MAY 9, 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.

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.

VIP Candy Shop Package
* Top price ticket from the promoters holds to see Madonna live in concert.
Or
* Second price ticket from the promoters holds to see Madonna live in concert.
* Two and a half hour hospitality event before the show in "The Candy Shop" at the concert venue.
* Champagne reception on arrival.
* Three course meal with fine wines and coffee.
* Complimentary bar of beers, wines and soft drinks during the pre-show hospitality
* Stylised “Candy Shop” room dressing and floral arrangements.
* One hour post show party in the "The Candy Shop" at the concert venue.
* Complimentary bar of beers, wines and soft drinks during the post-show party.
* Resident DJ.
* Exclusive Sticky & Sweet VIP tour gift for each guest.
* Commemorative VIP laminate for each guest.
* Presentation wallet containing event documentation for each guest.

Top Price Ticket Package
Full Hospitality Package inc ticket & VAT £386.58
Second Price Ticket Package
Full Hospitality Package inc ticket & VAT £336.58
Hospitality only Package inc VAT no ticket £236.57

Hot Ticket Package
* Gold Circle ticket to see Madonna live in concert.
* Priority access pass (be one of the first into the stadium)
* Official Sticky & Sweet tour gift
* Official Sticky & Sweet tour programme
* Commemorative VIP laminate

Hot Ticket Package £249.00 inc Vat & Ticket
Please note face value of Gold Circle ticket is £85.00 Buy Online Tickets

Source: livenationinternational.com/madonna

MAY 8, 2008

Dear Madonna fans,
Madonna, the world's tastiest sweetheart, has announced more non stop treats for her legions of legendary & 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 23 in Cardiff, Wales with stops in major European markets through September, including London (September 11) and Paris (September 20).

The U.S. leg of the "STICKY & SWEET TOUR" begins October 3 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with stops at New York's Madison Square Garden on October 6 and 7, followed by performances in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and more, before stopping at Miami's Dolphin Stadium on November 26. 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.) Visit Madonna.com news to read the full press release now.

Show Date - City - Venue - Icon Member Presale - On Sale Date

23-Aug Cardiff Millenium Stadium Mon. May 12 at 10am Fri. May 16
26-Aug Nice Stade Charles Ehrmann Tue. May 13 at 10am Fri. May 16
28-Aug Berlin Olympic Stadium Fri. May 16 at 10am Wed. May 21
02-Sep Amsterdam Arena Mon. May 12 at 10am Sat. May 17
04-Sep Dusseldorf LTU Arena Fri. May 16 at 10am Wed. May 21
06-Sep Rome Olympic Stadium Mon. May 19 at 10 am Fri. May 23
09-Sep Frankfurt Commerzbank Arena Fri. May 16 at 10am Wed. May 21
11-Sep London Wembley Stadium Mon. May 12 at 10am Fri. May 16
20-Sep Paris Stade de France Tue. May 13 at 10am Fri. May 16
03-Oct E. Rutherford Izod Arena Mon. May 12 at 10am Mon. May 19
06-Oct NYC Madison Square Garden Mon. May 12 at 10am Mon. May 19
07-Oct NYC Madison Square Garden Mon. May 12 at 10am Mon. May 19
15-Oct Boston TD BankNorth Garden Mon. May 12 at 10am Sat. May 17
18-Oct Toronto Air Canada Centre Tue. May 20 at 10am Sat. May 24
22-Oct Montreal Bell Centre Tue. May 20 at 10am Sat. May 24
26-Oct Chicago United Center Mon. May 12 at 10am Sat. May 17
30-Oct Vancouver BC Place Stadium Tue. May 20 at 10am Sat. May 24
01-Nov Oakland Oracle Arena Tue. May 27 at 10am Sun. June 1
04-Nov San Diego Petco Park Tue. May 27 at 10am Sun. June 1
06-Nov Los Angeles Dodger Stadium Tue. May 27 at 10am Sun. June 1
08-Nov Las Vegas MGM Grand Arena Tue. May 27 at 10am Sat. May 31
11-Nov Denver Pepsi Center Tue. May 27 at 10am Sat. May 31
16-Nov Houston Minute Maid Park Tue. May 27 at 10am Sat. May 31
19-Nov Philadelphia Wachovia Center Tue. May 27 at 10am Mon. June 2
22-Nov Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Tue. May 27 at 10am Mon. June 2
24-Nov Atlanta Philips Arena Tue. May 27 at 10am Sat. May 31
26-Nov Miami Dolphin Stadium Tue. May 27 at 10am Sat. May 31

All presale times are LOCAL TIME.

Source: Madonna.com

CLICK here for I Am Because We Are - The official website for Madonna's Malawi documentary launches right after Madonna's Gucci / Raising Malawi fundraising gala evening on 2.7.2008

Madonna has already claimed her new album, Hard Candy, will "kick your ass." Turns out, she wasn't kidding! Witness the cover of her upcoming album, due April 29, featuring the pop diva sporting, yep, a wrestling belt. Featuring production by Pharrell Williams, Timbaland and Nate "Danja" Hills and an appearance by Justin Timberlake, Madonna's rep says the album's "about the juxtaposition of tough and sweetness."

The 'Intimate' Writing Process Justin Timberlake and Madonna say some of their meetings about "Hard Candy" turned into "shrink sessions." (4.30.08)

CLICK here to go to Detroit's 95.5 WKQI radio - Madonna was interviewed earlier on the "Mojo In The Morning" 4.15.08

CLICK here to go to WPGC 95.5 DC - Donnie Simpson Interview 4.14.08

CLICK here to go to KiddLive Dallas, TX - Kidd Kraddick Interview (clicking on 'Listen in the kPod') 4.11.08

CLICK here to go to 1047 Kiss FM - Phoenix - Donnie Simpson Interview with Madonna 4.11.08

CLICK here to go to MIX 106.5 Sydney live

CLICK here to go to B96 Chicago live at 6.30am and 8.30 am

CLICK here to go to 101.9 THE MIX Chicago live at 9.40am - Madonna joined Eric & Kathy this morning

CLICK here to go to 93.3 FLZ Tampa, FL live - Listen to Kane's Interview with Madonna

CLICK here to do to Z100 New York live at 4pm
Madonna will be interviewed tomorrow on NY's Z100 at 4 PM

CLICK here to get the interview
Exclusive interview with the Michael Yo on E! satellite radio show

JUNE 25, 2008

A second show in Mexico City was just added to the 'Sticky & Sweet' Tour itinerary. The show will take place at Mexico's Foro Sol on November 30, 2008. A devoted Fan Club postsale will start at 10 am local time on Thursday June 26th for Legacy Icon members and noon local time for Icon members.

Source: Madonna.com

With nearly 1 million tickets sold to date along with sold out performances in Paris, Lisbon & Zurich; New York, Boston, Chicago; Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and 2 Mexican stadium shows on Monday, Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour is once again poised to be the tour of the year!

The demand for tickets in Paris for Madonna's September 20th performance was so staggering that a second and final performance was added on September 21st. The Sticky & Sweet Zurich show at the Military Airfield Dubendorf August 30th is sold out at 70,000 and her show date in Lisbon 14-September is also sold out with over 75,000 tickets. In Vancouver, Madonna's October 30th performance sold 50,000 tickets in a record breaking 29 minutes. This past Monday, Madonna's Sticky and Sweet tour sold out two Foro Sol stadiums in less than 3 hours adding to a list of sellouts that include four sold out Madison Square Garden shows in New York City; 2 sold out performances in Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Denver; and additional sell-outs in E. Rutherford, Boston, Oakland, Las Vegas, and Houston.

And now, London fans who missed out on tickets will have a new opportunity to see Madonna with newly announced special guest Paul Oakenfold on 11-September at Wembley Stadium. With the completion of the production for Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour, promoters Live Nation announced today that the sight-lines are better than previously anticipated and as such a limited number of tickets in all price levels are now available from www.livenation.co.uk or 24 hr box office 0844 576 5483 (all tickets subject to booking fee). Tickets will be limited to 6 tickets per person.

Paul Oakenfold has long been one of the most important--if not the most important--name in modern club culture. He was one of the first DJ's to have a residency on the Island of Ibiza, leading to both a new sound and a yearly festival. He started regular "Balearic" club nights in London, attracting a crossover audience and remixed legendary bands such as The Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays, Along with production partner Steve Osborne, he's remixed tracks by legendary bands New Order, The Cure and Massive Attack. In 1991, he first worked with U2 remixing "Even Better Than the Real Thing" and "Mysterious Ways" from their Achtung Baby album. It was the start of a long partnership with that band which included his spot as DJ on their historic ZOO TV tour and the remixed versions of the band's "Beautiful Day," a number one hit for U2 on the U.S. and U.K. dance charts. Over the years, he's remixed tracks for everyone from Madonna to Elvis Presley to Justin Timberlake to Muse to Snoop Dog. He's the first electronic artist ever to be in the Guinness Book of World Records--for being the biggest DJ in the world. He's the only DJ to have a display case in the Hard Rock Cafe's Rock & Roll Museum. He has worked on the music for major Hollywood films including Swordfish, Collateral, Planet Of The Apes & Matrix Reloaded".

Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour begins 23-August at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium with stops in Nice, Berlin, Zurich, Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Rome, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Paris, Vienna and Athens in addition to the 11-September Wembley date.

Source: Madonna.com

Madonna has apparently revealed there was plenty of chemistry in the studio during the making of her latest album Hard Candy.

The Queen of Pop collaborated with the likes of Justin Timberlake and Kanye West on her latest offering.

"I like to work with people who have strong opinions," the star told Parade.com.

"Justin, Timbaland and Kanye - they are all pretty much superstars in their own right and have a very strong sense of what they like and what they want - but so do I. So it was like many forces meeting all together in a room and it was good give and take. There was a lot of chemistry."

Hard Candy topped both the US and UK album charts. So what is Madonna's secret to staying on trend?

"I think it's because I'm curious," she says. "I pay attention to what's going on around me. I'm always looking for new energy, new talent, new voices. When you do that I think it's easier to come up with fresh ideas. It's not that my career has been based on surprising people, but it's been about challenging myself - to constantly do new things that are going to broaden my own mind and in the process, hopefully, connect with other people."

Source: musicnews.virginmedia.com / PA Entertainment

I often criticize Madonna in this space for her nutty politics or her membership in Kabbalah.

But there’s one thing you can’t beat and that’s Madonna live and in person.

So let’s clear up reports from Tuesday that her big fall tour isn’t selling out. With the sole exception of Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium, the Sweet and Sticky tour, I am told, will outpace Madonna’s last tour significantly.

Indeed, Dodger Stadium is the only venue Madonna hasn’t sold out. Of course, the show isn’t for five months. The fact that she’s sold half the stadium now for November is pretty damn impressive.

So where did this bad news come from? Industry sources don’t need Jessica Fletcher to figure it out. Warner M. Group, which lost Madonna to Live Nation, this year, has been on a tear planting negative stories about the latter organization.

WMG, as I predicted, has done little to nothing to promote Madonna’s Hard Candy album as retribution for her exit to Live Nation. That a CD with a hit single, the Justin Timberlake-Michael Jackson soundalike duet, "4 Minutes to Save the World," has sold only 500,000 copies is an utter disgrace. But WMG only has itself to blame.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to predict this. WMG has just this and a greatest hits album left with Madonna, and then she’s gone. Her departure is a huge embarrassment to the ailing, much-mocked record company.

But here’s what’s better: I’m told Live Nation is on the brink of cutting a similar deal with WMG’s act Nickelback with hits such as "The Reason" and "Photograph," a contemporary hit-maker act, a rarity these days. Grabbing them from WMG could be Live Nation’s coup de grace.

Source: FOX News by Roger Friedman

JUNE 24, 2008

Live Nation is on the defensive about the health of its $120 million Madonna deal.

Big sales around the world for the Material Girl's upcoming "Sticky & Sweet" tour have been overshadowed in music industry circles by chatter about the large number of tickets still available for a key stop in Los Angeles in November and softer-than-expected sales of her latest album "Hard Candy."
The tour so far has grossed more than $74 million in sales for 13 dates in Europe and piled up a string of sellouts at arenas across North America, according to Live Nation.

Arthur Fogel, chairman of global music and CEO of the global touring division at Live Nation, projects the tour will gross more than $250 million in ticket sales - surpassing her record-breaking "Confessions on a Dance Floor" tour two years ago, which pulled in $195 million worldwide.

But just over half of the 43,000 seats available for a Nov. 6 date at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium - 27,000 tickets in all - have been sold in their first three weeks of availability, raising red flags about the limits of US demand for the 49-year-old Madonna at this stage of her career.

It also comes as Live Nation's management has been at odds over the strategy of handing out big-bucks, all-encompassing contracts, known as 360 deals, for aging stars like Madonna and Jay-Z. The rift led to last week's exit of company chairman Michael Cohl.

To be sure, Madonna's sales have been better at other venues.
A Nov. 4 show at San Diego's Petco Park has sold 29,000 of 35,000 seats. And over 33,000 out of 42,000 available tickets were sold for a Nov. 26 stadium date in Miami.

And her US arena dates, including three nights at Madison Square Garden, have sold out.

But at the biggest venues, consumers in the US are not rushing for Madonna tickets with the same fervor that they are in Europe and other parts of the world.

An Aug. 30 show at the Military Airfield Deubendorf in Zurich, Switzerland, sold over 70,000 tickets in days in May, and an October date in Vancouver, BC, sold 50,000 tickets in 29 minutes.

The economy could be a factor - top tickets for Madonna are running as high as $500 at a time when food and gas costs are soaring.

Her latest album is doing solid but unspectacular business in the US. "Hard Candy" has sold 544,000 copies domestically, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That's barely half of what rapper Lil Wayne recently sold in the first week for his latest album "Tha Carter III."

Analysts note that the album could be hard pressed to match the business of her last album "Confessions on a Dance Floor," which sold more than 1.6 million copies in the US.

Fogel, who has produced Madonna's last three tours, said concern about ticket demand is overblown.

He noted that there are close to five months to go before the US stadium shows in question open, and each one has already grossed $3 million to $4 million in sales.

Live Nation stock closed down 3.92 percent, or 46 cents, at $11.27.

Source: New York Post

JUNE 23, 2008

TRAVERSE CITY -- Tickets for Madonna's appearance at the Traverse City Film Festival sold out quickly this month. But it turns out, there are still some tickets left - on eBay.

Several sellers on eBay have begun selling passes to the Aug. 2 screening of the Material Girl's new film, "I Am Because We Are."

As of this morning, two tickets to "the most sought after event of the year" were going for $3,625, while another pair was going for $3,550.

And yes, people are bidding at those prices.

Six bids in another auction drove up the price to $1,825 on another pair. "This is such a great opportunity for any fan to not only see this movie with Madonna herself, but there is also an opportunity to ask questions and even meet her," writes the seller from Sterling Heights.

The theater seats about 540 people. Tickets originally sold for $25 each.

Source: Press News Service / Monday June 23, 2008, 8:23 AM

JUNE 17, 2008

Things just keep getting better and better for Robyn. Having just finished an amazing sell out UK tour, she has now been asked to support the world's sweetest pop star Madonna on her recently announced European Sticky & Sweet Tour. This is a major honour as Robyn will be one of the few performing artists to appear on tour.

Additional Sticky & Sweet concerts will feature special guest DJ's as support. The Swedish popstrel said "Having been a fan of Madonna since I was a little girl, I'm very excited about sharing a stage with her and playing to her audiences...I'm thrilled."

With nearly 1 million tickets sold to date along with sold out performances in Paris, Lisbon & Zurich; New York, Boston, Chicago; Montreal, Toronto & Vancouver and more, Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour is once again poised to be the tour of the year! Robyn recently completed a whirlwind tour of the States where both her live shows and eponymous album met with rave reviews across the board. Her star shows no sign of waning any time soon...

Robyn will appear on the following dates:
26-August - Nice - Stade Charles Ehrmann
28-August - Berlin - Olympic Stadium
30-August - Zurich - Military Airfield Dubendorf
02-September - Amsterdam - Arena
04-September - Dusseldorf - LTU Arena
09-September - Frankfurt - Commerzbank Arena
14-September - Lisbon - Parque da Bela Vista
23-September - Vienna - Danube Island
27-September - Athens - Olympic Stadium

Source: Madonna.com

JUNE 17, 2008

Stage setting for the Sticky & Sweet Tour for Mexico City

A map of the stage setting for the Sticky & Sweet Tour has been added to the official site selling tickets for the Mexican date of the tour on November 29 and it does indeed features a catwalk. Click HERE to see it.

Source: ocesa.com.mx

JUNE 16, 2008

The queen of pop Madonna is arriving only 828km south of Sofia and only 100 days from June 16, so the countdown should start now. She will perform in Greek capital Athens on September 27.

The gig will be the Olympic stadium in the city, Bulgarian news agency BTA reported. Madonna started this years’ tour to present her newest album Hard Candy. Last time she was on such a tour was in 2006, when she staged her Confession Tour.

Tickets for the Athens show are already on sale in both Athens and Thessaloniki and range from 80 to 250 euro.

As previously reported by The Sofia Echo, Madonna’s 2008 tour starts on August 23 with a show in Cardiff, Wales. Other cities on the schedule are Amsterdam, Berlin, Lisbon, London, Paris, Rome and Zurich; the August 30 Zurich and the September 21 Paris concerts are already sold out, according to Madonna.com. From October to November, she will be touring North America.

Source: sofiaecho.com by Elitsa Grancharova

Madonna: "I Am Because We Are" by Karin Badt

The choice to sport tuxedos and see-through haute-couture dresses for a screening about dying children in the second poorest country in the world (Malawi) may seem at odds with the title-message of Madonna's new production, the documentary I Am Because We Are directed by erstwhile gardener Nathan Rissman -- but this kind of contradiction is perhaps par for the course for Cannes. Madonna introduced the documentary in a splendid sparkling black v-necked dress with silver spangles, and then the still images of skeletal children with AIDS began. This photo montage, the stills flashing in black and white as if taken from behind the front line, was the powerful punch of the documentary. We also have sweet comments from little girls smiling and saying that, yes, they are HIV positive. Then comes a shot of an open wooden coffin bearing a child, his dead face painted white.

Alerting audiences to the painful problems of penury and disease in Malawi is an exceptionally good thing -- and it is also a good gesture, pace those skeptical of the 'drop-in-the-bucket' effort -- that Madonna saved a dying little boy and tried to adopt him. Throughout the film, one feels the sincerity of Madonna's desire to bring hope to a dying nation, where a million children are orphans, and one child after another smiles and says, "My mother is dead." Madonna intimately mentions that her own mother died when she was six, making it clear that she identifies with these children who have no one "to guide them."

Yet the film is weak and its weakness lies in Madonna's over-the-top urge to make this a film of hope. After shocking us with facts and images, Madonna (with director Rissman) overburdens the film with an insistence on positive thinking as the solution. These people could make the country work if only they adopted a forward-leaning attitude. "You can change your destiny," the voice-over goes, admonishing the people of Malawi to remember the mantra: "I am responsible for my actions." The film begins and ends with a Malawian saying twisted to hammer in the responsibility point: "No one can shave your head when you're not there."

This enthusiasm to rally support for positive thinking -- rooted in the tenets of the Kabbala, Madonna's adopted belief system -- is to the detriment of a more concrete look at the economic and cultural drivers causing the hardships in Malawi. The documentary begins with Madonna admitting she does not even know where to find Malawi on a map, and the film does nothing to rectify this problem. No information about Malawi's history or contemporary situation is given, unless one counts Bill Clinton's comment that "l0,000 years of culture are alive in today's Malawians." Instead we are left with the panacea package -- drilled in with over 30 minutes of repetitive statements -- that people must take charge of their own destiny and refuse to be victims, and that teachers who instill this positive message in children may do more for the country than better economic or medical policies. All we have to do is care: I Am Because We are. (Excuse my second repetition in this article; those of us who saw the film had to endure it a dozen times, with singing chanting faces piping in the jingle as if for a Coca Cola commercial.)

Madonna is well-intentioned in her urge to spread positive thinking -- and perhaps she is, in a naive way, even right. Having taught in developing countries, I have seen the powerful effects of encouraging students to assert themselves and seize their opportunities, and how quickly students take to this kind of enthusiasm. Still there is a context. The ten dollars necessary for each child to go to school must come from somewhere, besides a generous-hearted foreign donor or two. The perpetuation of AIDS-stricken infants can hardly stop with these very same babies "deciding their own destiny."

Indeed, it only took an afternoon of calling non-governmental agencies in Malawi for me to learn of more viable options: above all, eradicating poverty through agricultural measures, such as teaching crop diversification (maize was until recently the only staple, so when rain failed, people starved), distributing seeds and implementing water irrigation systems. As 90 percent of Malawi is rural, efforts made to improve crops would significantly affect the economy of the country.

As for AIDS, the main problem in Malawi, as in other African countries, is lack of sex education, stigma about the disease (so no one wants to test him or herself) and gender inequality (women bear the brunt of AIDS). A few years ago, NGOs banded together to create "HOPE Kits" -- packages of educational materials about AIDS -- and already these hope kits, delivered by local community workers, have had a major impact on lessening the disease. So has the fact that the government five years ago made anti-retroviral medicine more easily available.

The help that Madonna's film suggests -- caring in general, positive thinking and, as her own example shows, buying a house for a family -- could certainly make a difference but would not be as sustainable or wide-reaching as contributing to NGO efforts that are already in place (including those of the NGO she herself founded: "Raising Malawi"). A spectator watching Madonna's film, while moved to help, would not, based on the information the film itself provides, know what specific steps to take to "care."

There is also something glib about Madonna's side-theme in her film about how people in this poor country have more humanity and joy (a narration accompanied with shots of laughing children in pick-up trucks) than people on Park Avenue (we see a traffic jam). Her assertion that the Malawian culture is richer than ours strikes one as a bit disingenuous, coming after a good fifteen minutes of the documentary has just denounced Malawian popular belief in "witch doctors" (preferably termed "traditional healers") as a practice that leads to genital mutilation and perpetuates the cycle of despair.

"It seems like a program for children's TV," the Egyptian journalist slumbering next to me muttered during the last half hour of chanting "I Am Because We Are". He admitted that the first half of the documentary, however, had been effective, to the point where he had to put his hands over his eyes because the images were too painful. Too bad then that Madonna did not have an editor or consultant or trainer to help her make this necessary film more effective. While Madonna expertly knows how to affect an audience with body, song and gesture, she does not seem to know that film is not just a voice-over telling us positive things to a nice collage of pictures. The intent of the film backfires with the "Papa Does Preach" banality of the finish.

Below : websites of a few NGOs working effectively in Malawi.
Self Help Africa
Save the Children USA
CARE
And Madonna's own :
raisingmalawi.org

Source: The Huffington Post

JUNE 15, 2008

Madonna may have starred in a few big-screen blockbusters but her favourite acting job ever was in the sitcom Will And Grace.

She said: “It was purely and simply very fun to do. I got to invent a new catchphrase – ‘Cut to me’ – which fans say to me all the time. I loved it.”

Source: Daily Star - London,UK

JUNE 12, 2008

As part of her 'Sticky & Sweet' Tour, Madonna will perform at Vienna's Donauinsel on Tuesday, September 23. Tickets will go on sale June 23 at 10am Local time.

If you're a member of Madonna's Official Fan Club, please note that a devoted presale will start on Wednesday, June 18 at 10am LOCAL TIME.

Source: Iconmadonna.com

Madonna: From Music to Malawi

For some superstar singers, it's hard to stay relevant as new generations of musical sensations emerge. Given how young female pop-divas are getting younger by the year, some once-on-top-of-the-world musical superstars just can't keep up, even at the tender ages of 25 or 30. Although the winds of generational change have blown through Madonna's musical window more than once, the 49 year old pop diva has always found a way to adapt to remain on top of the charts. Along the way, she's also directly and indirectly found a way to teach new emerging artists a thing or two about how to be star. For Madonna, it's always been about leading by example. In 2008, she teamed up with Justin Timberlake for the hit single "4 Minutes" and we're sure a new, even younger generation of music fans have been introduced to the legendary pop queen.

Since her self-titled debut album back in 1983, the longest gap between studio album releases was a four year stretch between "Bedtime Stories" in 1994 and "Ray of Light" in 1998. From 1983 to 2008, with her most recent release, "Hard Candy", Madonna has put out a new album every two or three years. And that does include her film career, which she's taken to new heights as a producer on the documentary I Am Because We Are, about the plight of the poverty stricken Malwaian people. After premiering at Tribeca back in April, with a recent screening at Cannes, I Am Because We Are has been well received by both critics and fans.

Although Madonna has proven and reinvented herself time again in the music world, her passionate search for fresh ideas took on new meaning when she started work on I Am Because We Are. After adopting young David Banda from Malawi in 2006, Madonna, much like high profile goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie, has helped to shine a global light on important social issues through her actions and her own celebrity. If Madonna hadn't garnered so many headlines a couple of years ago during her controversial adoption, it's almost a certainty that most of the entertainment world and its far reaching fan base would never have heard about Malawi. After all of the media attention, we'd like to believe that most people would at least now be able to locate the impoverished country on a map. For some, thanks to Madonna, even ballparking Malawi on a map would be huge progress. If you still don't know, click here.

While recently out and about promoting I Am Because We Are, the Queen of Pop took time out to chat with the press about her latest musical endeavors, including her collaborations with Justin Timberlake, Pharrell, and Timbaland, how she's able to stay current in a rapidly changing music industry, how the new documentary came to fruition, and what Malawi means to her now two years after the adoption of her son David.

Madonna on whether she had to give up control to work with Justin Timberlake:
"I wouldn’t say I had to give up control, because even when I worked in the studio with Stuart [Price] or any of the other producers that I’ve been collaborating with over the years, it is a collaboration and I like to work with people who have strong opinions. But with Justin, and Pharrell, and Timbaland, they are all pretty much superstars in their own right and have a very strong sense of what they like and what they want, and so do I. So it was like many forces meeting all together in a room and it was good. There was a lot of chemistry."

On how she chooses people to collaborate with and what's next for her:
"I don’t know. It just comes to me. It’s not something I over think."

Madonna on whether she's always had a strong business sense:
"I guess so. I mean, people say that about me but I don’t really think of myself as a businesswoman. I don’t know. I mean, yeah. I guess. I don’t know. Maybe I just have good intuition. Yeah!"

On how she's able to stay current and contemporary:
"I think it’s because I’m curious. I pay attention to what’s going on around me. I’m always looking for new energy, new talent, new voices, and because of that I think it’s easier to come up with fresher ideas."

Madonna on her documentary I Am Because We Are and what Malawi means to her:
"Well, the whole reason that I made the documentary was simply because I was approached by a woman who lived there and said look; 'You have children, you’re a mother, you write children’s books, you donate the money from the children’s books to children’s charities so we know you care about children. There’s a state of emergency going on here. There’s over a million children orphaned by AIDS. And people pay attention to what you do and what you say, so could you please help us out?' And I couldn’t say no. So I went there and I experienced what was going on first hand and I just got sucked into the whole thing. Thank God I did. I met some amazing people there and hopefully I’ve changed the lives of a lot of children there and I think it’s been an incredible growing and learning experience for me. I think the film is really important because it’s not really just about Malawi, it’s really about the importance of how connected we all are, and how responsible we are for one and other."

On the fact that she has a deep connection to Malawi:
"Well yeah, that’s how I met my son David. And if I could, I would have adopted ten more children - There are just so many that need parents and not one’s more beautiful and lovely than the next."

Source: thedeadbolt.com

Pay rank : 29 ($40 mill) - Web rank : 15 - Press rank : 20 - TV/Radio rank : 67

The onetime material girl, famous for reinventing her image, cut a deal with concert promoter Live Nation that gave her a reported $18 million signing bonus. Endorsements with Sunsilk and H&M brought in even more.

Source: forbes.com

Pharrell Williams admitted he reduced Madonna to a sobbing wreck while working on her recent album 'Hard Candy'.

The producer said he made the icon cry like a baby during recording sessions for the record.

"I totally made her cry like. Like a baby. I had to get her a towel," he told Shortlist. "We were alone recording the album and she kept talking a lot of rubbish, so I shouted a lot of rubbish and she started crying her eyes out."

The N.E.R.D man admitted he had been quite nasty to Madonna, but said he had no plans to make their scrap public until the singer spoke about it herself.

"I just said some really nasty stuff, I guess. And yeah, she cried for a really long time actually," he said. "To be honest I can't believe she told someone about it. The whole situation was quite intense. It's totally weird to make Madonna sob, but even stranger when she tells everyone, 'Pharrell made me cry'.

Source: nme

JUNE 10, 2008

We are happy to confirm that Madonna's 'Sticky & Sweet Tour' will stop in Athens, Greece, on September 27.

Tickets will go on sale Friday, June 27th at 10.30am, Local time.

If you are a member of Madonna's Official Fan Club, please note that a devoted presale will start on Tuesday, June 24th at 10am, LOCAL TIME.

Source: Iconmadonna.com

JUNE 9, 2008

Warner Music International has struck a multicountry deal with Sony Ericsson in a new push for Madonna's latest album, ‘Hard Candy’, it has been reported

The album is to be pre-loaded or carried alongside Sony Ericsson handsets across 27 countries, according to Billboard.

The move has been prompted by a tie-in with Samsung where content from the album was pre-loaded to its devices for the French market.

It was also distributed and promoted exclusively to Vodafone customers around the world, prior to its release. Sven tracks from the album werereleased at a rate of one a day counting down the week before the album was available.

The new agreement with Sony Ericsson comes on the back of a huge launch campaign for the album in conjunction with Unilever's Sunsilk, which saw the first ever co-coordinated global launch of a brand campaign with an album launch.

The release of ‘Hard Candy’ has benefited from a string of international, multimedia initiatives.

A remix of the single ‘4 Minutes’ has been made available exclusively via Vodafone internationally and Verizon Wireless in the U.S.

Meanwhile, in Japan Madonna has signed an exclusive deal with Fuji TV to license ‘Miles Away’, the expected second single from the album, as the theme for the new drama series ‘Change’.

Source: YahooNews / Photo: AP, AFP, REUTERS

MADONNA has scrapped plans for the U.K. premiere of her documentary I AM BECAUSE WE ARE to be held at an English music festival, after tickets for the event failed to sell.

The Holiday hitmaker was reportedly planning to screen her latest documentary, which focuses on the plight of Malawian children, at Britain's Glastonbury festival later this month (Jun08).

However, the event has struggled to shift tickets, with rapper Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter's headlining slot at the event being blamed for a decrease in demand, as the festival usually focuses on a rock-orientated line-up.

According to the Britain's Mail On Sunday newspaper, the Queen of Pop wanted to follow the screening with a possible question and answer session with festivalgoers, but has been put off by the lack of interest in this year's (08) event.

A source tells the publication, "Madonna hoped the film could be shown on the Saturday (28Jun08) and there was talk of a question and answer session.

"But poor ticket sales for the festival put her off. After talks with the organisers it was decided the festival was not the right venue to showcase the film."

Source: WENN

Madonna plans documentary sequel

Madonna is reportedly set to mark her 50th birthday by releasing a sequel to her infamous 'In Bed with Madonna' documentary next year.

The 'Holiday' hitmaker will produce the documentary with filmmaker Alex Keshishian, who directed the controversial 1991 movie, to celebrate her continued success in the music industry.

The film will act as a reunion for Madonna - she has reportedly signed up most of the original production team for the new venture.

Keshishian is set to film the superstar over three weeks as she goes about her day-to-day life in London, according Britain's The London Paper.

Source: Ireland Online - Dublin, Ireland

JUNE 8, 2008

TRAVERSE CITY -- David Badour appeared worn out and anxious as photographers huddled around the State Theatre box office to snap shots of the Mount Pleasant resident as he stepped up to the window.

Badour arrived at the State around 3 a.m. Thursday to be the first in line for tickets to see Madonna present her documentary, "I Am Because We Are," at this summer's Traverse City Film Festival.

By the time tickets went on sale at 11 a.m. Saturday, Badour was at the head of a line of more than 300 people that snaked down Front and Park streets to the Grandview Parkway.

"I've been a fan since kindergarten. I have been to many of her concerts, but this is the first time I've had to wait," said Badour, who made the trip north with his brother Cody Badour and friend Jamie Slavik.

"It was definitely worth it. You get to know a lot of people" in line.
The film, written, produced and narrated by Madonna, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this spring, and roughly half of the State's 540 tickets sold out in about 30 minutes Saturday.

The queen of pop will be at the theater Aug. 2 to introduce the film that details her personal observations on the poverty and AIDS-stricken African country of Malawi. An additional 300 tickets were also on sale for another yet-to-be-named location where Film Festival officials will simulcast the event.

Traverse City resident Deb Korreck, who arrived in line around 5:30 p.m. Friday, said an overnight downpour forced Madonna fans to work together to construct makeshift tarp tents for shelter. Despite the foul weather and early morning heat, Korreck was impressed at how well the diverse group got along during the night.

"Everybody around was like our neighbors. There are teenagers and everyone up into their 50s like me, and we were all hanging out," Korreck said, adding that she looks forward to the Material Girl's perspective on the AIDS epidemic.

"I grew up listening to her music and dancing to her music. I'd just like to listen to what she has to say."

Madonna's outlook on Malawi was the main motivation for Kerri Finlayson, who recently witnessed the birthplace of Madonna's adopted son on a bicycle trip through Africa. Finlayson, though, was the next person in line Saturday when tickets for a seat at the State sold out.

"What I noticed was that there were young teenagers that were the moms ... and the 30 to 40-year-olds were missing. AIDS just wiped out a generation," she said of her trip.

Other fans, like Garret Reinhart and Jeff Rohlmann, simply couldn't miss an opportunity to see the pop star.

"I am just a huge, die-hard Madonna fan, and knowing Madonna will be three hours away I can't miss that," said Rohlmann, who came down from Sault Ste. Marie with Reinhart Friday morning.

"She is from the state of Michigan, so we support a home-state girl," Reinhart said.

Source: Traverse City Record Eagle - Traverse City,MI,USA by VICTOR SKINNER

Albums : 22 (13) Madonna - Hard Candy (Warner Bros)
Singles : 8 (4) Madonna Ft Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes (Warner