all about Madonna

Singer Kelly Rowland has hit out at British festival organizers who have blasted Madonna's outrageous backstage demands - insisting she is allowed to be a diva. The Material Girl reportedly enraged fellow artists and organizers at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Maidstone, Kent, on Saturday by demanding special Kabbalah water, a private helicopter and a huge trailer.

But the former Destiny's Child singer insists the pop superstar, who performed to publicise the release of her latest album Hard Candy, can ask for anything because she is a legend.

She tells Music-News.com, "Madonna can have anything she wants. If she only wants red Skittles then get her red Skittles, she's freakin' Madonna! And if she wants a huge trailer, get her a huge trailer."

source : starpulse

Madonna going to / leaving her gym in London (May 13 2008)
She encountered a bizarre protest featuring a man dressed as a giant cartoon cat holding a banner reading "Latins do it Better"

U.S. pop star Madonna will not attend the final court ruling on her request to adopt a Malawian child because she is busy with other engagements, her lawyer said on Tuesday.

The High Court is expected to approve Madonna's bid to formally adopt 2-year-old David Banda at a final session on Thursday. Malawi's government and David's father -- his only surviving parent -- have endorsed the adoption.

"We are going to court on Thursday, but Madonna will not be there because she is not coming," Madonna's lawyer, Alan Chinula told Reuters. "The judge has indicated that he cannot object to her being absent when making the ruling."

Chinula said Madonna had "other engagements," which he declined to disclose.

A court clerk said Madonna's lawyer has asked for a later court date -- the singer's third request for a postponement -- because their client "had other business matters to deal with." He confirmed the judge could go ahead without her.

The adoption has been controversial, with critics accusing the government of skirting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children in Malawi, a southern African nation ravaged by an AIDS epidemic that has left more than 1 million orphans.

But one of Malawi's fiercest critics of Madonna's adoption bid, the Human Rights Consultative Committee, said on Monday it was no longer interested in pursuing the case, removing another obstacle.

Madonna began adoption proceedings in 2006, and David has been living with the singer and her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, in their London home since then. She took custody of David when he was 13 months old after his father had placed him in an orphanage following the death of his wife.

David's father, Yohane Banda, told Reuters Television this week, "This is what I wanted, that Madonna should keep the child."

source : reuters

It's quite a coup for Radio 1 to get Madonna to headline its summer showcase event; the effect, however, is somewhat undermined by the brevity of her performance - the time spent setting up is equal to the six-song set.

Given that the whole event is free, however, it seems churlish to complain, and the 20,000-strong crowd is good-natured and warmly appreciative. Many of them have turned out to see Madonna's latest return to the pop game: still reigning after all these years, she arrives on stage on a throne.

Her new album Hard Candy is getting the hard sell - most of the songs are drawn from there. However, few of the new tracks are particularly memorable - although one stand-out moment is a striking image of Madonna and her highly stylised male dancers moving in tandem across the stage during the opener "Candy Shop".

It is an energetic performance that belies her age, though the spectacle often undermines her singing, which hasn't aged as well as her dance moves. At times, her vocals are overwhelmed by the electro-tinged sound and on occasions it feels as if she is merely singing along to a backing track.

For her second song "Miles Away" she strums away rudimentarily on an acoustic guitar, and straps on an electric guitar for a rock reworking of her 2005 hit "Hung Up". Both gestures ring hollow. Of the new material, "4 Minutes" fuses the divergent elements best, with Justin Timberlake appearing on large screens to complete the duet.

Closing song "Music" from 2000 gets the warmest reception. You can't help but feel that many in the crowd hoped she would live a little further in the past and perform the songs that forged her iconic status, not those that merely perpetuate the brand.

Two of the better British bands of recent years, Foals and Hot Chip, offer strong if somewhat perfunctory performances. The percussive heavy sounds of Hot Chip's new album alongside the pop brilliance of two tracks, "And I Was a Boy from School" and "Over and Over", culled from their second album The Warning, are highlights.

Yet both bands' sets end abruptly - adhering to the tight time-slots allotted. They seem to be just warming up as they have to finish. A business-like sense of bands appearing to keep Radio 1's play-list controllers onside while not outstaying their welcome pervades.

Rating : 3 out of 5 stars

he father of a Malawian child that Madonna wants to adopt said on Monday he supported her case but wanted the U.S. popstar to bring his boy home for visits.

Madonna is expected to appear in a Malawian court on Thursday for what is expected to be a final and favourable ruling on whether she can adopt David Banda. She is due to arrive in the impoverished southern African country on Tuesday.

The pop diva began adoption proceedings in 2006 and the two-year-old has been living with her and her film director husband Guy Ritchie in their London home since then.

The adoption has been controversial, with critics accusing the government of skirting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children in Malawi, which has been ravaged by an AIDS epidemic leaving more than one million orphans.

Malawi's government has recommended that its High Court approve Madonna's adoption of the child.

"I have no problem with the government's recommendation to allow Madonna to get the child. This is what I wanted, that Madonna should keep the child," the boy's father, Yohane Banda, told Reuters Television in an interview.

One of Malawi's fiercest critics of Madonna's adoption bid, the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), said on Monday it was no longer interested in pursuing the case, removing another obstacle.

"It will be as a waste of time and resources to continue pursuing the case. Malawi has more pressing issues than Madonna," HRCC chairman Udule Mwakasungura told Reuters.

Madonna took David when he was 13 months old after his father had placed him in an orphanage following the death of his wife.

Standing in a dusty village of huts, Banda said he hoped to see his son during Madonna's trip.

"If she comes with the child ... we expect to be told that the child is here and we are allowed to see him," he said in Lipunga, 160 km (100 miles) from Malawi's capital.

But even if it was not possible this time, he said he hoped to see his son every few years.

"We had agreed initially that when the child is taken, she should bring him at least once in every three to four years so that we should see how he is developing," the father said.

If Madonna does get to keep David, the child will grow up in the high-flying world of a leading popstar, worlds away from Lipunga, where Banda's relatives eat staple food like maize meal from simple bowls and meals are cooked on open fires.

source : reuters

The late John Peel used to make comic capital from the 1978 Radio 1 "Fun Day". This featured the Dave Lee Travis Dragster Demonstration, the Bay City Rollers and Tony Blackburn waving from a speedboat piloted by a man in a Womble costume. "Look upon this and marvel," Peel famously remarked when confronted with the latter sight.

Thirty years on, the Radio 1 Fun Day has expanded into a fun Weekend, with four stages, but zany spirit is still at its elbow. How to pay attention to the Hoosiers' winsome soft rock - a big ask at the best of times - when they have been joined on stage by Jo Whiley, dressed in a banana costume? Some Radio 1 personalities' sacrifices extend far beyond donning fancy dress: "6.30pm Kelly Osbourne explodes!" promises the sign outside the Headroom Tent. How can Scouting For Girls - more soft rock - compete when they're detonating the Prince Of Darkness's daughter a few yards away? It turns out that Kelly Osbourne is exploder rather than explodee, blowing up a giant "love bomb", but it's still got the edge on Scouting For Girls, who appear to have been assembled in a sterile environment, like a specimen container.

Nevertheless, this event has lured Madonna to perform in the shadow of Maidstone Leisure Centre, a state of affairs that - with the greatest respect to the Garden of England's country town - feels not unlike running into Brad Pitt outside Dunstable Asda. Arriving on stage in a glittering throne, a dancer polishing her dominatrix boots, Madonna's star quality is transcendent. Designed to shill her new album, the six-song set is heavy on its slightly disappointing contents. Miles Away is thrown into stark relief when she performs the title track of 2000's Music. It also features a lot of Madonna's guitar playing, for which the adjective "dogged" might have been invented: if your neighbour's teenage son played the riff from the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction like that, you'd bang on the wall.

But none of this really matters. She oozes charisma and does spectacular dance routines, the sense of bizarre occasion compounded by the fact that at the rear of the tent lurks the mayor of Maidstone, resplendent in his official bling. "We're gonna have to start fucking it up!" Madonna squawks before launching into Hung Up, devoid of decorum even in such worshipful company. Unfazed, the mayor of Maidstone claps happily along.

Rating : 4 out of 5 stars

Madonna performing live at BBC Radio One's Big Weekend Festival in Kent (May 10 2008)

Albums :
2 (1) Madonna - Hard Candy (Warner Bros)

Singles :
1 (1) Madonna Ft Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes (Warner Bros)

New York, Paris, Maidstone. For the last of three, short shows to plug her current album, Hard Candy, Madonna arrived by helicopter in the Kent countryside to headline Radio 1's Big Weekend. Clearly, the plan was to prove that a pop star about to turn 50 in August can remain relevant to the kids.

Instead, a sterile, soulless performance made Madonna resemble an embarrassing auntie desperately trying to be hip.

A crowd with camera phones at the ready, crammed into a Big Top-style tent, had almost an hour to wait for pop's greatest grande dame to arrive. The PA blasted out sweet-themed songs and the backdrop was girlie, pink swirls.

When Madonna finally appeared, however, there was nothing sweet about her. Legs splayed over a black and gold throne at the top of stairs that doubled as one of various, inventive video screens, she wore an all-black outfit of silk coat, tracksuit trousers tucked into knee-length, lace-up boots and leather, fingerless gloves.

Brandishing a silver cane like an S&M tool was meant to make her look tough. But with her trousers billowing above her boots like jodhpurs, she was less the raunchy temptress than the well-heeled woman in search of a horse.

Like much of the six-song, half-hour set, the opener Candy Shop suffered from muffled sound. Madonna has always valued spectacle over singing, but the bassy beats almost drowned her out and the tune, reasonably catchy on record, became a bland dirge.

Four male dancers removed her coat, revealing a lacy top, and a three-piece band was hidden to the side of the stage. For "Miles Away", an ode to her husband, the film directer Guy Ritchie, Madonna strapped on a guitar, but neither looked as if she was genuinely strumming, or played anything audible. With her dancers briefly dispatched, the song left fans with little to watch through their phones.

The chart-topping single 4 Minutes was a vast improvement, even with Justin Timberlake - rumoured to be appearing in person - merely an image on rectangular screens across the stage, which Madonna spun round to release her dancers hidden behind.

Supremely fit and with bulging biceps, the singer fared best when she joined her troupe in tightly choreographed routines. While her singing occasionally strayed off key, her fancy footwork never faltered.

Two old tracks got the best reception, although as Madonna made clear, she refuses to travel too far back in time. The Abba-sampling hit Hung Up, from 2005, began with a steal from the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction and was a given a grungey rework that felt as fake as Madonna's overblown guitar-thrashing.

A magnificent Music, meanwhile, closed the set and just about saved the show. Part of the stage spun round and out jumped dancers in Day-Glo attire. Madonna performed part of the song on her knees and fans finally got to sing along.

On the way out, the kids complained that she hadn't sung "Holiday", while the Mayor of Maidstone, Richard Ash, grumbled at the shortness of the set. Still, for one night only, it put Maidstone on the pop map.

Rating : 2 out of 5 stars

Twenty-five years after the release of her eponymous debut album, Madonna proved she has still got what it takes to wow audiences with an energetic set at Radio 1's Big Weekend.

The queen of pop - who turns 50 on August 16 - closed the event at Mote Park in Maidstone, Kent, following acts including Duffy, Usher and The Feeling.

Those who had been waiting all day to see Madonna were not disappointed when she appeared on stage in the main tent dressed in a tight black outfit and black knee high boots and opened her set with song Candy Shop, from her number one album Hard Candy.

She dedicated her next song, Miles Away, to "anybody who's afraid of falling in love".

Madonna then launched into her number one single Four Minutes while screens on stage showed images of Justin Timberlake who sings on the track with her.

There was a surprise in store for fans when Madonna picked up an electric guitar, said she planned to sing an old song and launched into the opening lines of the Rolling Stones hit (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.

After only a few bars, she stopped and called out to the audience: "How many of you are drunk?" When they responded with a collective cheer, she replied: "That's so worrying."

After teasing the audience with the Stones cover, she then planned to sing "a song from the past, but not too far back from the past" and played her former number one Hung Up.

After finishing it with an impressive guitar solo, she changed into a pair of trainers and showed off some energetic dance moves during another song from her latest album, Give It 2 Me.

The style icon also donned a pair of black rimmed glasses and joked she was having problems with her sight. The spectacle ended with 2000 hit Music which provoked a mass singalong from the crowd.

source : pa

Madonna performing live at BBC Radio One's Big Weekend Festival in Kent (May 10 2008)

Madonna has played her first UK show of the year, closing the opening night of Radio 1's Big Weekend.

Dressed all in black, the Queen of Pop performed a 40 minute set at Mote Park in Maidstone, pleasing fans with number one single 4 Minutes.

She also played a number of songs from her recent studio album Hard Candy, including Candy Shop and Miles Away.

The show came as part of a trio of live performances to launch the album, the other two being in New York and Paris.

Later in the set, Madonna reworked Hung Up for electric guitar, ending the song with a wall of noise. The show ended with another single, Music.

However, the singer didn't play any of her well known hits from the 80s and 90s.

Speaking to Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley before her performance, Madonna explained why she wanted to play the songs she picked.

She said: "Obviously, I want to do new stuff because I'm very excited about it.

"I feel that's what people come to hear but I also want to do a few of my oldies but goodies.

"I chose Hung Up because that was the biggest hit from my last record and I chose Music because it's a crowd pleaser, it's anthemic and it brings people together."

The tent was full to capacity for the show. Extra monitors played the set to fans outside.

As Madonna disappeared behind a stage prop made to look like a tube train at the end of the show, most fans left happy.

31 year old Gerard Sutton told Newsbeat: "It was great for Maidstone, she looked like she loved being here and everyone loved it."

19 year old Georgina Finch from Hastings added: "She was good but she should have sung some older stuff and should have been on for longer. She was awesome though."

Radio 1's Big Weekend is the biggest free ticketed music festival in Europe and has previously been held in Dundee and Preston.

30,000 people are expected over the two days, and more than half a million people applied for tickets.

source : bbc

1. Candy Shop :

2. Miles Away :

3. 4 Minutes

4. Satisfaction / Hung Up

5. Give It 2 Me

6. Music

Madonna going to / leaving her gym in London (May 10 2008)

TV Broadcast at BBC Three

Madonna Live
10 May 2008 - 21:15-21:55 - BBC Three

Madonna headlines BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, which takes place at Mote Park in Maidstone, Kent. Features an exclusive performance of her No. 1 single, 4 Minutes, as well as songs from her new album, Hard Candy.

Live Stream at BBC.co.uk

Thousands of music fans are to flock to see Madonna and a host of other stars perform at Radio 1's Big Weekend.
Around 30,000 revellers are due to attend the free event in Maidstone, Kent, where they can expect to see a range of pop, indie and dance acts including Usher, Duffy, Fatboy Slim and Adele across four main stages.

This year for the first time, Radio 1 has added the BBC Introducing Stage to the bill, where new and upcoming bands can be showcased.

Demand for tickets this year was the greatest in the history of the event, which has been taking place in its present format at venues across the country for the past three years.

More than 500,000 people applied for the 30,000 tickets on offer, with tickets being allocated through a lottery system, although a large proportion were given to residents of Maidstone and the wider area.

Those who were not lucky enough to get a ticket will not miss out completely as they will be able to catch live coverage of the event on TV and radio throughout the weekend.

Preparations for the event have been going on for months.

Extra train services have been laid on by Southeastern trains between Maidstone and London, while a park and ride service has been put in place in the town.

Kent Police have warned that anyone involved in anti-social behaviour or without a ticket will be made to leave the area under a dispersal order they have obtained specially for the event.

source : pa

* stream is available only in UK

Madonna going to her gym in London (May 09 2008)
She was being followed from her gym in London by an anxious reporter asking her for a ticket to her Radio One Concert.

Madonna has hinted that she may team up with special guests at Radio 1's Big Weekend.

The superstar, who will headline the Main Stage on Saturday, said that Pharrell Williams or Justin Timberlake could appear.

She said: "I don't know if Justin is going to be there or not. So stay tuned. Maybe Pharrell will turn up if I'm lucky."

Both artists feature on her current Number One album Hard Candy.

The singer will play a 40 minute set of old and new hits for her first ever UK festival performance at the two day festival at Mote Park in Maidstone, Kent.

"I have never been to the Big Weekend before. I hear it's fun, is it crazy?" she said.

The singer also revealed that she will be bringing her family along for her performance at the Big Weekend.

"I will probably bring Lourdes with me and maybe Roco," she said. "They always come to the rehearsals but they're kind of over the whole stage show thing. They like to skateboard around."

Justin Timberlake recently joined Madonna onstage to perform 4 Minutes during a secret show in New York.

Speaking about her time in the studio with Timberlake, Timbaland and Pharrell, she said: "It was a little awkward at first because you don't really know them and you feel a little intimidated. Justin admitted to me the other day that he felt the same.

"As for Timbaland I experienced both sides of him. I experienced him being very up and jovial and communicative.

"Then other times he would come in put his headphones on, and not speak to anyone. So you'd be thinking 'OK he's in his own world'.

"So we'd go off and work with other musicians and Justin and I would be writing words together and it seemed like Timbaland wasn't paying attention.

"But he'd take off his headphones and go, 'No' or he'd turn around and put his thumb up. He's quite unique, you think he's not paying attention but he is."

More than 500,000 people registered for tickets for the two-day event this year which also feature performances from Usher, The Kooks, Editors and Duffy.

Across the two days and four stages, fans will enjoy more than 50 UK and international artists alongside DJs.

source : bbc

Authorities in Malawi are set to grant full adoption rights of an African boy to US pop star Madonna, a high court official indicated Friday, citing a leaked document.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the court in Lilongwe would hear a full review on May 15 of an 18-month interim custody order granted in 2006 for Madonna to adopt David Banda.

The court had also received recommendations from the ministry of women and child development to make the adoption permanent.

The document, referring to Madonna's filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie and herself, said: "Mr and Mrs Ritchie have shown a strong commitment in providing the infant with all essential needs like love, safe home environment, care, protection, material as well as emotional support."

The document, filed by an official of the ministry identified as Simon Chisale, said David, the son of peasant farmer Yohane Banda, had "bonded well with the couple and other key members of the household."

The report said David, plucked from an orphanage in poor health, "continues to develop into a happy thriving toddler. His survival, growth and development is excellent."

The celebrity couple were being monitored at their London home whether they were suitable parents for David by Malawian social workers.

The official said Madonna, who is expected to return to Malawi next week to continue her charity work, will not be required during the hearing, which will be held in camera.

"She will have to come to court to sign the full adoption documents later," the official said.

A coalition of rights groups, the Human Rights Consultative Committee, as "friends of the court" have challenged the adoption and are seeking a full review of the interim order granted to Madonna.

The interim order elapsed in April after it was controversially granted in 2006 allowing Madonna to take David out of Malawi.

The ruling sparked a heated debate about adoption laws in the poor southern African nation where AIDS has left one million orphans.

The rights groups claim that existing legislation does not allow for intra-country adoptions and accuse Madonna of using her vast wealth to fast-track the adoption process.

source : afp

Thanks to Burzyn from Ultimate-Madonna.com

Madonna has said that she isn't sure whether Justin Timberlake will make an appearance during her show at Radio 1's Big Weekend.

The 49-year-old popstar is the headline act at the event, but wouldn't confirm whether her '4 Minutes' collaborator would be performing a cameo.

She told the BBC: "I don't know if [Justin Timberlake] is going to be there or not. We will see!

"But if he isn't we will have a video projection and will change around the choreography and everything."

Radio 1's Big Weekend takes place at Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent on May 10 and 11. Other artists playing the bash include The Kooks, Nelly, Usher and Duffy.

source : digitalspy

Madonna going to her gym in London (May 08 2008)

Los Angeles May 8, 2008 - Madonna, the world's tastiest sweetheart, has announced more non-stop treats for her legions of legendary and devoted fans. Following the latest news that "HARD CANDY" has debuted at Number 1 around the globe, it has been confirmed that Madonna's "STICKY & SWEET TOUR" will begin (hip) hopping around the world on August 23rd in Cardiff, Wales with stops in major European markets through September including London (11-September) and Paris (20-September).

The North American leg of the "STICKY & SWEET TOUR" begins October 3rd at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with stops at New York's Madison Square Garden on October 6th and 7th, followed by performances in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and more before stopping at Miami's Dolphin Stadium on November 26th. Madonna's "STICKY & SWEET" tour will also visit Mexico and South America later this year. (Show dates, and on sale information in these markets will follow at a later date.)

Confirmed today by Guy Oseary, Madonna's manager and Arthur Fogel, Live Nation's CEO Global Touring and Chairman Global Music, who is producing the tour, "STICKY & SWEET" will play arenas and stadiums throughout Europe and North America including a number of cities where Madonna has not performed in the past fifteen years. "STICKY & SWEET" will be directed by Madonna's long time creative collaborator Jamie King. The musical director will be Kevin Antunes. The complete tour itinerary is listed below with additional cities and dates to be announced. For complete tour and ticket information, fans can visit: www.livenation.com and www.madonna.com. "HARD CANDY," Madonna's 11th studio album for Warner Bros. Records debuted at number one in 27 countries around the world thus far, including the USA, JAPAN, FRANCE, UK, GERMANY, CANADA, ITALY, AUSTRALIA, THE NETHERLANDS, SOUTH AFRICA, SWEDEN, DENMARK, IRELAND, FINLAND, AUSTRIA, CHILE, SPAIN, MEXICO, HONG KONG, SINGAPORE, SLOVENIA, PORTUGAL, BELGIUM, BRAZIL, SWITZERLAND, ISRAEL and U.A.E. The album has received Four Stars in Rolling Stone, Blender and People Magazine with The NY Daily News hailing "HARD CANDY" as Madonna's greatest album ever. Madonna's current smash single "4 Minutes" was co-written and co-produced by Madonna, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. "HARD CANDY" is the Number One most downloaded digital album in the U.S. and many other countries. Madonna's previous studio album "CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR" sold over 8.5 million copies

Madonna and Live Nation entered into a revolutionary partnership last fall and her last three worldwide tours were produced by Live Nation.

A multi-Grammy award winner and recent inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Madonna has long been known for groundbreaking multi-dimensional tours that consist of visual and audio extravaganzas with non-stop singing and breathtaking dancing. Madonna's last outing, 2006's acclaimed Confessions Tour played in 25 countries including Russia, reached a collective audience of over 1.3 million fans, and was the highest grossing concert tour of all time by a female artist.

"I'll be your one stop Candy Shop Everything that I've got"
Madonna "CANDY SHOP" from "HARD CANDY"

TICKETS: Tickets for "Sticky & Sweet" will go on sale beginning Friday, May 16th in London, Paris, Cardiff and Nice followed by on sales Saturday, May 17th in Amsterdam, Boston and Chicago with E. Rutherford and New York City on sale Monday, May 19th. Tickets will range from .00 through 0 (5.00 in Las Vegas) offering a variety of excellent seats at all price levels. Additional on-sales vary and are listed below or available at www.livenation.com and www.madonna.com . There will be a 4 ticket limit per person at the arena performances and a 6 ticket per person limit for stadium events.

MADONNA.COM: Icon is Madonna's official fan club. Legacy members of Icon get first access to tickets starting May 12th, 2008. Fan club members who join May 1st and later will not have access to presale tickets. However, all ticket buyers for the tour get a free trial one year Virtual Icon membership which provides access to the largest digital archive of Madonna photos online, a social networking community of dedicated Madonna fans, contests, news and much more. Sign up for Icon at Madonna.com today.

Citi: "We are proud to provide Citi® cardmembers with access to one of the most anticipated tours of 2008," said Vik Atal, Chairman and CEO, Citi Cards. "The Madonna tour is a great example of the benefits of our alliance with Live Nation which enables us to offer our cardmembers exceptional experiences through our innovative Private Pass Program." Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesday May 13th at 10am ET through Citi's Private Pass Program®. For complete presale details visit: privatepass.citi.com. *Applicable for Sticky & Sweet shows in the U.S.

www.stubhub.com: StubHub is the official fan-to-fan ticket marketplace for Madonna's North American Tour 2008.* StubHub is the world's largest ticket marketplace enabling fans to buy and sell tickets to a vast selection of nearly 30,000 sports, concert theatres and other live entertainment events. StubHub reinvented the ticket resale market in 2000 and continues to lead through innovation. The company's unique online marketplace, dedicated solely to tickets, provides all fans the choice to buy or sell their tickets in a safe, convenient and highly reliable environment. All transactions are processed and delivered via StubHub's patent-pending Fan Network (SM ticket delivery service, supported by seven-day toll free customer service at 1-866-STUBHUB and backed by an industry-first Fan Protect Guarantee. *Applicable for Sticky & Sweet shows in Canada & the U.S. (excluding Mexico)

www.viagogo.co.uk: viagogo is the Official Premium Ticketing Partner for Madonna's European Tour 2008*. Premium tickets and VIP packages will be available from Friday 16th May on www.viagogo.co.uk. In addition, viagogo will be the Official Secondary Ticketing Exchange where fans can buy and sell their tickets. viagogo facilitates the exchange between someone who wants to sell and someone who wants to buy a ticket for a live event. It guarantees that buyers receive their tickets in time for the show and sellers receive payment. viagogo is Europe's leading ticket exchange. *Not applicable for Sticky & Sweet shows in Germany & Italy.

About Live Nation: Live Nation is the future of the music business. With the most live concerts, music venues and festivals in the world and the most comprehensive concert search engine on the web, Live Nation is revolutionizing the music industry; onstage and online. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol "LYV." Additional information about the company can be found at www.livenation.com under the "About Us" section

MADONNA STICKY & SWEET TOUR ITINERARY 2008

Showdate - City - Venue - On sale Date:

23-Aug Cardiff Millennium Stadium Fri. May 16
26-Aug Nice Stade Charles Ehrmann Fri. May 16
28-Aug Berlin Olympic Stadium Wed. May 21
02-Sept Amsterdam Arena Sat. May 17
04-Sept Dusseldorf LTU Arena Wed. May 21
06-Sept Rome Olympic Stadium Fri. May 23
09-Sept Frankfurt Commerzbank Arena Wed. May 21
11-Sept London Wembley Stadium Fri. May 16
20-Sept Paris Stade de France Fri. May 16
03-Oct E. Rutherford Izod Center Mon. May 19
06-Oct New York City Madison Square Garden Mon. May 19
07-Oct New York City Madison Square Garden Mon. May 19
15-Oct Boston TD BankNorth Garden Sat. May 17
18-Oct Toronto Air Canada Centre Sat. May 24
22-Oct Montreal Bell Centre Sat. May 24
26-Oct Chicago United Center Sat. May 17
30-Oct Vancouver BC Place Stadium Sat. May 24
01-Nov Oakland Oracle Arena Sun. June 1
04-Nov San Diego Petco Park Sun. June 1
06-Nov Los Angeles Dodger Stadium Sun. June 1
08-Nov Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena Sat. May 31
11-Nov Denver Pepsi Center Sat. May 31
16-Nov Houston Minute Maid Park Sat. May 31
19-Nov Philadelphia Wachovia Center Mon. June 2
22-Nov Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Mon. June 2
24-Nov Atlanta Philips Arena Sat. M
26-Nov Miami Dolphin Stadium Sat. May 31

Thanks to Mike from madonnadownload.com

Madonna's upcoming tour will begin Aug. 23 in Cardiff, Wales, and will include between 50-60 shows total, Billboard.com has learned. Details of the tour, produced globally by Live Nation, will be announced later today (May 8).

Billed as the Sticky and Sweet tour, Madonna's trek in support of her current chart-topping Warner Bros. release "Hard Candy" -- which debuted atop the Billboard 200 yesterday -- will play stadiums in the U.K. and Europe until the end of September, arenas and a "handful" of stadiums in 16 markets in North America in October and November, and then stadiums in Mexico and South America late November-December.

"I'm thrilled to be involved in another worldwide Madonna extravaganza," Arthur Fogel, chairman of global music for Live Nation, tells Billboard.com. Fogel has helmed Madonna's last three world tours, which grossed almost $400 million combined. Her 2006 Confessions tour is, at $194 million, the top-grossing tour ever