Saturday, February 22, 2014

BAY CITY NATIVE MADONNA TO BE HONORED WITH NEW SIGNS




BAY CITY, MI (WNEM) – Good news for Madonna fans: The Queen of Pop will be commemorated in her birthplace of Bay City. New signs will be placed at city entrances saying, “Welcome to Bay City: Birthplace of Madonna.”

The idea came with much enthusiasm at a meeting Monday night. Bay City Commissioner Chris Girard, 6th Ward hopes honoring the diva will bring some tourism to the town.

“People see something like that,” said Girard, “They may have interest in exploring our town a little more. I think it’s something we’ve missed the boat on for many years, and so let’s take advantage of that fact.”

The Material Girl was born in Bay City, and frequently visited her grandparents during her childhood. Their home on the west side of the city still attracts some tourists.

A simple sign or two can do a lot to re-brand the city.

“When I go in the community and people ask me where I’m from, I say, I’m right here!,” explained Girard holding up his hand, “Bay City, Michigan! I also talk about Madonna’s birth town, and I think a lot of other people I’ve talked to kinda do the same thing.”

For years, the city has had a love/hate relationship with the Queen of Pop. After she publicly called her birthplace a “smelly little town in Northern Michigan.” This was not out of distaste for the town, but in reference to the smell from a petroleum plant close by that is now closed.

But now, city commissioners think it’s time to change that image.

“Just having that name on there,” said city resident Rody Dodd, “I think a lot of people will see that when they come in to town. I think that’ll be great.”

Other cities honor their famous residents, so Bay City wonders: why not them?

“I grew up in New Jersey,” said George Herron in Bay City, “and Martha Stewart grew up there and they honor her. I think we outta do the same idea to Madonna here.”

The new signs will be funded privately and visible to citizens not too long in the future.

by Alana Holland, TV5 Reporter

Friday, February 21, 2014

ARIANA GRANDE ABOUT MADONNA




The Nickelodeon star also shared that she’s focusing on music when it comes to her career. “Music is my dharma. It’s what makes my heart smile and what I feel like I am meant to do. I understand music more than I understand human beings and the English language.”
And one of her idols is Madonna. Well, “attitude” idol, that is.

“I just love how she stands up for what she believes in and surprises people by not eff-ing up when they want her to so badly…Know what I love most about Madonna? When a bad review came out, she was the first person to say ‘f–k you.’ When someone said she sounded like Minnie Mouse, she crawled into bed naked except for Minnie Mouse ears. It’s such a good attitude to have. It’s inspiring to me because there are times when I think I’ve been a weak, people-pleasing little mouse my whole life.”

Source: E! Online

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Madonna nominated at World Music Awards




Madonna is nominated in six categories at this year’s World Music Awards:
Worlds best entertainer of the year
Worlds best live act
Worlds best female artist
Worlds best video
Worlds best album
Worlds best song

Friday, February 14, 2014

MADONNA AIMS TO CHANGE MINDS, NOT JUST BODIES




“There’s a new album on the way,” she says reassuringly. “Don’t worry. And it’s always going to come from a place where you can dance. That’s what I’m all about.”

In Toronto to open Hard Candy Fitness, the pop legend says still likes to provoke
but she always has a message.

She’s older, wiser but no less audacious.

It has been nearly 24 years since Madonna’s sexually explicit Blond Ambition tour titillated this city and breached some people’s sense of morality.

In Toronto this week for an interview at the opening of her Hard Candy gym franchise, she stripped for action, sitting down and pulling off the black high-heeled shoes she had been wearing for hours. The sigh that escaped her lips was positively orgasmic and, as she wiggled her toes in liberated bliss, she caught this reporter’s startled gaze.

“Come on, you’re used to this, aren’t you? Ladies undressing for you?”

Sex, front and centre. The Madonna mantra.

She’s tiny in person. Just under 5-foot-4. Her blond hair has that kind of wavy just-tumbled-out-of-bed-and-it-was awesome look that fits her so well. The eyes, which never leave yours for a second, are blue-green, but it’s under them that some fatigue shows.

She was wearing black, a slinky blazer-skirt ensemble from the Canadian design team of Dean and Dan Caten, known more prominently as DSquared2. A trademark black bustier kept her cleavage front and centre while a reasonably discreet crucifix nestled underneath.

In a few minutes, she was going to lead an Addicted to Sweat cardio class alongside her personal trainers for the 32 Hard Candy members who auditioned from the Toronto gym and 20 from other clubs around the world.

But before that, she was going to talk about what it’s like to be Madonna. Her past, her present and her future were all on the table and she answered every question briskly and straightforwardly. This is not a woman who got where she is by hesitating, equivocating or dodging the issue.

Madonna created Hard Candy Fitness with her partners Guy Oseary and Mark Mastrov. There are gyms in Berlin, Mexico City, Moscow, Rome, Santiago, St. Petersburg and Sydney. The company’s mission statement calls it “a global luxury fitness brand with a distinctive footprint. Clubs are focused on innovative group fitness programming and personalized fitness training.”

The Toronto venue at Yonge and Gerrard rests on the fourth floor of the trendy new Aura condominium. At a spacious 42,000 square feet, it is the largest in the Hard Candy empire.

On Tuesday night, hundreds of fans waited for hours outside the centre in the -20 C cold for a glimpse of the Material Girl. Upstairs, nearly a hundred VIP guests, photographers and media types did the same on an indoor red carpet.

Suddenly she was there, 45 minutes late, posing for pictures, chatting to media, looking like she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, even shaking her butt on cue. Then she was hustled into an office where we met. The cramped quarters and sterile white furniture made it look more like the kind of place you’d do interviews with your kid’s kindergarten teacher, not the woman who had the nerve (or simple good sense) to title her 1992 interview and photo book Sex.

The rules of engagement demanded we discuss Hard Candy first. It’s more than just a place that uses her name. She proudly admits to having created the brand, making major decisions about every aspect of its design and having designed many of its exercise programs personally, including one where you do a rigorous dancercise program on four-inch heels, just like the lady herself.

“If dancing wasn’t a part of Hard Candy Fitness, I wouldn’t be here,” she says. “That’s what makes my gym different from everybody else’s. That lets me bring art and creativity into the corporate world. But I don’t even really think about it as corporate.

“I think about it as connecting to people who want to stay in shape. Fitness and nutrition and sports are a big of my life and who I am, so why shouldn’t I share that with people? My hat’s off to anybody who wants to join a gym and come work out every day and make an effort to stay in shape. That requires discipline and initiative.”

She tosses her curls and flashes a bad-girl grin. “If you know me, you know that discipline and initiative are both very high on my agenda.”

And disciplined she is. When she pulled off her shoes, she revealed a bandaged left foot that was obviously causing her pain, but she wouldn’t let it curtail one moment of the scheduled events. She bruised a bone in her foot over the holidays while dancing in high heels, but she worked out on crutches, performed on the Grammys and wasn’t going to disappoint the people expecting her to work out with them that evening. “You make promises? Then you keep them. No matter what.”

So yes she’s disciplined and God knows she’s got initiative, but did she ever think those qualities would bring her where she is today?

“Absolutely not! I never thought my career was going to take me in this direction but then, when I started out, I didn’t think anything was going to happen.” She shrugs her shoulders and becomes a show business yenta. “Who knew? Go figure?”

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, born Aug. 16, 1958 in Bay City, Mich., the daughter of a man who worked in automotive design and a woman who died of cancer when Madonna was only 8. She was a high school cheerleader in Rochester and a college dance student in Michigan until she dropped out at the age of 20, took her first plane ride ever to New York City and released her first single, “Everybody,” in 1982. She never looked back. Not once.

Her status today is undeniable. She has sold more than 300 million records; the Guinness Book of World Records hails her as “the bestselling female recording artist of all time,” Time Magazine put her on its list of the “25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century,” and she’s also found time for two husbands (Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie), four children (Lourdes, Rocco, David and Mercy) and lovers no one has the time to count (Warren Beatty, anyone?).

But apart from all the concrete cultural and business achievements, what a lot of people remember her for are the outrageous things she’s done on and offstage: dropping the F-bomb 13 times during a single David Letterman interview, engaging Britney Spears in a tongue-swapping lip-lock on MTV and going to war in 1990 against the Toronto police.

“What am I doing here anyway? Didn’t they try to arrest me here?” she says, referring to the infamous moment on her Blond Ambition tour, immortalized in the documentary film Madonna: Truth or Dare, when she was told the Toronto police were going to stop the show and take her into custody if she simulated masturbation while singing “Like A Virgin.”

But on May 29, 1990, Madonna called authority’s bluff — like she usually has — and did her show without any interruption.

“I’m not going to be masturbating during my workout tonight,” she grins slyly, “or simulating masturbation, so I guess it’s cool. Yeah.

“I think Toronto’s finally learned to accept me.”

It’s her capacity to still generate outrage that delights her the most, whether it’s smooching and twerking with Miley Cyrus on a recent MTV Unplugged special or introducing Pussy Riot during a January Amnesty International event in Brooklyn.

“Look, from one year to the next, my life has been an amazing roller-coaster ride. Everything has been surprising. It would be hard for me to single out any scenario.”

Then the wickedest look yet crosses her face. “Well, maybe being excommunicated by the Pope three times from the Catholic Church would have to take the cake. I mean, when I got him that annoyed, I just have been doing something right.

“But I’d like to think that there’s always an aspect of what I do that’s going to be provocative. Sure, I like to provoke to get a reaction, but there’s always a reason behind it. There’s always some message I want to get across.”

Her eyes are actually shining now. This is what the woman really believes in. No wonder she proudly stood front and centre with Macklemore, Ryan Lewis and Mary Lambert at the recent Grammys to sing “Same Love” in support of gay marriage.

“There’s always some minds that need to get opened, some ears that need to listen, some ideals that need to change. The list goes on and on. My job is never going to be done. There’s still a lot of waking up that needs to happen in the world.”

But maybe Madonna can lean on some of her numerous disciples to help her. It seems that most of today’s top pop stars, like Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, all owe a debt to Madonna.

“I find all of it an honour. Really. It’s flattering. I love it. Sure, I even love Miley,” she says, referring to Cyrus’s attempt to channel Madonna in a recent German Vogue photo shoot. “I think she’s great. So many women before me have inspired me, so I’m happy to inspire the next generation.” Over the years, she’s cited females as varied as Marilyn Monroe, Nancy Sinatra, Carole Lombard and Martha Graham as sources that helped to shape her.

But what about music? That’s what made her famous, but in recent years it seemed to be in the background, although 2012’s MDNA helped make up somewhat for the relatively lacklustre impression left by Hard Candy in 2008.

“There’s a new album on the way,” she says reassuringly. “Don’t worry. And it’s always going to come from a place where you can dance. That’s what I’m all about.”

Richard Ouzounian
thestar.com

Thursday, February 13, 2014

MDNA SKIN Launches in Japan On February 12




Michelle Peck, Skin Care Artist and Madonna’s Skin Care Advisor and Brand Ambassador Introduces MDNA SKIN on February l2th.

‘MDNA SKIN’ – the new innovative and revolutionary skin care brand created by Madonna in collaboration with MTG, Japan’s leading beauty company, is scheduled to open in Omotesando for a limited time beginning Thursday, February 13th thru Sunday, February 23rd between 11:00 and 20:00. This will be the exclusive location to buy ‘MDNA SKIN’ in the world. The brand’s goal is to challenge women and their awareness about the art of beauty and skin care.

The state-of-the-art treatment system consists of three components:
The clay oil therapy inspired CHROME CLAY MASK, made with a base of clay from Montecatini Terme in Italy, which performs multiple functions that enrich the skin.
The SKIN REJUVINATOR – the specialized Magnetic Force and Deep Derma induction system devised to remove impurities and revitalizes the skin.

THE SERUM – based on an original formula that was created exclusively for Madonna, it creates a glowing effect when used alone and is further enhanced when used with the CHROME CLAY MASK and SKIN REJUVENATOR.

Using these products routinely as part of daily skin care regime creates firm, resilient and radiant skin overflowing with energy after every use.

The MDNA SKIN POP UP STORE will give customers the opportunity to see, feel and experience the products and enjoy the multiple screen projected visuals. The store will also host a VIP area and the location for special events.

MDNA SKIN will be available at selected department stores in Japan on February 26th.

http://www.mdnaskin.jp/
MDNA SKIN POP UP STORE
DATE: 2/13 – 2/23
OPEN TIME: 11:00 – 20:00
VENUE: BA-TSU ART GALLERY
5-11-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
5 minute walk from Omotesando Station, Exit A1
Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Chiyoda Line, Hanzomon

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

REVIEW : WHO’S THAT GIRL? MADONNA AT “THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK” EVENT




For all the Katys, Mileys, Ritas and Nickis there will be ever be, there will only ever be one Madonna.

And the queen of pop – as enduring as the actual queen of England and as unlikely to relinquish her throne – looked incredible at an event at New York’s Lincoln Centre on Monday to honour agent Bryan Lourd.

Dressed in head-to-toe leather, Ms Ciccone looked as sleek as she did chic… but what stood out the most was the 55-year-old’s stunningly youthful complexion and sculpted cheekbones.

But while she played it straight in her outfit, the Material Girl still managed to have some fun at the event and was spotted sticking her tongue out in front of Academy winner Anne Hathaway.






Source : DailyMail

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Amen!! Madonna's post on Instagram...,




Preach girl! This is why I love you!!

30 YEARS OF HOLIDAY, MADONNA’S FIRST TOP 10 HIT




1984: A song called Holiday jets into the Top 10 for the very first time – but certainly not the last. Madonna’s debut hit and signature song has been a Top 10 hit THREE times.

Can you remember a time before Madonna? If you can’t, and only know her as the global superstar she is now, there’s every chance you won’t know just how exciting, different and interesting this ragtag American singer with a kind of squeaky voice seemed when her ditty about skiving off work entered the Top 10 this week in 1984.

Sassy solo female singers were nothing new, of course and another young American lady named Cyndi Lauper was enjoying her first Top 10 hit with Girls Just Want To Have Fun a little further up the chart, but Madonna seemed to have something special from the start. Brutally honest and funny in interviews, her music was unashamedly poppy and devoted to having a good time and Holiday, now one of her most famous songs, perfectly encapsulated Madonna’s whole ethos: “Awww, just have a day off, it’ll be fine”.

Watch Madonna perform Holiday on Top Of The Pops before we tell the story of her very first feelgood smash. The guy dancing to the left of her with the impressive sweatpatches is her brother Christopher.

Little did we know that behind those bright eyes and kind of half-hearted dancing there was an ambitious workaholic, who would stop at nothing until she achieved global domination and, well, it didn’t take her very long.

Holiday had been in the Top 40 for three weeks before it finally clambered into the Top 10. It seemed odd that this happy, carefree record hadn’t been released in the height of summer and when it peaked at Number 6, Madonna obviously decided that wasn’t good enough – it was rereleased 18 months later covered in suntan lotion and in the height of Madonnamania, this time making it all the way to Number 2.

Holiday was Madonna’s first Top 10 hit but her next two singles fared less well. Lucky Star landed at Number 14 and Borderline, a huge fan favourite, actually stalled at Number 56 first time round. That one usually comes up in pub quizzes – nobody can quite believe it wasn’t an instant hit.

Perhaps sensing that plan for world domination couldn’t be achieved by tracks from her debut, self-titled album, she moved on to the Like A Virgin era in November 1984, beginning a residency of the Official Singles Chart that would see every single she released for the next 10 years chart in the Top 10. Yes, all 35 of them. 35! The spell was finally broken by Take A Bow, one of her biggest hits in the US, which peaked at Number 16 in the UK.

Borderline would get another shot at the Top 10 in 1986, when it zoomed up to Number 2, coming at the end of a blitz of Madonna chart entries – eight within a year. She would have to wait until August 1985 for her first Number 1, Into The Groove. For one week, Holiday sat right behind it in Number 2. There’d be another 12 chart-toppers to come, but we’ll be talking about those later…

After Madonna released her first greatest hits collection in late 1990, The Immaculate Collection (still one of the biggest selling albums in the UK of all time, fact fans), Holiday’s time had come once more. It was rereleased the following summer with some tunes that hadn’t made the greatest hits and so had another crack at the Official Singles Chart. This time, it reached Number 5. Three goes at getting to the top spot is a pretty impressive run, and even more impressive to hit the Top 20 every time, but you’ve got to know when it’s time to retire, and Holiday finally went on a very long chart vacation and hasn’t been since.

Madonna’s not one for showing much affection for her old hits, but Holiday has fared better than most – she has performed it on all but one of her nine live tours. And you love it too: it is one of her biggest selling singles, shifting 795,000 copies in the UK.

Watch Madge – we can’t believe we got the whole way through an article without calling her Madge until now – perform it on her Reinvention Tour in 2004. She’s come a long way, hasn’t she?



by Justin Meyers
officialcharts.com

Friday, February 7, 2014

MADONNA TO ATTEND GRAND OPENING OF HER HARD CANDY FITNESS CLUB IN TORONTO, FEBRUAR




Hard Candy Fitness Toronto

Not only will Madonna kick off our Grand Opening Feb. 11 by leading her signature #AddictedtoSweat class, but world renown artist Mr. Brainwash will create an 11 by 30-foot mural LIVE – to be installed on-site!!


Events include Madonna leading workout with Hard Candy Fitness members from around the world,master classes for members throughout the day, local DJs and live mural creation by famed urban artist Mr. Brainwash

Toronto, ON – The Toronto grand opening of Madonna’s Hard Candy Fitness® on Tuesday, February 11 will not only include a master class taught by Madonna for Hard Candy Fitness members from around the world, but will also feature a live on-site creation of an 11 by 30 foot mural installation by the internationally renowned artist Mr. Brainwash. Madonna previously collaborated with Mr. Brainwash on the creation of the cover artwork for her 2009 multi-platinum Celebration album.

Hard Candy Fitness is a global luxury fitness brand in partnership with Madonna and New Evolution Ventures (NeV). The official celebration is Tuesday, February 11 at the brand’s newest and largest club located in the heart of Toronto in the Aura building at College Park. The facility first opened late last year in October.

Madonna will lead her signature Addicted to Sweat cardio-based dance class with club members from around the world as part of the day’s festivities. For Hard Candy Fitness Toronto members who did not get the chance to participate in the class with Madonna, the Hard Candy Fitness Performance Team will be leading group fitness classes throughout the day prior to Madonna’s arrival. True to the brand’s concept of mixing fitness with entertainment, dance and music, local Toronto DJs will also be performing throughout the day and evening.

For more information about the Toronto club’s membership opportunities, please visit hardcandyfitnesstoronto.com or call 416.979.1645. The brand is expected to announce additional locations this year as it continues its expansion into destination cities around the world.

About Hard Candy Fitness:
Hard Candy Fitness is a global luxury fitness brand with a distinctive footprint. The clubs are focused on innovative group fitness programming and personalized fitness training. The brand was created in 2010 by Madonna, the world’s leading female pop-icon and well-known fitness enthusiast, and New Evolution Ventures, the world’s leading expert in fitness club development and operations. Hard Candy Fitness currently has club locations in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Santiago, Sydney, Mexico City, Rome, Berlin and Toronto. For more information, please visit www.hardcandyfitness.com.

About New Evolution Ventures® (NeV):
Based in Northern California, New Evolution Ventures® (NeV) has a two-decade plus record of success in delivering superior returns on investment, specializing in the acquisition, development and operations management of both domestic and international fitness endeavors. Founded in 2008 by Mark Mastrov, Jim Rowley and Mike Feeney and following a strategic partnership with Vision Capital in 2011, the current team of NeV professionals is setting industry-wide standards one brand at a time. Operations have spanned over 20 countries worldwide and included hundreds of facilities. Our team’s industry experience has positioned NeV as a global leader in its field, expanding and reinventing the vision of fitness. For more information, visit www.nev.com.

Press contact for Madonna:
Liz Rosenberg
Liz Rosenberg Media,
212.991.4290 or liz@lizrosenbergmedia.com

Hard Candy Fitness Toronto media contact:
(For interview requests or high-res photography):
Christie Hill
rock-it promotions, Inc.,
416.656.0707 ext. 110 or christie@rockitpromo.com

New Evolution Ventures media contact:
Linell Killus
Chief Marketing Officer,
925.297.6372 or linell@nev.com

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Madonna Introduces Pussy Riot At Amnesty International Concert In NY 2/5/14

MADONNA SENDS A MESSAGE FOR THE “RORY O’NEIL” CAMPAIGN




MADONNA has sent a message of support to gay equality campaigner Rory O’Neill as his impassioned speech about gay rights continues to gather worldwide attention.

Mr O’Neill claimed that the international star sent him an email after watching his oration, which he performed as drag act Panti at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.

He tweeted: “Yoghurt for breakfast. Wrote some e mails. Message from Madonna about my speech. Walked the dog. WAIT WHAT?”

Broadcasters Dara O’Briain and Stephen Fry have also commended Panti, whose video has been watched hundeds of thousands of times.

Wicklow-born comedian O’Briain told his more than 1.6m Twitter followers: “Ireland is currently ‘enjoying’ a gay marriage debate. By some distance, drag queen Panti has the most eloquent take”.

Broadcaster and writer Stephen Fry informed his massive 6.5m followers about the 10-minute oration, congratulating Panti.

Scottish ‘The Good Wife’ actor Alan Cumming urged his 170,000 followers to watch the video, and thanked Panti for “being so erudite”.

Closer to home, Irish broadcaster Brendan Courtney and comedian Deirdre O’ Kane have also tweeted their support, while journalist Fintan O’Toole likened the speech to those of former Irish leader Daniel O’Connell, tweeting: “The most eloquent Irish speech since Daniel O’Connell was in his prime”.

Mr O’Neill was invited to give the speech after a controversy which arose when RTE publicly apologised and paid €85,000 in damages to some members of the Iona Institute, and journalists Breda O’Brien and John Waters for comments he made during an interview on ‘The Saturday Night Show’ on January 11, presented by Brendan O’Connor.

In a letter sent to RTE staff, managing director of RTE television Glenn Killane defended its decision to award the damages, stating: “I want to reassure you that RTÉ explored every option available to it, including right of reply. Legal advice was sought and all avenues were explored, including an offer to make a donation to a neutral charity.”

Source : Indipendent.ie

Sunday, February 2, 2014

MILEY CYRUS : I STAND FOR SAME AS MADONNA




The 21-year-old singer – who just performed a live duet with Madonna for her first MTV Unplugged special – revealed the Queen of Pop has been an inspiration to her as a woman, rather than just a musician.

Miley said: “I hope when I’m her age I’m next to the young up and comer doing whatever it is. I want to always embrace new artists and as I get older I want to continue to evolve with the artists.

“And that’s what I think was so cool about Madonna doing that, not looking at me as someone who just looks at her and tries… ’cause I’m not trying to replicate her or be her, we’re standing for a similar freedom.

“It’s amazing, it’s even easier for me than I’m sure it was for Madonna, so I think it’s going to get easier and easier as generations go on. I think women are going to be more accepted to be free and embrace sexuality. So hopefully I can be there to encourage that for the artists of the time in 20 years.”

Source: YorkNews