all about Madonna

Painter works on the finishing touches of an H&M billboard in Soho, New York :

Madonna plans to celebrate 25 years of her showbiz career with a massive party and a special multimedia release.
In an interview with the International Herald Tribune, the 48-year-old star spoke about her plans, saying, “I’M thinking about doing a 25-year retrospective multimedia, with video and photographs of me by Mario Testino, Herb Ritts, Steven Klein and Steven Meisel.”
The singer also mentioned that she would love to throw a party for all of her friends that would, “celebrate all the designers”, such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix, who have created famous and groundbreaking designs for Madonna over the years.
source : sofeminine.co.uk

Carlton Wilborn lived life on center stage as Madonna’s lead dancer on her “Blond Ambition” and “The Girlie Show” tours.
He was the energetic and daring dancer in her documentary film, “Truth or Dare.”
But Wilborn wasn’t being upfront with a couple of secrets he was hiding back then.
Not only was he HIV-positive, but he was suppressing the impact of being molested by his karate instructor for five years, from the age of 8 to 13.
It all came crashing down on him in 2001 when his work out of the limelight on a cruise ship didn’t generate the gratification he had loved since being the principal dancer in Chicago’s Hubbard Street Dance Company.
His solution was to put his secrets into “Front & Center: How I Learned To Live There.”
He’s planning a poetry-based recording with music based on the book, but he’s on the promotion circuit now. He’ll sign copies of the book Wednesday at Peppertree Books in Palm Springs.
He talked about it and his life in a recent Desert Sun interview:

DESERT POST WEEKLY: Did you continue with karate after your molestation or did your instructor’s actions drive you away from it?
CARLTON WILBORN: No, I did not continue with karate after that – not because of any conscious decision, it sort of just fell away from me. But I do feel that the karate experience – especially seeing that I had reached the brown belt level – awakened the athlete in me so I could be confident for my dance career, which was just around the corner.

DPW: What attracted you to dance and how did your father react to your pursuit of it?
CW: Honestly, what got me dancing was my mom and my old grammar school teacher, Carolyn Currie, rushing to find a school that I could transfer to (in) mid-season. It ended up being the Whitney Young Magnet High School through the dance department. It seems that it was my destiny. Yay! In regards to my father, he was fairly neutral about it, at least until he started seeing me in newspapers. Then he’d run off to work bragging about me.

DPW: Was that period in which you were dancing with Madonna an especially happy time for you? Were you able to repress the molestation? If so, how were you able to do that?
CW: My Madonna years were fairly happy times, but because I was also hiding my HIV diagnoses, I was always nervous that I might be found out, and that it would all be taken away from me. My efforts to repress the molestation started years before the Madonna stuff came around. But, yeah sure, the screaming my name, the cameras and the private jets, they can all be a Band-Aid for a while.

DPW: You seem so spiritual now. Did an epiphany lead you there?
CW: No, there was no exact moment of epiphany. It honestly seems to be something that I’ve been continually growing into, ever since being a kid. My grandmother, my mom and even my dad were all spiritual in their own ways. I can definitely see that today.

DPW: Did you keep in contact with Madonna? If so, do you find that you’ve grown in similar spiritual directions? How do you feel about her today?
CW: It’s been a few years since she and I have spoken. But, I will always have nice thoughts about her. She gave me the chance of a lifetime. Plus, Madonna honestly got me started on my real structured spiritual path. She paid for my first entire season of Kabbalah classes.

source : thedesertsun.com

From Madonna’s MySpace :
The ‘M by Madonna’ collection, which was designed by Madonna for H&M, is now in stores. We’re sure that you’ve already visited your favourite H&M store and picked some great ‘M by Madonna’ items, right? It’s now time to show Madonna and her friends on Myspace that you can model like the Queen of the Dance Floor herself! Send us a picture of you dressed with some ‘M by Madonna’ clothes and/or accessories before April 6 and maybe your picture will be featured on Madonna’s official Myspace page! Just pick the best picture and click the ‘message me’ button to start playing! One picture per person please. Thank you!

Fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz (HMb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a 27 percent rise in first-quarter pretax profit on Wednesday, helped by celebrity collections, pop icon advertising and costs control.
The Swedish high-street firm, with clothes designed by pop diva Madonna, said it would push up the pace of its store expansion in the second quarter and added February sales were strong.
The launch of its new, higher price concept store had gone well, while sales at its first regular store in Hong Kong had exceeded expectations, said the company which boasts Australian pop queen Kylie Minogue as the face of its new beachwear campaign.
H&M reported a pretax profit of 3.41 billion crowns ($486.7 million) in the first quarter, against analysts’ average forecast of 3.36 billion in a Reuters poll and 2.68 billion in the same quarter last year.
source : reuters

Thanks to Michael J

Madonna was nominated in two different categories at this year’s International Dance Music Awards. The one and only Queen of the Dance Floor won the Best Dance Video award for Jump and was named Best Dance Artist Solo.
source : madonna.com

Organizers of the July 7 Live Earth shows are just about to start announcing who’s playing on which of the seven continents. These are the climate change awareness concerts being produced in conjunction with former Vice President Al Gore stemming from his film, “An Inconvenient Truth.”?
…I am told the Rolling Stones will be headlining the U.K. show at Wembley Stadium, along with Madonna (she’s British, you know). Other acts for Wembley should include the Red Hot Chili Peppers (they’ll do London, not Philadelphia), as well as Metallica, James Blunt and Block Party.
source : foxnews.com

Perez Hilton posted a short outtake from Madonna’s H&M Commercial. Click on image bellow to watch it.

There are still some missing pages and things left to be added/fixed.
I’ll try to do all that by the end of the week.
… but most of the site is finally online so I decided to launch it today :)

Icon is thrilled to get an exclusive interview with one of the stars of the H&M Commercial, Nunzio! You can recognize Nunzio’s character in the commercial because he was on the receiving end of the infamous slap from Madonna! Check out Icon’s Interview and get to know Nunzio better!

ICON: Hello Nunzio and welcome to Icon, Madonna’s Official Fan Club ! Is this your very first interview as an actor?

NUNZIO: Hello Icon,
Yes this is my very first interview and thank you for the “actor”?.

ICON: Before discussing your incredible performance in the M by Madonna ad, would you please tell us a little more about you? Where are you from and what is your “main”? job?

NUNZIO: I was born in south of Italy; I’m based in Milan and I’m SINGLE!!!! I work in the fashion business since ever, actually I’m a Freelance Fashion Celebrities Consultant.

ICON: We’ve heard that you and Madonna met thanks to Donatella Versace and became friends. Is that true? Do you remember the first time you met Madonna?

NUNZIO: Yes it’s true, I worked for Versace for long time and Donatella Versace introduced me to Madonna during one of her visits at the boutique in Milan asking me to assist her.

Being a great fan of Madonna I was very happy but at the same time intimidated. She was very sweet, she felt my emotions and with her great sensitiveness she made it easy, sometimes even speaking in Italian. In the long run we had the chance to know and trust one each other and I’m very honoured of her friendship.

ICON: We have been told that when Madonna first approached you to act in the commercial, you didn’t want to. You’re probably one of the only men on earth who said “No”? to Madonna. Do you know why she wanted you to star in the ad? Would you explain us how you came to take part in the project?

NUNZIO: Oh no! I’ve never said no to Madonna! I went to London for the audition and I was sure they would have sent me back home immediately. When they confirmed me I thought that Madonna was joking me “

Pop icon Madonna and fashion designer Stella McCartney seem to be nurturing their friendship these days, after being at odds on a couple of occasions.
After seeking fashion tips from former Beatles Paul McCartney’s daughter, Madonna has assured help to Stella if she ever wants to record her own album.
“I asked her for fashion advice and I told her, if she ever wanted to do a record, I’d gladly help out,” The Sun quoted the ‘American Life’ singer, as saying.
In December last year, Stella reportedly ripped into the Material Girl for playing a role in promoting pheasant shooting at her English country estate, Ashcombe, following which Madonna decided to stop the bloody sport.
Meanwhile Madonna is giving fashion advice to her daughter Lourdes, with personal trainer Carlos Leon.
“Often I have to tell her, ‘Please put on some more clothes’,” she said.
source : ani

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Madonna on Thursday joined the parade of celebrities with their own fashion lines, but the material girl who used to shock audiences with her outrageous outfits kept to a mainstream tune.

Madonna’s much-anticipated clothing line, “M by Madonna,” went on sale at the low-priced Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB’s stores around the world on Thursday.

Excited shoppers in New York, where Madonna began her career, queued up about 30 minutes before the H&M store on Manhattan’s ritzy Fifth Avenue opened, in order to be among the first to see the diva’s collection.

Within two hours some items, including belts and small purses, had sold out, said one sales associate.

Another hot seller was a white, double-breasted trench coat, which Madonna, who co-designed the line for the Swedish company, wears in the campaign’s advertisements.

“That white, silky coat is gorgeous, I think my daughter, who is 19, would love it,” said Mary Taylor, a public relations executive, who was among the curious.

But many shoppers were not as enthusiastic about the range of styles, expecting a clothing line designed by the singer, actress and author to be more adventurous.

Madonna, who has been a taste-maker for more than two decades, has shocked audiences throughout her career with daring styles that have included lacy bras and crucifixes and a Jean-Paul Gaultier-designed cone bustier.

“I was expecting the clothes to be a little more fashion-forward I have to say, because she is such an icon and I heard it was based on her own closet,” said Daniela Maron, a fashion publicist combing the Fifth Ave. store’s racks for a cream-colored sequined mini dress donned by a mannequin.

That dress, one of the standout pieces in the mostly solid, monochromatic collection, sold out early, according to a sales associate.

“A lot of people came in, but as for buying, it’s been half-and-half,” said Juan Tinch, an H&M sales associate. “There have been a lot of purchases but also a lot of returns.”

Hennes & Mauritz, among the first retailers to bring trendy fashions to main street wallets, has had home-runs with its exclusive, limited lines by heavy-hitters Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld and cult label Viktor & Rolf.

The Viktor & Rolf and McCartney launches were “totally chaotic,” Tinch said. “This has been a little more calm and collected.”

Lisa Sandberg, a U.S. spokeswoman for Hennes & Mauritz, whose chairman, Stefan Persson, is the 17th-richest person in the world, said the difference was because the collection is in all H&M stores with womenswear, instead of just a few.

“What this means is that although it’s a one-off collection, more H&M customers will have the opportunity to find M by Madonna in their local H&M store and should also be able to purchase a piece without being the first shopper on line,” Sandberg said in an e-mail.

But for Sara Axelsson, a New York-based lawyer who went to see Madonna’s line, the collection was not unique enough to justify a purchase.

“The Stella McCartney line was much more different than the usual H&M stuff,” Axelsson said.

Other clothing lines designed by fashionable celebrities, who are not themselves designers, include Sarah Jessica Parker’s line at Steve & Barry’s and model Kate Moss’s line with the U.K. retailer Topshop.

“Obviously (celebrities) help enormously, whether it be if they’re fronting a product or have worn it, but of course it takes away from the cachet level,” said Maron, the publicist, about the trend of low-priced retailers selling collections designed by icons.

“But I’m definitely buying something, even if I never wear it,” Maron said. “Just to have it. Anything for Madonna.”

Extra security guards were called in yesterday when Madonna’s new fashion collection hit town.
They were needed to deal with hundreds of shoppers clamouring to get their hands on the Material Girl’s gear.
The Swedish chain Hennes & Mauritz rolled out the red carpet for the occasion at their flagship London store in Oxford Circus.
But while many were genuine Madonna fans, others were a new breed of professional shopper who were bulk buying to sell on their designer loot.
“I’m here to buy as much as I can and sell it later on eBay,”? said 24-year-old Ellie Savil.
“If you have a good eye for ­picking out the best of these designer ranges you can make a fortune.”? First in the queue was in fact a material boy, wanting only to be known as Lenny. The 38-year-old video editor from South London said:
“I’m going to buy a necker scarf and a pair of sunglasses – plus a dress to flog on eBay.”?
Madonna’s retro-styled £19.99 sunglasses flew off the shelves. So did her 1950s-style nipped-in satin shirts and white “capri pants”?.
H&M spokeswoman Chloe Bowers said: “It’s going really well and the demand is what we expected.”? Madonna’s
M Collection will be rolled out in 114 British stores and will be sold in 28 countries.
source : express.co.uk