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

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

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

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

Madonna and Timor in Los Angeles January 30/14 Pics!

Madonna and Miley Cyrus performing Don't Tell Me/We Can't Stop Mash-up on MTV Unplugged Pics!

Madonna to Introduce The Pussy Riot at Amnesty International Concert February 5th

Madonna will introduce Masha and Nadya, two members of Russia’s Pussy Riot art collective, at Amnesty International’s Bringing Human Rights Home concert taking place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Wednesday February 5, it was announced today by Amnesty International.

“I am honored to introduce my fellow freedom fighters Masha and Nadya from Pussy Riot. I have admired their courage and have long supported their commitment and the sacrifices they have made in the name of freedom of expression and human rights,” commented Madonna.

Tickets are on sale from Ticketmaster. Other confirmed acts include Imagine Dragons, The Flaming Lips, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Tegan and Sara, The Fray, Cold War Kids, Colbie Caillat and Cake. Masha and Nadya were imprisoned for their participation in the Pussy Riot art collective. Hundreds of thousands of online actions by Amnesty International supporters helped bring about their freedom.

Madonna, a longstanding defender of the Pussy Riot art collective’s right to speak out in defiance of restrictions in their homeland, is part of a star-studded tradition of prominent artists using the power of music to articulate their support for human rights on behalf of Amnesty International.

More information on the upcoming concert can be found at http://
www.amnestyusa.org/Feb5concert. Follow #AmnestyConcert for live updates.

Madonna "Some Girls" Remix By William Orbit!

Picture: Madonna and Miley at MTV Unplugged

Madonna and Miley Cyrus perform onstage during Miley Cyrus: MTV Unplugged at Sunset Gower Studios on January 28 2014 in Hollywood, California. Miley Cyrus: MTV Unplugged premieres on January 29, 2014 on MTV at 9/8 PM.

Shep Pettibone Praises Madonna for her Grammy Performance!