Melody Plant

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.

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

Madonna’s new album ‘Hard Candy’ dropped in stores on Tuesday and while her first week sales are still being predicted, the Queen of Pop has already conquered a key area in the new music business machine commonly known as digital sales. Madonna’s first single off the new album ‘4 Minutes (To Save the World) has become the second ever single to have digital sales over one million units in five weeks. Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ was the first. As of Tuesday, the digital sales for her single were at 1,004,482 units. Mariah must be really pissed at that considering she barely broke the top 10 on digital sales.

Madonna’s single ‘4 Minutes (To Save the World)’ featuring Justin Timberlake is proving to be one of the Queen of Pop’s biggest hits in years! According to MediaTraffic, the single has now reached the top spot on the United World Chart Global Track Chart. Madonna’s hit of a single is #1 on the iTunes Charts in 14 countries out of the 22 top countries listed. Of the remaining 8 countries, she’s listed in either #2 or #3 in six of them with Japan and Greece not listing her in the top 10… yet. She’s topping the charts all over the globe!

Madonna is on the cover of the May 2008 Green issue of Vanity Fair. Along with the cover feature is an interview. She talks about adopting her son David from Malawi, the birth of her daughter Lourdes putting her on the road that ended in Malawi and even her favorite children’s books. Basically, she talks about anything and everything under the sun except for her upcoming album ‘Hard Candy’ and that’s coming out by the end of April! Aside from releasing her single ‘4 Minutes (To Save the World)’ which features Justin Timberlake, she’s hardly done anything to promote her album. But considering she’s been on the covers of countless magazines within 3 months, I guess that’s enough hype for her.

I said, in not so many words, that Madonna was going to win over Mariah Carey in their unofficial diva battle. An industry expert explains why that is so. Mariah always gets to go first, with her song being on radio for more than a month while Madonna’s has only been on for a week. Mariah’s album also comes out before Madonna’s. Mariah’s song dropped on iTunes a day before Madonna’s. All that really means is that Mariah will have a strong first week and go down while Madonna’s will gain airplay and get stronger as Mariah drops. In short, Madonna still wins in the end.

Mariah Carey’s new album ‘E=MC2’ is set to come out on April 15. Madonna’s new album ‘Hard Candy’ will be dropping in on April 29. Mariah’s been on 1, maybe 2, magazine covers and was obviously photoshopped. Madonna’s been in 4 now and she’s fiercer than ever. While Madonna has her own Sunsilk ad, Mariah has to share the spotlight with the likes of Martha Stewart, Carlos Santana and Gabriel Aubry. The 38-year old curvaceous diva will debut in a spot for Macy’s next week. And like I’ve said before, she needs a new stylist. It’s no wonder why she’s losing to Madonna on this one.

Madonna recently released her ‘Hard Candy’ album cover with the Queen of Pop wearing a title belt with ‘M’ on it in front of a lollipop backdrop. It’s very reminiscent of the single cover of her and Justin Timberlake for ‘4 Minutes (To Save the World)’. It looks nice but she can still do better. Madonna also recently unleashed a mystery website called tick-tock.tv to help promote her new studio effort. There are a lot of number fours. ‘Hard Candy’ is expected to drop internationally on April 28 but if the website is a clue, maybe we should expect something big to happen on April 4th.

In my opinion, it’s about time that Madonna was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. The 2008 induction ceremony was held at New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Monday and this is what she had to say: “I’ve always been fortunate to have people around me who believed in me. Life, like art, is a collaboration. I did not get here on my own. And why would I want to? [Even the people who] said I was talentless, that I was chubby, that I couldn’t sing, that I was a one-hit wonder, they helped me, too. They inspired me because they made me question myself repeatedly and pushed me to be better.” Aww, thanking the little people.

Do you want to dance for Madonna so you can get the chance to dance WITH Madonna? The Queen of Pop recently held auditions for dancers on Thursday in Los Angeles with call backs taking place on Friday. The dancers are for Madonna’s upcoming projects (a tour maybe?) with Jamie King directing the circus. The chosen strong and versatile dancers will get professional pay with work starting on April 2008 with an indefinite termination date. When they came out with the audition’s description, hopefuls were told to bring knee pads and different shoes. Sounds like they had a definite work out on that one.

Forget Elle and Vanity Fair! The winner of the cover wars is British magazine Dazed & Confused as they are the first publication to get the Queen of Pop Madonna on a new cover and the pictures are said to be just as racy as the ones she did for the other two. If the cover is anything to go by, the results are fantastic! For Dazed & Confused, Madonna teamed up with longtime collaborator Steven Klein. Three magazines, three shoots, three photographers, one theme. Madonna has already begun the media onslaught to promote her upcoming album ‘Hard Candy’ which will be out on April 29.

The Queen of Pop has landed in New York. Madonna was spotted in Manhattan on Monday. The singer has just wrapped a music video in London with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. And yes, Madonna and Justin did a little bit of dancing on the video. That’s going to be hot!

Madonna is taking care of some business meetings in New York. She will be going off to Berlin soon for the premiere of her short film. But back to Madonna music news – the singer’s much anticipated album is expected to drop in April. Finally! It’s coming! I’m so excited, I can’t wait!

Madonna’s new album isn’t expected to drop until well into the next year but that isn’t stopping Timbaland from leaking one of the songs that he worked on with the Queen of Pop. The producer played ‘4 Minutes to Save the World’ at the Jingle Ball in Philadelphia on Sunday night. I just hope that he got her permission to do so.

The song also features Justin Timberlake and it’s pretty hot. How could it not be when you’ve got all that great talent working on it? I’m also hoping that the finished version has a lot less of Timbaland though.

“The paradigm in the music business has shifted and as an artist and a business woman, I have to move with that shift. For the first time in my career, the way that my music can reach my fans is unlimited. I’ve never wanted to think in a limited way and with this new partnership, the possibilities are endless.” These are the comments that Madonna had to make on her record $120 deal with Live Nation. Once upon a time, a very long time ago, Madonna told Dick Clark she wanted to “rule the world.” Well, I guess she thinks she still can. Madonna should have just retired from the business years ago; she gets more annoying as she gets older. Her real talent lies in the art of self promotion, and she is a master at it. What limit did her music have? It is all over the place, even the crappy music of the last 5 years…and she is using her money to pass on that false religion, Kaballah, especially on the poor, hapless people of Malawi. She bores me.

Pop superstar Madonna is set to leave her record label after her current deal expires, according to her publicist. The Material Girl is signed to Warner Music Group (WMG), but is in talks to leave the label after releasing the two remaining albums left on her contract with WMG. I seriously think that this move could really back fire for her, she is undeniably one of the most bankable pop stars of our times but the fact remains that she is not growing any younger by the day and with age not on her side she could be risking a lot. Be a free agent is like being a free human being and not being tied up with chains on a chair that’s pinching your butt. But it also means that she could be left in the cold if she is not able to secure a deal worth her prize. I wish her the beast of luck and that she remains in the main stream of things coz she’s really hot even today and her adventures are stuff that fans would like more of in future to see.

Madonna has been making amazing and timeless music for 25 years now and it is about damn time that MTV marks the milestone with a very special celebration. Sure, they did that during one of their awards shows having drag queens dress up as her but still.

The music network is said to be working on a two hour special in honor of the Queen of Pop. Details are still being ironed out but it’s believed that Madonna herself will be performing as well as some other artists who will cover her famous tunes.

Basically, it’s MTV Icon.

Madonna works hard and will no doubt get to play harder. She’s been making a new record with some of the best producers out there like Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams and her new album is said to be great but she is leaving her long-time home at Warner Bros. Records.

Don’t be sad for the pop icon though. The Queen of Pop is said to be negotiation with the music executives at Live Nation to sign a deal that would cover her touring, recording, merchandising and other stuff. The said deal is for something between $160 to $180 million.

A musical version of Madonna’s 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan is set for London’s West End. The stage show will incorporate several hits by New York new wave act Blondie, as well as an original song penned by the band’s lead singer, Debbie Harry. Kelly Price, who recently appeared in the West End production of Guys and Dolls, will play Roberta Glass - played by Rosanna Arquette in the film. The story revolves around Glass, a bored suburban housewife who becomes fascinated with Susan after reading about her in the personal ads of a New York newspaper. The movie was released in 1985 and some 22 years later only a few people would be interested in seeing a stage show of that movie. Williams, who is 24, admitted she had not seen the film before rehearsals because she was “too young” to have caught it in cinemas.

The Live Earth concert in London may be headlined by Madonna but she isn’t exactly the biggest advocate for a green earth. She’s actually got money going into some of the worst environmental offenders in the world.

FOX news reports that Madonna’s Ray of Light foundation owns shares in companies like Alcoa, BP, Schlumberger and Ford. Companies that have Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio praying for rehabilitation.

There’s no way to know if Madonna had any input in her investments or how much input she has within the foundation but FOX also reports that the foundation has $4.2 million invested in corporate stuck.

Oooh, trouble.