Melody Plant

Tough times never come alone! And same is happening with our lovely singer Madonna!

Some days back, the pop queen Madonna performed at the Wembley Stadium in London during her World Tour. She was clearly late by about 40 minutes in starting the concert which clearly meant that the show had to finish much later than planned.

The 50-year-old heartthrob singer recently came to know about the strict curfew laws of the Wembley Stadium when she was fined US$100,000 for every fifteen minutes her concert exceeded past the established curfew.

In total Madonna was smacked down by a mammoth sum of US$270,000.

Is it a huge amount for the pop queen to pay or just some chump change? What do you say?

I have great news for all of you Kylie Minogue fans in Australia and New Zealand. The petite diva has recently announced on her official website that she is confirmed to go on tour Down Under. That’s good considering she’s Australian. Her fellow Aussies will be able to enjoy her musical styling later this December. The singer says “It’s been such a joy to take this show to so many countries that I’ve never been to before, but it’s a real thrill to be bringing it home to Australia and to be able to share it with you all.” She’s also excited about bringing her tour to New Zealand for the first time saying “I’m so excited to finally be able to bring my show to New Zealand. This will be my second visit but my first concert performance and I can’t wait to see you all there.”

Do you think she broke a mirror?

Madonna returns to Michigan on Nov. 18 for her first home state performance in seven years. Now that’s a “see ya later”!

The pop superstar will be at Ford Field on Nov. 18. The home of the Detroit Lions also has hosted the Super Bowl as well as shows by another hometown favorite, rapper Eminem.

Details on ticket sales for the Madonna show will be announced next week.

The Detroit Free Press reports it would be Madonna’s first concert in the state since 2001, when she performed two shows at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Her latest international tour launches its North American leg Oct. 4 in New Jersey.

Previous spoilers on Madonna’s ‘Sticky & Sweet’ tour set list have been pretty disappointing as some song choices have been questionable. However, the Queen of Pop continued to tweak her set list since then and the changes are fabulous! It’s completely packed with hits.

Tour Song List:

Intro/Candy Shop
Beat Goes On
Human Nature
Vogue
Video Interlude - Die Another Day
Into The Groove
Heartbeat
Borderline
She’s Not Me
Music
Video Interlude - Rain/Here Comes The Rain Again
Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You
Spanish Lesson
Miles Away
La Isla Bonita/Lela Pala Tute
Doli Doli (Live interlude - Romanian folk song)
You Must Love Me
Video Interlude - Get Stupid (About saving the planet)
4 Minutes
Like A Prayer
Ray Of Light
Hung Up
Give It To Me (Finale)

Vanessa Hudgens drove the crowd wild as she performed live on the second date of her solo tour at the Alabama Adventure Theme Park in Bessemer, Alabama last Friday. The 19-year old High School Musical star showed off her talent with songs from her new album ‘Identified’. Of course, she performed ‘Sneakernight’ seeing as that’s her lead single. I’m surprised she has enough of a fan base to have launched a tour. Considering her album is being considered a flop, I doubt it’s going to last long. She’ll go bankrupt if her management decides to go on with a tour without any profit from her album.

The world better brace itself because we’re going to be hit by a diva hurricane as Mariah Carey is going on tour. The singer has just announced the big news on the JohnJay & Rich morning radio show on Wednesday. The tour is still in the planning stages though so don’t expect to see her this summer. The earliest we can see her is later this year. And if you add in the diva factor, the tour may not happen until next year. By then, people would have lost interest and there wcouldn’t have been a point anyway. She should have planned the tour right when she released her album.

Jordin Sparks was spotted signing autographs for fans before her performance at the Annual “Energy in the Park” concert at Strandbad Wannsee in Berlin, Germany this past weekend. Look at that big smile on her face! She definitely fits in with the energy theme. Other performers in the line up included the likes of Leona Lewis, The Rasmus, Sunrise Avenue, Madcon, The Script, Alexander Marcus, M. Pokora, Aloha from Hell and Movimiento. I wonder if they had as much energy as Jordin. I just thought of something after looking at the line up. What do you think about a Jordin and Leona duet? I think it would be hot!

The Jonas Brothers made an appearance on MuchMusic on Thursday to chat and promote their tour kick off in Toronto, Canada. Fans were lining up as early as Tuesday for the afternoon question and answer session on MuchMusic. At that session, they were asked about how they stay grounded in difficult situations. Kevin replied “The way you come through a situation is how your true character is tested.” The young man has some wise words on him. If you weren’t able to be at the Q&A session, you can catch the band of brothers on their North American tour which will wrap up on August 31 in Burlington, Vermont.

Paper magazine is reporting that US customs has denied Boy George’s visa into the country. It looks like his tour may not go on. The Culture Club singer says “I’m pretty devastated because I am so excited about this forthcoming tour and having my visa application denied seems unfair after I swept the streets of New York spotless. There are a number of public figures who are openly using drugs and they have no problem with immigration and I have seriously turned my life around and I feel great right now and this is just another reminder of how bad things were. I committed a crime and I happily paid the consequences and I should be allowed to move on and get on with what I do best and that is performing and making people dance and cry!”

Robbie Williams has been offered $3 million to play a half-hour concert – but is planning to turn it down. The ‘Angels’ singer has been offered $1 million a minute to headline a music festival in Norway – but he is unsure whether to accept as he has vowed to give up touring.
A friend of the star said: “It would probably be the easiest money he’ll make in his life but it’s touch and go whether he’ll say yes. We’ll have to wait and see.”

The 34-year-old recently posted a message on his personal blog saying he has no wish to return to live shows because his last tour ‘nearly killed’ him. He wrote: “The more time I’m spending away from public life, the more I like it.”

Despite the poor reception to his last album, 2006’s ‘Rudebox’ and his threats to withhold his next album due to a dispute with his record company EMI, Robbie did confirm he will be releasing new material.

He added: “There definitely won’t be a tour anytime soon. I might put the B-sides to the next album out first online. Then put an album out in 2009 which means you won’t be seeing a lot of me on stage.”

Madonna is going to be having indie fans at her concert and may even come out of the venues as new fans of hers. Indie favorite Robyn has just been announced as the opening act for most of the Queen of Pop’s European concert dates later this summer. If you ask me, Madonna should have just announced Robyn as her opening act for all of her European dates. Heck, she should have been announced as the opening act for Madonna’s whole ‘Sticky and Sweet’ tour. I could care less about who else is going to open for Madonna. Just give me Robyn and I’ll be happy.

In an interview with GMTV, Mel B, more famously known as Scary Spice, revealed that she is heading out on tour with Janet Jackson. Mel said “Yep, well I’m 10 songs into my album and she worked with me on one of the tracks. I’m also doing a tour of America with her in September, which I can’t wait for. She’s a great lady.” That’s great and all except maybe for the fact that she’s lying. Sources are saying that it’s absolutely false that she’s going on tour with Janet. One source could hardly contain their laughter when asked if it was true saying “Not at all.”

Ashlee Simpson-Wentz originally canceled four tour dates on her summer tour but now, she’s just “postponing” it altogether. Just admit it, you’re canceling because it was underselling. The singer’s publicist has just released a statement saying “After careful consideration, Ashlee Simpson has decided to postpone her summer tour. She is committed to giving her fans the best show possible, and will be back better than ever and ready to rock in the future.” If you consider how bad her new album ‘Bittersweet World’ is selling, don’t expect to see the expecting singer on the road until well after her baby is born – like a few years from now on her next album.

More and more details are coming out about Janet Jackson’s ‘Rock Witchu’ tour – her first road trip in 7 years! On Wednesday, the singer announced the first cities and dates for her upcoming tour with more dates to be announced later. The tour will kick off on September 10 in Vancouver, British Columbia. October 17 is currently the last date listed for East Rutherford, New Jersey. Tickets go on sale for the first shows on June 7th. Janet has also launched JanetFanClub.com which is dedicated for the tour where the public can sign up for access to presale tickets, exclusive content, contests and more.

Mariah Carey was set to perform in Dubai on May 15th but for all those who have tickets, might as well get a refund as the diva has just cancelled the show. Unfortunately, Fergie, who was set to follow Mariah the next day, cancelled as well. According to the official press release “Midas Promotions along with Blue Giraffe Entertainment and On Golden Pond Pictures regret to announce the ‘Divas in Dubai’ concert event is being rescheduled to a later date in the Fall 2008. Mariah and Fergie are disappointed that they won’t be able to perform. They had scheduled this one special event in their calendars and were looking forward to performing for the Dubai fans.” The official reason for the postponement is “the extremely compressed time frame along with unforeseen logistical complications compelled us to move the event later in the year to ensure a show commensurate with the level of success of these world class artists and the people of Dubai.”

Madonna has announced the dates for her world tour, which start in late August in Wales. The tour—which is called the Sticky and Sweet Tour—is Madonna’s first under her 10-year, multi million-dollar deal with Live Nation. Ticket prices are going to be between $55 and $300

Tour Dates:

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

Celine Dion went into overdrive when she performed at O2 Arena in London, England on Tuesday. That day marked the first time that Celine has been in the UK for over ten years. She kicked off her concert with the upbeat ‘I Drove All Night’ and ended her show with the ballad ‘My Heart Will Go On’. Before embarking on her world tour, the 40-year old singer just completed a record 5-year, 5 nights a week show at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. After her tour, the singer will focus more of her time on her family and other interests.

When most of the reviews written about your concert are all at A+, it can be pretty shocking when you get something that’s not so nice. What do you do then? When you’re Kanye West and Entertainment Weekly pretty much trashed your concert in a review, you become a diva about it. The rapper posted a tirade on his blog against the magazine saying “Yo, anybody that’s not a fan; don’t come to my show. For what?! To try and throw ya’ll two cents in? Ya’ll rated my album shitty and now ya’ll come to the show and give it a B+. What’s a B+ mean? I’m an extremist. It’s either pass or fail! A+ or F-! You know what, fuck you and the whole fucking staff!!!” And guys, that’s just a third of it. Kanye’s rule #1, don’t piss Kanye.

A bomb threat forced a three-hour evacuation of a Bon Jovi concert at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise [Florida] as authorities swept the massive arena for explosives.

The threat turned out to be a hoax, courtesy of someone calling from a cell phone with only 911 capabilities, authorities said. It was unclear if Sunrise police had any suspects. Police did not return numerous messages and pages seeking information Saturday evening.

Sunrise police received the threat sometime around 6 p.m. from a caller saying they would blow up the arena with two bombs at 7:57 p.m., said Sunrise Commissioner Sheila Alu. She said the police had several bomb-sniffing dogs sweeping the arena. “We are taking this very seriously to ensure the safety of all concertgoers,” Alu said.

James Blunt survived the frontline of a Balkan war – but now faces emergency surgery on an injured pinky.

The former NATO peacekeeper needs an operation on the little finger on his right hand if he wants to play the piano properly again. He snapped the digit when he was mobbed by crazed fans at a gig in Asheville, North Carolina, last month. Docs need to break then reset the finger before putting it in plaster.

And that’s not spiffing news for posh James.

The singer can still play the guitar perfectly but his skills tinkling the ivories are now more Eric Morecambe than Elton John.

There will be a few sniggers from the trendy music crowd delighted by his troubles. But whatever your musical taste, there’s no denying that his piano-playing pinky has helped shift millions of records.

Former Army captain James said last night: “I need it to be right but the idea of having them take a hammer and smash my finger into two isn’t so thrilling.”

Recalling the accident, he said: “I jumped off stage at the end of the gig and was chased by women, and even some men, in the crowd. I started running and the next thing I knew I had broken my finger. I don’t even know how I did it or what made me do it. I can’t play the piano but I can still play the guitar with my remaining fingers. It was a funny moment being chased, but when I got back on stage it was nerve-racking looking down and realising the finger was pointing the wrong way. Upon reflection, it was dumb to jump into the crowd but in a way it was my own fault. I had leather-soled shoes on and just slipped.”

Before getting into music, James had a successful military career.It included a stint in the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo, from which he came back unharmed. But not even the might of the evil Serb army could prepare him for legions of crazed Bluntites.

If you’ve ever seen the women at one of his gigs, you’ll know what I mean. Starched collars and rosie cheeks all round.

Beforehand everyone seems normal as fans talk about their new Porsches, boyfriends and favourite Beaujolais. But once he begins to coo You’re Beautiful (for the millionth time) they turn into a ravenous, blood-thirsty mob. And if James ever dares enter the crowd then it really becomes scary stuff, as shown by the Asheville scrum.

Sadly, the singer’s gruelling tour schedule means he cannot get the urgent surgery he needs just yet.

Not wanting to let fans down, he will continue playing shows in Japan, New Zealand and Australia while waiting for a gap in his schedule to get things fixed, with a pal filling in on keyboards.

James added: “I need it fixed. I need all my fingers to work properly. Not just for performing but for partying.”

Get well soon, James — for the sake of female Bluntites everywhere.

Kylie Minogue joins a long list of celebrity bloggers as she takes to her official blog to update us on her upcoming tour. She says “The countdown has begun!! Not long now before opening night for KylieX2008!!!! My cast, crew and I have been working hard to really make this show a ‘Spectacular’ for you. Full production rehearsals are coming up and we are very excited to merge all the various elements of the show. If you have seen some of the behind the scene footage you will have noticed both new and familiar faces. I will update you with one more peek behind the scenes before we open in Paris, so keep a look out!” Her tour kicks off on May 6.

The artist who’s arguably the most talented to have come out of the Spice Girls camp has just released her solo album ‘This Time’ in Canada and she’s gracing the Canadians with her presence. Mel C is going on a tour across Canada in support of her solo album. Her tour kicks off on May 4 at Club Soda in Montreal and will round off on May 17 at The Plaza Club in Vancouver. Sporty is going places people and she’s taking her amazing music with her! Canada better love her or they’ll have me to answer to! Go Sporty!

Rihanna has banned umbrellas from her UK tour.

The 20-year-old star has insisted the item be confiscated from fans, in case they injure themselves trying to copy the dance routine to her hit song ‘Umbrella’.

Andy McDonald, a security guard at the Aberdeen Exhibition Centre, where Rihanna performed on Monday, said: “We were taking precautions over a potential accident. We were told Rihanna’s song features dancing with umbrellas on stage. We didn’t want the crowd following her actions and someone getting their eye poked out.”

The decision follows reports of several injuries caused by umbrella-related incidents during Rihanna’s recent European dates. One fan due to attend one of the singer’s upcoming shows said: “I was really looking forward to whipping out my umbrella during the song. I have been practising the routine for weeks but it has all been for nothing.”

A solo Chris Brown was spotted as he arrived at the ‘Luxury with a French Flair’ Sofitel Hotel in Beverly Hills on Tuesday. the 18-year old R&B signer recently got back from his romantic weekend in Florida with his current flame Rihanna. I guess vacation’s over and it’s back to work for those two. Rihanna’s continuing her tour of Europe and Chris is set to jet off to Germany next week to kick off the European leg of his concert tour. He will kick off in Munich on March 6. Maybe Rihanna and Chris can share a European holiday this time around.

There’s a lot of hate heading towards Avril Lavigne. First, it was Canada’s national paper writing a not-so-complimentary article about her and now, the dancers in the Hollywood community are circulating an email amongst themselves which urges one another to boycott audition’s for the signer and so-called songwriter’s upcoming tour.

The reason for the boycott is because Avril is paying dancers below the industry standards. Avril’s publicist has released a statement saying that they have been told that the rates for the dancers are within the industry standard. However, a dance industry insider is refuting the claims and even put some specifics. Avril’s payments aren’t cutting it.

A lot of talk has been going on about the reunion of the New Kids on the Block. But before you go back to your teenybopper years, one of the former band members says that it’s not going to happen.

Danny Wood just sent a bulletin to all his MySpace friends saying “Hello to everyone. Hope all is well and everyone is enjoying the New Year. I wanted to address the rumors of the NKOTB Reunion Tour. There has been no talk of this and you are getting it from source directly. Never say never, and you can’t believe everything you read.”

According to a report from CNN, a suicide plot to attack Miley Cyrus has been uncovered. Reports say that a teenager on board a Southwest Airline flight planned to take over the plane and fly it into a Lafayette, Louisiana building where a ‘Hannah Montana’ concert was to be performed. It’s unclear why he targeted Miley.

The teenager was caught with some handcuffs, duct tape and rope in the plane. The kid has since been placed under arrest and is being held and will face numerous charges. It’s unclear how authorities uncovered the plot but a spokesperson for Southwest airlines says that at no time was the flight ever in any danger.

The Jonas Brothers pulled a fast one again by showing up for their concert ticket sales in Dallas on Saturday. The band of brothers surprised their throngs of screaming teenybopper fans by playing on an awning above the NOKIA Theater along with camera crews of ‘Ellen’ in tow.

After their surprise show, the boys were nice enough to stop on their way out to shake hands with some fans. Isn’t it nice to have some positive role models for the kids? Let’s just hope that they wouldn’t grow up to be like Britney Spears. And let’s hope that the boys would stay cute forever.

Melanie Chisolm, more famously known as Sporty Spice, is arguably the most talented Spice Girl out of the five and she is looking to make more people believe that with a solo show that she has scheduled in Manhattan. Just as she did with her solo gig in LA, the singer will be playing her own material with her band during a night off from the Spice Girls reunion tour. The gig will be on February 9th, a Saturday, at The Grand Ballroom in Manhattan Center. Tickets go for $35 in advance or $40 at the door. Tickets will be available via Ticketmaster and Live Nation of January 18th. Sporty will take the stage at 9:15PM.

Parents who shelled out hundreds of dollars for their girls to see Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus are in an uproar over a possible Miley/Hannah imposter.

According to concert goers, there is a point in the show where Hannah Montana is surrounded by her dancers and then covered with a black sheet. She then slips out a stage door and reenters through a different door. Thing is, it isn’t the real Hannah Montana that comes back.

Instead, according to OK! magazine, a body double comes in while Miley does a costume change. Many who paid high dollar for the concert are upset because they believe they were taken advantage of and treated like fools.

Hannah Montana may lose some fanas.