Madonna's interview aired last night on US TV's Access Hollywood. The segment featured Madonna being interviewed at her Maverick office in Los Angeles.
In the short interview she confirmed that she was in talks to develop one of her forthcoming children's books into an animated film.

You now have the chance to view Steven Klein's exceptional art installation X-STATiC PRO=CeSS online at his offical website..

The website features installation videos and images from the show - take a look here.

The Sunday Times Pay List will be published this Sunday - but it has already been revealed that Madonna is at number 6 in the list of Top Music Earners!
Madonna is the highest woman earner with a total for last year of £15 million, she is only beaten by Sir Paul McCartney, Simon Cowell, Robbie Williams, Sting and Phil Collins.

From People News:
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck must be hanging their heads in shame to realise that Madonna is so disappointed in them.
Exercising her diva-given right to comment with authority on any matter under the sun, her Madge has been pondering the furore surrounding the abortive Bennifer wedding earlier this year.
'Ultimately, if you have a strong relationship, and there is understanding of what a committed marriage is, I don't think that having a lot of media attention can break it up,' she pronounced.
Except, that is, if one shamelessly courts the spotlight. 'To a certain extent,' shy, retiring Madge mused, 'they courted the media attention. At the end of the day I feel like that's their job, and then there needs to be a part of the relationship that you keep private.'

From People News:
The Material Girl is said to be gearing up for a judicial fistfight with Warner Bros. Records about a divergence of opinion over where her Maverick Records is heading.
Maverick and Warner Bros. have been partners in crime for 11 years, but sources close to the singer say things have changed between them - at least as far as her Madge is concerned.
'They didn't choose to renegotiate now,' said a source close to disgruntled Warner execs. 'There's been some tension.' To say the least, according to others, who predict 'a nuclear lawsuit,' with the big guns of parent company Time Warner lining up for a shootout.
A reason for the impending parting of the ways may be down to a rumour that Time Warner is lining up to sell off the Warner Music Group, leaving a stranger in bed with Madonna. 'She may think Maverick won't be worth as much with a new owner,' said the source. 'Then there's the question of who'll get Maverick's artists.' Maveick's artists aside, Madge herself is signed to the Warner label, which could lead to some interesting new clauses should she lose.

A week after the video for Me Against The Music premiered, the UK tabloid magazines have caught up. The kiss even stars on the cover of three magazines.
The video features in hot stars (free with OK! magazine), heat and New! magazine - click on the images to read the text.

   

 

   

88 pictures have been uploaded to the Galleries - you can view these latest uploads here.

These uploads include high-quality scans of outakes from the 2002 Vanity Fair portfolio and the 2003 American Life album shoot.

US TV program Access Hollywood has been running teasers for an upcoming Madonna interview to be screened this Thursday.

It will feature the first inside tour of her Maverick office in Los Angeles. Plus, it is said to have announcements on her future projects.

It looks like the interview was filmed at the same time as her video clip for the MTV VMA Latin America Awards.

From MTV.com By Jennifer Vineyard:
Madonna may have teamed up with Britney Spears recently to boost Britney's latest single, but she’s making sure her own album doesn’t get neglected in the process — so she’s revisiting American Life on an upcoming EP.
Remixed and Revisited, due November 25, will include seven songs, including one previously unreleased track, 'Your Honesty,' a holdover from the Bedtime Stories recording sessions, co-written and co-produced by Dallas Austin.
Madonna’s recent collaboration with Spears notwithstanding, the EP also features their live performance of the 'Like a Virgin/Hollywood' medley with Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott at this year’s Video Music Awards. Elliott returns for the full mix of music heard in their Gap commercial, 'Into the Hollywood Groove,' which melds Madonna’s 'Hollywood' single with a re-recorded version of 1985’s 'Into the Groove.'
The remaining tracks are rock and retro remixes from American Life, including the title track and 'Love Profusion' (currently heard in Luc Besson-directed Estée Lauder spots for their fragrance Beyond Paradise), both remixed by Headcleanr, and new single 'Nothing Fails,' revamped by Jason Nevins. 'Love Profusion' and 'Nothing Fails' will also be available on a double-A side CD maxi with bonus mixes of 'Nobody Knows Me,' revamped on the EP by new wave revivalist Mount Sims.
Though 'Nothing Fails' will be serviced to radio next week, Madonna plans to give the video treatment first to 'Love Profusion.' The clip for that track, to be shot next week, will be directed by Besson, according to her spokesperson.

Support Madonna (and Madonnalicious) by voting in these online polls:

MTV Total Request Live (UK) - Vote for Me Against The Music

MTV Total Request Live (USA) - Vote for Me Against The Music

American Music Awards - Vote for Madonna as International Artist Of The Year

MTV Europe Music Awards - Vote for Madonna as Best Female/The Web Award

Rolling Stone Annual Awards - Vote for Madonna AND Madonnalicious (as best fan site)

Hitmakers Magazine is promoting Nothing Fails and has Madonna as it's Artist Of The Week.
There is also an online poll where you can vote for Nothing Fails to have the biggest impact on US radio.

The English Roses is still at the top of the Children's Picture Book New York Times Best Seller List after five weeks!

40 animated avatars from the video for Me Against The Music have been uploaded.
You can view them here.

There are also 50 video captures from Me Against The Music in the 2003 Gallery.

Madonna introduced the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards Latin America on a video clip - she spoke in Spanish but here is a translation of what she had to say:

Silence, please!
Good evening Latin America, and all of you around the world that join us tonight in the MTV Video Music Awards Latin America 2003.
I'm honoured to be here to celebrate the music, culture and language of one of the most exciting and sensual regions in the world.
This year MTV celebrates ten years in Latin America.
Happy Birthday MTV.
Lots of kisses.

UK viewers can get their chance to watch Me Against The Music on TV tomorrow (Friday 24 October).

Top Of The Pops - BBC1 7.30pm - They will be showing a clip of the video.

Making The Video - Me Against The Music - MTV UK 8.00pm

A kiss is just a kiss - except when it involves Madonna, Britney and the UK tabloids!
Today's press was full of pictures of Madonna and Britney's new kiss in the video for Me Against The Music and the couple even made the front page of The Sun with the caption Oops! They're at it again.
Click on the images to enlarge and read the articles.

     

You can now watch Madonna's latest video for her feature performance on Britney Spears new single Me Against The Music on Yahoo! Launch.

Madonna's manager Caresse Henry has answered some questions on madonna.com:

M.COM: Any updates on the Madonna Box Set? There are rumors going around about something being released for Christmas. Any truth to that?
CARESSE: We or shall I say Warner Bros. is not doing a box set to mark her 20th anniversary - I do anticipate doing something fabulous in the near future.
M.COM: Any updates on Madonna going on tour next year?
CARESSE: Madonna will definitely tour but we are not sure if it will by Summer 2004 or 2005 - but it will happen.
M.COM: Is the 'REAL' American Life video going to ever be available for sale?
CARESSE: I think the American Life video will be available at some point down the road.
M.COM:: Is there a video for 'Nothing Fails?'
CARESSE: There is no plan for a Nothing Fails video at this time - we will hopefully be shooting a video for Love Profusion next week.

To read all the questions and answers, click here.

From Billboard Online:
Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Madonna will on Nov. 25 release 'Remixed & Revisited.' The seven-song Maverick/Warner Bros. EP includes remixes of tracks from this year's 'American Life' album as well as the previously unreleased song 'Your Honesty.'
'Your Honesty' was recorded during the 1994 'Bedtime Stories' recording sessions, and was co-written and co-produced with Dallas Austin. The EP also features the Jason Nevins radio mix of Madonna's forthcoming single, 'Nothing Fails.' The track is due to impact mainstream top 40 radio outlets on Oct. 28.
'Remixed & Revisited' also includes the 'Like a Virgin / Hollywood' medley performed at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott.

Here is the tracklist for 'Remixed & Revisited'
1 - 'Nothing Fails' (Jason Nevins Mix)
2 - 'Love Profusion' (Headcleanr Rock Mix)
3 - 'Nobody Knows Me' (Mount Sims Old School Mix)
4 - 'American Life' (Headcleanr Rock Mix)
5 - 'Like a Virgin / Hollywood' Medley (featuring Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears & Missy Elliott)
6 - 'Into The Hollywood Groove' featuring Missy Elliott (The Passengerz Mix)
7 - 'Your Honesty' (previously unreleased)

Here are some more pictures from The Making Of Me Against The Music which was featured on Good Morning America today.

Thanks to Britney fansite www.gobritney.com for the screen captures. Also check out their website later in the day for a video download of the show.

80 pictures have been uploaded to the Galleries - you can view these latest uploads here.

Today's You magazine (free with The Mail on Sunday) features an article about Vogue magazine's iconic images.

For a century Vogue has been creating iconic images of beautiful women. A Vogue portrait, says the magazine's editor Alexandra Shulman, 'anoints it's subject with fashionability and style'. Here she selects some of her favourites:
Madonna 1989 - By Herb Ritts - 'Herb, Stop that! I want you to do the real me,' squawks Madonna as Herb Ritts tries to open her blouse to reveal more of her black bra.

Here is an abridged version of a story featured in The Mail On Sunday, and whenever Kabbalah is mentioned, you can be sure Madonna will also be mentioned:

Jerry Hall has turned her back on the controversial sect Kabbalah after it's leader asked her to solicit substantial donations from her celebrity friends.
The former supermodel, once one of the most famous advocates of the sect, an offshoot of Judiasm, has told how she was encouraged to ask friends for a tenth of their annual incomes.
'They always talked about giving in order to receive, but I didn't realise that in order to go through a door of miracles you had to give ten per cent of your income' she said.
Like many celebrities including Madonna, who spent £3.65 million on a Grade II listed building in the heart of London's West End to give Kabbalah a British home, Jerry has spoken openly about the spiritual teachings and benefits of the religion, which is based on 4,000-year-old Hebrew teachings.
She held weekly Kabbalah meetings at her home in Richmond, Surrey, and also studied the 72 Hebrew letters on which the Kabbalah is based.
But now 46-year-old Jerry has spoken out against it. In a BBC3 TV program, Jerry Hall's Gurus, to be screened next month, she says she stopped holding Kabbalah meetings after a year because she felt it was 'impolite' to ask her friends to pay money into the Kabbalah Centre.
The news that Jerry has turned her back on the tradition she once spoke so highly of will confirm the doubts of Kabbalah's critics who claim the centre is using it's famoous followers as pawns to encourage others to join and bring more money to the centre.

From Yahoo!:
Madonna's 50th chart entry on the Billboard Hot 100 bows, appropriately, at No. 50. In another chart coincidence, this debut comes 20 years to the week after Madonna made her first appearance on the Hot 100 with 'Holiday,' the week of Oct. 29, 1983.
There's something unique about Madonna's 50th chart entry. 'Me Against the Music' (Jive) is Britney Spears' 10th appearance on the Hot 100, and the first song in chart history to include the name Madonna and the word 'featuring.' Madonna's first 49 chart entries were all solo efforts, despite the growing trend of sharing credit with another artist. 'Me Against the Music,' the first hit from Spears' forthcoming album, 'In the Zone,' is credited to Britney Spears Featuring Madonna.
Madonna is not listed as producer on 'Me Against the Music.' It is the first of her chart entries she has not produced since her remake of Rose Royce's 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore' went to No. 78 in 1996.

MTV have published the first pictures from the video for Me Against The Music.

For larger versions of the pictures and a full US MTV schedule - click here.

From Evening Standard:
In the past she has always distanced herself from her friend Madonna's obsession with kabbalah.
But, as recent appearances show, Stella McCartney has clearly been persuaded to become a devotee of the mystical Jewish cult.
The fashion designer has been seen in Los Angeles and Paris wearing the red string bracelet which followers believe offers protection from evil spirits.
She joins her close friend and the singer Britney Spears, another recent convert, in displaying her attachment to the religion.
'Stella has been feeling a bit low about things and Madonna has convinced her that this really will help,' a source close to the 31-year old said yesterday.
'She has made rather a large loss for Gucci in her first year and her designs have been criticised.'
'She was also hurt when Jeff Banks claimed she had only done well because she is Paul McCartney's daughter.'
'She is also hoping it will help her to conceive a child. Madonna has been using kabbalah teaching to try to have a baby and she has told Stella that it can really help her.
'Stella will be ready to have children soon and she believes she will need as much help as possible.'
Miss McCartney, who recently married magazine publisher Alasdhair Willis, first showed an interest in kabbalah when she joined Madonna at the launch of her children's book The English Roses last month in Paris.
The 45-year-old singer says the book is based upon the teachings of kabbalah, which she was first introduced to a decade ago.
Since then Madonna has become an active proponent of the cult, which has gained a huge following among celebrities. She recently encouraged Miss Spears to join.
Earlier this year she bought a £3.65million home for the Kabbalah Centre in London.
Until her conversion Miss McCartney had always dismissed the cult, instead proclaiming herself to be a 'real' Jew because her mother Linda's family were Jewish.
However, any hopes she might have that becoming a kabbalah devotee will help her in her quest for a child must be tempered by the experiences of her friend.
Despite all her faith, the teachings have not helped Madonna become a mother again. She recently admitted wanting a third child but has been having trouble conceiving and was pictured recently visiting an IVF clinic in Los Angeles.

From MTV.com:
Britney and Madonna may have already kissed, but now Madonna's playing hard to get.
In Spears' upcoming video for 'Me Against the Music,' Madonna lures the pop princess through a mazelike underground after-hours club, only to disappear into thin air when Britney gets close enough to touch.
According to the treatment for the video, shot last week in New York with director Paul Hunter (J. Lo, Deftones), the pop singers discover they're reverse images of each other, from their dance moves to the way they dress. Britney wears black to Madonna's white. Britney is hipster to Madonna's old-school. Britney's section of the club is populated with cool kids, flaunting pink and purple hair while taking whiffs from an oxygen tank, while Madonna's stakes claim to a territory filled with men in suits, smoking cigars.
Though the areas are separated by a wall, somehow Britney can sense Madonna on the other side. At first, it seems like they have a psychic or telepathic connection — but then Madonna's visage starts appearing on television monitors throughout the club, making Britney more determined to find her.
As if the ESP element wasn't enough, the club proves not to be governed by the usual rules of reality in other areas, such as when Madonna finds herself a room covered with fallen leaves, where she can stand on a swing to amuse herself. But instead of wondering how the leaves got inside in the first place, she's more concerned with coaxing Britney to rid herself of her inhibitions: 'Hey, Britney, you say you wanna lose control/ Sexy lady, I'd rather see you bare your soul/ If you think you're so hot, better show me what you got/ Let me see you dance.'
Madonna's solo, however, turns out to be but a siren's song, as she is nowhere to be found once Britney hears the call and makes it to the swing room. Over the course of several rooms, Britney searches desperately as Madonna plays an elaborate cat-and-mouse game with her.
But fans can easily find both singers beginning October 20, when 'Making the Video: Britney Spears' premieres at 6 p.m on MTV with a preview on Access Hollywood in the USA tonight.

From the NY Daily News:
A spy on the set of the much-hyped Madonna-Britney Spears video, 'Me Against the Music,' says reports of the Material Matron's mellowing are highly exaggerated.
I'm told that when her costume wasn't fitting properly, the 45-year-old children's-book author and mother of two delivered a bracing tongue-lashing to Paul Hunter,the hot auteur of 'Moulin Rouge's' hit 'Lady Marmalade' video and the Gap commercial featuring Madonna and Missy Elliott.
'In the beginning, it was tough because Madonna was upset about her outfit. She got upset with Paul,' said the informant at the Silvercup Studios in Queens, where the three-day shoot was staged last week.
The video - the first single off Britney's upcoming album, 'In the Zone' - won't satisfy audiences hoping for a repeat of the open-mouthed girl-on-girl action that won Madonna and Britney the Best Publicity Magnet prize at the MTV Video Music Awards.
'It was very, very sensual,' says the spy, 'but I didn't see any kissing.'
Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's rep, confirmed that Madge and Brit will disappoint fantasy-mongers. 'Madonna did that already, didn't she? She doesn't like to repeat herself,' Rosenberg said.
As for the hissy fit: 'I didn't see that happening. If her clothes didn't fit, she wouldn't be talking to the director anyway. She'd be talking to the stylist.'

There are rumours that Madonna may make a surprise appearance on this week's Saturday Night Live during Britney's performance of Me Against The Music.

Madonnalicious sends birthday greetings to Lourdes on her 7th birthday.

From the NY Daily News:
Madonna's Barbra Streisand-esque disguise of a long black skirt, dark sunglasses and black hat didn't fool her fans at Prime Grill the other night. She dined with her husband, Guy Ritchie, and the Kaballah Center's Michael Berg. Owner Joey Allaham comped the meal. The next day, Madge was at the Sports Club/LA to work off her meal of sushi, rack of lamb and (count 'em) two apple tarts....

Here are the latest pictures of Madonna on the streets on New York during the last week.

Thanks to Jamie for the pictures from the latest issue of US magazine.

The new issue of ICON magazine features a new letter from Madonna to her fans:

Dear faithful readers,
As you know, I have a new record out called American Life. I have been living on airplanes and in hotels the last few months promoting it and I have to say this is the most fun I have ever had. Doing small shows for my fans in surprise places and getting to see everyone's smiling faces has been incredibly inspiring.
Sorry if most of you didn't get to see my last video but like I said in interviews, it was conceived and created long before the war in Iraq ever started and it was meant to wake people up to the horrors of war. By the time it was finished we were at war and it felt like releasing it was the wrong thing to do. I am not sorry I did it but timing is everything and sometimes you can have the most amount of influence by taking a step back.
Onwards and upwards.
My new single is Hollywood and a video has been shot a few weeks ago in Los Angeles with Mondino, my favourite director. He is so much fun to work with. What is it with French people? I can't stop working with them!
As you know I have written five children's books and the first one is coming out in September. It's called The English Roses and I hope you get a chance to check it out. The books are for kids of all ages. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. Okay, That's all the news fit to print. I'm heading out in my Mini Cooper to get a soy latte
Take care, work hard, be kind!
Love, Madonna
P.S. Enjoy the sleek new look of ICON which is under new management!

For more information about Madonna's offical fanclub click here.

From Reuters:
Madonna)'s publisher has an ambitious target at the Frankfurt book fair - he is determined to hit 50 languages for her first children's book.
Having just signed on the Indonesians, Koreans, Japanese and Georgians, Nicholas Callaway told Reuters: 'We are now at 37 languages. We hope to reach 50 by the end of the fair.'
The pop superstar reinvented herself yet again last month, turning children's author to launch her moralistic little tale 'The English Roses' in a publishing blitz in 100 countries and 30 languages. The hype paid off.
'We have surpassed 500,000 in sales around the world so far. We are on track to reach a million by the end of the year,' Callaway said of the book, which is be followed up next month with the second of five Madonna tales for kids.
The United States is into its third print run. Madonna beat Harry Potter in the New York Times Children's Book List. Britain is into a fourth printing. Finland sold out in two hours.
'We are not done yet,' Callaway said. 'I want to go into Arabic countries, Indian languages and Africa. Madonna is surprised and delighted.'
Callaway was quick to praise JK Rowling for her Harry Potter wizard sagas that have transformed children's publishing.
'They are epic tales of fantasy and imagination and they are glorious. Everyone should thank JK Rowling for taking children to wonderful places of the imagination.'
'But Madonna is using the power of her fame to encourage and inspire children how to live life rightly and thoughtfully.'
At breakfast before a day meeting publishers, Callaway offered a peep into the next book, the lavishly illustrated 'Mr. Peabody's Apples.'
'The English Roses' was for the girls. This tale of a teacher falsely accused of theft in the Middle American town of Happville is one for the boys.
Madonna says of the book: 'It is dedicated to teachers everywhere. It is a story about the power of words and how we must choose them carefully to avoid causing harm to others.'

UK magazine Hello! (14 October 2003 - issue number 786) features one page on Madonna's appearance at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in New York.

Apart from some great pictures from the event, there is also a small positive article on Madonna's latest career move.

Click on the image to read the article.

Billboards advertising Madonna's Harpers Bazaar GAP cover have sprung up all over Moscow.
Thanks to Madonnalicious visitor Vladimir for sending in the picture.

Here are the latest pictures from Rex Features of Madonna in New York on 07 October.

Fansite Madonnatastic! has this report from US tabloid The Star:
As pop tart Britney Spears' outrageous behavior hits new highs, loyal fans are bound to blame Madonna, her companion in controversy, for leading her astray. But while the stars did share a sloppy kiss at the MTV Video Music Awards, reports that Madonna's husband Guy Ritchie will direct Britney and his wife in an S&M-themed video for Spears' new single 'Me Against The Music' have been overhyped.
'Guy Ritchie is not directing,' Madonna's rep Liz Rosenberg tells Star. 'It's mostly a performance video. No dominatrix S&M stuff. Madonna did that years ago and you know she doesn't repeat herself. Paul Hunter is directing and the details are changing constantly.'
As for Madonna advising Spears, Rosenberg continues, 'I don't really think Britney needs career advice. 'Mentor' is too strong a word. I think Britney has respect for Madonna and they enjoy working together.'
Madonna and Britney collaborated on the song from Britney's new album Get In the Zone, slated for release on Nov. 18, and the older star has been schooling Spears in the Kabbalah religion.
'Britney is vulnerable and confused at the moment,' a Spears source told Star. 'She idolizes Madonna. She thinks that by following in Madonna's footsteps she'll achieve 'staying power' long after her music gets tired.'

Click here to cast your vote for Madonna for the 'Michael Jackson International Artist of the Year Award' at the 31st Annual American Music Awards!

Then click here and vote for Madonna for Best Female and Best Web Award at MTV Europe's Video Music Awards.

Here are the latest pictures from Rex Features of Madonna in New York. She is pictured with her Rabbi last Thursday (02 October) visiting Britney Spears at her hotel.

88 pictures have been uploaded to the Galleries - you can view these latest uploads here.

Washington D.C's premiere nightclub Nation is holding a Madonna video tribute night on Saturday 11 October.

Velvet presents a special video tribute to everyone's favorite french kisser with all-Madonna music and video in the main hall by DJ Ed Bailey

For more details visit www.velvetnation.com

Here are two previously unseen pictures from backstage during the Drowned World Tour.

The first picture of Madonna and her backing dancers is from an article about dancer Nito Larioza from www.filipinasmag.com
The second picture of Madonna wearing her stars and stripes kilt during the US leg of the tour. Thanks to Luke who supplied the picture - via Niki's makeup artist (seen in the picture wearing the black t-shirt).

Calling all New Yorker's - Peter Rahofer's Madonnathon is taking place at the Roxy on Saturday 11 October.

Peter will premiere his new remixes of Into The Hollywood Groove, Me Against The Music and Nothing Fails at this event.

Click on the image to enlarge - thanks to Adi for the scan.

If the maid on the advert looks a little different to the Hollywood video - that's because it's Peter Rahofer!

The UK press will not let the pregnancy rumours (or lack of pregnancy) surrounding Madonna drop, here is what the Sunday People published today:

Madonna has been told that she needs to have specialist scans to find out exactly why she hasn't been able to get pregnant again.
The 45-year-old mum of two is desperate to have another child with film director husband Guy Ritchie.
But she is getting increasingly worried about why it's taking so long for her to conceive a brother or sister for daughter Lourdes, six, and son Rocco, three.
Broody Madge has had consultations with top fertility clinic Viveka in north London and has spoken to obstetrician Dr Yehudi Gordon.
The clinic has just said she will need the scans to try to determine what is going wrong.

Madonna's official 2004 calendar features two out-takes from the 2002 Vanity Fair photoshoot.

Thanks to Jamie for the scans.

The latest issue of US magazine People (13 October issue) features a one page article on Madonna's appearances in New York during September 26-29.

Click on the image to enlarge - thanks to Dana for the scan.

From Entertainment Weekly:
Kiss and sell post-MTV awards, Madonna held a private session for her new pal - to record a vocal that turned Britney's already completed single into a duet
For some imaginative pop fans, the news that Madonna and Britney Spears recorded a song together may have conjured images of long, languid studio sessions, punctuated by the occasional soul kiss. The truth is slightly less lurid.
Spears originally completed the track 'Me Against the Music,' by herself, and even sang the Madonna-free version of it Sept. 4 at the NFL season kickoff. 'The song was done - and then we added Madonna,' says producer/songwriter Tricky Stewart (Blu Cantrell, Mya) who recorded the track with his Atlanta-based RedZone Entertainment team.
The Material Mom didn't glom onto the club banger - the first single from Spears' Nov. 18 album 'In the Zone' - until after her tongue-tastic performance with the younger singer at the MTV Video Music Awards. 'Britney played the song for Madonna and she really, really liked it,' explains Penelope Magnet, a RedZone-affiliated 19-year-old songwriter/producer who coproduced and wrote most of the lyrics for 'Me Against the Music' (it'll be her first professional credit).
Predictably, Madonna took charge after RedZone handed over the song to her, arranging and recording her vocal additions on her own. (Madonna's publicist confirmed the producers' account of the collaboration: Spears' rep didn't respond to a request for comment.) 'She does what she wants to do,' says Stewart. 'She's Madonna. If she says she wants to keep something, it stays on there.' So on the finished track, she and Spears trade lines in the verses, making the song a true duet.
Though the lyrics hardly represent a radical step forward for Spears (the refrain is 'All you people on the floor/Let me see you dance'), 'Me Against the Music' is the 21-year-old's most aggressively danceable single. Retrofunk guitars rub against a rapid breakbeat as Spears and Madonna sing of the pleasures of letting loose on the dance floor ('I'm up against the speaker/Trying to take on the music/It's like a competition') - a subject they each know well.
'Britney likes to be bold in her visuals and be more lighthearted in the lyrical sense,' says Stewart. 'She doesn't like things that make her sound like she was taking herself too seriously.'
Serious or not, if the song sounds sweaty, it's no accident. During Spears' time with RedZone this summer, the recording studio's air-conditioning died for three days, but she refused to abandon the increasingly sultry session. 'The equipment made the room so hot that it was unbearable, but she worked through that,' says Magnet. 'She didn't complain or anything, and for me that shows she's where she is for a reason.'
The same production team also wrote and produced the 'In the Zone' song 'The Hook-Up' - Spears' first stab at reggae. In addition, they helped develop tracks submitted by R. Kelly ('Outrageous') and Moby (''Early Mornin''') into finished Spears songs (like Madonna, neither Kelly nor Moby joined Spears in the studio). Says Stewart, 'The vibe that I got was this album is Britney's coming-out party.' Funny, that's what we would have said about that VMA performance.

Thanks to Jonluvsmaddy for this report from the LAByrinth Theatre Celebrity Charades charity show where Madonna received the inaugural Dave Houge Award for artistic courage and outstanding dedication to the LAByrinth Theater company:

Philip Seymore Hoffman introduced Madonna for the Dave Hoghe Award. He referred to her as 'the special guest'. He told the following story (paraphrased).....
'When 'Jesus Hopped the A Train' was on at the Donmar Warehouse, there was a lot of excitement about the production. As I directed it, I was really proud of the work I had done. After one of the performances, a woman was waiting backstage and she came up to me and told me how much she liked the show and said that if there was anything she could do to help us out in the future, just let her know. It was only when she walked away that I realized that that little woman was our special guest. So I was freaking out - because meeting our special guest isn't something you expect to do.
Fast forward a few months and we're trying to get financing to put 'Jesus' up in a West End theatre. We were sitting in a meeting trying to decide how to come up with financing and John suggested I call our special guest. I was like, 'Are you crazy? You don't just call Madonna!' But John (Ortiz - co-artistic director of the LAByrinth Theater Company) pointed out that she did say she 'if you need anything'.
I remember, I'll never forget - I had her on her cell phone and she was in a bathroom because she was in New York and she could only get a signal there and I explained to her that we were putting 'Jesus' up in the West End and we needed financing and she said, 'Whatever you want. Just tell me what you need and it's yours.'
And, as in the rest of her career, she's always just charged ahead artistically, unafraid to take any challenge. So when we were deciding who to give this award to tonight, there wasn't a question in our minds. So, ladies and gentleman, we are proud to present the inaugural David Hoghe Award to Madonna.

Cut to Madonna taking to the stage to receive her award....

'Wow! When they told me they were going to give me an award for artistic courage, I was hesitant. I'm not really sure what awards really mean in the first place, much less that I was deserving of one for that reason.
When Philip asked me to help out with 'Jesus', I said yes immediately because I knew they were going to be doing it for the right reasons. They weren't doing it for money because small theatre groups don't have any. They were doing it for the sake of art. And I've tried to support art and artistry throughout my career. I thank all of you for this award, and I hope that with your support, they will be able to continue putting on great art.'

Madonna then blew the audience a kiss and climbed out of the boxing ring and posed for photographs with Philip Seymore Hoffman.

The new single from Britney Spears featuring Madonna, Me Against The Music is available to download from the Britney Spears fansite www.gobritney.com

The song was recorded off a Brazilian radio show yesterday.

Madonna was interviewed for Good Morning America by Diane Sawyer during her visit to the Barnes and Noble bookstore on Monday:

When Madonna released her first book — Sex — 11 years ago, no one could have predicted her follow-up would be a children's book filled with moral lessons.
But the former 'material girl' says she's changed since Sex, despite her recent controversial opened-mouth kiss with Britney Spears at the MTV Video Music Awards.
'I have a right to write any book I want about anything. And the books that I'm writing now are a reflection of who I am and what I value in the world,' Madonna told ABCNEWS' Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America.
Madonna's sexually charged onstage performances may lead some to believe she's sending mixed messages, but the ever-changing star says everything she does is a reflection of all of her experiences.

To read the rest of the interview and view a clip of the show click here.

Here are some more pictures of Madonna receiving the inaugural Dave Houge Award for artistic courage and outstanding dedication to the LAByrinth Theatre company at a Celebrity Charades benefit gala in New York City on Monday night

Here is a look at an autographed copy of The English Roses obtained at the book-signing event at Barnes and Noble on Monday.
Also included is a picture of the wristband all attendees had to wear - even though it says This wristband does not guarantee entry to this event!

A big thanks to Jeremy from New York, who took these pictures.

80 pictures have been uploaded to the Galleries - you can view these latest uploads here.