NEWS - DECEMBER 2005 « December (part I) - News index - January (part I) »

23 December - Liz reacts to Elton Madonna has hit back at newlywed Sir Elton John after he criticised her for not attending his pre-wedding party on Monday (19 DEC 05). British newspaper the Daily Mirror reported John labelled the Material Girl a "miserable cow" after she snubbed his star-studded bachelor party at London nightspot Too2Much, which was held ahead of the Rocket Man hitmaker's civil partnership ceremony with DAVID FURNISH yesterday (21 DEC 05). In response, Madonna's spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg tells PageSix.com, "Madonna wishes Elton all the best, and hopes married life will make him a happier person." 23 December - More on DVD releases *rumour* Fansite MadonnaTribe has some extra information about the earlier rumoured release dates: "M-Tribe reader Andrea has just received news from sources close to Warner Brasil about teo upcoming Madonna releases for the first half of the new year. He reports that the DVD for I'm Going To Tell You a Secret has indeed a tentative date set for February 2006, as MadonnaTribe exclusively reported yesterday. The current listing are as follows: February 7, 2006: European Release Date February 8, 2006: Rest of the World Release Date It also looks like that the long awaited DVD for Madonna's most recent tour - currently titled "The Re-Invention World Tour 2004 Live From Portugal" has now a tentative release date set for March 13, 2006 worldwide. Please note that none of the above information has been officially announced so far." 22 December - Possible new releases *rumour* Fansite MadonnaTribe has heard some cool news about some upcoming Madonna releases for the next year. On January 10, 2006, a mysterious US Promo will be released, currently labelled as "Confessions Double Mix Pack". There's no news at the moment about what is going to be included - whether there will be mixes for the new single or something different. A tentative release date for I'm Going To Tell You A Secret has now been set for February 2006. Interestingly enough, it seems that this release is currently listed as a DVD+CD set. As usual, let's keep in mind that nothing as been officially announced - finger crossed for a brilliant start of an even better year 2006. 22 December - 'Confessions' is Double Platinum in Europe The hotly anticipated new album from Madonna, Confessions On A Dance Floor, has sold a remarkable two million copies across Europe within its first two weeks of release, the IFPI reports. This is yet another top-seller from the 47-year-old, who continues to thrill fans with her energetic performances and rejuvenated sounds. This album marks a return to her disco roots, and the first single release Hung Up - featuring a rarely granted Abba sample - is a hit across Europe. Albums published after January 1, 1994 are the only ones eligible for the European Platinum Award. Madonna has a stunning 24 Platinum discs throughout Europe with eight albums, starting with Bedtime Stories, and ranks as the second female artist following Celine Dion with 34 Platinums and nine albums. Title/Year of certification Bedtime Stories: 2xPlatinum (2,000,000) (1998) Something to Remember: 3xPlatinum (3,000,000) (1997) Evita: 2xPlatinum (2,000,000) (1997) Ray Of Light: 7xPlatinum (7,000,000) (2002) Music: 5xPlatinum (5,000,000) (2002) GHV2: 2xPlatinum (2,000,000) (2001) American Life: 1xPlatinum (1,000,000) (2003) Confessions On A Dance Floor: 2xPlatinum (2,000,000) (2005) (source: IFPI, MadonnaTribe) 22 December - Madonna's Skibo trip cancelled Plans by pop star Madonna and Guy Ritchie, her film director husband, to celebrate their wedding anniversary in the exclusive Highland castle where they exchanged their marriage vows five years ago, were scuppered yesterday because of aircraft problems. The couple had been due to fly into Inverness airport on a private jet at lunchtime, before heading for the luxurious surroundings of Skibo Castle, near Dornoch, where they married in 2000 in a lavish ceremony which cost a reputed £2 million. But their romantic Highland celebrations had to be abandoned after their private plane developed an apparent technical problem prior to its scheduled take-off from an airport near the couple's home at Ashcombe House in Wiltshire. The Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow and her husband, the Coldplay singer Chris Martin, had also been expected to be joining the first lady of pop and her husband at Skibo for the strictly private celebrations. But a source at Skibo Castle claimed: "The whole trip has now been cancelled." Madonna and Ritchie were married at Skibo Castle on 22 December 2000 and had been planning to return to the £1,000-a-night retreat on their own, leaving behind their children, Lourdes, nine, and five-year-old Rocco with relatives. (source: The Scotsman) 22 December - Hung Up named best gay hit of 2005 Madonna's latest single Hung Up has topped a GaydarRadio poll to find the best gay hits of 2005. Almost half of all voters named the track, which samples ABBA's 'Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight)', their favourite of the past year. "It's amazing how a woman old enough to be the mother of most of our listeners still holds the admiration and affection of so many gay men," said station manager Robin Crowley. "It's been an amazing year for gay music and a tough choice to choose the top 10 hits, but Madonna proves again why she is such a world wide mega star despite the naff hair and dodgy outfits on her recent video - maybe she'll pick up some more sensible clothes in the M&S sales in January." The top ten in full: 1. Madonna: 'Hung Up' (44%) 2. Bodyrockers: 'I Like The Way' (11%) 3. Charlotte Church: 'Crazy Chick' (8%) 4. Inaya Day: 'Nasty Girl' (7%) 5. Deux: 'Sun Rising Up' (6%) 6. Faith Evans: 'Mesmerized' (6%) 7. Tom Novy: 'Your Body' (5%) 8. Freemasons: 'Love On My Mind' (5%) 9. Barbara Tucker: 'Most Precious Love' (4%) 10. Gadjo: 'So Many Times' (4%) (source: Digital Spy) 21 December - Sorry sent to UK radio The Radio Edit version of Madonna's next single, Sorry, was officially sent out to UK radio stations today, so fans should be hearing it over the airwaves soon. The radio edit version of the song is at 3:43 a whole minute shorter than the album version. The beginning of the radio edit is slightly different with 'Forgive me' being sang under the 'I heard it all before' introduction. The musical interlude in the middle is shortened and the 'I heard it all before' album ending has been removed. (source: Madonnalicious) 21 December - Download latest interviews You can download some recent Madonna interviews here (for RapidShare, click FREE to get a download ticket, then fill in the code): ABC Primetime interview Sunrise interview Australia part I - part II Japanese TV show Tokudane 21 December - Swedish TV interview The exclusive Madonna interview on Swedish TV SV1 done during the promotion of Confession On A Dance Floor has just aired. This nice half hour tv special also had interviews of Johan Renck, the director of the Hung Up and Nothing Really Matters videos. Watch 15 minutes of the interview here. Madonna on going to New York for the first time: "The number one priority that I had when I went to New York was that I wanted to be in a dance company, a professional dance company. I wanted to make a living as a dancer." On music coming around: "Music came in after years struggling as a dancer and being poor and thinking: oh God I can't keep living my life this way, I'm always broke. So I met a girl, actually she was Dutch. Her name was Angie she played the bass, she was in my ballet class and she said: Hey let's start a band! So that was the first time I got into thinking about music." On "making a difference": "I that making a difference in the world has got to do with your own development, with your own growth and change. And you own point of view about your place in the world. And I think that comes in time. I didn't start out with my music thinking: I'm going to make a difference in the world. I thought: I'm gonna be somebody but I didn't think oh God I wanna make the world a better place. That's how I was thinking." On success and fame: "I don't think anyone starts out their careers thinking about the things that are going to come to them when they become famous. Most people just say I wanna make it, I want to be successful. You don't think about anything that success brings. And it's a double edged sword. With success and fame comes and enormous responsibility. And an enormous ammount of scrutiny so there is an upside and a downside and you have to have a sense of humor to get through it all." On controversy of in the 90s: "Well I feel that controversy is always swirling around me anyways, so I don't point an area of my life versus another as being controversial. How do I feel about it looking back to the nineties? Well that was a tough time for me but I also felt like the world misunderstood what I was trying to say and do. And people gave me a hard time unnecessarely. Now if I had done now what I did then I'm sure I would have never gotten such a hard time from people. Times change and people often react in a very way towards things that are unfamiliar or different. And obviously when you are challenged and you have a tough time you learn and grow a lot. Ultimately I have to look back at that time as the best thing that ever happened to me. That's where I truly learned the huge responsability that comes with being famous. People absolutely listen to everything you say and do. Scrutinize you, give meaning to things you never meant to give meaning to, that often the things you say can often be taken out of context and I learned what big influece I have on people and I think that was an important lesson." On Bloodshy & Avant: "I liked the records they did with other people. My daughter was listening to Rachel Stevens and also Britney Sprears and they worked on tracks for both those girl's records and I felt they were really catchy and danceable and I like them so I wanted to work with them." During this TV special, a snippet of an interesting interview from 2001 with composer Patrick Leonard was shown among other things. Speaking about the Like A Prayer album he said that "none of the songs took more than more than two or three hours to write". Incredible songs such as Like A Prayer, Cherish, Spanish Eyes, Oh Father, Dear Jessie were done in the first five days of writing, Leonard to the interviewer, the same journalist that asked Madonna to look back at that amazing 1989 album during the Confessions interview. Madonna on Like A Prayer: "I think that's the record I started to write more serious lyrics. With Like A Prayer and Live To Tell, I think that was the first time I started writing songs that were more soul searching and deeper, asking questions about life, dealing with my relationships, with my family, my parents, my husband, life in general. I think it was a turning point for me as a song writer." (thanks to Margit Berner from MIR) 21 December - DVD release for Shanghai Surprise and Who's That Girl Madonna's 1986 film Shanghai Surprise is finally getting a Region 2 DVD release. The DVD is scheduled to be released in the UK on Monday 27 February 2006 and comes as a widescreen edition, which is probably superior to the previously available full screen Region 1 release version. (source: Madonnalicious) Amazon.com have the Who's That Girl DVD available for pre-order for the bargain price of only $9.99! Release date: February 14th, 2006. List price: $14.98 Pre-order price: $9.95. Pre-order here. (source: MIR) 21 December - New cover and extra chapter for 'Secret Re-Inventions' We told you before about the new book about Madonna's Re-Invention Tour and the movie I'm Going To Tell You A Secret, available via Mad-Eyes. It has now been finished and is ready for shipment. Tp ultimately please the fans, the author Dirk Timmerman has added an extra chapter about the Confessions promo tour. Under the new title 'Madonna Live! Secret Re-Inventions and Confessions On Tour' it also received a brand new Confessions-inspired cover. More info here. 21 December - Madonna tops European charts... again Madonna reigns supreme at the top of the European pop charts, with the biggest-selling album and single. Single Hung Up and LP Confessions On A Dance Floor have topped their respective charts for five and four weeks respectively. The Material Girl edges out The Pussycat Dolls' 'Stickwitu' in the singles chart, followed by The Black Eyed Peas' 'My Humps', Star Academy 5's Santiano and Sugababes' 'Push The Button'. Her album beat Robbie Williams' 'Intensive Care', Enya's 'Amarantine', Eminem's 'Curtain Call' and Il Divo's 'Ancora'. (source: COntactMusic) 21 December - Elton John slams Madonna ... again Elton John slammed Madonna as a "miserable cow" after she failed to attend his pre-wedding cabaret on Monday night, according to The Daily Mirror. The Candle In The Wind hitmaker, 58, reportedly hit out at the pop superstar during a speech thanking guests and performers for attending the lavish London bash. John will exchange vows with longterm love David Furnish later today, taking advantage of new British laws affording gay unions the same legal protection enjoyed within traditional marriages. John reportedly said: "Madonna, the miserable cow, wouldn't do it. David asked her three times." (source: Irish Examiner) 21 December - Request and donate for Pakistan In Belgium, there are many charity actions today to raise money to help people in Pakistan survive the winter after the earthquake. TV channels Eén and VTM are doing a live fund raising show tonight. Radio station Studio Brussel has recorded the charity song 'kippensoep voor iedereen' and is selling soup everywhere in the country. Radio Donna allows you to adopt a song; for only 30 Euro (250 Euro for companies) you can request a song. Among the songs in the request list is also Madonna's Hung Up. The donations are given to Doctors Without Frontiers and the Red Cross. Request here and help the people in Pakistan! 19 December - Vote for Madonna in Donna's Top 2005 Between Christmas and New Year, Belgian Radio Donna will be broadcasting their Top 2005. You can now vote for your favorite songs on their Top 2005 website. Be sure to get Madonna's songs high on the list! Interesting details: there are already people calling in to ask what they'll do with Frozen in their list [because of the plagiarism case they're officially not allowed to play it]. If we all place Frozen at no. 1 in our favorites, we can give it a high place in the list! Let's see how they'll solve the issue. Vote now! In other voting news, don't forget to keep voting for Madonna as 'Best International Female Artist of the Year' ('Artiste Féminine Internationale de l'Année') at the NRJ Awards! Vote here! 18 December - Jamie King to direct Sorry video Madonna's reteaming with her longtime choreographer, Jamie King, to direct her next video, Sorry, which she'll shoot in January most likely in London, according to her rep. King co-conceptualized her videos for Human Nature and Don't Tell Me, and directed her Drowned World and Re-Invention tours. (source: MTV) 18 December - Hung Up limited edition and Sorry maxi in France Madonna fans in France will be treated with some sort of special Christmas gift as Warner Music France has planned to release of a limited edition CD of Madonna's Hung Up coming out on December 26. This new release has no unreleased mixes on - and it actually has the same tracklisting of the regular 3-tracks European/UK CD single: 1. Hung up - Radio Version 2. Hung up - Tracy Young's Get Up And Dance Groove Edit 3. Hung up - SDP Extended Vocal What makes this new release special is the fact that the CD will come out in a carboard sleeve, just like the typical French "2 Titres" - and it will also be priced as a standard 3.99 euro 2-track CD. Promotion for this new release reads indeed "Get 3 tracks for the price of 2" and is most likely meant to keep the already fantastic sales of Hung Up at the top of the French charts for longer. Speaking of France, online retailers have started listing Sorry to be released on January 25, 2006 in a Maxi Single format. No further details are available at the moment. Another Madonna-related item will also come out next year, as the NRJ Music Awards 2006 compilation is set to be released on January 9, 2006. There is no tracklisting for the album available at the moment, but Madonna is rumoured to be one of the featured artists, also because of her nomination at this coming edition of the French music awards. What is also interesting is that the NRJ compilation also comes out as a limited edition that includes a DVD video, so let's keep our finger crossed for some nice surprises... (source: MadonnaTribe) 18 December - Vote for Madonna's Vanity Fair cover Vanity Fair Italia is holding a poll among its readers for the best magazine cover of 2005. You can vote for the cover of the issue 46/47 (1 December 2005) which was graced with a picture of Madonna, Lola and Rocco. Currently this cover is in second place, so get your votes out now! 18 December - She's the greatest Age and motherhood have done little to dull the rebel streak in Madonna, as Christine Sams discovers. It's Madonna at her sensual best. In one section of her video clip for Hung Up she is handed from man to man, arching her back, offering up her lips. "I had a great time, it's the ultimate fantasy," she says with a hearty laugh, sitting inside a suite in Tokyo's luxurious Grand Hyatt Hotel. "Just because I'm married and have kids doesn't mean I don't like to have fun." Meet Madonna in 2005 - hotter than ever on the charts because of her new album Confessions On A Dance Floor, the undisputed superstar of the year, the woman affectionately known as "the missus" by her husband Guy Ritchie and a loving mum to Lourdes, 9, and Rocco, 5. But don't think for a minute she wants to be known as mainstream or "settled down". For Madonna, being perceived as a cultural rebel is as important as ever. "I still think that I'm pushing the envelope," she says, leaning forward in her chair, eyes sparkling. "I don't think many people have had the kind of career I've had, spanning the amount of time it's spanned and, you know, continuously pushing the envelope. Asking questions and defying convention, things like that. That makes me a rebel right there. I'm not afraid to speak my mind, I have opinions. I don't think I think in a conventional way, so that makes me a rebel too." It's strange what people will ask about Madonna. When they find out you've met one of the world's biggest superstars - a woman who has had more No. 1 singles than the Beatles and Elvis - they ask two main questions: does she have a fake English accent? And what was her skin like? Madonna, in real life, is nothing like what you'd expect. Small and lean, with a dancer's physique, she seems softer and warmer in person. Her skin is pale, to the point of being almost translucent, but at 47 she looks about 40 - perhaps not out of the ordinary for a longtime fitness fanatic. But let's not pretend her superstar status is not on show wherever she goes. When Madonna enters the room there's a sizeable entourage (about 15 people to be exact, including stylists, security, publicists and lighting men) but there's a one-on-one vulnerability about the singer that is genuinely surprising. "I think when you reach a certain level of notoriety a lot of people take away the idea, or the fact, that you're still a human being," she says, matter-of-factly, in her straightforward American accent (no British lilt on show). "I still have to get up out of bed and put both feet on the ground and brush my teeth and deal with all sorts of things, like the car stalling, you know? "I have the same issues [as other people]. You know... my children waking me in the middle of the night repeatedly," she says, with an exasperated smile. Madonna's love for her children Lourdes and Rocco seems to filter through everything she talks about. Rather than being reticent about discussing her family life, she brings them up first during our interview, saying her kids have helped her move beyond the self-consciousness of being in the celebrity "fishbowl". "I think having my children, my family, you know they keep it real for me," she says. "When I get home at night, I'm their 'Mom' - I have to read books to them and help my daughter with her homework. They don't care about my superstar status and that's good. "They've taught me patience, tolerance. A lot of the things that I find my children doing that really bug me, I realise they're just doing what I do. So it's a great way to learn about yourself, having children. They're the great equalisers. They tell the truth - which is amazing, sometimes you don't want to hear it. But they're very inspiring." Madonna might have wowed the world again this year with her Hung Up clip, by donning a sexy leotard and showing off her lithe physique at 47, but she candidly admits she prefers dancing around the loungeroom with Lourdes and Rocco. "I love to dance with my kids," she says, smiling. But Madonna insists she's not the one showing them the dance moves. "No, no, they show me the moves," she adds, with a laugh. "They're very good." It's this warmer, funnier side of Madonna that is rarely on show. She admits her level of celebrity leads to a catch-22 situation of influence and invasion. "It's great to be in the position I'm in because it means I have a lot of influence, I have a voice - people listen to me," she says. "But it's also challenging because it means that everybody is constantly analysing everything I do and attaching meanings to it that don't exist... you know, I have to be responsible for every little thing I say, what I wear when I walk out of the house. My life becomes a fishbowl and that's something of a challenge." Fortunately, for this incredibly famous, iconic woman, there are plenty of laughs behind the scenes. "My son cracks me up on a regular basis. He's the clown of the family, he's just so funny," she says. "My husband's pretty funny too - they've got this English humour thing going, so they make me laugh." And believe it or not, despite the current family warmth, Madonna says she's not afraid of her own children eventually rebelling against her. "A little rebellion is good," says Madonna, with a gleam in her eyes. "It's good, yeah." Not only did she produce the video clip of the year with Hung Up, but her album Confessions On A Dance Floor is a winner in every sense of the word. And when we told Madonna she was The Sun-Herald's superstar of the year, the singer was genuinely pleased: "Yay! That's nice,'' she said. "I think it's a compliment.'' Madonna's Confessions On A Dance Floor is available nationally, through Warner Music. (source: the Sydney Morning Herald) 18 December - Photoshoot for Harper's Bazaar Madonna is busy preparing for her new photoshoot that will be featured in an upcoming issue of Harper's Bazaar. She will be collaborating with photographer Solve Sundsbo. This is a brand new photographer collaboration for Madonna. Fansite Madonnalicious adds that the shoot is due to take place around 15/16 December and is a move away from her current 'disco' look. They also reveal that very high platform shoes have been requested for the shoot. 18 December - Madonna and Stuart at Coldplay concert Last Thursday December 15th, Madonna and Stuart Price attended Coldplay's concert at Earls Court in London. As an interlude during the performance of 'God Put A Smile Upon Your Face', Coldplay played their own version of Hung Up (as they had done the night before as well). Check fansite Madonnalicious for fan report and a snapshot of Madonna and Stuart. You can also download an audio clip of Coldplay's Hung Up. 18 December - Madonna wine now available Have you ever wanted to share a bottle of wine with Madonna? Delicious & flavorful bottles of Cabarnet Sauvignon, Barbera, Pinot Grigio, and UnWine are now available with Madonna's artwork to commemorate the amazing success of her latest album, Confessions On A Dance Floor. This is a great time to be a Madonna fan! Celebrate with a bottle of Madonna wine. Click here to buy now! 18 December - Madonna inspires Banks to take up yoga Pop superstar Madonna has inspired retired supermodel Tyra Banks to take up yoga. Madonna, 47, has one of the most toned bodies in the celebrity world thanks to her chosen workout regime - and Banks is now eager to get herself in similar shape in the New Year (06). She says, "I've never done (yoga), and I'm nervous about it. It's literally hard for me to touch my toes, and then I see Madonna. She's almost 50 years old and that body? "I have cellulite - I'm 32. She's 50 and has muscles. Something's wrong here." (source: ContactMusic) 18 December - Spears hires Madonna's hitmakers Britney Spears has hired Madonna's writers and producers in an attempt to reinvent her pop career. The Toxic singer has recruited hit-making duo Bloodshy And Avant and producer Peer Astrom after being impressed with the sound of Madonna's new album Confessions On A Dance Floor. Spears, who gave birth to her first child Sean Preston in September, is desperate to re-brand herself as a more sophisticated pop singer on her return to the charts next year. A close source says: "After hearing Confessions Britney immediately decided she wanted to return to the pop sound that made her a huge star in the beginning. "She's done the R&B thing and rock chick thing, but her first love has always been pop." (source: Irish Examiner) 16 December - New book: Secret Confessions of the Re-Invention Tour The book SECRET CONFESSIONS FROM THE MADONNA RE-INVENTION TOUR is to coincide the release on DVD of the long-awaited Madonna tour movie I'm Going To Tell You A Secret. Therefore this book is a recommendation for every true Madonna fan. It confesses the whole story of Madonna on tour from Manchester to Lisbon and is illustrated with never-seen photos on tour. What you didn't see in the movie, you'll find in this book. Read more. 16 December- Madonna plagued by equine nightmares Madonna is being plagued by nightmares - about horses. The sexy singer, who is a keen horse rider, claims her sleep has been haunted by equine night terrors since she was thrown from a horse on her 47th birthday in August. The pop beauty, who was left with a broken hand and collar bone as well as three cracked three ribs after the accident, said: "I've been having a lot of bad dreams lately about horses and horse riding. It's been a recurring theme." Despite the accident, Madonna revealed she has been horse riding since and wasn't daunted at all by getting back in the saddle. She told Britain's Radio One: "It was good. I love ripping across the fields really fast." Last month, Madonna admitted falling off a horse was the most painful thing that has ever happened to her. She said: "It was the most painful thing that ever happened to me in my life, but it was a great learning experience." (source: Independant Online)

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