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Marcy having fun in Paris.
Category: Newspapers.

Click here to read an article and pictures published by the Mail on Sanday about Mercy having fun in Paris.

Daily Star: Mercy heals Guy Ritchie rift with Madonna.
Category: Newspapers.

MADONNA and ex Guy Ritchie’s are back on speaking terms thanks to her new daughter.
The singer invited her former husband to meet adopted Mercy James.
Guy, 40, spent Friday night with Madonna, 50, and the Malawian four-year-old.
He is said to have fallen in love with Mercy. A pal said: “He met her at Madonna’s house and they bonded immediately.
“He nicknamed her Koala, as she has this habit of clinging to people and not letting go.”
Guy also went to the London Kabbalah Centre with Madonna and Mercy, as well as her daughter Lourdes, 12, and their two sons David Banda, three, and Rocco, eight.
At the time of their split it was claimed her desire to adopt again was the final straw for Guy. Sources say Madonna is over the moon that Guy is becoming part of the family again.
Madonna and the kids will be based at her London home all summer while her Sticky And Sweet tour hits Europe.

Source: Daily Star.

The Sun: Mum Madge shows mercy
Category: Newspapers.

The Sun

Mum Madge shows Mercy

The Queen of Pop was pictured with Mercy for the first time yesterday as authorities began finalising the adoption arrangements.

Four-year-old Mercy held the hand of new sister Lourdes, 12, as she enjoyed her first family outing.

They were surrounded by a posse of minders, but Mercy — wearing a blue dress — was seen laughing and smiling as she joined her new family.

Madonna spent over an hour in Malawi’s High Court on Monday, when she told Judge Esme Chombo she would be “a deeply loving mother” to Mercy, whose Malawian name is Chifundo.

In adoption papers seen by The Sun, Madonna says: “To deny Chifundo the opportunity to be adopted by me could expose her to hardship and emotional trauma which is otherwise avoidable.”

The judge will give an official ruling on Friday — but Madonna, 50, has already been told that her application will succeed.

The pop queen is due to fly to Britain on Saturday — and has told staff at her London home to “prepare for the arrival of my new little girl”.

Madonna celebrated Monday’s successful meeting by throwing a dinner party at her luxury lodge.

A charity worker who attended the bash said Madge was drinking wine and hugging her staff — while her adopted son David held Mercy’s hand and ran around excitedly telling guests: “This is my new sister.”

The source said: “Madonna looked incredibly proud and happy, and David was so funny — he couldn’t leave Mercy alone and pulled her around all the guests.”

Eight-year-old brother Rocco — Madonna’s son with ex-hubby GUY RITCHIE — has also been helping to welcome Mercy into the family by playing with her in the gardens of the lodge.

A senior Malawian official yesterday confirmed that Madonna had been told Mercy was hers.

The official told The Sun: “This is all very confidential, and Judge Chombo must still make her ruling — but that ruling will be in favour of Madonna.

“Madonna is a very good mother and ambassador for Malawi. She has improved the lives of thousands of orphans.”

The approval comes after The Sun told how Madonna had recruited two of Malawi’s leading politicians to help secure her second adoption.

Madonna’s adoption of David from Malawi caused a storm, and some human rights groups accused her of using her vast wealth to “bulldoze” the authorities into agreeing to her requests.

The star has donated huge sums of money to help look after orphans in the African nation, where 14 per cent of adults are infected with HIV, the virus that causes Aids.

David, now three, yesterday met his biological dad Yohane Banda for the first time since he left for Madonna’s privileged showbiz world when he was adopted in 2006.

Farmer Yohane, 34 — immaculately dressed in blue suit and white shirt — wept with joy at the emotional reunion. He said: “I knew one day my dreams would be answered.”

Yohane, who had been forced to leave his baby son at an orphanage after the tot’s mum died, added: “At first I didn’t recognise him as he’s grown so much.

“David sat with me and spent time squeezing and playing with my nose.

“It was the proudest day of my life, to sit here again with my son. Now I want him to meet his half-brother and sister and show him the village in which we all live.”

Under the deal which allowed David’s adoption, Madonna has a duty to take him back “regularly” to Malawi so he can see his dad and keep in touch with his roots. And yesterday Madge apologised to other orphans at his former home — because David could not understand them.

At the moment David speaks only English, and was baffled when kids at the Home of Hope orphanage in Mchinji asked him “Muli cwanji?” — meaning “How are you?”

Madonna told orphanage staff she is employing a tutor to teach the whole family the basics of the local Chichewa language.

She added: “Next time I come here we won’t need a guy here to translate for us.”

Madonna lands in Malawi with Lourdes
Category: Newspapers.

Madonna lands in Malawi with Lourdes, to sign adoption papers Monday

BY Christina Boyle and Bill Hutchinson
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Updated Sunday, March 29th 2009, 12:52 PM

Madonna arrived in Malawi Sunday poised to adopt a second child from the African nation, but her daughter, Lourdes, stole the spotlight as she has seemingly sprouted up overnight.

The Material Mom and her oldest offspring, Lourdes Leon, 12, strolled hand in hand through the village of Chinkhota, chatting with locals and soaking up the sun.

"Amazing," Madonna said of her return to Malawi, where she adopted a son, David Banda, 3, in 2006.

Lourdes, nicknamed Lola, has grown as tall as her 5-foot-4 mother and shares an almost identical smile. As she and her famous mother walked through the impoverished village, the locals stared at the young girl's bare shoulders, bangle bracelets and fashionable neck scarf.

The recently divorced Madonna, 50, wearing a straw fedora and black sweats, seemed to enjoy the attention lavished on her and her daughter as they shook hands with residents. Madonna told the locals she wanted to build a school in the village.

She is expected to go to court Monday to sign adoption papers for a 4-year-old girl, Mercy James, who will become Lourdes' first sister.

Little Mercy is living at the Mchinji Home of Hope, the same orphanage where her soon-to-be-brother, David, once lived. David was to reportedly reunite with his dad, Yohane Banda.

"She has no father and mother, they both died," a government official said of Mercy.

Her grandmother, Lucy Chekechiwa, is vowing to be in court Monday to try to stop the adoption.

"Why doesn't this singer pick other children? It is stealing," Chekechiwa told the Telegraph of London, adding that she has an agreement with the orphanage to take Mercy when she turns 6. "I want to go to court. I won't let her go."

Besides Lourdes, Madonna has a second biological child, Rocco, 8, from her marriage to director Guy Ritchie, which ended in divorce in January.

The "Like a Virgin" singer was criticized by some when she started adoption proceedings for David in 2006; they said she used her status and wealth to bypass the African nation's laws which require an 18-to-24-month assessment period before an adoption can go ahead.

cboyle@nydailynews.com

With News Wire Services

Liz Smith on Madonna and Jesus.
Category: Newspapers.

“You never see a man walking down the street with a woman who has a little pot belly and a bald spot,” says comic Elayne Boosler.

Now look, when you are 50 years old and still toned and firm – and when you are rich and also one of the most powerful and successful stories in worldwide show business – is it any wonder you can pick up a handsome 22-year-old for fun and games?

Yes, yes – I’m talking again about Madonna and Jesus Luz and their still-sizzling romance.

But first, why shouldn’t Madonna do what men have been doing for years – centuries, in fact? (That is, get successful and rich and start dating younger and younger and sexier and prettier – or handsomer – partners?)

What I really want to ask you about is a recent "gotcha" photo which shows Madonna holding her adopted son, David Banda, by the hand, with Jesus Luz right behind her, and they are actually leaving kabbalah services in New York on a Sunday.

I want to ask: When was the last time you saw a paparazzi photo of a big star emerging from church, synagogue or mosque? They come twirling out of chauffeured cars, out of Starbucks, out of movie premieres on the red carpet. They trip out of discos, bars, saloons and night clubs. But very few have I ever seen emerging from anywhere in a full blast of spirituality.

Now, yes – Jesus Luz did leave his girlfriend, Krishna Siqueira, for Madonna. But he still talks to Krishna and recently told her that he is in a great phase of his life right now. So, OK – Jesus got Madonna and he got a ready-made family and he also got religion. I love it!

Source: Wowowow.com.

Sticky & Sweet 2009 Tour: Bulgarian press on the tickets sale for Sofia.
Category: Newspapers.

Thanks to our contributor Nykolai.

Press cuttings from Belgium.
Category: Newspapers.

Scans from today's newspaper Het laatste Nieuws:

Special thanks to our correspondent Dan.

Press cuttings from Belgium.
Category: Newspapers.

Here are two scans of the Belgian newspapers on Sunday, both being talking about the ticketsale in Belgium. Computers could not handle all the requests.

So far the concert is SOLD OUT. But if people still want to go they can put their names on the waiting list at http://www.teleticketservice.com/FTTS/madonna/index_tts.html because there were a lot of double bookings.

Special thanks to Dan from Belgium.

Please, send all your local press stuff releated to the Sticky & Sweet Tour to share@drownedmadonna.com.

Inside Madonna's wardrobe.
Category: Newspapers.

From New York club kid to Evita – Madonna’s reinventions have been at the centre of her success. As a collection of her stage costumes goes on show, we try on some of her most famous garments – and Lisa Armstrong considers the semiotics of those bras, bustiers and sequins

Even if you are as one with Lily (“Madonna is the most overrated person in pop history”) Allen, there is something satisfyingly perverse about seeing her clothes become, in these topsy-turvy economic times, the stuff of investors’ dreams. At any rate, two venture capitalists, with an eye to future riches, have spent the past two years tracking down her more memorable outfits, chasing up documentation to corroborate their provenance (you wouldn’t believe the number of fakes out there) and batting away rival collectors in the bidding wars.
The fruits, so far, tally some 250 items of clothing, plus another 50 or so pieces of Madonna ephemera, including awards, although perhaps they won’t prove so ephemeral. “I’m by no means a Madonna freak,” says Chetan Trivedi, one of the VCs, “but when you look at how wide her demographic is and how long she has been at the top, Madonna’s clothes start to look like a better bet than the stock market.” This is a point not lost on the Material One herself, who has a warehouse in Los Angeles where she stores the pieces she’s kept post-1993.
What makes this collection more visceral than most are the traces of the woman who wore them – make-up smudges on a beret, perspiration stains on one of the corsets worn in rehearsals. For the moment, the collection resides in the vaults of Coutts, but soon it will be unleashed in an exhibition. And for anyone with an interest in popular culture, it’s worth a look. Madonna’s assault on the world can’t properly be viewed outside the prism of the clothes she wore while mounting it. From the early scavenged props, through the dark Marlene years, when Madonna gender-bent and flashed more parts of her anatomy than seemed compatible with her status as a world superstar, to the pastel Juicy Couture jogging suits of the early Mummy years, from Geisha Girl to Braveheart, Latino sexpot to Marie Antoinette, voluptuous Marilyn to a 50-year-old leotard-toting, designer-bandage-sporting defier of gravity, fashion has been integral to her identity.
No one can accuse her of idleness. In 25 years she has developed a new kind of body to aspire to, one that arguably hands women power over their shape; extended the shelf life of gyrating female performers by two decades and counting; pushed female sexual boundaries to places that chart-topping female singers had never seen the need to drag them (granted, this wasn’t always a pretty sight); invited the gay scene to the mainstream party; experimented with most genres of pop and rock; defied social mores (then embraced them); and subjected herself to more image changes than a serial witness protection scheme participant.
Naturally, this was all entirely self-seeking – and not especially original. Arguably, her most creative fashion legacy, pieced together from fragments worn by Martha Graham dancers, the street and Madonna’s idiosyncratic twists, was the first public incarnation, made famous in the Like a Virgin video, then indelible in Desperately Seeking Susan. This rag-tag look endeared because it was accessible and yet distinctive, achieved without money. It captured an aspect of the Eighties that tends to be overlooked: the decade’s optimism, verve and spirit of DIY. The other style moments, like her musical output, are generally the fruits of gifted larceny. She didn’t invent conical bras, any more than she came up with the concept of androgyny. But she knew the right time to wear them – after the prototypes had been perfected, but before they’d lost their power to shock or surprise. And yet for all the thrusting and sexual provocation, she has never really been a (straight) man magnet. She’s way too terrifying, particularly during her gynaecologically obsessed period.
But if you’re a woman, if you’re gay, if you’ve ever enjoyed one of her songs or thought she looked nice dressed up as Eva Perón, if you’re one of scores of designers, from the global big shots to the unknowns, whom she patronised and subsequently put on the map, then you’ve been under the Madonna influence. Resistance may just be futile.
The exhibition Simply Madonna is at the Old Truman Brewery, London E1, from February 21 to March 31
Material Girl, 1985
Hiring a kitschly pink satin strapless dress for the video of Material Girl, Madonna openly plagiarised Monroe’s scene in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. But where Monroe was part gold-digger, part adorable naif, Madonna is entirely knowing. This was a platinum blonde whose eyebrows were deliberately left a contradictory shade of charcoal and whose body was beginning to look as though she could go several rounds in the ring. Given that workout regime, Monroe wouldn’t be the later Madonna’s chosen screen reference – Dietrich would, and not the fleshy young Dietrich of the Lola era.
Attempting to put a twist on Anita Loos’ satire on materialism, Madonna, hair slickly waved, interspersed scenes from the 1953 movie with a new story that showed her playing an actress being wooed by a Hollywood director who has to pretend to be poor in order to win her (unmaterialistic) heart. Hah! Ironically, it’s Monroe who emerges as the more subversive.

Source: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article5643667.ece

Sex, 1992
Jean Paul Gaultier had been playing with cone bras through the Eighties, and Yves Saint Laurent had tinkered with them 20 years earlier. But no one expected anyone to wear them, until Madonna commissioned Gaultier to design the costumes for her Blonde Ambition tour in 1990. This period saw Madonna’s exhibitionism reach potentially corrosive extremes, culminating with Sex, the explicit picture book she released in 1992. Flaunting its artistic credentials – the photographs were taken by Italian Vogue’s Steven Meisel – Sex was a puzzling and shocking detour from a superstar who, so it seemed, didn’t need to strip off and get gynaecological. Sex sold out, but along with 1993’s Body of Evidence, in which Madonna played a woman trying to kill a man by having sex with him, it almost finished her career. A period of relative restraint followed.
Evita, 1996
Madonna’s formidable lobbying tactics paid off when Alan Parker finally cast her in the role she felt she was born to play. You can see why she identified with Eva Perón ­up to a point: humble background, ruthless climb to the top. But Evita was more than a demanding diva; she was thought to be complicit in the disappearance of anyone who crossed her, as well as millions of Argentina’s missing pesos. Oh well, she gave great wardrobe.
Working out every day despite her pregnancy (Lourdes Ciccone was born three months before the premiere), Madonna more than did Perón’s style justice. In curlicues of eyeliner and Christian Dior lipstick, she worked every one of those 85 costume changes, 39 hats and 49 hairstyles. This was a first glimpse of Madonna doing ladylike, later a glossy magazine staple in her English country lady period. The release of the film saw a revival in Forties tailoring, and for months Madonna wore suits and cultivated an überpale skin.
Music, 2000
Having exhausted Eva Perón and geishas, Madonna turned to facets of her homeland that had previously failed to engage her. Although the early Noughties vogue for ghetto fabulousness seemed at odds with Madonna’s increasing interest in kabbalah, it provided some irresistible style opportunities. The white three-piece trouser suit she wore for the Music video (in which she allowed Sacha Baron Cohen’s alter ego Ali G – then Britain’s coolest comic figure – to send her up, thus winning hearts in her adopted homeland) was not a million miles from the Savile Row-inspired tailoring her friend Stella McCartney was churning out for her recently launched label.
American Pie, 2000
The vest-and-jeans outfit that Madonna wore for her American Pie video was as wholesome and straightforward as the raven hair and kimono-inspired clothes of Ray of Light had been mysterious (or pretentious, depending on your taste). If her cover of Don McLean’s Sixties standard was banal, it at least pre-empted the waves of patriotism that engulfed America after 9/11 – and, as McLean contentedly noted, ensured that “I’ll never have to work again.”
Re-Invention Tour, 2004
Jean Paul Gaultier was back on board, along with Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Lacroix and Stella McCartney. Madonna’s pirating tendencies were more eclectic than ever – ranging from Marie Antoinette to Braveheart and Carnival, and the clothes were some of the most beautiful to have gone on a pop tour. But the whole enterprise felt like a stock-taking of sort; a montage of Madonna’s greatest style hits was played on a giant screen every night – an indication that while the chameleon gene was still active, the desire for dramatic transformations that spilt over into real life was waning.

Source: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article5643667.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2

Special thanks to our Margit.

It's a Madonna nation
Category: Newspapers.
In anticipation for Madonna's opening night concert in the U.S. in East Rutherford, New Jersey tomorrow night (October 4), New Jersey's Asbury Park Press newspaper posted this article and Madonna quiz:

It's a Madonna nation

Test your knowledge with our pop quiz

By CHRIS JORDAN • Gannett New Jersey • October 3, 2008

Love her or hate her, you can't ignore Madonna. She has transcended music over the last 25 years to become a true pop-culture icon, seemingly drawing attention for everying she does, be it adopting a child from Malawi under questionable circumstances to studying Kabbalah, an off-shoot of Judaism.

Now Madonna comes to the Izod Center in East Rutherford Saturday night to kick off the U.S. leg of her "Sticky and Sweet Tour." She then heads across the river for four shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City, starting Monday, Oct. 6. Want more? She hits Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Nov. 22.

The tour has already garnered controversy in Europe, where Madonna juxtaposed images of John McCain and Hitler. But that's the norm for Ms. Ciccone, who has been pushing cultural buttons for her entire career.

Anyway, we offer our Madonna pop (culture) quiz to test you, dear reader, on how up you are on the Material Girl.


1. What did Madonna inject singer Justin Timberlake with prior to their recording session for "Hard Candy"?

A. Testosterone
B. B-12
C. Adrenaline
D. A ray of light

2. Madonna portrayed this Latin American leader in a 1996 film.

A. Michelle Bachelet
B. Eva Peron
C. Celia Cruz
D. Manuel Noriega

3. This actor appeared as Jesus in Madonna's "Like A Prayer" video.

A. Denzel Washington
B. Donnell Rawlings
C. Leon
D. Redd Foxx

4. What group took offense to Madonna's 1986 single, "Papa Don't Preach"?

A. Mothers Against Drunk Driving
B. Conservative religious groups
C. Planned parenthood
D. Music critics

5. Which New York Yankee is a "spiritual soulmate" to Madonna?

A. Hideki Matsui
B. Derek Jeter
C. Alex Rodriguez
D. Yogi Berra

6. Former Madonna remixer and collaborator Shep Pettibone owns what Asbury Park nightclub?

A. The Stone Pony
B. Asbury Lanes
C. Paradise
D. Mrs. Jays Beer Garden

7. What did Madonna say to the taxi driver when she first arrived in New York City?

A. "Take me to the nearest yoga studio."
B. "Do you produce records when you're not driving a cab?"
C. "Take me to the middle of everything."
D. "What are you doing when you get off your shift?"

8. Who did Madonna dedicate "Like a Virgin" to at a recent concert in Rome?

A. Guy Ritchie
B. The Pope
C. Rabbi Philip Berg
D. John McCain

9. Which celebrity has Madonna NOT been romantically linked or married to?

A. George Michael
B. Sean Penn
C. Jellybean Benitez
D. Dennis Rodman

10. What was the name of Madonna's late-'70s New York City rock band?

A. The New York Dolls
B. Ciccone Youth
C. Breakfast Club
D. The Virgin Suicides

Click READ MORE for the answers and score results


NY Daily News: S&S Tour Feature
Category: Newspapers.

In anticipation for Madonna's upcoming New York area Sticky and Sweet Tour shows, Wednesday's New York Daily News devoted an interesting 2-page feature of interviews with Madonna's tour collaborators, and a summary of the tour setlist. Here are the articles ...

What it feels like to work for Madonna


Stavrakis/AP 
Madonna is coming to town this week.

BY GINA SALAMONE
Wednesday, October 1st 2008, 4:00 AM

Madonna's "Sticky & Sweet Tour" touches down in the New York area Saturday for five sold-out dates. The extravagant production has already broken attendance records in Europe and is sure to do the same here.

But the Queen of Pop is only as good as her courtiers. A skilled creative team carefully collaborates to match Madonna's tour theme with costumes, choreography and video clips.

And with multiple themes, that's no easy task. Four different acts move Madonna through her set list. It starts with "Pimp," paying tribute to gangstas, then "Old School," which honors her early days in New York. A "Gypsy" act is next, followed by "Rave" - featuring dance hits and robot-like fashions.

Here are some of the hardworking staffers who make it all happen:

5 QUESTIONS FOR THE COSTUME DESIGNER

Arianne Phillips

AGE: Won't say

JOB: Costume designer

HOURS: 13 hours a day, 6-7 days a week

MONTHS ON THE JOB: 4; she started prepping for the tour in May, and then attended the first three shows in Europe. Phillips worked on Madonna's previous four tours and has helped wardrobe the star offstage for 11 years.

Q: How many costumes did you have to put together for the show?

A: There are 25 performers besides Madonna who change six to eight times. Madonna has eight costume changes. And everyone gets doubles of everything, including the shoes, to last the duration of the tour. Madonna sometimes has up to six copies of one particular outfit so that it always looks fresh and great.

Q: What lengths do you go to to track down pieces or materials?

A: We develop a lot of her clothes ourselves. So we go to the end of the earth if we have to to find the right fabric. Or if we have shoes made, we collaborate with wonderful people at Miu Miu and Prada. Madonna gets to play different characters, whether it's a sexy robot or a gypsy.

Q: Which is your favorite of the four acts in terms of the clothing designs?

A: That's like asking me to choose which child is my favorite. But I particularly love the rave/futuristic section. It was daunting because I always have issues with futuristic costumes. I wanted to make sure that it was going to have some value to the contemporary eye and mean something. We came up with this hybrid of Sexy Robot Joan of Arc for Madonna.

Q: What was the toughest act to design costumes for?

A: Developing the "Old School" section was tricky and it took a lot of prototypes. That particular costume, which I thought initially would be the easiest because she was being herself in the early '80s and it's the most casual, was the most difficult to develop because of the choreography and the active quality in that section. Also, we had to make sure that it was theatrically worthy and exciting enough for the audience.

Q: What was the result?

A: A pair of jersey shorts that changes color depending on what night you're there. There's a T-shirt that Prada made for us, a little hoodie that we made with Swarovski crystals. Everything is embellished with Swarovski crystals. We have over $1 million worth of crystals in the show. We're very sensitive to the fact that Madonna's performing in stadiums and not just arenas like last time, so we want to make sure that everyone can see her and the dancers. So the crystals are really helpful.

7 QUESTIONS FOR THE SHOW DIRECTOR

Jamie King

AGE: in his 30s

JOB: show director

HOURS: about 16 hours per day, including e-mailing through the night, 6-7 days per week.

MONTHS ON THE JOB: more than 4

Q: This is the fourth tour you've directed for Madonna. Why did the two of you decide to do four separate acts?

A: In the "Drowned World" tour in 2001, we established that four-act sectionalizing of the show, so we've just stayed with that format. It's good for us creatively because it allows us to change the look of the set, the stage, [and] adapt song arrangements.

Q: Madonna's perched on top of a car in one scene from the show. What's that about?

A: We used an old-fashion car in our "Pimp" section. We thought if we were going to pimp it out, let's not do something contemporary, but let's do our own version of a classy pimp and what that would look like. So our car looks more like a Rolls-Royce, but we still blinged it out. The license plate says M Dollar and it's for a song called, "The Beat Goes On."

Q: And why does she jump rope at one point?

A: She's doing Double Dutch, which was birthed in the streets of New York City. It's in our "Old School" section and Double Dutch is really of that kind of early breaking, pop-locking period on the streets.

Q: You've directed recent tours by the Spice Girls, Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera and Ricky Martin. How does working for Madonna compare?

A: I don't know any other artist who pushes the envelope more than Madonna. It's because she's always willing to try new things and wants to explore.

Q: The "Sticky & Sweet" tour recently stirred up controversy with a video montage that's shown during the song "Get Stupid," which compares John McCain to Hitler. How did that come about?

A: Madonna is very political, and it's important for us to always express every side of her when she goes onstage because her show is an extension of her. Madonna's changed the views of the world and how things are perceived - whether it be sex or politics or image, and since she's very political, we have to incorporate that into the show.

Q: Is there any concern it might alienate fans who may be Republicans or fans of McCain?

A: Madonna's message has always been stand for what you believe in, no matter what it is.

Q: At what point do you get to sit back and enjoy the show?

A: I never stop freaking out. I'm always nervous and I think that's the great thing about both Madonna and me. We're always nervous because we want to make sure that the audience gets a great show.

3 QUESTIONS FOR THE VIDEO DIRECTOR

Tom Munro

AGE: 43

JOB: Video clip director for "Die Another Day"

HOURS: Four or five hours per day for two or three weeks, including research and preparation; video was shot in one day.

Q: You directed a video of Madonna boxing for the song "Die Another Day" that's shown during a break. Why is that an important part of the show?

A: It's played on three enormous monitors while Madonna is changing, so she's not actually on stage. The video keeps everyone entertained while she's off [stage]. And then there are dancers on stage - two guys who are choreographed in a dance-move boxing thing.

Q: Where'd you shoot the video?

A: We shot it at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn in June. It was a one-day shoot. The preparation for it was a lot longer because I did all the lighting as well, which was quite involved. So we had a day to set up the props and create the environment, a day to test the lighting, and then, on the third day, we shot Madonna. I also shot all the stills for the tour book, so it was a busy day.

Q: How does Madonna compare with other artists you've shot?

A: Madonna is the biggest icon in pop culture, and she's an incredibly inspiring subject. In my career, I haven't worked with anybody that gives as much to the camera and the creative process as Madonna has done. And for a photographer/director, that's a great treat because you can only do your best if you're being given the material to work with.


Madonna's 'Sticky & Sweet' setlist

Wednesday, October 1st 2008, 4:00 AM
by Jim Farber


Quicler/Getty 
Madonna is both 'Sticky & Sweet' in concert.

Most top artists play it safe with their set lists. They hew close to the hits, sneaking in just a few new songs to seem contemporary without boring longtime fans to death.

Madonna seldom takes that sheepish route. Other than her hits-based "Re-Invention" tour four years ago, she tends to stress her latest music in shows, sprinkling in cherished hits every so often just to satisfy the less ardent. Even these she tends to recast with radically new arrangements.

The new "Sticky and Sweet" tour continues that tradition. In fact, the show contains more new songs than ever. Nine of the CD's 12 cuts turn up, vying for space with a dozen cherished faves. Luckily, "S & S" ranks as Madonna's most upbeat, catchy and unpretentious album since her 1983 debut. So there's no reason to yawn the way fans might have on her previous "Confessions" tour, which boasted far less eventful (not to mention less danceable) material.

By contrast, the "Sticky and Sweet" set list sounds highly appetizing. Here's what fans can expect:

Candy Shop: Not the strongest opening song, but this new cut serves to ease the crowd into the groove.

Beat Goes On:  A striking new cut with a guest rap by Kanye West (sure to be only on tape).

Human Nature:  A snarky oldie from 1994's "Bedtime Stories"

Vogue: The world's greatest salute to posing.

Die Another Day (Remix):  A DJ interlude threading in Madonna's tango-driven Bond theme.

Into the Groove: Perhaps her greatest dance song ever.

Heartbeat: The catchiest cut from the new CD, with a killer beat to boot.

Borderline: The first great ballad of Madonna's career.

She's Not Me: An assertive newbie.

Music: Maybe the singer's most perfect, and simple, pop single, not counting "Holiday."

Rain Remix: A dreamy DJ interlude.

Devil Wouldn't Recognize You: The only semi-ballad on the new CD.

Spanish Lesson: A staccato Latin stomper.

Miles Away: Includes the new disk's most beguiling tune.

La Isla Bonita: Madonna's first Latin groove.

You Must Love Me: The big ballad from "Evita" also presents the biggest risk in the new show: Can she — gasp! — emote?

Get Stupid Remix: A herky-jerky DJ interlude.

4 Minutes: The ecstatic hit duet with Justin Timberlake. Will the man himself appear at one of the Garden shows? (He did back in April at an album-teasing mini-concert at Roseland).

Like a Prayer: Madonna's grandest song.

Ray of Light: Her fastest song.

Hung Up: The only great track from her last album, aided by its tart ABBA sample.

Give It 2 Me: As ultimate proof of Madonna's faith in the hotness of the new CD, she closes the night with a song that's as fast and fierce as any she has ever recorded.

The Sun: Madge is skippy and sweet at Wembley
Category: Newspapers.

Madge is skippy and sweet

Roping her fans in ... Madonna

MADONNA’s Sticky & Sweet tour hit London last night with her Madgesty in mightily impressive form.
She powered through a 22-song set that would be beyond many a chart star half her age.

The stamina of the woman is immense.

Anyone who can sing Into The Groove flawlessly while skipping, as my exclusive pictures show, deserves an Olympic medal, never mind applause.

Watching from the middle of the arena were a gang of famous faces including actresses GWYNETH PALTROW, and KATE HUDSON, PENELOPE CRUZ and FERGIE from BLACK EYED PEAS.

Madge is going be busy until Christmas. There are more than 40 shows left on this jaunt.

It’s exhausting just thinking about it.

Source: Gordon Smart,  The Sun

Daily Mail: Madonna puts on a jaw-dropping show at Wembley
Category: Newspapers.

Strike a pose: Madonna puts on a jaw-dropping show as A-list friends cheer her on at Wembley

By Lizzie Smith
Last updated at 1:54 AM on 12th September 2008

Madonna stayed for just an hour at husband Guy's 40th birthday party and here's why - she needed all her energy for last night's incredible performance at Wembley Stadium.

The 50-year-old queen of pop showed off her honed and muscular body as she cavorted around the stage in a white silk top hat, high cut leotard, fishnets and leather stiletto boots.

Her energetic routine would have put to shame artists half her age, and proved those hours in her private gym have paid off. 

Sticky and sweet: Madonna took to the stage at Wembley Stadium in London tonight

The mother-of-three is touring the world with her Sticky and Sweet tour which is flying to 37 venues for the roadshow in just under four months, transporting a team of 250.

Amongst the thousands of fans last night were her A-list friends Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson, whose mouths dropped open in amazement at Madonna's athletic exploits.

The audience also included Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Fergie from the Black Eyed peas.

Open mouthed: Kate Hudson and Gwyneth Paltrow can hardly believe their friend Madonna's incredible performance

 
Did she just do that? Gwyneth and Kate share a smile at their friend's amazing routine

Packed: Thousands of fans packed into Wembley Stadium to see their idol Madonna perform

The decadent two-hour show, which involved £1million of jewellery, saw Madonna perform many of her greatest hits, as well as indulging in eight costume changes.

The pop superstar arrived onstage dressed in a Givenchy outfit in a vintage white American car for the first section of the four-part show.

Labelled Pimp, the opening sequence was recently described by the Material Girl's publicist as a homage to '1920s deco and modern day gangsta pimp'.

Vogue: Madonna played the crowd some of her greatest hits from her 25 years at the top

Madonna followed up that segment of the concert with Old School, a tribute to the her roots in the urban dance music of early 1980s New York.

The remaining two sections, Gypsy and Rave, continued the high-energy performance.

Still got it: Madonna kept her crown as the queen of pop

Source: Daily Mail

Guy Richie talks about Madonna and Christopher Ciccone's book.
Category: Newspapers.

Here’s today’s Observer newspaper which not only talks about Madonna’s new tour, but their Magazine features an interesting interview with Guy Ritchie where he discusses his marriage and Christopher Ciccone’s book.

Special thanks to Mandi.

Scans from today's South Wales Echo.
Category: Newspapers.

Scans by Mandi.

Scans from today Venezuelan press.
Category: Newspapers.

Ultimas Noticias

Thanks to CJ and FrancisHealy.

Latest Mexican newspapers on Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour in Mexico.
Category: Newspapers.

Mexican press reports rumours about Madonna to perform in Monterrey, Mexico.

Special thanks to Victor.

Madonna & David on the front page of today's New York Daily News.
Category: Newspapers.

Thanks to DaGo.

Scans from Mexico.
Category: Newspapers.

Thanks to Victor.

Scans from Brazil.
Category: Newspapers.

O Tempo - the article is about Madonna's influence on the music business

Scans by Marco at www.madworld.com.br