonna going back to hotel after her concert at Bercy stadium (Paris, August 31 2006) - are added to the gallery.

The organizers of Madonna's Moscow concert have confirmed that the U.S. pop singer's show in the Russian capital will take place on September 12.
"Any reports claiming that the singer is canceling her concert in Moscow are not true. The singer wants to go to Moscow," one of the concert organizers Mikhail Shurygin told a news conference at the Interfax central office on Friday.
"Both the singer and the city [authorities], the organizers have done everything possible to guarantee [the singer's] arrival and to ensure that the concert is held at the due level," he said.
source : interfax

Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the archbishop of Prague, today criticised the upcoming concert by US singer Madonna as "unacceptably insulting to religious people."
During the upcoming concert, Madonna will at times hang from a cross and wear a crown of thorns. "In doing this, she makes fun of the faith and abuses Christian symbols," Vlk told the news agency CTK. He said he would refrain
from judging the show's artistic merits.
"As a Christian, for me this show is absolutely scandalous," he said. Madonna is to appear in Prague on September 6 and 7.
source : tvnz.co.nz

19 Pictures - Madonna leaving the Crillon hotel in Paris (August 31 2006) - are added to the gallery.

Madonna has proved that she still has it, after raking in an estimated 80 million dollars for thirty-two US concert dates.
Currently on the European leg of her "sold out" Confessions Tour, Madonna will be heading off to Tokyo and Osaka, Japan in mid-September, to perform four more shows.
According to Billboard Magazine, Madonna's previous tour, the 2004 Re-Invention Tour, was the most successful tour that year.
As expected, she is the reigning concert queen again this summer.
The Orange County Registrar comments on the upcoming American tour, saying: "It very likely will be the pop spectacle of the year.
"A politically charged combination of Cirque du Soleil, performance-art commentary and dance-party explosion that more or less sums up everything she has been striving to say and show this decade."
And with critics and fans claiming that this is her "best production ever", the lucky people who managed to snag the tickets which sold out within minutes can expect a dazzling show.
source : yahoo

The Dutch justice minister has rejected a call by a Christian party to stop Madonna staging a mock-crucifixion in concerts in Amsterdam.
Minister Piet Hein Donner said he understood the concerns of the SGP party which asked the minister to prevent Madonna performing the scene in concerts on Sunday and Monday, but said only a court could take action against the show.
"It is understandable that Christians feel offended by the crucifixion act that Madonna performs," he said in remarks posted on the SGP website. "It is a reprehensible way to attract attention at the cost of the deepest feelings of many people."
"That does not mean that this act can be classified as blasphemy," he said. "Judgment over whether the event in question constitutes blasphemy is not up to the justice minister, but up to prosecutors and ultimately a judge."
The youth wing of the Christian party, the SGP, said they were deeply disappointed by Donner's response and said they would launch a suit against Madonna for blasphemy after her concerts in Amsterdam, part of her worldwide "Confessions Tour."
"The SGP youth wing regrets that the freedom of expression is declared as being so holy that insulting the Son of God is part of that freedom," it said in a statement.
The Vatican accused Madonna of blasphemy and provocation when she staged the mock crucifixion in Rome last month.
source : reuters

The unions of Orthodox Brotherhoods and of Orthodox Gonfalon-bearers, as well as the Christian Renaissance Union, will hold a protest action against Madonna's Moscow show at Pushkin square in downtown Moscow on September 4.
The protesters will demand that the authorities "ban at least the act involving the crucifixion of the artist in a crown of thorns and if Madonna refuses to do so, to ban her concert as a blasphemous act that offends the feelings of worshipers," a statement by the Orthodox organizations given to Interfax reads.
Promoters for Madonna's Moscow concert confirmed that her performance will take place on September 12.
source : interfax

The organizers of Madonna's concert in Moscow on September 12 say she will have a chance to see the city's sights.
"Madonna will arrive in Moscow a day before the event and will have a chance to see the city. She will be offered a cultural program," Mikhail Shurygin, president of NCA company, the Russian partner of Life Nation company, the main promoter of Madonna's world tour, said at a Friday news conference at Interfax headquarters.
However, he did not disclose any details of her Moscow stay, citing provisions in her contract.
"However, all these details have been actually agreed, such as the model of the car in which she will be taken around the city," he said.
source : interfax

Video Of The Year
Christina Aguilera: "Ain't No Other Man"
Madonna: "Hung Up"
Panic! at the Disco: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

Best Female Video
Christina Aguilera: "Ain't No Other Man"
Kelly Clarkson: "Because of You"
Madonna: "Hung Up"
Nelly Furtado f/ Timbaland: "Promiscuous"
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

Best Dance Video
Madonna: "Hung Up"
Nelly Furtado f/ Timbaland: "Promiscuous"
Pussycat Dolls f/ Snoop Dogg: "Buttons"
Sean Paul: "Temperature"
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

Best Pop Video
Christina Aguilera: "Ain't No Other Man"
Madonna: "Hung Up"
Nelly Furtado f/ Timbaland: "Promiscuous"
Pink: "Stupid Girls"
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

Best Choreography in A Video
Christina Aguilera: "Ain't No Other Man"
Madonna: "Hung Up"
Pussycat Dolls f/ Snoop Dogg: "Buttons"
Sean Paul: "Temperature"
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

Superstar Madonna has donated her 'pimped' van from her 'Sorry' video for a London radio station competition. The Material Girl's boring white van was madeover into a 'Discomobile' during an episode of MTV UK show Pimp My Ride, which is hosted by BBC hip-hop DJ Tim Westwood. In one of the sequences of her Sorry video, Madonna and her female pals pick up men off the street and force them to dance for her in the plush purple nightclub-on-wheels. London station Kiss FM is asking listeners to enter their Crack The Code competition in a bid to win the singer's van.
source : contactmusic

Madonna may be 48 but we're all still hung up about her.
Furthermore, it's great to learn that her maturing years do not mean the pop icon has any intention of slowing down.
She told me recently: "I basically see no limits