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Posts Tagged “Madonna”

rumors

Is Alex Rodriguez Madonna's New Boy Toy?

There was a time in my life that I felt kinda bad for Alex Rodriguez, who, despite his massive contract, seemed like something of a spaz in the slick shadow of Derek Jeter, causing many a Yankee fan of my acquaintance to believe that he placed some sort of reverse-Ruth curse on the team. (Nothing epitomizes him better than that whole "hey, I'm just hanging out in Central Park with my shirt off" fiasco.) And now, on the heels of him hitting home run No. 534 and the eve of a weekend Yankees-Red Sox series, comes word that A-Rod may be spending his late nights voguing with Madonna. Well, you know, they could have been holding rap sessions about what it's like to have really huge contracts on their backs!
More »

9:15 AM on Tue Jul 1 2008
By Maura Johnston
1,598 views, 3 comments

Latest by Jay-C: Will they play this when A-Rod comes to bat at Fenway?: + Watch video more »

you may be right

Roger Friedman's Hostile Relationship With Facts Continues

Fox 411 columnist and amateur American Idol conspiracy theorist Roger Friedman has a new maligned music-industry heavy that he wants to prop up: The megapromoter Live Nation, whose feelings apparently got hurt by yesterday's New York Post item on Madonna's somewhat-soft ticket sales. In his latest column, he accuses one "Warner M. Group" of planting stories to make Madge—and, by extension, Live Nation, which signed her to an expensive deal last autumn—look bad! But while he's defending his friends, he goes way beyond the bounds of his usually slippery relationship with reality. More »

2:00 PM on Wed Jun 25 2008
By Maura Johnston
596 views, 15 comments

Latest by n/a: @Maura Johnston: What a crew. The stock's still in the terlet, though. more »

it's the economy?

Madonna's Ticket Sales Give Live Nation Something Else To Suck On

The New York Post is reporting that while tickets for Madonna's upcoming shows at New York's Madison Square Garden and one show at the just-across-the-Hudson Izod Center have sold out, ticket sales at other venues in the States have been soft. The Post's Brian Garrity pays particular attention to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, which holds 43,000 people but has only sold 27,000 tickets to her November date there so far. (Spot checks of Ticketmaster pages for shows in Boston and Houston also showed that tickets were still available in those markets as well.) Sure, one could cite this as more evidence that the lousy economy is resulting in even those artists who can charge $575 for a VIP package not being as able to make the "earn your money on the road" strategy work as well as it has in the past. So with sales of her final Warner album, Hard Candy, stalling in the mid-500k range and ticket sales to her road spectacles faltering in the U.S., what does this mean for Live Nation, which shelled out $120 million to have Madonna in its back pocket a few months back? More »

9:00 AM on Tue Jun 24 2008
By Maura Johnston
1,362 views, 12 comments

Latest by n/a: @report345: Oh, yeah. That must be it. [finance.google.com] more »

tours

Madonna's Set List May Be Sticking With Some Old Favorites

News that Robyn is opening a few dates on Madonna's Sticky and Sweet Tour this coming summer has just crossed the transom, but—surprise!—those shows will all be in Europe, at least as of this writing. (Perhaps this means she'll be opening for Madge on this side of the pond come 2011?) While looking for news on who Madonna's tour support in the States might be, I e-stumbled across what may be a leaked set list for the tour, and even though Hard Candy is far from my favorite album of the year, the older songs she's picked are mostly killer: "Everybody" (!), "Borderline," "Dress You Up," "Rain." Plus, uh, "Girl From Ipanema"? Scan and Robyn/Madonna tour dates after the jump. More »

9:30 AM on Tue Jun 17 2008
By Maura Johnston
1,874 views, 8 comments

Latest by BobbyMoon: @dyfl: Don't you know? If you don't attend a Madonna concert before you die you get sent to purgatory... along with the babies who were never baptized. more »

executive deathmatch

Live Nation's 360 Deals Are Making Some Higher-Ups A Bit Dizzy

Concert monolith Live Nation has made lots of headlines for signing artists like Madonna and Jay-Z to big-money 360 deals, where the company pays out hefty advances in exchange for a piece of every piece in the revenue pie, from concert tickets to merch to album sales. But those deals are causing trouble in the corporate offices of the company: According to the Wall Street Journal, chief executive Michael Rapino wants to hold off on signing away any more money before someone figures out whether or not these deals are a good idea in the face of a possibly slowing economy, while chairman Michael Cohl wants to sign as many as 15 more of them, including one with Shakira and her hips. And this difference in opinion has apparently boiled over into what the WSJ is referring to as a "full-blown feud," complete with threats about terms of employment contracts! More »

12:00 PM on Thu Jun 12 2008
By Maura Johnston
643 views, 3 comments

Latest by n/a: The LYV stock value has not been same since signing Madonna. They should chill. more »

i'm glad this is where my four dollars a gallon are going

Madonna: Who Needs Album Sales When You Have Dubai?

Dubai has become the tour stop for those with enough fame to draw the big checks for one-off shows and the desire to see another zero added to their checking account balance. And Justin Timberlake, Elton John, Pink, Aerosmith, and Destiny's Child have been getting paid thanks to Dubai's riches, so it would figure that Madonna would get in line with them. More »

11:45 AM on Fri May 30 2008
By Dan Gibson
869 views, 6 comments

rule of sevens

Seven Songs That Are Way More Fun To Drive Around To Than "Mr. Brightside"

Once again, we celebrate the last posting day of the month with Rule Of Sevens, in which I make a bunch of seven-item lists in an effort to wipe the slate of the past 30 or 31 days clean. Today's first installment is inspired by a UK car insurance company's rundown of great songs to drive around to, which is topped by the Killers' "Mr. Brightside" and somehow contains both Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero" (which I swear is completely "borrowed" wholesale on the new Hold Steady album) and Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger" (which seems more appropriate for stop-and-go traffic, but maybe that's just me). With gas prices soaring and the general crumminess pervading the world at large, the need for escapist music during routine, yet increasingly expensive, trips to the grocery store is higher than ever, so this perpetual passenger (who always kicks in for fuel) brings you her seven picks for songs you should crank up on your own personal radio after the jump. More »

10:00 AM on Fri May 30 2008
By Maura Johnston
992 views, 32 comments

Latest by rednikki: @SmedIndy: I want to ride in YOUR car. more »

idolator's american idolatry

Tonight's "American Idol" Finale: Madonna? The Jonases? ZZ Top??

With six hours to go until the final episode of this American Idol season, our poll, DialIdol, and Zabasearch are all claiming that David Cook's grunge revivalism has won the Internet version of the show, despite the three judges last night being firmly in the tank for David Archuleta. Whether or not those predictions are correct is an outcome we'll all have to wait many hours for, but in the two hours between the show's opening sequence and the confetti-filled finale, we're going to have lots of entertainment to fill the time (and live-blogging space! what, you thought I was going to miss this?) between commercial breaks. Rumors are flying that Madonna, the Jonas Brothers, and Seal (?!) are going to show up—we've collected a bunch of finale spoilers after the jump. More »

2:30 PM on Wed May 21 2008
By Maura Johnston
3,466 views, 5 comments

Latest by n/a: Wouldn't an appearance on "American Idol" by Madonna require somehow that she once again admit to being American? Ain't gonna happen, folks... more »

4 Minutes To Save That Seat Her album sales may be dropping faster than Justin Timberlake's pre-vitamin-B-shot pants, but Madonna's much more personally lucrative "Sticky & Sweet" tour, the first outing that's part of her megamillions Live Nation deal, has sold out its dates in Paris, Chicago, Boston, and New York already. [Billboard]

Comment

fatboy slim is fucking in heaven

Norman Cook Seeks Less Dated Moniker Than "Fatboy Slim"

After his upcoming album (you know, the one with Iggy Pop on it) comes out, Fatboy Slim will no longer be Fatboy Slim. It's almost surprising that it's taken Norman Cook so long to realize that his moniker means "words on a loop back in the late '90s words on a loop back in the late '90s words on a loop words on a loop loop loop loop lplplplpllplpplp!" and that much of the world will always be embarrassed at how novel and fascinating they found such a gimmick. (I know I am.) The name may have had some residual weight with the ad execs who made sure we heard at least two of his jams during every commercial break in 1999, but it's time to move on. And to what, you ask? More »

10:30 AM on Wed May 14 2008
By Anthony Miccio
689 views, 10 comments

Latest by n/a: How exactly does a brit claim the 5th amendment? more »

vengaboys, where are you now?

Scooter Turns Assault On Ears Into British No. 1

It's been a tough chart week for Madonna. First, it looks like Neil Diamond's new full-length is going to knock Hard Candy out of the top spot on the U.S. album chart. Then Scooter shoots past her new album on the British charts. Scooter? The German techno band that seemed to be on every lousy compilation for awhile? Yep. More »

10:15 AM on Tue May 13 2008
By Dan Gibson
471 views, 6 comments

if they pulled this stunt with mbv tickets, then i'd be really mad

StubHub: The Official Scalper Of Madonna Tickets

Madonna, despite what Idolator's resident Madge-hater might have you believe, has always been an innovator. First female star of MTV, biggest musical act to make soft-core porn of themselves commercially available, etc., etc. And her upcoming Sticky and Sweet tour will be notable for more than just bisexual kissing—her Live Nation overlords are prepared to revolutionize the way that you'll overpay for tickets to an inevitably disappointing show! More »

11:15 AM on Fri May 9 2008
By Dan Gibson
972 views, 7 comments

upcoming tours

Madonna To French Kiss Her Backup Dancers All Over The World

Madonna has announced the first string of dates for her world tour, which kicks off in late August in Wales and makes its way to a bunch of baseball stadiums (Dodger Stadium!) and enormodomes arenas in the U.S. beginning in October. The tour—which is (sigh) called the Sticky and Sweet Tour—is Madonna's first under her 10-year, multimillion-dollar deal with Live Nation. Did you know that her last three tours have grossed a combined $400 million? Ticket prices are going to be between $55 and $300, which should help on that particular "keeping up with past glories" front. Dates after the jump. More »

10:30 AM on Thu May 8 2008
By Maura Johnston
889 views, 10 comments

Latest by n/a: @HONEYBFLY: Um, Madonna does not SUCK. That's asinine to write off her entire career like that. What she's done over the last few years might be much more spotty than the first 2/3 of her career, but Confessions was more »

who charted

Madonna Does Her Part To Save The Pop Charts

Madonna's Hard Candy was last week's top-selling album, shifting 280,000 copies in its first week of release and leaving every other commercially available offering in the dust. Candy was the only album on this week's chart to break the six-figures-sold mark; Mariah Carey's E=MC2, the runner-up to Hard Candy, sold 95,000 copies. More »

1:00 PM on Wed May 7 2008
By Maura Johnston
744 views, 10 comments

I wonder if there's someone out there (maybe even in the Idolator audience!) who actually took the time—not to mention the risk of massive eyestrain—to watch last night's Madonna concert simulcast on their cell phone, even though "streaming live video is incredibly bandwidth-intensive for mobile operators... [and] of questionable value to subscribers, given the small screens of most mobiles." So wait, you mean to tell me that if you shrink the above picture down to a 125-pixel width and look at it while listening to Madonna songs through a pile of static you won't feel like you're there? Next thing you're gonna say, Hollywood Reporter, is that ringback tones aren't popular! [Hollywood Reporter]

3 comments

the last word

Critics Sample The Product Of Madonna's Last Day Of Work At Warner

From time to time, we like to round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. Under consideration today is the new album/contract killer by Madonna, Hard Candy, which hits stores tomorrow: More »

1:00 PM on Mon Apr 28 2008
By Dan Gibson
1,186 views, 20 comments

Operation Shutdown It would seem that the leak of Madonna's Hard Candy has succeeded in taking out most of the pop music leak blogs that linked to its Rapidshare-enabled downloads earlier today, i.e., most of the pop music leak blogs that weren't demolished by the great Mariah Carey blog purge of early 2008. For now, anyway—who knows where else this game of whack-a-mole can lead us? [Where Is Chris Pix?!?]

6 comments

Question This month's two big record releases—Madonna's Hard Candy and Mariah Carey's E=MC2—were kept under super-secret lock and key by their record labels, but that didn't stop them from leaking approximately 10 days before they were scheduled to hit shelves, with both leaks being marked as the "retail" editions of the album. Somehow in my life I've never worked in a record store, so I'm wondering exactly why these retail editions have always seemed to show up at the same time on even the most protected albums. (Recall that even the Raconteurs record leaked, despite its much shorter lead time.) Wouldn't it make more sense to get the albums on store shelves as soon as the shipments arrive? Why is the music industry still so attached to the Tuesday release date, anyway? I realize that even in these hard times it's a large, lumbering beast, but you'd think that protecting a revenue stream would at least spur some sort of action. [Photo via Spojen?]

8 comments