all about Madonna

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone never made any secret of her ambition to become the most successful female recording artist of all time. For two decades she has provoked storms of outrage and controversy through her songs, videos, stage performances, film roles and books – deliberately provoked as part of a superb exercise in self-promotion. Now her phenomenal work-rate and extraordinary ability to re-invent herself have seen her safely through to iconic status. Eagle Media examines the rise of Madonna in Madonna: The Wild Angel, from her life growing up, her early attempts at becoming a star and life as the megastar that she is today. Featuring interviews with journalists, authors and DJ’s, along with vintage news clips, tells the story of Madonna like it has never been heard before. The program is approximately 63 minutes long and contains an additional hour of bonus features.

Bonus Features :
Extended Interviews
Compilation of red carpet sequences.

E Card with DVD Clip

This exclusive 84 page book features over 150 photos of Madonna during her “Confessions Tour”. Photos were taken from all different areas of the stage from multiple nights & cities (Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Boston, Hartford, Philly, Atlantic City & Glendale). The book spotlights every song and section in order from “Future Lovers” all the way to “Hung Up” with multiple photos from each performance. Once again, there are over 150 up close photos with no repeats & lots of them are full-page. You get pics from every area of the elaborate stage where Madonna performed. From “Live To Tell” to “Like a Virgin” to “Sorry” to “Music’, they are all there. The book is thick with a spine & packed with nothing but celebratory Madonna ‘Confessions Tour’ photos. It is a great collectible or gift for any fan.

Click on image bellow to see the preview of the back cover and the preview of 15 pages (and 29 photos) from the book.

For more info visit : http://stores.lulu.com/tonyvention

A human rights group plans a legal challenge to Madonna’s adoption of a Malawian boy.

It claims the pop star’s custody of 18-month-old David Banda is illegal.

Leader Justin Dzonzi said he would tell the country’s high court no laws exist in Malawi permitting international adoptions.

Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie were granted an interim order last October letting them take custody of David for 18 to 24 months.

Critics said Madonna used her wealth to side-step the southern African country’s adoption laws.

The toddler’s father Yohane Banda said: “He is happy and healthy. I wish they would leave my son alone.”?

source : the sun

Madonna, the queen of pop, became queen of tarts, after she went in search of a sugar rush to help her through her first attempts at directing a film.

The global superstar was spotted directing her new 30-minute comedy, ‘Filth And Wisdom’, in Exmouth market, London.

But before there were any lights, camera or action, Her Madgesty, took time to fuss over cakes, tarts and biscuits on display at the vendors’ stalls.

Wearing no make-up, scruffy hair and baggy white sweat pants, the lady in-charge told one stall worker: ‘Those (cakes) are very bad.’

But in the end he persuaded her, saying: ‘I managed to sell her a lemon tart for 1.50.’

Squinting in the sunshine, she then returned to her director’s chair for her sunglasses, sipping on a Starbucks and sending text messages.

The 48-year-old stunned shoppers when she and a 20 strong crew rolled in to film at a local chemists.

One passer by said: ‘It was a huge surprise to see such a big star. She looked in great shape for someone her age and treated us all to a little tour.

But while fans were thrilled, her production crew were left waiting around and yawning and smoking in anticipation.

Flanked by three security staff and her assistant, she was in no mood to be approached.

Chemist staff working inside the store, said:

‘She didn’t talk to us.’

‘I smiled at her and she ignored me’

‘She was very moody, very unapproachable and didn’t talk to anyone.

‘She looked tired and awful.’

Click here to watch a short video from the set.

source : metro.co.uk

Kevin Costner has forgiven Madonna for poking fun at him in her Truth Or Dare backstage documentary, after she took time to publicly apologise to him during a Los Angeles concert.

Madonna feigned sticking her finger down her throat to be sick after she was filmed meeting Costner after a show – an action the actor admits “embarrassed” and “hurt” him.

But, a decade after the incident, Madonna made up for her bad behaviour when Costner took his daughters to see her in concert.

He tells the Los Angeles Time newspaper, “She was performing about three or four years ago, so I decided to take my daughters to see her.

“I didn’t call anybody for tickets, I just got the tickets and we went down… And about the third song in, the lights were down, and she said, ‘I want to apologise to someone.’ “All of a sudden, my face starts to get hot… And she says, ‘I want to apologise to Kevin Costner.’ She just said it very simply.

“Ninety eight per cent of that audience didn’t know what she was talking about. But I really respected that… Whatever possessed her, whatever was inside her, she came to her own decision and a bigger thing came out of some kind of humiliation.”

source : femalefirst

Click on image bellow to visit “Hey You” page on iTunes.

Download | Mirror | Watch

The Colombian daily El Tiempo published a column by a priest who said he has seen Madonna’s DVD of her latest concert tour and defends her “crucifixion” and nudity and calls the show a model of evangelization.

In a column entitled, “Madonna: A Suggestive Presentation of Jesus,” Jesuit Father Carlos Novoa, former dean of the Department of Theology at the Javeriana University, said he was impressed by the “deep spirituality” of some of Madonna’s choreography and claimed her parody of the crucifixion “is not a mockery of the cross, but rather the complete opposite: An exaltation of the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus” and a “creative and moving” work of art.

Father Novoa said the DVD recording of Madonna’s “The Confessions Tour” was something worth viewing for its “high aesthetic quality.” The song “Live to Tell,” in which Madonna is “crucified,” “is one of the best sermons I have witnessed in my life,” and he challenged Catholics to follow the example of the singer.

“In this postmodern, skeptic world in which so many people abhor or are simply uninterested in the faith, will ministers of the church and Catholics in general have this audacity and this creativity to communicate a Jesus who truly shakes people up on the inside?” Novoa wondered.

The Jesuit priest also defended “masculine and feminine nudity,” expressed not through “cheap pornography” but through “erotic beauty.” He compared Madonna’s choreography and nudity with the works of Michelangelo, “who filled the walls of the Sistine Chapel, the sacrosanct place where the holy father is elected, with frescoes of nude men and women.”

Father Novoa said renowned artists and art critics consider Madonna to be “one of the best choreographers of our times.” “In her excellent stage presentations, she sometimes makes use of both male and female nudes, which scandalizes some, as in the case of Michelangelo,” he claimed.

Novoa acknowledged that some of Madonna’s antics are “ridiculous,” but, he claimed, “they said the same thing about Beethoven when he debuted some of his best compositions and about Picasso, one of the great guides posts of modern-day art, when he presented his master works in 1907: “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.”?

source : cna

Even a seasoned showbiz hand like Madonna needs a little support when she takes on a new venture. So her director husband Guy Ritchie was on hand to pass on tips as the Queen of Pop clocked up a first: directing a movie.

The 30-minute short Filth And Wisdom features a subject matter that strays not too far from her area of expertise. The superstar singer has revealed the film is based on her own life experiences, but has otherwise kept details of the project hush hush. “I hate to be a tease, but you know how I am,” she told fans.

On the shoot in a London street market this week the Material Girl, dressed in a casual green tracksuit teamed with a skull and crossbones cap, was all business giving instructions from the director’s chair.

Characters reportedly include an Indian chemist owner, a Jewish businessman and a failed ballet dancer who takes up pole dancing. Madonna is hoping filming will wrap by July when she aims to be back in the recording studio. Meanwhile, her other half is set to return to film-making with RocknRolla a low budge gangster flick he has written and produced himself.

source : hellomagazine.com

You can’t blame Madonna for wanting to do her bit to tackle climate change, but it’s unclear how the free download she offered last week will help.

Inspired by the upcoming Live Earth shows, Hey You features Madonna’s vague, but terribly sincere entreaties for us to love ourselves and not give up, backed by weeping strings and soft military drums courtesy of Pharrell Williams. If the million free downloads at liveearth.org have already been snapped up, search for “Madonna hey you” on YouTube to hear the song on various fans’ videos, with their footage of melting icecaps, freakish weather and images of smiling/doomed children. Solutions, though, are conspicuously thin on the ground. Truth is, Madonna could have achieved more by going on Parky and Oprah and suggesting that people don’t leave their mobile phone chargers plugged in between uses.

source : guardian.co.uk

International Hit Of The Year :

Sorry
Writers: Madonna / Stuart Price
Performed By: Madonna
UK Publisher: Warner Chappell Music

“Sorry” was also nominated for “PRS Most Performed Work” award, but lost to Scissor Sisters’ “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin”.

To say I’m not a fan of charity songs is putting it lightly. It’s not just that the songs are bland, but they often seem more like promotion for the acts involved rather than promotion for the causes they are supposed to support. The biggest example is 1985′s “We Are The World,”? which, to many, is one of the worst records ever recorded. Having this song chart with other records was a major mistake since people bought other records for the actual quality.

Still, USA for Africa organizers were so happy to announce that it was one of the biggest selling singles ever. Since “We Are The World,” we’ve had more charity disasters such as “Hands Across America,”? “Voices That Care,”? and music’s most disastrous single ever, Elton John’s “England’s Rose.”? Elton John’s record, released immediately after the death of Princess Diana, came across as an exploitation of Princess Diana’s death rather than a charity single. After all, calling the song a charity record, having people buy it for that purpose, and then using those sales to promote it as a “number one hit” not only left a bad taste, but it was the only way Elton could ever score a hit at the time.

Now, Madonna enters the Charity Hall of Fame (or Shame) with “Hey You”? and when this record arrived in my email box, I really didn’t want to listen to it. Madonna’s last album, Confessions on a Dancefloor, sold over ten million copies worldwide. Her tour in support of the album was the most successful tour ever by a female artist. Her recent clothing line for H&M has been a major success, despite mixed reviews. So why does she have to do the charity gig now?

I was even more disappointed when I read that the song was produced with Pharrell Williams. He’s a good producer, but Madonna has always been ahead of the game rather than jumping on the hit bandwagon. What’s next, Madonna and Justin Timberlake? Oops! It looks like that’s already happening. Anyhow, I hesitantly gave the song a spin and was surprisingly hooked the first time.

“Hey You”? is about helping make the world a better place. She sings, “Hey you, don’t you give up/It’s not so bad, there’s still a chance for us,”? at the opening and towards the end, sings the clichA

From IconMadonna.com :
…As good things always come to those who wait, we are also happy to confirm that the first edition of Icon Digital will be released this coming Friday! Get ready for great pictures as well as never before seen multimedia clips !

For the next 7 days you can download the queen of pop’s new song “Hey You” free of charge!

from MSN.com :

Inspired by Live Earth, Madonna has written a new song titled “Hey You,” which is available exclusively on MSN, free of charge, for seven days. “Hey You” was produced by Pharrell Williams and Madonna and recorded in London. Madonna will perform “Hey You” as one of the headliners for Live Earth U.K., joining the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, the Beastie Boys and other performers at Wembley Stadium in London on July 7, as part of the 24-hour, seven-continent Live Earth concert series.

As the exclusive online destination for Live Earth, MSN is pleased to offer this song in conjunction with Madonna and is proud to donate 25 cents for each of the first 1 million downloads to the Alliance for Climate Protection, in support of Live Earth.

Click here to download “Hey You”.

and here are the lyrics :

Hey you, don’t you give up
It’s not so bad
There’s still the chance for us
Hey you, just be yourself
Don’t be so shy
There’s reasons why it’s hard

[Chorus 1]
Keep it together, we’ll* make it alright
Our celebration is going on tonight
Poets and prophets would** envy what we do
This could be good, hey you
(*The first time it’s sung, it’s “you’ll”?)
(** The third time it’s sung, it’s “will”?)

Hey you, open your heart
It’s not so strange
You’ve got to change this time
Hey you, remember this
None of it’s real including the way you feel

[Chorus 1]

Save your soul, little sister
Save your soul, little brother
Hey you, save yourself
Don’t rely on anyone else

[Chorus 2]
First love yourself
Then you can love someone else
If you can change someone else
Then you have saved someone else
But you must first love yourself
Then you can love someone else
If you can change someone else
Then you have saved someone else
But you must first

Hey you, there on the fence
You’ve got a choice
One day, it will make sense
Hey you, first love yourself
Or if you can’t
Try to love someone else

[Chorus 1, Chorus 2]

Madonna writes new song “Hey You” for upcoming LIVE EARTH concert series on July 7th

Song To Release at MSN May 16 in Downloadable MP3 Format

Microsoft Pledges Donation Making First Million Downloads Free to the Public

Warner Bros. Records to Release LIVE EARTH CD/DVD of Worldwide Shows

Inspired by the upcoming July 7th Live Earth series of concerts, Madonna has written a new song, “Hey You,” which will be available to be downloaded in the MP3 format on Microsoft’s home page, http://liveearth.msn.com, on May 16. The first million downloads of “Hey You” will be free as Microsoft has pledged to donate $0.25 per download to the Alliance for Climate Protection for the first million downloads.

Madonna is scheduled to perform “Hey You” live at the Wembley Stadium Live Earth concert in London, it was confirmed by her record label, Warner Bros. Records, who have also announced that they will be releasing a live CD/DVD of the Live Earth Concert Series.

Madonna’s new song, “Hey You,” recorded in London, was produced by Pharrell Williams and Madonna. She is one of seventeen headliners that have been announced including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, Beastie Boys and others who will perform at Wembley as part of the 24-hour, 7-continent Live Earth Concert Series.

“On 7/7/07, Live Earth will inspire people from around the world to combat global warming with live performances from superstar artists like Madonna,” Live Earth Founder Kevin Wall said. “The early release of “Hey You” is an incredible boost to our efforts to get people engaged in the environmental cause. We are thrilled that Madonna donated her art to Live Earth and is a part of this movement for us.”

Live Earth is a monumental music event on 7/7/07 that will bring together more than 100 headlining music artists and 2 billion people to launch an ongoing, mass movement to combat the climate crisis. Concerts will take place in New York; London; Sydney; Tokyo; Shanghai; Johannesburg; Rio de Janeiro; and Hamburg. Live Earth’s 24 hours of music across 7 continents will deliver a call to action and the solutions needed to answer the call. Live Earth marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign led by The Alliance for Climate Protection to move individuals, corporations and governments to take action.

The concerts will be streamed live at LiveEarth.MSN.com and available on CD/DVD.

source : madonna.com