Here is the official press release from Madonna's publishers about The English Roses: Too Good to Be True which is due for release in October and what promotional events are planned:

Callaway Arts & Entertainment is pleased to announce the October 24th release of Madonna’s The English Roses: Too Good to Be True, the sequel to 2003’s best-selling The English Roses, which debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times’ children’s bestseller list.
Madonna will celebrate the release of Too Good to Be True with a reading at a Barnes & Noble bookstore in New York City. The children’s book author and artist will also make a select number of television appearances in support of the book.
All of Madonna’s proceeds from The English Roses: Too Good to BeTrue will be donated to Raising Malawi (www.raisingmalawi.com), an orphan-care initiative. In support of the charity, Callaway has published a limited edition of the book in Chichewa, the official language of Malawi, which Madonna will distribute to children when she visits the country in November.
Too Good to Be True continues the story of the English Roses, five girls who are the best of friends. In this next installment, their friendship is tested by the arrival of a new student, Dominic de la Guardia, whose dashing looks and charming manners have them vying for his attention. The colorful 64-page jacketed hardcover is stylishly illustrated by Stacy Peterson.
Publisher Nicholas Callaway remarks, 'The first English Roses book captured the imagination of a worldwide audience. With The English Roses: Too Good to Be True, Madonna now takes us farther into the lives of these five charming friends with an insightful tale about the joys and difficulties of experiencing one’s first crush.'
Callaway will publish a limited-edition deluxe boxed set of The English Roses and The English Roses: Too Good to Be True exclusively for Amazon.com. The set will include a signed letter from Madonna and a signed print by illustrator Stacy Peterson. Additionally, a miniature edition of The English Roses, perfect for gift-giving and with a glittery cover, will be released this holiday season.
Madonna made publishing history with the global release of The English Roses, published simultaneously in 30 languages in more than 100 countries in 2003. It became the fastest-selling book written by a first-time children’s author and stayed on theNew York Times’ children’s bestseller list for 18 weeks. The English Roses is now available in 40 languages worldwide. Her following four books—Mr. Peabody’s Apples, Yakov and the Seven Thieves, The Adventures of Abdi, and Lotsa de Casha—are also worldwide bestsellers.
In the United States, The English Roses: Too Good to Be True is published by Callaway Arts & Entertainment and distributed by Penguin Young Readers Group. Foreign rights are licensed by The Wylie Agency, New York and London.

The original press release sheet can be read at www.callaway.com

Here is the special 20th Anniversary Madonna interview featured in the November 2006 issue of Q magazine.

Madonna answered a short series of questions after her eighth Confessions Tour show (Staples Center, Los Angeles) back in June.

Remember even if you cannot find the edition with the Madonna cover - EVERY issue will feature this interview. The magazine is in stores NOW!

Voting closes tomorrow for the BT Digital Music Awards 2006 - and madonnalicious asks for one last vote from all its visitors in the Best Unofficial Music Site category.

To vote for this site please visit www.btyahoo.com/dma06 Thank you :-)

Here is the first look at the subscriber-only special cover for the November 2006 issue of UK music magazine Q.
The magazine is producing 20 different covers to celebrate it's 20th Anniversary and this cover is designed specifically for subscribers to make sure that they get a little of each cover star on their cover!

Pop star Madonna has been awarded a Guinness World Record for being the highest paid female singer.
The star, famous for constantly re-inventing her image, knocked singer Britney Spears from the top spot she had held since 2001.
It is thought Madonna made an estimated $50m (£26.7m) in 2004.
Billboard magazine recently reported the singer broke another record for having the highest earning tour for a female performer.
Other acts who will also feature in the 2007 Guinness World of Records book include James Blunt and the Arctic Monkeys.
Blunt's Back to Bedlam scooped the record for the most albums sold in a year in the UK with 2.36m copies in 2005.
The Arctic Monkeys have won their place in the record book for the fastest selling UK debut album with Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, which sold 363,735 copies in its first week and 113,000 on its first day.
Madonna's bank account is not the only one to have broken records.
Simon Cowell, who is currently taking part in X Factor, is the highest paid TV talent show judge with earnings of £18m.
Jamie Oliver, who last year led a national campaign to improve school dinners, is the highest paid TV chef with an estimated annual income of £4.8m.

Today's edition of UK newspaper the Daily Express featured Madonna on the front cover and she was the main focus in an article about the new edition of the Guiness World Records. Click on the images to enlarge.

Here is a business article about H&M and how the Madonna tracksuit and campaign helped imcrease their profits - interestingly the article states that the company have a long term agreement with Madonna:

Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz AB (HMb.ST) posted third-quarter pretax profit above consensus on Wednesday while its August sales also beat expectations, sending its shares up over 4.5 percent.
H&M, which brought in Madonna for its autumn fashion campaign, had pretax profit of 3.77 billion Swedish crowns ($516 million) in the third quarter. Chief executive Rolf Eriksen said a track-suit the star helped to design had been a top seller.
Eriksen said the Madonna deal had got massive media attention. 'We have been very satisfied with sales of Madonna's track-suit, it's been the number one on our top-selling list for a couple of weeks,' he said.
H&M said in July it would provide a wardrobe for Madonna and her stage crew while on tour as part of a long-term agreement with the singer.

Madonna is once again featured on the cover on UK magazine first (27 September - 03 October issue) with a story about her wanting another baby!

Madonna's official website www.madonna.com announced yesterday that ICON fanclub members will be able to listen to a special preview of the previously unreleased track History that will be included on the Jump single release.

Hopefully the History preview will be online soon so keep logged into ICON.

Madonna is on the cover of the latest edition of Latvian magazine TV & Izklaide (21-28 September issue).

The magazine looks back at the Confessions Tour and talks about how Madonna can bring all the fans together in an article entitled Only Madonna can do that!

Click on the cover to enlarge.

On September 30 Q magazine will launch a unique publishing event in the UK. On that date Q publishes its 20th anniversary issue - which will feature 20 separate cover stars, each one a musical icon, and each one exclusively photographed and interviewed for Q.
The 20 stars that have given exclusive shoots and interviews are Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Madonna, Noel Gallagher, Pete Townshend, Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Britney Spears, Dave Grohl, Dido, David Gilmour, Ian Brown, Keith Richards, Michael Stipe, Jimmy Page, Johnny Borrell, Kate Bush, Beyonce, Richard Ashcroft and U2.
Over the last 20 years Q has become an authority on its subject and has remained at the forefront of credible music. Q is the essential music guide.
In a publishing first Q magazine have produced 20 different collectable covers to commemorate their anniversary. The biggest names in music were quick to line up and take part with this special initiative.
As well as the exclusive interviews in which the above artists exclusively talk about what Q means to them and their own personal highlights and low points over the last 20 years, the issue also includes Q's nominations for the best 20 albums and songs during its lifetime.
Q Editor Paul Rees: 'The 20th anniversary of Q, the essential music guide, is a landmark moment, and therefore we were determined to mark it with a landmark publishing event. I believe we have done so. I can think of few magazines anywhere in the world who could exclusively photograph, interview and do separate covers with 20 of the biggest and most iconic stars in their world. That Q has done so is befitting for a magazine with its rich history and stature.'
These 20 issues hit the newsstands on September 30th; Subscribers to the magazine will receive a specially produced edition that features all 20 different cover images.

Madonna's wig and the press frenzy it caused is featured in two UK magazines this week. Closer (30 September issue) features a half-page article, while heat (30 September issue) has a full page picture of Madonna and wig!

Madonna's official fanclub ICON have published a picture of Madonna and crew on the set of the video for Jump and this short news piece about the shoot:

While finishing her world tour in Japan, Madonna took time out from her busy schedule to shoot the video for her latest single Jump! The shoot took place in many outdoor locations through out Tokyo, as well as a sound stage.
Madonna and hair stylist Andy LeCompte decided to take her look to a whole new level and try using a platinum blonde bob wig for this video. The result is everyone loved the wig so much, that it made a cameo in the last two nights of the Confessions Tour!
Check out the exclusive picture of Madonna conferring between takes with her choreographer Stefanie Roos, Manager Angela Becker, Hair Stylist Andy LeCompte, and getting touched up by Make Up Artist Gina Brooke.

Fanclub members should log into www.iconmadonna.com to see the picture.

madonnalicious visitor Filippo took these pictures at the second Paris show on Monday 28 August - visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more pictures.

 

 

 

 

Pop diva Madonna has bared her heart about important milestones in her life, including the birth of her children, her horse riding accident and even her worst hairstyle.
The singer revealed that her horse riding accident made her appreciate her life and be thankful for the things that she has.
The material girl will sport a retro look in one of Q Magazine's 20th anniversary covers. In the magazine, Madonna tells how her horse-riding accident last year, in which she broke her collarbone, ribs and hand, changed her whole outlook.
'It was a wake-up call to appreciate my life, to be more grateful for what I have. It reaffirms my continued aspirations to learn and do as much as I can while on this earth,' she was quoted by the Mirror, as saying.
The 48-year-old, who first appeared on the cover of Q in June 1991, also reveals how the births of her children, Lourdes, nine, and six-year-old Rocco were the high points of her life.
But the lows, she adds, were 'watching many friends die from Aids'. Madonna also touches on other lighter issues, such as her hair - and particularly her worst-ever style.
'It was when I made an attempt to do the Princess Leia buns. But she had hair extensions. Not fair,' she added.
And despite her sometimes controversial past, she owns up to a rather low-key favourite vice....double espresso.

madonnalicious visitor Kirsten snapped this picture of an advert for Queens Ice Rink And Bowl in London using a picture of Madonna and Guy.

Madonna, Guy and Rocco had attended that venue to celebrate Rocco's birthday back in August and the paparazzi had snapped them leaving the venue.

Both Madonna concerts broke Sazka Arena’s audience record; 17,798 viewers watched the first concert and as many as 18,628 viewers saw the second one. The largest audience in Sazka Arena before the Madonna performances had visited some of the matches of the Ice Hockey World Championship in 2004, watched by 17,360 viewers.
The Arena capacity depends on the size and the layout of the stage, which has an effect on the number of sectors and the number of standing places on the ground floor. The stage used by Madonna enabled the organisers to sell tickets for more sectors than the stages used during other concerts. The audience records set by Madonna could probably only be broken during events with the stage in the middle of the ground floor. This would allow using the sectors normally located behind the stage and therefore unavailable to the audience. The total capacity could thus reach up to 20,000 viewers.
As far as other musical events than the Madonna concerts are concerned, Depeche Mode and Queen have attracted the largest audiences (16,023 viewers and 15,783 viewers respectively). Other most visited events have been the basketball tournament Final Four (17,210 viewers for the finals; 16,805 viewers for the semi-finals) and the Extraliga (top Czech ice hockey league) finals between HC Slavia and HC Sparta (16,182 viewers).

Visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more pictures taken by madonnalicious visitor Ludovic at the second Paris show on Monday 28 August.

In effort to raise money for charity, Australian cricketer Shane Warne is reportedly planning to get pop queen Madonna, Hollywood actor Hugh Grant and Trudie Styler, the wife of singer Sting together for a poker gambling event.
Other guests, who would be helping to raise around 300,000 pounds, include footballer Teddy Sheringham and Tom Parker Bowles, son of the Prince of Wales's wife Camillaare.
Along with Warne, environmentalist Zac Goldsmith, editor of the Ecologist magazine will organise the fundraiser.
Money raised from the poker event will be donated to the Shane Warne Foundation, which works for children in need, and another organisation that distributes funds to environmental charities.
Warne, writing in his Internet blog, said: 'Madonna and Hugh Grant are playing and we are raising around 300,000 British quid for my foundation and Zac's Ecology Trust,' reports the Sun.

madonnalicious brings fans a special preview of the new issue of Q magazine.

Madonna is one of the cover stars for the November 2006 issue of UK music magazine Q which is celebrating it's 20th Anniversary with 20 different covers and a brand new interview with each artist.

This stunning Steven Klein shot will ensure the Madonna cover is a much sought after collectable. The issue should hit UK stores by Monday 02 October.

Pop star George Michael launched a scathing attack on US President George Bush at his first concert in 15 years.
The singer appeared at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona over the weekend to kick off a world tour in celebration of 25 years in the music industry.
And during a version of his controversial single, 'Shoot the Dog', Michael unzipped the flies of a 50ft inflatable Bush doll to reveal a British bulldog licking the American President's groin.
He played hits from throughout his solo career and from Wham's back catalogue - and admitted he was focusing on his singing rather than showmanship.
He told the crowd: 'As much as I don't want to disappoint those people who want to see more of my bottom, I'm going to be less of a showman and more of a singer. Madonna has made it difficult for the rest of us but even if I gave myself another five years I'd never be able to fit into that bloody leotard!'

Madonna is the cover star of the September 2006 issue of Danish magazine In.

A big thank you to everyone who has voted so far for madonnalicious as the Best Unofficial Music Site in BT Digital Music Awards 2006.

The voting ends on September 30th and the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on October 3rd, so time is running out to get your votes in.

Please take the time to vote and remember you can vote for madonnalicious once every day - to vote click here or the banner at the top of the page.

As visitors will know this site won the award in 2004 and was shortlisted in 2005 and it would be great to win again ensuring Madonna is represented at the awards!

madonnalicious visitor Fernando took these great pictures at the last Tokyo Dome show on Thursday 21 September - visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more of Fernando's pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York-based Production Company is seeking performers for a Madonna-tribute cabaret drag act at a major performance venue in New York. If you can move and lip sync we would love to hear from you. Fun, respectable sequence – all invited to submit and possibly participate.
You’ll need to be available for one day of rehearsal and one day of shooting. Likely this would take place October 8th and 9th. We can offer you a small fee, and the opportunity to be featured in an exciting, national show on a major cable network.
Bring your performance to millions of Americans! Please contact Elizabeth at elizabeth@zigzagusa.tv or (212) 274-1111.

Today's edition of UK newspaper The People put Madonna on it's front cover and featured an article inside about Madonna and Guy adopting not one but two children from Malawi!

madonnalicious visitor Kaori had the idea to make a tshirt saying Japanese Do It Better, she and a friend made the tshirt with Swarovski crystals.

At the second show in Osaka on Sunday 17 September, Kaori was wearing the tshirt when Madonna was on her walkabout and she Kaori's Hello Kitty toy and asked Can I have that? Maybe at this time Madonna spotted the Japanese Do It Better tshirt and it stuck in her mind.

Pictured below is Kaori wearing the tshirt and holding the Hello Kitty toy - and later Madonna holding onto the toy on her walkabout.

 

Onto the Tokyo shows and a friend of Kaori's was wearing the tshirt when one of Madonna's assistants asked to borrow the tshirt for Madonna to wear!

Madonna is pictured below at the first Tokyo show wearing the tshirt and Kaori is pictured with madonnalicious visitor RGD Lee after the show.

 

Kaori has also supplied madonnalicious with this video footage of Madonna's walkabout meeting the fans (and receiving her Hello Kitty toy during the second Osaka show on Sunday 17 September.

Fans in the UK can catch Madonna's great breakthrough movie Desperately Seeking Susan today (Saturday 23 September) at 1:15pm on Channel Five.

Madonna's Steven Klein shot portfolio is featured in the October 2006 issue of the Spanish version of GQ magazine.

In the press statement released by Warner Brothers today Madonna's schedule for the next couple of months is also released:

In late October she will promote her new childrens book The English Roses - Too Good To Be True in New York City.

In November Madonna will travel to Malawi for a several weeks to participate in the building of an orphanage and care center for the children of that country as part of the www.raisingmalawi.com campaign.

madonnalicious visitor Fernando caught the moment Madonna took time to thank all her backstage crew, dancers and band at the last Confessions Tour show.

Madonna is pictured below with Stuart, Steve and Monte....take a bow guys!

In response to the indecision by NBC whether or not to broadcast Madonna's crucifix Live To Tell performance, Warner Brothers have released this statement from Madonna explaining the reasons behind this segment of the show:

As Madonna's Confessions Tour comes to an end in Japan this week, the artist has released a statement regarding the much talked about Crucifixion scene.
'I am very grateful that my show was so well received all over the world. But there seems to be many misinterpretations about my appearance on the cross and I wanted to explain it myself once and for all.'
'There is a segment in my show where three of my dancers 'confess' or share harrowing experiences from their childhood that they ultimately overcame. My 'confession' follows and takes place on a Crucifix that I ultimately come down from. This is not a mocking of the church. It is no different than a person wearing a Cross or 'Taking Up the Cross' as it says in the Bible.'
'My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous. Rather, it is my plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole. I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing.'
'My specific intent is to bring attention to the millions of children in Africa who are dying every day, and are living without care, without medicine and without hope. I am asking people to open their hearts and minds to get involved in whatever way they can.'
The song ends with a quote from the Bible's Book of Matthew:
For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you took care of me and God replied, 'Whatever you did for the least of my brothers....you did it to me.'
'Please do not pass judgment without seeing my show.'
Madonna's 'Confessions Tour - Live From London' is scheduled to air on NBC this November. NBC has not confirmed whether they will include this portion of the show in their broadcast.

madonnalicious visitor Kit took these great pictures at the last Tokyo Dome show on Thursday 21 September - visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions of these pictures and more.

 

 

 

Madonna has topped a poll naming the coolest people of all time, beating out competition from Johnny Depp and the late Steve McQueen.
The Material Girl was voted for by a panel of prominent media workers and 1,725 consumers in the survey by marketing firm CoolBrandsUK. Others in the list included Audrey Hepburn and James Dean.

The Top 10 Coolest People Of All Time are:

1 - Madonna
2 - Johnny Depp
3 - Steve McQueen
4 - Audrey Hepburn
5 - James Dean
6 - Brad Pitt
7 - David Beckham
8 - Sir Sean Connery
9 - Kate Moss
10 - Elvis Presley

Say you want to own Madonna memorabilia, but coned bras aren't necessarily your style. Now is your chance to own the Gibson Les Paul Custom Guitar Madonna played during her 'Drowned World' tour.
The autographed Madonna Les Paul will hit eBay October 6th. The guitar is the only surviving guitar of two custom-made instruments made for Madge for her huge world tour. This tour was the first time Madonna played guitar live in concert. The guitar even has the original strings from the tour so you can touch the same strings Madonna touched. The cherry on top? It features Madonna's autograph in gold pen reading: 'Love Madonna'.
The guitar was given to Madonna's guitar technician John Griswold as a huge Thank You for all his services. Griswold was one of the many displaced when hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast. The first floor of his house was completely flooded and most of his possessions were destroyed. While reluctant to part with such a precious guitar, he says the financial loss and hardship he and his family have endured make the auction a necessary.
So bid now, so you can strum 'Material Girl' while helping a family rebuild their lives. Rock on!

The material girl may have a falling out with the Peacock network.
It seems that creative differences over a controversial crucifixion scene in Madonna's current tour could spell the end for NBC's long-planned special on her concert.
NBC programming officials are expected to ask Madonna's camp to cut the scene in which she's hung on a cross wearing a crown of thorns while singing 'Live to Tell.'
Madonna's camp is expected to reject the change and then pull the show from NBC completely.
A spokeswoman for Madonna said yesterday she would issue a statement, perhaps as early as today, about the special and the cross scene.
A network spokeswoman said yesterday, 'NBC is awaiting delivery of the special. Once we see it in its entirety, we'll make a final decision.'
Since Madonna's 'Confessions' tour began, she has been slammed by church officials around the world for the scene, which has been labeled hostile to the Catholic Church. Madonna's representatives have said it's not disrespectful at all.
Word is the contract for the special, scheduled to air in November, has provisions so both sides can walk away from the deal if they fail to agree on what would or would not be broadcast.

The dancers surprised Madonna during Ray Of Light tonight at the last show in Tokyo. They appeared on stage with Power Ranger masks on and Madonna first looked shocked and then tried not to laugh!

madonnalicious visitor Don captured the moment on film (see below):

And so the Confessions Tour is over! Madonna played her final show at the Tokyo Dome earlier this evening in Japan....and what a journey it has been!

Madonna took a long time to thank all the band and crew and backstage staff for helping this tour get on the road and Madonna also said to the audience: This our last concert and this is your last chance!

Tonight's final show contained a few surprises for both the audience and Madonna. madonnalicious visitor Don sent in this report from the show:

We just got back from the final show of the Confessions Tour. The show was same as the others but there were a few fun surprises.
During 'Jump' the dancers/jumpers wore Japanese heads bands.
During 'I Love New York' after the line 'Los Angeles is for people who sleep' she added....'Are you listening Guy Oseary?'
One of the funniest moments was when the dancers came out for 'Ray Of Light' they were all wearing Power Rangers mask and you could tell by the look on Madonna'a face she did not know they were going to do it and she was laughing!
She was not very talkative during tonights show until after 'Let It Will Be' the she did something she had no done on the entire tour. She introduced the band and took a long time to thank everyone that went on the tour with her, thanking them for all they have done.
She was in a 'Fuck You!' mood, flipping off the audience several times and during Let It Will Be rather then put her face and hand in the camera when she is on the floor she put her butt in the camera and then put her middle finger in between her legs.
One mistake I noticed was the disco ball lights did not drop until about half way through 'Erotica'.
She also had on the platinium blonde wig on again and the 'Japanese Do It Better' tshirt.
I have sent a lot of time and money this summer on Madonna and her tour, it was well worth it I have no regrets and would jump at the chance to do it again!

These fantastic pictures were taken by madonnalicious visitor Fernando at the first Tokyo Dome show on Wednesday 20 September - visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more of Fernando's pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Madonna's Confessions tour has become the highest-earning show by a female artist, says US magazine Billboard.
Figures are yet to be finalised, but tour manager Arthur Fogel claims 1.2 million people attended 60 shows, making $193.7m (£102.3m).
The previous record was set by Cher's Farewell tour. The three-year tour, which ran between 2002 and 2005, made $192.5m (£101.6m) across 273 shows.
Despite criticism over a controversial mock crucifixion featured in the stage show, and threats of prosecution, the tour has proved Madonna's most financially successful to date.
The Material Girl's last tour, Re-Invention, in 2004, saw her play 56 shows worldwide, making $125m (£71m), according to Billboard magazine.
The 2001 Drowned World tour reportedly earned $75m (£39.5m).
Billboard claim the singer has earned $400m (£211.2m) in tour ticket sales over six years.

madonnalicious visitor Don took some great pictures at tonight's show at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo - showing both hairstyles!

 

 

 

Madonna played her first Tokyo Dome show tonight - the last venue on the tour and the penultimate show of the tour.

For the first two segments of the show Madonna wore her hair natural and then from I Love New York onwards she wore the striking platinium blonde wig that she wore to the X-STaTIC PRO=Cess Exhibition yesterday.

During Let It Will Be instead of just a plain black tshirt - Madonna wore a tshirt saying Japanese Do It Better - which a fan had been wearing earlier in the evening until one of Madonna's assistants spotted it and asked for it!

As always here are some great madonnalicious fan reports from the show:

From Don:
Before the show started I noticed a women was walking around taking pictures of the audience and their t-shirts. She took a picture of two girls in front of us and then about 30 minutes later came back and asked one of the girls if she would be willing to give up her shirt? It read 'Japanese Do It Better'. Of course later in the show after Madonna takes off her jacket after Ray Of Light into Let It Will Be....she was wearing the girls shirt on stage! It was fun to see how excited the woman got! I was excited for her! We are not sure if she got her shirt back or if they gave her something else?
When she came out she looked very happy with lots a smiles, looked like she was having a great time. She mentioned how happy she was to finish her tour here.
There was very little that was different from other shows. The few things I noticed when she came out to do I Love New York she had on the blonde wig that she was wearing at the Exhibit on Tuesday. She kept it on for the rest of the show. When it came to the guitar part for I Love New York she seemed to really stetch it out playing alot with the guitar.
After 'Let It Will Be' she was complaining to everyone how far away she was and said she was going to come down into the audience and DID! She walked all around the catwalk talking to everyone, taking a stuffed animal from someone and giving it to Stuart and took a pair of sunglasses for Monte.

From Fernando:
We just got back from the opening in TOKYO and it was SUPER, BRILLIANT, FANTASTIC, AMAZING, MIND-BLOWING, ENERGETIC and PERFECT!
Madonna was in FULL mode tonight! Her voice, dancing and performance was top notch! There were a lot of surprises tonight!
At the beginning of the punk rock segment, Madonna was wearing the short blonde wig as seen at the LV Xstatic Process Exhibition. She looked awesome!
After Let It Will Be, instead of her normal speech, she complained about how the barricades were too far and kept her fans away. So she decided to come to us. She came down the stage and shook hands and made small talk....SHE SHOOK MY HAND and WINKED WHEN SHE SAW THE FAMOUS SHIRT ON ME! It was the best moment in my life!
She wore a JAPANESE DO IT BETTER SHIRT in RHINSTONES....looked very cute! Guy Oseary and crew were all over taking pictures of the crowd and very warm with the people.
The crowd LOVED HER and it was MADONNA MANIA in TOKYO DOME! Unfortunately, tomorrow will be the end of yet another FABULOUS TOUR RUN!

From SteveM:
Tonight she spoke in Japanese several times....'Konbanwa Tokyo....genki desu ka?' and she also said 'Tonde!' again during Jump and I Love New York.
When she emerged for I love New York, she wore the wig she wore earlier today for the filming of the Jump video. The wig resembles her original Drowned World Tour haircut, from the beginning of that tour. It looks fantastic!
Before Drowned World, she again climbed from the stage and touched the hands of fans. As she was about to climb back onto the stage, someone grabbed her for a split second and she said....'Dont hurt me....I've still got a show to do'. A few moments later, she said 'It's ok, I know you didnt mean it'.
The mood was very light tonight and the crowd was fantastic. The show was COMPLETELY SOLD OUT. The band members were playing up to the camera several times throughout the show.
She again complained about the distance between the runway and the audience. She told everyone to 'Complain to the King or President or whatever'.

madonnalicious reporter Fernando snapped this picture at tonight's show in Tokyo showing just how big the gap is between Madonna and the audience!

Today's edition of UK newspapers were full of stories about Madonna's 'new' hairstyle....which as speculated yesterday by madonnalicious was infact a wig!

One report even stated that this special hairstyle had cost Madonna £750.

Below are scans from the Daily Express, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and Daily Star - the hairstyle even made the front covers of two of the newspapers!

Madonna's controversial crucifixion won't be broadcast until bosses have seen the production for themselves. The singer has attracted a barrage of criticism from Christian groups for her Confessions tour act, which sees her suspended from a cross and wearing a crown of thorns.
Now executives at NBC are waiting to review the production before they decide to show the stunt as part of her upcoming prime-time concert special. A spokesman says, 'We're awaiting the delivery of it, and once we've seen it in its entirety, we'll make a decision.' The programme is scheduled to air in November.

Members of Madonna's official fanclub ICON can watch a video diary filmed and edited by dancer Daniel 'Cloud' Campos. The video was a birthday present to Madonna showing her all the things she had missed. You get to see all the band, crew and dancers relaxing and rehearsing as they travel on tour. You even get to see the stage from the perspective of Cloud's rollerskates or his hand on the Jump monkey bars! To view the clip log into www.iconmadonna.com

Billboard Radio Monitor is reporting for the week ending September 11 2006 that WLTW 106.7 Lite FM a New York Adult Contempory station played Madonna's Jump 7x up from 5x the week before!

Jump officially went to Adult Contempory and Hot Adult Contempory stations on Monday. This is good news indeed that a New York station was the first to play the song - and that this station is also owned by Clear Channel!

madonnalicious visitor Rob travelled from Australia to Osaka to see Madonna perform - he bought a little bit of Australia with him and Madonna was most intrigued! Here is his story:

My wife Josy and I travelled to Osaka from Australia to see Madonna in concert. The show exceeded all my expectations. We had premium tickets (costing us 50,000 yen each) so our seats were three rows from the catwalk. It started off by meeting and having a chat with her manager, Guy Oseary, before the show began. He was taking random photos in the crowd and took one of us too. He mentioned that she will definitely tour in Australia next time.
To be noticed in the crowd I brought with me a blow up kangaroo, which paid off. During the show she jumped off the stage to get closer to the crowd, she said 'Hi' to a few people before coming over to us and saying 'What's this all about?' I said 'This is a kangaroo and we are from Australia!'. She took it and went back on stage with it and placed it on the band member's keyboard.
Another Australian threw an Swagman's hat onto the stage, she wore it for a little while before throwing it back into the crowd....and guess who ended up with it. Yes I did! Overall the concert was UNBELIEVABLE and Madonna has definitely improved with age. Her voice was the best I've ever heard.

 

 

Earlier this evening in Tokyo, Madonna attended the opening of the X-STaTIC PRO=Cess Exhibition with photographer Steven Klein....and a new hairdo!

Could this new hairstyle infact be a wig used for the Jump video that was shot today in Tokyo?

Check out Madonna's new look at www.wireimage.com

Here is a first look at the promotional CD copy of Madonna's Jump CD that has been shipped out to media companies. Please remember this is not the final single cover.

Madonna has been nominated in three categories at the 13th annual MTV Europe Music Awards (MTV EMAs), set to air live simultaneously from the Bella Center and Rådhuspladsen Town Square in Copenhagen, Denmark on 2nd November 2006.

MTV revealed the category nominees today with Red Hot Chili Peppers leading the pack with four nominations, closely followed by Madonna, Shakira, Nelly Furtado, Christina Aguilera, Kanye West and Muse with three each.

The MTV EMAs 2006 will be seen by a potential audience of more than 1.4 billion people on MTV channels worldwide, through TV syndication and digital elements.

Queens of pop Madonna, Nelly Furtado, Christina Aguilera and Shakira will be battling it out on the 2nd November with three nominations each including Female. Madonna, Nelly Furtado and Christina Aguilera all received nods in Album for Confessions on a Dance Floor, Loose and Back To Basics respectively, and Madonna, Christina Aguilera and Shakira will go head to head in the Pop category. In the Song category, Shakira is nominated for her smash hit, ‘Hips Don’t Lie’, and Nelly Furtado for her Timbaland produced hit, ‘Maneater’.

Madonna nominations for the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006 are:

Female
Beyoncé
Christina Aguilera
Madonna
Nelly Furtado
Shakira

Pop
Christina Aguilera
Justin Timberlake
Madonna
Robbie Williams
Shakira

Album
Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics
Madonna – Confessions on a Dance Floor
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Nelly Furtado - Loose
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium

Viewers can vote now for their favourite artists online through MTV’s network of local websites via www.mtveuropemusicawards.com

This tshirt was one of the few items available to buy at the Moscow show earlier this month. The back of the tshirt features the flags of all the European countries and Japan that the tour has visited.

Madonna played her second and last show in Osaka last night at the Kyocera Dome. Here is a madonnalicious fan report from Patrick who attended both Osaka shows:

I flew all the way from Brisbane Australia especially for the four concerts here in Japan - and so far the Osaka Concerts have made it all worthwhile.
Each person with 50,000 yen Premium tickets (fan club members,etc) received a surprise goodie bag with the Tour Programme, a Confessions Ticket Holder that went around your neck, and also an exclusive Osaka Dome Confessions Tour T Shirt with the dates of the Osaka Concerts on the back!
We were in the stands for the second show - and the security got smarter and tougher. In the show Madonna said 'Japan, you gotta change your laws! The barriers are so far away! Write to your congressman, write to your Emperor! Write to the King! Off with his head!' Haha!
Also, she learnt a few Japanese words for the show - She yells Kon Ban Wa (good evening) at the start - then throughout the show she was yelling 'Tonde!' meaning JUMP! Plus a few words like Domo Arigato, etc. It was great....
The after parties were AWESOME as well - the Japanese really know how to dance until the sun comes up man - they NEVER stop.
Now its on to the Tokyo shows!

madonnalicious visitor MorganistiK captured this great sequence of Madonna and her dancers during their Music routine at the Wednesday 30 August show in Paris.
Visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more pictures.

Check out MTV France this Thursday 21 September with an exclusive interview with Norman and Steve, two French dancers from Madonna's Confessions Tour. For the first time, they tell all about their time with Madonna on this tour.

This news story will be aired this Thursday 21 September on MTV News, at 7.00, 9.00, 11.05, 13.30, 16.15, 20.15, 23.25 with the last repeat at 23.25.

Let's travel back to Madonna's third show in Paris on Wednesday 30 August - these pictures were taken by madonnalicious visitor Filippo - visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more pictures.

In a move which can only seem to benefit fans, Warners and YouTube has come to an agreement to allow music/video copyrighted by Warners to be allowed on YouTube legally - with Warners and YouTube sharing the advertising revenue but without causing problems for the fans uploading the material:

Music videos from artists like Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sean Paul will be legally available for the first time on YouTube, a popular online video sharing site, after signing its first commercial partnership with Warner Music Group.
YouTube, which has over 100 million video viewed everyday, and Warner Music, the world's fourth biggest record company, said on Monday that the pact would help Warner distribute music videos, behind-the-scenes footage, artist interviews and original programming.
The companies said YouTube users would also be able to incorporate music from Warner's catalog into the videos they create and upload.
Music videos belonging to Warner Music and other record companies are regularly uploaded to YouTube by its users but usually without permission from the labels.
The partnership, which has been in discussions for months, was signed late on Sunday afternoon. It comes just days after Universal Music Group, which is owned by Vivendi, described YouTube and News Corp.'s social networking site MySpace of being 'copyright infringers' who he said owe the music industry 'tens of millions of dollars.'
The strong language has prompted speculation that a lawsuit is imminent from Universal or some other owner of copyrighted material.
YouTube and Warner Music said the deal would enable both parties to generate and share revenue created by advertising, which will be featured around the videos.
YouTube said it would use a new advanced content identification and royalty reporting system, set for release by the end of the year, to identify the music videos and help manage payment to the record labels.
It said YouTube and Warner Music would share revenue from advertising on both music videos uploaded by the artist and user uploaded videos that incorporate audio and audiovisual works from Warner's catalog.

madonnalicious visitor Dee sent in this picture of the Kyocera Dome in Osaka ready and waiting for Madonna's appearance on Saturday night.

Last night in Osaka Madonna played her first of four nights in Japan as the Confessions Tour comes to an end....and she even had a message for a newly-wed couple! Here is a fan report from the show by madonnalicious visitor William:

I flew from Hong Kong to Osaka just to see Madonna and the show was absolutely amazing! I loved it all, but the Music Inferno number really really stood out as being fantastic.
Even at the middle ticket price (15,000 yen = roughly $150US), I was on the floor, only 30 rows away from Madge herself! The crowd was very responsive; Madonna didn't have to ask people to stand up or anything.
When it came to her rest time, Madonna didn't try to get the crowd to repeat the peace message I've read about on this site. She did, however, get off-stage and walk around the front runway because (she said) that Japanese law made it so fans had to be a few meters from the stage.
Madonna came down, gave a message to a newly-wed couple ('Learn to say you're sorry'), and took a stuffed kangaroo from an Australian and gave to Stuart.
There were some minor microphone problems in the music number she sang on the steps directly after her break causing some stares in the direction of Stuart. Excellent concert!

Here is a look at the first press pictures from the first Osaka concert last night.

Madonna.com is happy to confirm that Madonna is releasing a never before heard song called History as the B Side to the next single, Jump!
Speaking of Jump, Madonna is taking time out of her busy schedule in Japan to shoot a brand new video.

The tracklisting for the CD Maxi single contains all the remixes and the previously unreleased History:

1 - JUMP (Radio edit) 3:22
2 - JUMP (Jacques Lu Cont Mix) 7:47
3 - JUMP (Axwell Remix) 6:38
4 - JUMP (Junior Sanchez Misshapes Mix) 6:49
5 - JUMP (Extended Album Version) 5:09
6 - HISTORY(Unreleased track) 6:54

Let's take a look back at Madonna's first European show at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Sunday 30 July - these pictures were taken by madonnalicious Richard and if you visit the Confessions Tour gallery you can view larger versions and more of his pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pop diva Madonna has decided to extend her charity work in Malawi to the country's water supply when she visits next month to set up an orphan care center in the southern African country, local officials said.
Expectations are running high in Malawi, an impoverished country dependent on tobacco exports, as Madonna prepares to join a flood of stars searching for a good cause in the world's poorest continent.
The advance party preparing her first visit to Africa was shocked to see young girls in the capital Lilongwe walking long distances with buckets of water balanced on their heads.
'The team was appalled at what they saw and how women and children walk long distances to fetch water,' said Adrina Michiela, principal secretary in Malawi's Ministry of Women and Child Development.
'Her team immediately pledged to support any government initiatives to improve access to water points,' Michiela told Reuters.
No date has been announced for the visit, during which Madonna has said she will set up the Raising Malawi center to feed and educate about 1,000 orphans, many of them left by parents killed by AIDS, a major scourge in the region.
In plans announced in an interview with Time magazine last month, Madonna said she was raising $3 million to fund programs mostly to help orphans in Malawi.
Malawi has a population of 13 million, an estimated 1 million of them children who have lost at least one parent.

Russian website www.tden.ru published this great picture of Madonna and her Dancing Queen dressing gown as she returned to her hotel after her first ever concert in Moscow.

Here are the latest Confessions Tour concert grosses from Billboard Boxscore for the last five European venues.
All of the dates were sold out apart from the two Prague concerts - however they were only just over 300 tickets away from being sold out!

Niedersachsenstadion, Hannover, Germany
Aug. 22, 2006
$5,218,985
39,871 / 39,871
1 / 1

Horsens Forum Outdoor, Horsens, Denmark
Aug. 24, 2006
$11,435,199
85,232 / 85,232
1 / 1

Palais Omnisports Bercy, Paris, France
Aug. 27-28, 30-31, 2006
$9,145,832
67,758 / 67,758
4 / 4

Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Sept. 3-4, 2006
$11,783,254
102,330 / 102,330
2 / 2

Sazka Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
Sept. 6-7, 2006
$5,861,668
37,666 / 38,342
0 / 2

Total Attendance (so far for the tour): 1,049,164 people
Sell-outs (so far for the tour): 53 out of 55 shows
Total grosses (so far for the tour): $170,362,019

madonnalicious visitor Olga snapped these pictures of Madonna's dancers watching (and Cloud filming) the fans waiting outside the Confessions Tour hotel in Moscow.

Madonna's debut show in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday night was guarded by 10,000 soldiers to prevent gatecrashers and protestors from getting into the Luzhniki Stadium.
The Like A Virgin star sparked fury among religious groups over a dance routine during which she writhed on a cross wearing a crown of thorns.
Promoters also feared up to 200,000 desperate fans - unable to afford the high ticket prices - would cause chaos trying to gain access to the venue.
Audience members had to go through metal detectors and undergo bag checks, while sniffer dogs and helicopters patrolled the grounds.
One fan says, 'There was very little atmosphere or dancing and Madonna was really struggling to get the crowd going. Most events have a security presence but this did seem to be extraordinary. I was at the G8 summit and the security was comparable. Everywhere you looked there was a ring of security guards. It did make it hard to dance when you're standing beside a guy in uniform.'

Click on the flyers below to enlarge and read the information about two After Show parties in Osaka and Tokyo.

Madonna arrived in Japan in a private jet at Kansai International Airport on today (Thursday 14 September) at 8:45am local time.

Hundreds of fans were at the airport to welcome the Madonna. She arrived with a big smile on her face and seem very calm and relaxed.

Below are some screen captures from TV news reports of her arrival.

The November TV listings for NBC have just been released and on Wednesday 22 November at 9:00pm (for a duration of 1 hour 59 minutes 30 seconds) they have a program which is entitled NBC Specials: Madonna: The Confessions Tour Live From London.

Madonna is pictured below leaving her hotel in Moscow for a direct flight to Japan yesterday shortly after visiting the childrens orphanage.

Yesterday morning before Madonna left Moscow she visited boarding school No. 80, to meet with the orphans and give them gifts.

There had been rumours that a famous pop star was to visit the children and the orphanage was buzzing with rumours of who it could be. The children were speechless when Madonna appeared from her car - with photographer Steven Klein (who took pictures during the visit).

Madonna was given a tour of the orphanage and answered all the childrens questions even though she was tired after performing last night. She advised the children to read more and watch less television!

Madonna was presented with a bouquet of flowers and home-made tryapichnuyu doll on her departure.

Yesterday evening before her concert Madonna also met pupils from the social center 'Otradnoe' - Rodina Anna, Zhalybina Katya, Kucherov Sascha and Nikolay from a boarding school No. 8 (see pictured below).

Madonna will not be sent into space, despite a lawmaker's proposal to book a seat for the pop star on a Russian flight to the international space station, news agencies reported Wednesday.
State Duma member Alexei Mitrofanov, referring to Madonna's reported expression of desire to become a 'space tourist,' proposed that the lower house of parliament send a formal inquiry to the Russian space agency about organizing a space trip for her in 2008.
'Because of the television possibilities, it would be a pretty serious event in the year of elections in the United States and Russia,' he was quoted as saying by the RIA-Novosti news agency.
The Duma turned down the proposal, agencies reported without specifying the vote tally.
Later, space agency spokesman Igor Panarin was quoted by RIA-Novosti as saying no seats on the Soyuz spacecraft would be available until 2009.
'Taking into account her good physical preparedness and financial capabilities, the dream of (Madonna) Louise Ciccone of a space flight could be realized in 2009,' Panarin was quoted as saying.
Like many Russians, he didn't use the 48-year-old pop singer's first name, apparently sensitive to the Russian Orthodox Church's objections to her use of religious imagery, especially crucifixion, in her 'Confessions' world tour performances.
Madonna took the stage at Luzhniki Stadium on Tuesday night, where a crowd of about 35,000 watched her perform in spite of religious protesters' threats to disrupt the concert. No disorder was reported.
Three private individuals have paid a reported $20 million each to be launched on 10-day trips to the international space station. American Anousheh Ansari is to become the fourth — and the first female — in a Sept. 18 launch.

On her first night in Moscow, Madonna attended the opening night of the X-STaTIC PRO=CeSS exhibition with Steven Klein and Guy Oseary at the Gary Tatintsian gallery where the event will be held until Wednesday 11 October.

madonnalicious visitor Sebastian filmed the whole of Lenny Kravitz's performance with Madonna in Paris on Thursday 31 August. This well shot clip captures the I Love New York performance from the moment Lenny appears on the catwalk - to when he disappears into the stage.

Last night in Moscow, Madonna's Confessions Tour finally happened at the Luzhniki Stadium. After what seems like months of ticket chaos and trouble the show went off without a hitch.

Lucky fans who entered the stadium as soon as the doors opened got to see some of Madonna's soundcheck - she even cheekily told them Time goes by so slowly - in reference to them having to wait another four hours to see the show!

Madonna herself even sang some of John Lennon's Give Peace A Chance during her speech segment of the show.

Here are several fan reports from madonnalicious visitors:

From Anna:
Well, I am sure I am the one who was the earliest person at the stadium, when no one could enter territory or Luzhniki but staff and guards. She was rehearsing: singing 'Sorry' four times and other songs as well.
When we entered the stadium she was on the stage dancing and singing, still rehearsing. She said to us 'Time goes by sooo slowly....' it meant we had to wait still. Show was late for one hour.
Show went by very fast....she didn’t talk too much, mentioned Bush, politics and that she is happy to visit Russia.

From Anton:
Madonna looked happier than ever, smiled and had so much fun, the sound was ENORMOUS (comparing to Bercy, for example). Performance was flawless. Well, except for very minor problems with microphone.
Weather was excellent, thank God, lucky for dance floor and fan-zone. Madonna indeed had special heaters blowing hot air on stage.
John Lennon's song 'Give Peace A Chance' during the usual speach was a surprise! She also thanked Moscow's mayor Luzhkov for helping with the organization.
Now, excuse me, where were the 'religious protestors'? Didnt see any. What about 'cross crashing and hurting Madonna'? Didnt happen either. Later I heard on the radio that 5 religious protestors were caught by police. They couldn't even get close to the stadium - LOL - enjoying the police department now, I suppose.
Also, Moscow police reported 'record low number of incidents during the show'. Only 11 people were taken to custody including 5 religious protestors. Rest 6 were 'just drunk'. More than 7,000 military and police force were protecting us all.
Crowd was dancing like there's no tomorrow, we all realize that yet again Madonna ignored all the stupid rumours and threats and made history - first show in Russia. Even during her speach she mentioned 'Look guys, I'm doing this for 24 years and always wanted to come to Russia, finally I'm here!'

From Polina:
She finally made it to Russia! I still could not believe it until I saw disco ball moving towards the stage. I was maximum two meters away from HER! It was a breathtaking performance. Video installations were amazing as very as her costumes.
The show kicked off at 9:30 p.m. Moscow time and all fans were exhausted by long hours wait but when she showed up the stadium roared and started dancing and singing with her. I sang along all song and lost my voice. It was incredible. Everyone around me was so positive and happy to be at Luzhniki.
Madge was not very playful and did not talk much to public though she thanked Moscow city major Luzhkov for helping to make the show happen and of course said her regular 'Peace around the world' stuff. But it was until she started playing La Isla Bonita. Her attitude have changed completely, she was happy to be there, giggling with dancers and smiling.

From Roman:
When we were near the stadium ready to enter after 4 hours of standing in a queue we could hear the sound-check, Madonna did Like A Virgin, Erotica/You Thrill me, Paradise (mostly electronic part), I Love New York (she sang it with an original line – JUST GO TO TEXAS, ISN'T THAT WHERE THEY GOLF). We thought she wouldn’t ask us to suck George Bush’s dick, but during the show she did!).
Then the music stopped, we thought that sound-check was over and the security allowed us to go inside. But something really FANTASTIC happened! When we started entering she continued rehearsing standing in a disco ball and singing 'Future Lovers/I Feel Love' without any make-up, dressed like an ordinary dancer. When we started screaming she just smiled!
Then they played HUNG UP without singing. And after the crowd started to shout M-A-D-O-N-N-A she said: 'See you at the second show (meaning this rehearsal to be the first one).' And then added: 'TIME GOES BY SO SLOWLY'. 3.5 hours really went very slowly. But these several minutes of watching Madonna at the rehearsals were worth waiting for!

madonnalicious visitor Larissa-Clare sent in this picture from Luzhniki Stadium as the crowd readied themselves for Madonna's first show in Moscow last night!

Fans in the New York region can request Jump on the radio via these details:

103.5 KTU
Request Line - 1-800-245-1035
Main Line - 1-201-420-3700
E-Mail - 1035KTU@ClearChannel.com

Z100.3
Request Line - 1-800-242-0100
Main Line - 1-212-239-2300
E-Mail - Z100@ClearChannel.com

106.7 Lite FM
Request Line - 1-800-245-1035

Visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more fantastic pictures taken by madonnalicious visitor Bianca at the second and last show in Amsterdam on Monday 04 September.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the Sunday 03 September show in Amsterdam - Madonna encountered some technical difficulties with her guitar at the end of I Love New York - she then had to fill in some time by talking to the audience while the problem was sorted out. You can now download this clip of her unscheduled conversation with the audience.

Some 50,000 spectators, 7,000 police officers, and a handful of Orthodox Christian protesters congregated at Moscow's largest stadium for Madonna's controversial debut concert in Russia.
A week after a hundred believers gathered to let Moscow know that the American singer was 'under the influence of the devil', threatening an 'inquisition' if she came to Moscow, police said they held 10 Orthodox protesters near the concert.
The public, however, appeared to ignore the Russian Orthodox Church's call for a boycott of the concert, with tickets selling out in record time.
Police said the concert went off without incident, despite the fact that Madonna defied church warnings against 'exploiting Christian symbols' by singing from a cross at one point during the show, ITAR-TASS reported.

Here are the first press pictures from Madonna's first ever show in Russia - at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium - earlier tonight.

Madonna is to play her first concert in Russia despite protests from devout members of the Orthodox church that her Confessions tour is blasphemous.
The gig at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium was delayed, avoiding the anniversary of the 11 September attacks.
There have been demonstrations over the sell-out show's finale, where the star is suspended from a cross, and the church has ordered people to stay away.
The concert marks the end of her European tour.
Extensive security measures have been promised for the crowd of more than 50,000.
All will face metal detectors and searches of their bags, and about 7,000 police - including some in riot gear - are being positioned around the open-roof venue, which was built for the 1980 Olympic Games.
Originally the concert was to be held in a much smaller venue with space for only 35,000 people, but it was moved following concerns about safety.
There have also been complaints about the cost of attending the gig, the BBC's Moscow correspondent James Rodgers reports.
The cheapest tickets cost 1,500 roubles (£30), higher than Russian's legal minimum monthly wage of 1,100 roubles (£22).
All of them have been sold, however, and anticipation is such that Madonna has been on the front pages of Moscow's tabloid newspapers every day in the lead-up to the concert, our correspondent added.
On Monday the 48-year-old flew to a small airport in the south of Moscow, with a police convoy taking her to her hotel.
Several dozen fans cheered her as she arrived in the city centre - but not everybody was happy about her presence.
'This lady has been glorifying human passions with the help of religious symbols for years - crosses, statues and beads,' Orthodox church spokesman Father Vsevolod Chaplin told the Pravda website.
'Now she thinks it is time for her to crucify herself in public. It means the singer is in need of spiritual help.'
Last Friday, Dutch prosecutors said a priest had confessed to making a hoax bomb threat while unsuccessfully trying to stop Madonna's concerts in Amsterdam.
Her mock re-enactment of the crucifixion also offended some Christians during earlier shows in Italy and Germany.
Madonna has defended the scene, however.
'I don't think Jesus would be mad at me and the message I'm trying to send,' she told the New York Daily News in May.

Madonna is pictured below leaving her hotel this afternoon for a soundcheck at the venue in preparation for the show tonight.

Visit The Times Online to read an article about the ticket chaos surrounding Madonna's show in Moscow tonight and the security measures in place.

Visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view pictures taken by madonnalicious visitor Mariusz at the second show at in Prague on Thursday 07 September.

 

 

Fans can download this Russian TV report that was broadcast tonight. It shows the stadium being prepared for the Confessions Tour show tomorrow night and Madonna arriving in Russia earlier this evening.

Here are the latest pictures in from Moscow of Madonna and her team arriving at the Vnukovo Airport earlier this evening and waving to fans and the press.

Madonna’s private plane arrived to Vnukovo Airport today approximately at 19:30 local Moscow time.

Fans saw her arrive at her Moscow hotel at 20:15 wearing her usual parka with fur collar, she later left the hotel for a party at 21:30.

Here are some more great pictures taken by madonnalicious visitor Istvan. This set are from the second show in Amsterdam on Monday 04 September - visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. pop diva Madonna is expected to attend the Europa+ Madonna Party organized by Europa+ radio and a major automotive company at the CabareTT club Monday evening, organizers have told Interfax.
There is no official contract between the automotive company and Madonna, an organizer said.

madonnalicious visitor Boris managed to grab these pictures of some of Madonna's dancers and band spending some free time in Moscow before the show tomorrow.

Organizers of the pop star Madonna's Russian tour have confirmed Madonna will arrive in Moscow on Monday.
'Madonna will arrive in Moscow in the afternoon on Monday for certain,' PR manager for the singer's Russian tour Anton Atrashkin told Interfax.
Asked whether a special meeting is being planned with the participation of the singer and the press and fans, Atrashkin said, 'Yes, it is. The meeting will take place on September 12, after tens of thousands of people have enjoyed a live performance by the world's top singer of our times.'
Madonna is to give a oncert at the Luzhniki sports complex on September 12.

The September 2006 issue of Russian magazine Liza features this two-page article about Madonna - click on the article to enlarge.

Russian weather experts are to spray the sky above a Moscow stadium so it doesn't rain on a show by Madonna.
Grey clouds are expected during her concert next Tuesday at the Luzhniki stadium.
But they will be 'spiked' in advance by 10 planes spraying chemicals forcing them to release rain before they reach the Russian capital.
The system was originally developed to keep Red Square rallies dry in Soviet times, and was used for the G8 summit.

Visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more pictures taken by madonnalicious visitor Istvan at the first Amsterdam Arena show on Sunday 03 September.

 

 

 

 

 

madonnalicious visitor Wilson captured the fabulous moment at the Monday 04 September Amsterdam show where instead of showing her hand to the camera - Madonna decided to show us her bottom....and give us the finger!

madonnalicious visitor Maddiboy took some fantastic pictures of Madonna at the first Amsterdam concert on Sunday 03 September - below are just a selection of the picture, visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more.

 

 

 

 

 

Further on from our earlier story about Madonna having eight entries in Top 40 Album Chart in Denmark - madonnalicious can now report that Madonna infact had thirteen albums in the Top 100 Album Chart!

Many record stores had two for one offers on Madonna albums after her tour stop in Denmark resulting in this fantastic chart!

#1 Confessions On A Dance Floor
#10 I'm Going To Tell You A Secret
#22 Like A Virgin
#23 Ray Of Light
#24 Music
#26 Like A Prayer
#29 True Blue
#31 The Immaculate Collection
#43 Something To Remember
#57 Madonna: The First Album
#62 American Life
#69 You Can Dance
#74 Erotica

Visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view pictures taken by madonnalicious visitor Kajo at the second show on Thursday 07 September at the Sazka Arena in Prague.

 

 

 

 

Marc Andrews, a journalist with DNA magazine has been commissioned to write a story about gay Madonna fans and he needs madonnalicious visitors help.

We're after sexy openly gay men from around the world to answer a few questions about why they love Madonna so much.
I'll also get your opinion on our list of the 10 Gayest Madonna Songs and 10 Gayest Madonna Videos that we've compiled for the same issue.
BTW: we need guys who are comfortable enough with their sexuality to send us a (relatively) high-rez JPEG of themselves to accompany the copy.
Preferably pic would be of you wearing a (tight!) Madonna t-shirt or, alternatively, without a shirt surrounded by your fave Madonna paraphenalia (sex sells - as Madonna would be the first to admit!).

DNA is Australia's biggest selling gay glossy magazine and is now available in the UK, US and Europe. Check them out at www.dnamagazine.com.au

UPDATE 11 September:
DNA now have more than enough participants and they'd like to thank everyone who took the time to contact them. Those not included in the printed copy may be featured in extra stories that will run on the DNA website.

The latest issue of the Russian edition of Hello! magazine features a five page article looking at the X-STaTIC PRO=CeSS Madonna/Steven Klein exhibition that will be on display in Moscow for one month starting on Monday 11 September.

Madonna has three songs in the top ten of the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Chart:

#4 - Get Together
#8 - Sorry
#10 - Hung Up

madonnalicious visitor Fincher captured these moments of the first show in Prague on Wednesday 06 September at the Sazka Arena - visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions of these pictures.

On Thursday night, the Confessions Tour played it's second and last night at the Sazka Arena in Prague.

madonnalicious visitor Jakub reported that Madonna herself got a kiss on the cheek from a fan who had seen the show an amazing seventeen times!
And that Madonna thanked her fans again by saying that she felt very lucky, but that part of the luck comes from her fans.

Fans can now download the We want peace! We don't want war! chant that Madonna made the crowd repeat at her second show in Amsterdam on Monday 04 September. This clip was filmed by madonnalicious visitor Matthew.

Amsterdam prosecutors said Friday a 63-year-old priest has confessed to phoning in a fake bomb threat to a Madonna concert in the Dutch capital city last week.
'He was hoping to stop her from performing her famous 'crucifixion' act,' prosecution spokesman Robert Meulenbroek said, referring to a scene in the 48-year-old pop star's latest show.
The scene, a mock re-enactment of the crucifixion of Christ, offended some Christians during earlier concerts in Italy and Germany. Two Amsterdam concerts went ahead as planned on Sunday and Monday, despite a handful of protesters.
Meulenbroek said it was likely prosecutors would seek a community service punishment for the priest, since it was very likely this was his first such offense.
The priest was arrested almost immediately after making the threat Sunday, since he used his home phone to make it, and he called an emergency services number where the call was automatically traced.
The priest was brought before a judge Friday and has been released pending judgment, Meulenbroek said. 'We take bomb threats seriously, but in this case it was clear very quickly that it was not real,' he said.
'Maybe he should have to learn all her lyrics by heart' as punishment, he quipped.

The latest edition of Russian magazine Newsweek features a Madonna cover and article inside looking at all the problems that have occured in the organising of Madonna's Moscow concert. Click on the images to enlarge.

 

Here's a report in from Boston about Jump from madonnalicious visitor Micheal:

Boston's Mix 98.5 a Hot AC station played Madonna's 'Jump' during their make it or break segment. Listeners overwhelmingly 91% to be exact said make it! The song will be added when it is officially released to radio. This station as a rule plays Madonna's catalogue but let us hope this a precursor to all of US radio embracing the track!

Here is a new plan for Madonna's Confessions Tour date in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium on Tuesday 12 September - also below is a picture from inside the stadium as it is set up for the show.

Madonna played her first show at the Sazka Arena in Prague last night - below is a madonnalicious fan report from the show.

If you were at the show and have pictures or a report to share then contact the site at madonnalicious@gmail.com:

From Bill:
Madonna was the consumate professional, as usual last night during her first Prague performance. During the time she speaks with the audience, she said that she appreciates that Czechs had to fight for freedom, but not to forget that freedom is in the mind.
She also said that Prague is a beautiful city with beautiful people. I couldn't agree more.

From Jakub:
She started her speech by sitting down on the stairs, drinking some water and saying 'Cheers, Prague'. Then she said: 'Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming to my show. I just wanna make a comment that I understand what the Czech republic has been through in the fight for freedom. The freedom is inside your head, okay? Don't forget that.'
That was very nice of her, she again proved herself to be not only a popstar but a person who knows what was and what is going on in the world. 'Are you enjoying your freedom?' was another of her questions.
She did her speech about the flags - 'Thank you for coming here....Let's see the flags - Thank you Germany, Thank you, Italy.' Then she spotted another flag - 'Thank you, Poland'. She was wrong, it was a Norwegian flag and although we didn't hear it, she was corrected. She was great and turned it into a joke 'Norway, of course....I keep getting that one wrong' and she laughed.
She kinda spoke slowly and sometimes she had to repeat her questions or ask us to repeat afer her again as the people here usually don't speak English well.
She seemed to have some technical difficulties - during Live To Tell her mic went off for a second, but other then that the show seemed to be okay.
The bottom line - great show, it was worth the money - she IS the ultimate icon:-)

madonnalicious visitor Boris has sent in these pictures from the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow showing the Confessions Tour crew setting up the complex stage in preparation for the show on Tuesday 12 September.

madonnalicious visitor Jakub fills us in on what the ticketing situation is in Prague and what Madonna has been up to while in town during her short visit:

Following on from the news of counterfeit tickets being sold, Interconcerts, the organizer of the show and the Sazka Arena owner, Sazka (which was also issuing the tickets) took good care about it so people who bought false tickets were able to buy new ones in preference, even though both of the shows were sold out.

On Tuesday, shortly after arriving to Prague's Four Season hotel where she's staying Madonna left for the Old Jewish synagogue in the historical centre of Prague where she stayed for about 30 minutes.
That night, without a previous reservation, she showed up in Palffy's palace, one of the finest restaurants here in Prague, along with her assistant Angela and two other guys. She ordered salad, carp in white wine sauce and a dessert. Her company enjoyed red wine (around $1000 per bottle), she drank only water.

There were rumours that on Tuesday she met up with our ex- president, Vaclav Havel who is quite well known in Europe and USA. It was not confirmed.
But the official news say that Vaclav Havel was invited to join her for the traditional praying before going on stage.
Havel's spokeman said he was very touched and he gave Madonna couple of his books in english as a present (originally he's a writer and playwriter). He then joined the audience with his daughter, Nina.

Madonna is pictured below going to her first Prague show soundcheck yesterday.

Willi Ninja, master of vogueing, has died. He was accompanied by Madonna to the premiere of the documentary in which he starred, Paris is Burning.

He was also a big influence on Madonna's song Vogue and her video borrows heavily from his Deep in Vogue released a year earlier with Malcolm Mclaren.

Willi was asked to be one of the lead dancers for Madonna's Blond Ambition world tour in 1990, but had to decline as he was till under contract to Malcolm Mclaren and touring with him.

Madonna herself has said about Willi: He was a great cultural influence to me and hundreds of thousands of other people.

To read a further short report on Willi Ninja visit www.nypost.com

Madonna is featured on the cover of the latest edition of Russian TV listing magazine TV7 (11-17 September issue) and also features a two page article.

Members of Madonna's official fanclub ICON can view an exclusive short video clip of the Madonna and Lenny Kravitz soundcheck in Paris:

The whole world now knows about Madonna & Lenny Kravtiz sexy duet last friday in Paris for the song I Love New York. Only ICON will bring you exclusive footage from sound check where Madonna & Lenny were having a great time hanging out and jamming on their guitars. To watch the footage, shot by Madonna's long time friend and manager Guy Oseary.

To view the footage log into www.iconmadonna.com

French author Anne Bleuzen put a request out on madonnalicious earlier in June this year asking for fans to send in their memories of seeing Madonna on tour.
Anne unfortunately lost all the email addresses of the fans who contacted her but wanted to share this message for everyone who wrote to her:

'Thank you to all the fans who have shared their Madonna memories with me. Your stories were often great! I had to select some of them, but I would have liked to publish them all :) The magazine is now out, and it owes you part of its soul.'

For those who are interested the finished piece was actually the Madonna tour special Instant-Mag 2 and is still available to buy online at www.tearprod.com

After a brief flurry of excitement in the world of Madonna Broadwayworld.com have now updated their site (and changed their original story) stating that:

Contrary to a previous report, pop icon Madonna will not play the Witch in the Royal Albert Hall's gala benefit performance of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods.

The updated link with this story can now be read at www.broadwayworld.com

Broadwayworld.com are reporting that Madonna will take on the role as the witch for two charity gala performances at the Royal Albert Hall of Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine Into The Woods.

The performances will take place on Sunday 22 October (matinee and evening performance) - tickets are on sale now at www.royalalberthall.com

To read the full news item on this event visit www.broadwayworld.com

WORD OF CAUTION - The Royal Albert Hall box office are saying they know nothing about Madonna appearing in this performance yet and will not refund tickets bought if she does not perform in the shows!

madonnalicious visitor Makis took some stunning pictures of Madonna at the second Amsterdam concert on Monday 04 September - below are just a selection of the picture, visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More than 1,000 extra tickets to Madonna's concert in Moscow were sold in the first four hours after the tickets were put on sale on the Internet, the U.S. pop icon's Russian tour PR manager Anton Atrashkin told Interfax on Wednesday.
The sale of additional tickets to Madonna's show at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium started on the website of the Ticketpro company (www.ticketpro.ru) at around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, he said. More than 1,100 tickets had been sold by midnight, he added.
Viewers will be able to exchange their previously purchased tickets to Madonna's concert starting from midday Wednesday, Atrashkin said.
Over 35,000 tickets were sold to the pop singer's Moscow concert, which was originally scheduled to take place at Vorobyovy Gory. The show's venue was later transferred to Luzhniki.

The current issue of Russian magazine Time Out (04-10 September) features this stunning Steven Klein shot cover and a seven page article inside looking back at her tours in preparation for the Confessions Tour hitting Moscow this month.

madonnalicious visitor Henrik reports that Madonna currently has eight albums in the Danish Top 40 Album chart!

#1 - Confessions On A Dance Floor
#10 - I´m Going To Tell You A Secret
#22 - Like A Virgin
#23 - Ray Of Light
#24 - Music
#26 - Like A Prayer
#29 - True Blue
#31 - The Immaculate Collection

Here are some great pictures of Madonna and her crew (dancers, manager, producer and singers) leaving the Amstel Intercontinental Hotel in Amsterdam on Sunday 03 September taken by Willem Timmer (with thanks to www.story.nl)

 

 

 

Singer Madonna will arrive in Moscow on September 10, Interfax was told by Mikhail Shurygin, president of NCA, the Russian partner of the main promoter of Madonna's world tour.
Madonna's concert will be held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on September 12.
The organizers say that a cultural program is also awaiting Madonna in Moscow.
Anton Atrashkin, PR manager of the Russian leg of the tour, told Interfax that construction of the stage at Luzhniki for Madonna would begin on Tuesday. Constructing a 200-ton stage takes about five days.

Visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions of these pictures taken by madonnalicious visitor Mario at the second and last Amsterdam show on Monday 04 September.

 

 

 

On Monday 04 September Madonna played her second show at the Amsterdam Arena, longtime friend Donatella Versace was in the audience and was even compelled to stand up with the rest of the audience during Ray Of Light!

During Let It Will Be instead of putting her hand to the camera she rubbed her bottom against it - and then gave the audience the finger through her legs!

There were no repeats of the technical difficulties that happened at the Sunday night show and Madonna and crew seemed in a great mood.

Here are some madonnalicious fan reports from the show - to read a lot more from fans visit the Amsterdam Fan Rreviews section of the site:

From AMndj:
At one point the show became very emotional. She started speaking to the the people about the situation in this world.
She asked everybody where they come from and she repeated the answer loud, so we heard all these countries names and than she asked us, to hug the person next to us if he is from an another country and we all did it.

From Andy:
After a while she sat down and drank some water....she said 'Cheers!' but the crowd didn't react. So she screamed 'I said Cheers, motherf*ckers!'

From Arjan:
A very big surprise was when Donatella Versace showed up behind me. Ten minutes before the concert started she arrived with 2 bodyguards, her daughter and a few young men all in suits. A lot of people were to taking pictures of her and with her. She was in a good mood, because she was smiling.
During the concert she sat down the whole time and watched the concert from the screens, because people in front of her were standing and dancing. Except during Ray Of Light when Madonna asked the everybody to jump, Donatella stood up and danced. At one point Madonna asked to hug your neighbour of a different culture. Donatella stood up and hugged the man who was sitting behind her, that was a funny moment.

From Cinda:
At one moment Madonna stuck her bottom against a camera, it made her giggle so she couldn't find her lyrics for one moment (it was fun).

From Esad:
She asked us do you know that there are 34 wars going on in a world right now, and if I could stop only 1 I would do anything but I know that's not possible but I want to show them that it is possible to be all together, no matter what country you are from or what religion you are under the one roof like we are now in one big harmony!

From Jean-Baptiste:
I was yesterday to Amsterdam for the 2nd show (and my fifth one since Dusseldorf). I've got to confess: yesterday was my favourite one.
I don't know why but it was incredible: she was so full of energy, her speech is getting longer and longer (with the now traditionnal 'no more war, no more blood, no more pain, we want peace, f**k George Bush, let's have some fun...etc') and during 'Let It Will Be' she didn't take the camera with the hand on the front of the middle catwalk as usual but showed us her ass giving the camera the finger between her legs.

From Jelka:
'Alright Amsterdam! Are you ready to ride with me?' Madonna seemed much happier and chattier than she was at her first night in the Amsterdam Arena.
'Oh Amsterdam, it's good to be back', she said, and: 'I've been smelling a lot of funny smoke around here' - smiling - 'It's bad for my throat!' But she was all smiles.
'Yesterday I got everyone to jump up and down, I want you all to jump even higher!' she said. And so we did! What an amazing, unforgettable night.

From Khosrow:
She blew the roof off of Amsterdam Arena. I have seen many pop/rockconcerts but last night Madonna went above and beyond all other rock concerts. She was in total command of her stage. She said that it was time for a love revolution. It would be impossible and also a great injustice to describe a show of that magnitude. But I can tell you that her music and her showmanship made us sweat. I am not fat, but I think I even lost few kilos last night.
The giant size stadium was totally transformed into a true dance floor. The choreographies as well as the music itself were flawless.
You made good on your promise by turning the Amsterdam Arena into the biggest and the most stylish discotheque-dance club ever.

From Leonoor:
I saw Paris 28th, Amsterdam 3th BUT Amsterdam 4th was the absolute best one! She had such a good time smiling, singing, dancing, joking, followed by sticking her ass into the camera during let it will be and there is the finger again! She had an amazing speech with the flags again but she went further and let us hug our neighbour because WE ALL WANT PEACE! After that she let us sing Substitute For Love into the mic several times, I had such an amazing time.

From Simon:
After waiting in queue we finally got in but from the moment she came on the show was non-stop Madonna was at her best yet! I was in the golden circle and had an amazing view! She was very chatty during her speech before Drowned World talking bout world peace and getting everyone to shout out where they were from and getting them to hold up the flags!
Also she extended I Love New York with a 5 minute guitar rift at end which was amazing. She also commented on how it was good to be back in Amsterdam and all the funny smoke smells coming from crowd and how it was bad for her throat.

From Stefano:
I personally loved the 'Live To Tell' part, the controversial 'cross part' it perfectly made sense to me to see her impersonating the pain of the world that does not seem to have end, especially because of the government inability to listen to the people. The light from the cross reflected on the mirrors shed a beautiful message for hope. Is anyone listening?

madonnalicious visitor Rowdy Nagel shared his train trip from Paris to Amsterdam with the dancers and band of the Confessions Tour and he managed to snap these pictures as they all left Paris at the end of last week.

madonnalicious visitor Amsterdam Mayday took some great pictures at the first Amsterdam show on Sunday 03 September - visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions of the pictures.

 

 

Please vote for Madonna's Like A Virgin and Like A Prayer in the online poll to find out VH1's 100 Greatest 80s Songs.

To vote for Madonna visit www.vh1.com/shows/the_greatest

Visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view the pictures from the first Amsterdam Arena show on Sunday 03 September taken by madonnalicious visitor Dorrith.

 

 

Actor Rupert Everett insists he 'fell in love' with pop superstar Madonna when he first met her - even though he is gay. The British star was introduced to Madonna by his pal Sean Penn when the action hunk first started dating her in the 1980s. But despite Everett's sexuality, he reveals in his upcoming autobiography Red Carpets And Other Banana Skins how he was desperate to 'bed' her.
He recalls, 'Sean called. He had a new girlfriend and wanted me to meet her. 'Let's go to dinner tomorrow.' At the restaurant, Sean and I were sitting waiting. Outside there was a flurry as she walked from her car. The door blew open and the Immaculate Conception was among us. She was raucous but poised, elegant but common. She had the cupid-bow lips of a silent screen star, and it was obvious she was playing with Sean underneath the table throughout the meal.'
'She oozed sex appeal and demanded a sexual response from everyone. It didn't matter if you were gay, you were swept up all the same. In those early years there was no male who would not want to bed her. I lost myself in Madonna's attention and by the end I had fallen in love.'

Click on the flyer below for more information on a Prague After Concert Party.

Al Pacino has revealed pop queen Madonna once performed a sexy private dance for him, during which she opened her coat to expose her completely nude body. The pair first met when they co-starred in 1990 movie Dick Tracy, while Madonna was dating screen idol Warren Beatty. But although Pacino is tight-lipped as to when this cheeky incident occurred, he insists he will never forget the time the Material Girl secretly writhed in front of him in all her naked glory.
He says, 'It's private information. She was doing a dance and she was naked under her coat. Over the course of the dance, she became inspired and opened her coat, and there she was. She has an extraordinarily beautiful body, like cut out of ivory. One day, when I'm old and I'm wheeled out on my porch wrapped in a blanket, if I have a beatific smile on my face, I'll probably be thinking of that.'

madonnalicious visitor Jochen sent in this great panoramic shot of the Amsterdam Arena ready for Madonna's arrival at the first show on Sunday 03 September - click on the image to enlarge.

Madonna has been nominated in two categories in the MTV Latin America awards.

Hung Up has been nominated as the Song Of The Year against James Blunt, Maná, Shakira, and Julieta Venegas.

Madonna as Best International Pop Artist and faces competition from Kelly Clarkson, Nelly Furtado, Ashlee Simspon and Robbie Williams.

Here are two pictures of Madonna leaving the Amstel Intercontinental Hotel for her second show at the Amsterdam Arena today (Monday 04 September).

Madonna played the first of two nights at the Amsterdam Arena in Holland last night. DJ Paul Oakenfold opened the show with a DJ set to hype the crowd up.

The show however suffered from several technical hitches, including problems with her guitar and the Dancing Queen cape.

Her speech is becoming much longer than the alloted two minutes and Madonna now spends her time walking up and down the catwalk recognising countries flags.

From Cedric:
Madonna experienced some technical difficulties with her guitar duing 'I Love New York'. It seemed as if she didn't realize that her guitar wasn't working, because she just kept on playing. A pity that the fans weren't able to listen to her solo....
She made up for it during her speech, though. She really did a long speech. She started her usual speech about how she likes to see all the flags. But then she started walking up and down the catwalk, naming all the countries she recognized. If she didn't know, she would even take off her earset to ask where some of the fans were from.

From Claudette:
We were on our feet for hours but it was worth waiting....she seemed very comfortable with the Dutch audience, I saw her in Düsseldorf (Germany) where she seemed to have some difficulties reaching the audience because they hardly speak English. Tonight she said that Amsterdam has a bad reputation, decadent and indulgent; 'Like me!'
She interacted with the audience, naming the flag-countries, even Nicaragua, Moscow and Tibet were there! She also answered somebody's banner(?); Yes, I recognize your face! And she asked him how many times he had been to the show and that was 11 times!

From Dorrith:
After visiting Madonna's first Bercy concert I didn't dare to think that I would enjoy another one in Amsterdam as much as I did in Paris. But, quess what, it happened!
I enjoyed every second of the show and danced, jumped, screamed and sung like it would be my last Madonna concert (you never know if she's going to tour again....)
Madonna continued her 'We want peace, no more war' song like she did in Paris and she took a very big break during the part where she asked where everyone came from, asked some fans how often they visited her tour and she was speaking a lot with the audience.
I've had the time of my life, thanks Madonna, I am already starting to save money for your next tour!

From F.S:
Since the Amsterdam Arena has a glass ceiling, we had to wait till 21:30 for the lights to go out and the show to take our breath away.
So the mirror ball comes down and....there she is! Absolutlely gorgeous, relaxed, smiling, in absolute control of the show....what a great performer our Lady Madonna is!
A funny incident occurred in her post Let It Will Be speech. She wanted us to repeat what she was gonna say,and screams: NO MORE PEACE; WE WANT WAR! and suddenly realized she messed it up, so she says....Wait,that´s not right,i messed up....and put her head down, ashamed. Very cute of her.
She also said, in the beginning of that speech - Where am I? What is this beautiful place? Ahhh! Amsterdam, it´s so beautiful, with this sense of decadence....
Then she said that her favourite part of the show was coming: checking the different flags from all the countries....there was Germany, France (Jái adore la France, she said), Israel (oh my Israeli friends....),etc, and right next to me were this couple from Russia, but she couldn´t understand what they were saying, so looked right at me and asked: What? Where are they from? All this keeping eye contact! I was,as you can imagine, out of myself, screaming RUSSIA at the top of my lungs, she was smiling.

From Malte:
The show, that I saw the second time after Düsseldorf, all in all was great again. But this time they had a few technical problems and Madonna looked a little bit panicked; the first thing was, that in the last quarter of 'I Love New York' the sound system with Madonnas guitar didn't work - Madonna stared at Stuart Price, which was becoming very very nervous - and then she continued playing the guitar - more than one minute - but there was no sound! So the song ended with a played but not hearable solo of Madonna's guitar.
After that she said sorry and told us, that they have technical difficulties she said, that they try to fix it. The good thing was, that she was talking to the audience a long time because of this, singing with it, made the 'flag-part' longer than normal, while she was listing to hear ear-inlet (Stuart?).
Another thing was, that the cape at 'Lucky Star' was without light. As she noticed that, she closed it very quickly and continued in a normal way. But the show was great again!

From Marlene:
At one point she compared herself to Amsterdam 'Amsterdam has a bad reputation of being decadent and indulgent, like me'.
She asked the audience to show their flags and she didn't recognize one of the flags and she asked the guy from which country he was as he answered something she didn't understand 'Benito?' and then she said 'Don't shout at me!'.
At one point she yelled that we all had to jump, she wanted to see 'sweat dripping of our faces and our asses hanging out'.

Check out www.mojo.nl/concertphotos to view a selection of official press pictures from Madonna's first night in Amsterdam.

On Sunday and Monday Madonna will play two shows at the Amsterdam Arena. madonnalicious asks it's visitors to keep sending in their pictures and reports from the shows here.

madonnalicious visitor Claire took these pictures of the dancers, parkour expert and drummer as they left their Paris hotel for Amsterdam on Friday.

 

 

Fans in the UK should check out Channel Five's show tonight (Sunday 03 September) called Battle Of The Popstars Live.

The live interactive show will require viewers to vote as popstars and bands battle it out (via TV footage clips) in pairs. Madonna has been featured in the adverts for the show, so make sure you watch and vote to help Madonna get to the top!

Madonna's domination of Russian magazines continues - she is now featured on the cover of the September 2006 issue of Leisure And Entertainment magazine which also includes a seven page article inside. Click on the cover to enlarge.

Madonna's Get Together video is now available on iTunes. Purchasing the video does help singles sales (especially in the US).

madonnalicious visitor Alexstone caught the moment when Lenny Kravitz joined Madonna onstage for I Love New York at the last Paris show on Thursday 31 August. You can now download a small clip of this event filmed from the screens.

BBC Radio 2 ran an online poll to find the Top 100 Albums in the UK over the past 50 years - Madonna did very well in the poll with six albums in the chart!

66 - Music
64 - True Blue
47 - Like A Virgin
37 - Confessions On A Dance Floor
35 - Like A Prayer
24 - Ray Of Light

To view the complete list of the Top 100 Albums visit www.bbc.co.uk/radio2

madonnalicious visitor Simon took some great pictures at the Monday 28 August show at the Bercy Arena - visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more of his pictures.

 

 

 

A welsh bride who bumped into pop queen Madonna during her dream wedding in Rome, told yesterday how she upstaged the star on her big day.
Blushing bride Imogen McCarthy-Fry, 33, from Cardiff, was savouring her own 15 minutes of fame last month.
She and husband Neil were enjoying a wedding breakfast with 70 guests at the Italian capital's plush five-star Hotel De Russie.
Word quickly spread among the guests when Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie were ushered into a corner for a romantic meal.
But while the new Mrs McCarthy-Fry was the centre of attention on her big day, Madonna was at pains to keep a low profile.
With all eyes gazing at the unexpected star guests, with typical British reserve the wedding party left the celebrity pair alone.
'There were quite a few people contemplating going to speak to her, but they decided against it,' she said.

Visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions and more pictures taken by madonnalicious visitor Colin at the Monday 28 August show in Paris.

 

 

Robbie Williams has confessed he has a crush of pop queen Madonna, but fears retribution from her husband Guy Ritchie.
The singer insists his infatuation is a recent one - he fell for her when he saw her dressed as a cowgirl in the video for Music.
He says: 'I do fancy Madonna. I didn't fancy her in the 80s or the 90s. It's since the cowgirl video - I've fancied her since then.'
'I think she's sexy. I'm probably gonna get beat up by Guy Ritchie. He's hard. He spends all week wrestling with men.'

madonnalicious visitors Frederick and Kevin took these pictures at Madonna's last show in Paris on Thursday 31 August - visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions.

 

Madonna played her fourth and final date at Bercy in Paris last night. In a big surprise to the audience, Lenny Kravitz joined Madonna on stage during I Love New York and they played their electric guitars together - causing the crowd to go wild!

Madonna said she was sad that it was her last show in Paris and made the audience join in with her in a chant that has developed (with slight variations) over the past few shows: We are one, we are one, no more war, we want peace, no more blood, we want love, we want love, we want love, we are love....

Here are some madonnalicious fan reports from the show - to read the full length versions visit the Paris Fan Reviews section:

From Jérémie:
During the speech after Let It Will Be, she said she was sad because it was her last show in Paris. She made us sing a little song too (We are one, no more pain, etc etc). She was soooo talkative. She said she has collaborated with French people during all her career and named Jean-Paul Gaultier, Mondino and Mirwais. The crowd was crazy. Her last Paris shows are always the best ones.

From Jeremy:
I just got back home from Madonna's last concert in Paris and it kicked ASS! What to say but ecstatic?! Madonna was in great shape and we had the privilege to see Mr Lenny Kravitz himself play guitar on a furious 'I Love New York'!

From Johann:
Amazing show, Madonna in really good shape and really relaxed, she even didn't fuck up any single words during all the show, no technical problems too, just perfect.
Mr Lenny Kravitz himself was on stage and play electric guitar with Madonna during I Love New York and Ray Of Light (Madonna and him were on fire together and did incredible things with their guitars).
She also said her now famous 'On va tout niquer!' and that she was sad cause it was her last show in Paris in an exellent French. Just one word: PERFECT!

From Olivier:
I've seen all Madonna's tour in Paris since 1987 and the concert of yesterday was fantastic. It's incredible to see Madonna's energy after all these years!
Everything was incredible but the most magical moments I found were her appearance in the disco ball (the crowd was so excited!), the Live To Tell moment on the shining cross, so beautifully sang with terrific lights....and a very hot time when Lenny Kravitz himself joined her and played the guitar during I Love New York.

From Philippe:
At the beginning of I Love New York, LENNY KRAVITZ appeared on the middle of the crowd on the center stage. Madonna and the crowd went wild. The song was so rock, so sex and so crazy. Madonna screamed 'Mr Lenny Kravitz'. They sang it together, playing guitars. They were screaming and in a perfect connection.
Lenny kravitz was in a total white outfit and madonna in all black. They were both so exciting, at one moment, he did a reverence to her, later, they were both on they knees. At the end of the song, they kissed. people went absolutely MAD.
Later in the show, Madonna sat on the stairs on the middle of the stage. She said she was sad, and ask about us. She looked like crying, she said 'It s the last show in Paris, and I like you and Paris so much guys!' she named 'Jean-Paul Gaultier, Jean-Baptiste Mondino and Mirwais, as friends and inspiration.'
A moment later, she stopped also singing and began to look all the flags around her. She named the countries and she laughed about it....she named 'Germany, Portugal, Italy, Israel, Brazil, Argentina, and even Corsica!....it took a long time.
Then, she said to us, 'We are all coming from diffrents countries, differents cultures, differents religions, differents opinions but tonight, we are ONE....and she asked us to scream after her, WE ARE ONE, WE ARE ONE, NO MORE WAR, WE WANT PEACE, NO MORE BLOOD, WE WANT PEACE, WE WANT LOVE, WE WANT LOVE, WE ARE LOVE....' It was so emotional. They were tears on my face, and it was the same for the people around me.

Visit the Confessions Tour gallery to view larger versions of pictures taken by madonnalicious visitor Riz at the Wednesday 30 August show in Paris.

 

 

Madonna recently talked to Sky News about her future music plans:

'I basically see no limits to what you can achieve. Why would I not want to make more music? I love it and so do my fans. I have more club music in mind. It's where I started and funnily enough, it's now huge again.
I'm writing the new album now, while we're on tour.'

madonnalicious visitor MorganistiK captured this fabulous shot of Madonna getting into her car outside her Paris hotel yesterday - click here to view more.

Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo insists she owes Madonna a huge debt of gratitude, because the pop queen made her aware it was 'OK' to grieve for her late mother. Pompeo was just four years old when her mother died of an accidental overdose of painkillers, and her family subsequently chose never to talk about their loss. But when Pompeo later saw Madonna talking about the death of her own mother, she was inspired by her courage and positive attitude. And when she recently spotted the Ray Of Light star in the flesh, she was determined to thank her personally.
She says, 'She's the only person I've ever approached - she had such an impact on my life as a kid. She lost her mother too and came on MTV when I was 13 saying it was OK to be sad. Our family had handled my mother's death in a traditional, never-speak-of-her-again kind of way. It was only when I heard Madonna that I thought, 'That's it. I've never really grieved for my mother.' She gave me permission to do that and I wanted her to know how much it had helped me. She's just fantastic.'

Click on the flyer below to read the information about a Confessions Tour After Party taking place in Amsterdam on Monday 04 September.

The MTV Video Music Awards took place in New York City last night - Madonna's Hung Up was nominated in five categories but unfortunately the video failed to win any of the categories!

Madonna is the cover star of three Russian magazines this week - Rolling Stone, Teleweek and Your Leisure - click on the covers to enlarge.

Superstar Madonna has donated her 'pimped' van from her Sorry video for a London radio station competition. The Material Girl's boring white van was madeover into a 'Discomobile' during an episode of MTV UK show Pimp My Ride, which is hosted by BBC hip-hop DJ Tim Westwood.
In one of the sequences of her Sorry video, Madonna and her female pals pick up men off the street and force them to dance for her in the plush purple nightclub-on-wheels. London station Kiss FM is asking listeners to enter their Crack The Code competition in a bid to win the singer's van.

madonnalicious visitor Nicomad snapped Madonna as she left for her last show at Bercy in Paris yesterday.