Madonna #9: The Beat Goes On

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Op vrijdag 31 augustus 2007 23:49 schreef Erotica_ het volgende:
Oh shit.. Dat pianotje op Secret Garden is toch wel belachelijk vet

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It Seems that nothing is coming THIS YEAR at this point regarding a Madonna release.

Warner and Madonna started to put something out this year, hence the different comfigs on the schedule. So we should wait the new year for her new album.

Even the Best of Remixes 2 is not happening this year anymore. Its release was decided last April.The remixes album has been in the air since 2004, and Drowned Madonna revealed it 3 years ago. Once again Warner has NO plans this year to release anything special like an Anniversary Box Set. There is a possible release of sort into 2008. So look into the new year.

As usual, we'll keep you updated!

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Finally something that looks more certain about the release of Madonna's new album. After weeks of speculation about tentative release dates, in an interview to Italian music magazine Musica & Dischi, the man in charge of Warner Music Italy, Massimo Giuliano, not only says that Warner artists had a great year in Italy in 2007 (Confessions Tour was a huge commercial hit) but mentions that Madonna's new album is expected for a February 2008 release.

As previously reported Giuliano confirms that this album is one of the last two records Madonna owes to Warner to end her current contract with them. So apparently February 2008 is actually the month to be looking for!

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Madonna Joins Forces With Live Nation in Revolutionary Global Music Partnership
Tuesday October 16, 12:55 pm ET


LOS ANGELES, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Live Nation's President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Rapino officially confirmed today that Madonna has entered into an unprecedented global partnership with Live Nation and will become the founding artist in its Artist Nation division.

"The paradigm in the music business has shifted and as an artist and a business woman, I have to move with that shift," commented Madonna. "For the first time in my career, the way that my music can reach my fans is unlimited. I've never wanted to think in a limited way and with this new partnership, the possibilities are endless. Who knows how my albums will be distributed in the future? That's what's exciting about this deal -- everything is possible. Live Nation has offered me a true partnership and after 25 years in the business, I feel that I deserve that."

"Madonna is a true icon and maverick as an artist and in business," stated Mr. Rapino. "Our partnership is a defining moment in music history. I am thrilled that Madonna, who is also now a shareholder in our company, has joined with us to create a new business model for our industry. Bringing all the varied elements of Madonna's stunning music career into the Artist Nation and Live Nation family, moves her future and the future of our company into a unique and extraordinary place."

The first-of-its-kind partnership between Madonna and Live Nation encompasses all of Madonna's future music and music-related businesses, including the exploitation of the Madonna brand, new studio albums, touring, merchandising, fan club/web site, DVD's, music-related television and film projects and associated sponsorship agreements. This unique new business model will address all of Madonna's music ventures as a total entity for the first time in her career.

Arthur Fogel, Chairman of Live Nation's Global Music Division and Chief Executive Officer of Global Touring, who has produced the artist's last three worldwide tours with the company which generated close to $500 million in the last six years commented, "Madonna is without a doubt one of the most fiercely original artists in history. It is a great opportunity for Live Nation and Artist Nation to build upon our years of success with Madonna as a touring artist."

Artist Nation was created to partner with artists to manage their diverse rights, grow their fan bases and provide a direct connection to fans through the global distribution platform and marketing proficiencies that have made Live Nation the world's largest live music company. Headed by the division's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Cohl, Artist Nation has significant infrastructure in place to execute additional revenue streams including recorded music, merchandise, studios, media rights, digital rights, fan club/website and sponsorship divisions.

Joining with Artist Nation to work with Madonna will be Live Nation's unmatched global distribution platform and artist-to-fan-reach, including over 80 offices in l8 countries, over 200 national and local sponsorship personnel, over l60 venues, access to over 35 million fans that attend well over l0,000 shows that Live Nation produces, promotes and/or hosts each year for over l,000 artists including fan access via Live Nation's growing database of over 25 million fans.

"I've been fortunate enough to work with Madonna for half my life. She has always encouraged me and set a great example for me to push the boundaries to reach our full potential. This partnership exemplifies just that," commented Madonna's co-manager Guy Oseary.

Angela Becker, Madonna's co-manager added, "The partnership and vision for the future that Artist Nation along with Live Nation presented to us assured me that this is the ideal home for Madonna. It is with great trust and optimism that we collectively move ahead together."

In regard to Madonna's relationship with her current label, the artist commented, "My time with Warner Bros. Records has been great. I appreciate their hard work and value the many relationships I have developed over the years with the label in the U.S. and around the world. I have an album coming out with them next year and I'm excited about it. We still have work to do together."

ABOUT MADONNA:

The multi-Grammy Award winning artist, songwriter, children's book author, producer and video visionary with an unrivaled reputation for astonishing stage spectacles, has made music history many times over, logging an incredible 12 number one pop singles and 35 number one dance singles in the U.S. alone. Her 2006 "Confessions" tour generated almost $200 million, making it the highest grossing concert tour of all time by a female artist. Over the last 25 years, Madonna's collective record sales number over 200 million albums worldwide. Her last album, Confessions On A Dance Floor debuted at number one in 29 countries and sold almost 8 million copies worldwide. Her last concert DVD The Confessions Tour -- Live from London, sold more than 1.2 million copies worldwide.

ABOUT LIVE NATION:

Live Nation is the future of the music business. With the most live concerts, music venues and festivals in the world and the most comprehensive concert search engine on the web, Live Nation is revolutionizing the music industry: onstage and online.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol "LYV." Additional information about the company can be found at http://www.livenation.com under the "About Us" section

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You can listen to the Live Nation schedules conference call today to discuss groundbreaking partnership with Madonna and Artist Nation Division. Click here. It last 2 hours.

Listening to the conference, you can find out more detail on the agreement, such as:

1. New Madonna tour within 2 years
2. The first Madonna album released via Live Nation within 2 years or 3 years maximum

Although they say in the beginning that Madonna would tour within 2 years, in a latter question asking if she will tour after the release of her new album next year, they said that if you look at Madonna’s tour history, she toured in 2001, 2004 and 2006 and each tour followed the release of a new album, hinting that she’ll probably tour after the release of her next album.

They also said that they expect her to tour 4 times within the 10 year period.

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On Warners’ end, publicist Liz Rosenberg says that the 49 year-old icon’s next record (which may feature songs from recent studio sessions with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake) could drop in March 2008, with yet another greatest hits package slated for later next year or early 2009. Rosenberg adds: "We intend to work our asses off to make them both huge successes."

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21 October - Danja hints at Madonna's new sound

In the new issue of People Magazine;

Timbaland's right hand Nate "Danja" Hills previewed his production on upcoming releases, including Madonna's new album, which he described as: "The songs are crazy. It's harder with a hip-hop influence but you can still dance to it."

Danja recently scored high with Britney's new single 'Gimme More' and he's currently producing several other artists too, meaning that the Timbaland-Danja sound is going to be prominent in 2008 as well.

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New album news
Posted: 25 October 2007

madonnalicious has some exciting news about Madonna's new album:

* It has a tentative release date in the US of Tuesday 11 March

* It has a working title of Connextion - although this will be changed for release

* It currently contains 12 tracks

* The Beat Goes On track that was leaked a few months ago actually is the finished product for the album

* Another song is a ballad, much like the tone of Promise To Try but is more about a rebirth than death

* There is another song with a strong techno 'thump' with just Madonna singing, no other musical sound and it works pretty well, almost haunting and stays with you

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MadonnaTribe have received some updated info about the 2008 Tour that Madonna and her team have been working on since they were touring with the "Confessions" show last year - and that this site reported about first right after the last concert in Japan in September 2006.

From what we hear, the 2008 Tour project is alive and kicking - the time span they are working on at the moment to set tentative dates and arrange deals with the venues is basically the one of a Summer tour.
But - as the aim is to bring the tour to as many countries as possible - they are working on a scheme which includes a reduced number of concerts to take place in a single city, focusing on those who offer the best performance from a production/cost/ticketing point of view, and obviously the word "stadiums" comes to mind.

Also, there is a chance that we'll have to deal with itineraries significantly different from the ones of Madonna's two most recent tours - meaning that there's a chance that the tour will start in Europe this time around and not in California like Reinvention and Confessions did.

From what we hear plans to celebrate Madonna's 50 year birthday with a special event are still going on, although it is not sure if the much talked about Central Park concert in New York City will happen.
It also seems that the "birthday concert" is being taken into consideration for TV broadcasting and DVD recording this time again, like it happened with the Confessions Tour.

Plans are still yet to be final so we have to take all of the above with a grain of salt as things can change significantly in the next months, but the thing that excites us the most is to learn that - as of today - the tour celebrating Madonna's 25 Years in music business is a go!

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From BANG Media International via Monsters and Critics:

Madonna’s new song with Pharrell Williams is so "hot" it will "make the music speakers bleed".

The ’Hung Up’ singer has been in the studio with hit producer Pharrell creating tracks for her upcoming album, and he claims their collaboration will take the music industry by storm.

Speaking at the launch of his new shop Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream in New York on Wednesday (28.11.07), Pharrell said: "It was crazy. I don’t want to say too much. I’d rather wait for you to hear it. It’s awesome though. It makes the speakers bleed. It’s hot!"

Earlier this month, it was reported Pharrell had been recording with the 49-year-old singer at Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles.

The pair reportedly bumped into Kanye West, who was working with Michael Jackson in a studio next-door, inspiring the hip-hop star to rap on one of Madonna’s new songs.

Last month, Madonna signed a $120 million, 10-year record deal with Live Nation Inc. and plans to release her first studio album with the label early next year.

Also set to feature on the hotly-anticipated LP are star producer Timbaland and ’SexyBack’ singer Justin Timberlake.

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EXCLUSIVE - Here are some of the latest news Drowned Madonna has heard and is allowed to report.

Madonna has been in Los Angeles to discuss details with Execs at Live Nation at their Los Angeles office.

As you know, Madonna is now in New York and today, Sunday December 2, she will attend the private screening of Guy Ritchie "Revolver".

Next days, probably on Monday, Madonna will go to Warner Brothers offices to discuss her new album.

Madonna is shopping around for video directors and choreographers for her first single! She is looking for NEW people to choreograph for her and she also would like to pair with a new director... BRAND new. But she wants only top A LISTERS video directors.

Madonna want a great video for her new single. The budget for the video is huge!

Choreographer and directors will send their reels to Madonna next week. Then, Madonna will narrow down to a few. Whoever will get call to talk to Madonna, will have to fly to New York City and listen to the single in presence of Madonna at the Warner Bros. offices and discuss about the video. Security is VERY tight!

Aren't you excited?!!?

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MadonnaTribe has received more info about one of the songs on Madonna's new album. One of the Five Songs we first reported on November 18 from the Timberlake/Timbaland session is a nice, mid-tempo love song with classic "Madonna lyrics" and a theme concept that loosely reminds of the idea behind the song "Like a Virgin".

Across The Sky, tells the story of a woman who is quite disenchanted by love, a woman who knows deception, a woman who lied and has been lied to quite a lot in her life. A woman who admits she is not a saint but that finally fells like a new person now that she has found a new love in her life and she is ready to travel "across the sky" with her man, poetically holding his hands in hers.

Musically the songs contains a lot of acustic guitars and has a very catchy chorus. Justin Timberlake is "oooing" on backing vocals. Apparently the song would be perfect for a third single release from the album.

Fans who might be worried that Madonna has been looking for much new musical directions with this album must be reassured that she has re-invented and adapted that genre to her own unique style.

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MadonnaTribe sources can bring more exclusive news about the title track of Madonna's new album. Give It To Me is a song produced by Pharrell Williams, and it's a very catchy uptempo track that reminds of early Madonna tracks from the "pre-Madonna era" such as "Love on the run". The fans who were worried that this album would be too hip-hop would be happy to know that it's very 80's in its structure and it's pure Madonna. A person who apparently heard the song said it sounds quite "cartoonish".

The "Give It To Me" phrase has nothing to do with a supposed "sexual content" as rumoured on a few Madonna forums, but it's said in the sense of "I'll handle the situation for you".

A male voice is also singing backing vocals on part of the second verse and Madonna reprises a couple of lyrics from "The Beat Goes On" on this one.

The break is very strange, the song basically stops suddenly while Madonna says "Don't Stop It" the male voice, probably Pharell himself says "to the left, to the right".

This song would also make a great single!

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MadonnaTribe has heard, and can finally report, some concrete exclusive info about the photoshoot Madonna will be doing for the cover of her new album. The Queen of Pop will be shooting the album cover on December 22nd in the United Kingdom.

She will be following again tradition, as the photographer is again Steven Klein. The album design will be once again in charge of designer Giovanni Bianco.

Stay tuned for further details.

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MadonnaTribe sources can bring more exclusive news about two tracks of Madonna's new album.
Of the lot of songs produced by Timbaland and Justin Timbelake that MTribe reported about shortly after they had their final mixing in Hit Studios Miami in November, "4 Minutes To Save The World" is possibly the one with a stronger "classic" Timbaland vibe.
If there's actually some "hip hop" or "urban" vibe in Madonna's new album, we've been told that "4 Minutes" is probably the track where you can feel it the most. The song has an instantly catchy vibe, with percussion layers and hypnotic synthetized strings. While in other songs of the album Justin can be heard on backing vocals - as exclusively reported on this site in mid-November - "4 Minutes To Save The World" is actually a duet as in this song's verse Madonna and Justin basically sing one line each or better answer one to another on a back and forth basis.

On the other hand, we've been told that "Dance Tonight" sounds like the funkiest song of the lot. You could say it's a dance track from the beginning to the end - there's dance in the title, dance in the theme, dance in the lyrics, and dance in the instrumentation.
It has a captivating late 70's - early 80's disco sound - fingered bass, claps, triangle - recalling songs that made the history of dance as we know it and groups like Kool & The Gang, Skyy, Delegation, even a bit of the early Michael Jackson and huge references to the signature sound of Narada Michael Walden and to the origins of disco-rappping.
To compare it to another Madonna songs the most similar thing that comes to mind is "Don't Stop" or maybe "Your Honesty" from the Bedtime Stories sessions.

Lyrics-wise "Dance Tonight" also shares the same idea of fun of Don't Stop reprising the classic Madonna theme of letting yourself go and be guided by music, and doing positive things while you dance the night away.

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Op donderdag 13 december 2007 18:06 schreef Hapertje het volgende:
Madonna heeft een plekje gekregen in de Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

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Our collaborator Enrique has received the sheet with all the 2008 scheduled releases for Spain.

The tentative release date for Madonna new album in Spain is April 22nd which fits what Drowned Madonna exclusively revealed about the release date. The album will also be available in USB format.

The document also lists a new Madonna Collection - including all her singles, rareties and new songs - to be released November 25.

Finally a new Timbaland album is due november the 4th and according to the document it will include a collaboration with Madonna as well as other artists like Dido, Linkin Park, Cher, Kenya West, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Akon and Mary J Blige.

Other big releases for the year 2008 are new Cds from Michael Jackson, Lauryn Hill, Fergie, Janet Jackson and also about latin artists Paulina Rubio, Alejandro Sanz and Shakira.

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M-Tribe friend and Community member Mike from Madonna Download reports today that radio stations in the US recieved the heads up for Madonna's new single.

Madonna is reportedly expected to be in Los Angeles next week, and it is understood that at the same time her single will hit the radio, although nothing has been confirmed or officially announced yet.
M-Tribe reader Gary also reports that raido dee-jays have been hyping the new release saying that the new single, featuring Timbaland and Justin Timberlake is expected to hit the waves "any day now".

Thanks to Mike and Gary.

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It's not every day that Warner Bros. Records gets a visit from the Material Girl herself. Well we didn't exactly roll out a red carpet - but we did build a plastic brick path inspired by the Candyland game that Miss M. happily strolled down on the way to our conference room which was completely transformed into a palatial pink and white candy emporium. All we knew was there was a song on her upcoming CD that mentions a candy shop - henceforth our theme. And of course, Madonna's love for candy - especially hot tamales is pretty well known. This was strictly for the Warner Bros. Records employees - no press, no photographers, no cell phones. Madonna, always the perfect hostess screamed out different song choices to our resident dj by numbers. "Jesse, play no. 5 next" and so on. We were treated to l0 songs with comments by the artist on some of her collaborators Pharrell, Justin, Timbaland, an appearance by Kanye West, etc.
Every song was a knock out with two apparant favorites being Four Minutes to Save The World and Candy Shop or Candy Store (not decided)...Madonna mentioned she was a little nervous as it was the first official playing of the music. Thankfully it was a room filled with Madonna fans who cheered after every song was played. Champagne and soda and lots of candy later, we all agreed that we felt blessed that we worked at Warner Bros. Records.

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Some info about the album photoshoot: Think bricks, graffiti and jeans.
Very Blond on album cover. Hair is straight. Lots of Jewelry.. (think Into the Groove)

Promo performances and video look: Blond in the 1st single video. Think Beautiful Stranger for hair style...loose curls. "Block Party" theme.


Album name info: One of the first working titles was "subculture Lady"...then "give it to me", "UrbanBeat Queen" and lastly Madonna is very interested in "Block Party"

Madonna will (most likely) premiere her new single next week while in LA. Most likely doing a radio interview. A press release is expected very soon. It has been reported several radio stations have already received the single.

Also, as litfuser stated...album is supposedly coming out Feb. 29 (friday for Italy) which would be a March 4th release for the US.


I gathered this info from Fanzine and their member: besolino
this info comes from someone who is working with D&G on the style team.
Thank you.

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After the exclusive report of the new album listening party which took place on December 3, 2007 at Warner Bros. offices in New York, and all the other exclusive news about Madonna's upcoming album tentatively called "Give It To Me," we were snowed under our readers letters requesting the lyrics of the first single "4 Minutes To Save The World" and it's sound.

We didn't want to ruin the surprise, so we waited to add more details. But now we decided to add just a few info about the sound.

We at Drownded Madonna think that "4 Minutes To Save The World" is very Timbaland sounding with "The Way We Are" vibe. Its power is the beat, which is awesome. A completely new sond for Madonna that will blow you away!

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Here's an interesting excerpt from a WWD.com article about Chanel’s couture show:

Madonna’s stylist, who goes by the name of B., was also in the audience. Having just wrapped up working on Madonna’s next album cover, shot by Steven Klein, the trendsetter said she was returning to London the next day to style a music video featuring Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. “Madonna’s look is going to be more edgy, more fresh—with no more disco,” she said.

Special thanks to MadDorian.

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MadonnaTribe has heard more news about Madonna's long awaited new album. The Queen Of Pop's new record will contain a song titled Ring My Bell, which is NOT a cover of the popular 1979 disco song by Anita Ward but a totally new and original track.

In more new album related news, after the first single "4 minutes to save the world", which is a song with a strong urban vibe, Give It To Me, a classic Madonna pop song, is being considered for the second single release at this stage.

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MadonnaTribe has heard more about the final number of tracks of Madonna's new album.
In November 2007 we reported 13 tracks were selected to be included in the album.

Latest reports inform us that the final version of the standard album will now contain 12 tracks.

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Many years after recording "Who's That Girl" and the full Spanish versions of her hits "You'll See" (Veras) and "What it feels like for a girl" (Lo que Siente La Mujer), Madonna is digging back her love for Latin culture as she will be singing again frases in Spanish in one of her new songs.

We heard reports that in a track to be featured on her new album, the Queen Of Pop is going to explains the English meaning of Spanish frases such as "te quiero" (I Love you), "callarte" (shut up), "besame" (kiss me), and many more.

Spanish guitars are also present in the song that is reportedly produced by Pharrel and has a nice urban feel.

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The MadonnaTribe team would like to apologise with the site's readers for providing an unaccurate information about the director of Madonna's new video.

"4 Minutes To Save The World" has not been directed by longtime Madonna collaborator Jonas Akerlund as we previously reported, but by French duo Jonas and Francois. Sorry for the mix up.

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Op vrijdag 8 februari 2008 22:37 schreef Erotica_ het volgende:
Dit nummer lijkt trouwens verdacht veel op 4MTSTW: http://youtube.com/watch?v=cafyxuOcfV0

Naja, het nadeel van een samenwerking met Timbaland

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Madonna
Title TBC
Warner Bros, 28 April

It doesn't have a title yet, but the direction of Madonna's new album, her last major release before she turns 50, seems clear: the Barbour-wearing Queen of Pop is hitting the street.
Two of the three tracks we heard in an exclusive playback boast productions from the biggest beatmakers in hip hop.
Timbaland evidently reserves his best work for the highest-paying customers because lead single "4 Minutes to Save the World" is a mighty effort, powered by superhero horns, ticking clocks and Justin Timberlake's falsetto. On "Candy Shop", a sticky clutch of not-so-subtle innuendos ('Come into my store/ I've got candy galore') is traded over a snappy Pharrell Williams beat. "Give it to Me" slinks into more familiar dance-pop territory, but the chatter behind this album suggests that R&B and hip hop will be its main flavours.

Not a revolutionary move from Madonna, but at least she's working with the right people.

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Justin Timberlake was interviewed in today's Hollywood Daily People issue. They of course asked him a few questions about working with Madonna and here's what he had to say:

You worked on Madonna's new album with Timbaland. In what direction did you take her?
Basically, our job was to reinvent her sound. My thing was producing her vocals - really experimenting with rhythm. Everything she does with rhythm is straightforward. What I do is more staccato and R&B. So the challenge for me was writing songs, then saying, "How can I make this sound more like Madonna?" I'm a big fan of her first album. So my mission was to write a modern-day "Holiday." I wrote a cool house record for her called "Miles Away" that I think is a smash! She sounds great on it.

So is it an R&B Madonna?
It's an R&B/pop/dance record, but it´s still Madonna. Her voice still sounds like she's 18 year old! It trips me out that she's 49. She´s always been rough and tough. Her last couple of records, she's like, "Rrrrrrr!"

How did she react to your ideas?
A couple of times I pushed her in a direction where it took a minute before we saw eye to eye. Her approach was, "Well, I just haven't done that." And I was like, "Yeah, that´s why you should do it."

So did you teach Madonna how to beatbox?
[Laughs] No, no. We left that to me and Tim.

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Op donderdag 14 februari 2008 20:15 schreef Prego het volgende:

het begin van 4mtstw is al uitgelekt toch? of is het alweer een fake?

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More details are emerging about Madonna's new album. Nate "Danja" Hills and Timbaland, who co-produced Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds, are co-producing some tracks on Madonna's yet-to-be titled album and Danja tells EW.com that the pop queen's next effort is "very up-tempo, upbeat and urban — it's a Virginia-based sound." Madge was joined in the studio by another influential Virginian, Pharrell Williams, but Danja emphasizes that the album's urban edge doesn't mean the 49-year-old star has lost her pop cred.

"It's everything rolled into one," he says. "It'll be a classic album." As previously reported here, Timbaland and Timberlake will appear in the video for Madonna's first single, "4 Minutes to Save the World." The album is slated for an April debut. The single drops in March.

Source: EW.com

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Op maandag 25 februari 2008 21:51 schreef Hapertje het volgende:
Die Daphne Bunskoek... die mag overmorgen Madonna interviewen! WOW!

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Our friends Kimmy and Hans from fellow fansite MadonnaUnderground inform us that Warner Music Netherlands confirmed Daphne Bunskoek of RTL Boulevard has been invited to interview Madonna in Los Angeles, because of M's new album.
As previously reported the interview will take place tomorrow.

Veronica (Dutch magazine and TV channel) will also be interviewing Madonna, which makes Holland a very lucky country with two interviews! Dutch TV station RTL also has something exciting planned.

Thanks to Kimmy & Hans from Madonna Underground

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The excitement over Madonna's new album is growing more and more, and more album trivia and tidbits are just in to tease us fans eager to bite Madonna's Hard Candy". We've learned that...

"Heartbeat" does indeed start with the sound of a heart beating (and wouldn't it be very cool if this one turns out to be the sound of Madonna's own heart?).

The vocoder is back in the final section of the song"Give It To Me" that ends with the wind blowing.

"Incredible" is the longest song on the album, with a running time of over 6 minutes! "Devil" starts with a melancholic piano solo and that the last thing you'll hear when the album ends is the sound of a bell stroken at the end of "Voices".

"This album is incredibly rich from a musical point of view", a source tells Madonna Tribe. "You can barely find a song with a traditional verse-chorus structure, most of the tracks have a more complex set-up with bridges, alternate verses and pre-choruses."
"And the best part is that Madonna is actually singing on most of them, with a magnificent, prominent voice.

From what we hear - just to mention one song - Madonna performs four different melodies in "Voices" - no matter if this is one of the album's shortest tracks, and she sings them one right after another in an amazing sequence of music and lyrics.

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Popster Madonna is maandag opgenomen in de Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Artiest Justin Timberlake overhandigde haar tijdens een galaceremonie in New York de begeerde muziektrofee.

De 49-jarige muzieklegende liet geroerd weten dat ze het alleen nooit zover had kunnen brengen, ,,Ik heb steeds het geluk dat ik mensen om me heen heb die in mij geloven''.
Ook folkzanger Leonard Cohen, rocker John Mellencamp, de Britse popband The Dave Clark Five en de groep The Ventures mogen zich nu scharen in de rij beroemde artiesten. Die komen 25 jaar na het uitbrengen van hun eerste single in aanmerking voor de eer. Zij worden opgenomen in een tentoonstelling van het Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-museum in Cleveland (Ohio).

(ANP)

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Op vrijdag 14 maart 2008 19:41 schreef Erotica_ het volgende:
wtf.. Lijkt wel zo'n Nederlandse productie

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Op zaterdag 15 maart 2008 12:38 schreef Erotica_ het volgende:

[..]

Mwua.. Dat zeiden ze 10 jaar geleden ook.

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Op maandag 17 maart 2008 13:54 schreef Prego het volgende:
Madonna op dat hoesje van 4 minutes:
nog 1 operatie en ze heeft geen gezicht meer

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[Rumours] Tour Rumours going round Live Nation!
Category: Live Performances & Tours.

Nothing is definitive or confirmed, but just a RUMOUR going round Live Nation. So keep it in mind!! But we think it's important to report what are the inside RUMOURS going round Live Nation right now:

Reports are coming in that Live Nation are putting the final touches to a sponsorship deal for Madonna's 2008/2009 world tour. An insider said "We are hoping to have tickets go sale for all locations around May 2nd with pre-sale tickets going on sale on the 1st". They also said the tour will be huge with Madonna going to loads of far-out places. Tickets are expected to be highly priced with front row sections being charged a premium. Nothing has been officially announced yet but a press release will be issued as soon as the sponsorship deal is completed.

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News is just in to MadonnaTribe that the approved international commercial singles for Madonna's "4 Minutes" are as follows:

UK 2-track CD (slimline jewelcase)
Code: 2-471292 0-5439-19939-5-3
01. 4 Minutes (Album Version)
02. 4 Minutes (Bob Sinclar Space Funk Remix)

International 2 track CD (babypak)
Code: 2-471356 0-5439-19939-4-6
01. 4 Minutes (Album Version)
02. 4 Minutes (Bob Sinclar Space Funk Remix)

International Maxi CD (slimline jewelcase)
Code: 2-471420 0-9362-49868-2-9
01. 4 Minutes (Album Version)
02. 4 Minutes (Bob Sinclar Space Funk Remix)
03. 4 Minutes (Junkie XL Remix)

International Digital Maxi
Code: 6-471420 0-9362-49868-1-2
01. 4 Minutes (Album Version)
02. 4 Minutes (Bob Sinclar Space Funk Remix)
03. 4 Minutes (Junkie XL Remix)

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Following the track listing of the European physical/digital singles of the "4 minutes" release we exclusively posted yesterday, here's the detailed info about the U.S. commercial singles scheduled for release next month.

M-collectors will be happy to know that a double vinyl, a Maxi Cd and the first ever US 12" picture disc are on the way on April 29.
Here are all the details we are happy to post on MadonnaTribe.com as an exclusive preview:

2-Disc vinyl 12" single: Special Jacket
Code: 0-463228 0-9362-49870-9-3
A1. Bob Sinclar Space Funk Remix 5:39
A2. Peter Saves Paris Remix 8:37
B1 Tracy Young House Mix 7:55
B2. Junkie XL Dirty Dub 4:52
C1. Album Version 4:05
C2. Rebirth Remix 7:57
D1. Junkie XL Remix 6:16

1-Disc vinyl 12" single: Picture Disc, Clear Plastic Sleeve 0-510652
Code: 0-9362-49860-1-0
A1. Radio Edit 3:10
A2. Bob Sinclar Space Funk Edit 4:57
B1. Junkie XL Remix Edit 4:39
B2. Tracy Young House Radio 3:33

CD Maxi: Folder/Inlay
Code: 2-463036 0-9362-49871-2-3
1. Bob Sinclar Space Funk Remix 5:39
2. Junkie XL Remix 6:16
3. Tracy Young House Mix 7:55
4. Peter Saves Paris Remix 8:37
5. Rebirth Remix 7:57
6. Junkie XL Dirty Dub 4:52

Thanks to Warner Music Group

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Op donderdag 3 april 2008 14:04 schreef Dragonwizard het volgende:
Volgens mij krijg je al kippenvel van Madonna' scheet

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Op donderdag 3 april 2008 21:25 schreef Dragonwizard het volgende:

Ik vind het liedje trouwens wel erg vlak, maar dat komt omdat JT praktisch alles doet.

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"Workin' up a sweat/ that's what music's for," Madonna sings on "Heartbeat," the pumped-up fourth song on Hard Candy, her latest album, due April 29. Indeed, the pop diva makes good on her promise – singing her way through an hour of Euro-flavored dance tracks infused with retro, house beats. PEOPLE.com took an advanced listen – and can reveal five fast facts about Madonna's latest.

• On "Spanish Lesson," produced by the Neptunes, Madonna does, in fact, go bilingual, offering liberal translations of phrases like, "Entiendo," which she says means, "I get it," over a funked-up flemenco guitar riff. (Literal translation: "I understand.")

• Kanye West offers a fast-paced rap on "Beat Goes On," the eighth track, breathlessly rapping, "I think I'm going to try something new."

• The singer indulges her choral side on the album-closer "Voices," which features production by Justin Timberlake, Timbaland and Nate "Danjahandz" Hills. The song builds to a dark, cinematic crescendo, as the album closes with one lone tone.

• Madonna sings, "You always have the biggest heart/ though we're 6,000 miles apart," on "Miles Away," a direct allusion to living and working far away from hubby Guy Richie.

• Madonna really wants you to dance: Two songs – opening track "Candy Store" and "Beat Goes On" – feature overt calls to action. "Gotta get up off your seat," she sings on the latter, bolstered by the Neptunes's production and West's rapping.

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Album Review: Madonna "Hard Candy"

ArjanWrites.com guest blogger Marc Andrews was invited to an exclusive listening session at Warner Music in Sydney on Friday to hear Madonna's entire new album "Hard Candy." He wrote up a review of the entertainer's much anticipated new album exclusively for ArjanWrites.com. A big thanks to Marc for sharing his candid thoughts about the album. "It’s a bit like sticking your hand blindly into the candy jar and coming up with trick after trick when you keep hoping for a treat," he writes about part of the album. Read on for the entire review.

Invariably expectations for a new Madonna album are always high. More often than not they’ve been judiciously met and quite often surpassed (2003’s "American Life" notwithstanding). 1989’s still radiant "Like A Prayer" finally won over the rock media and nearly a decade later Ray of Light grabbed back a legion of lapsed Madonna admirers, caught up in the intervening downward spiral of Sex, musicals and bad movies.

Now a decade on from that Grammy-winning triumph and Madonna is due another pop-time-capsule-of-an-album. With 2005’s glossy disco-esque "Confessions On A Dance Floor" she cannily plundered the best of the '70s to arrive at something whose unrelenting shimmery beats and dazzling euro-dance hooks rivalled her first two early 80s albums, "Madonna" and "Like A Virgin." It sold well all around the world, with the exception of her birth-home, the US of A.

That’s why her new album, "Hard Candy," released later this month, is so very clearly targeted at righting that regretful wrong and putting Madonna back on top of the pop charts and radio formats from Hollywood to Houston and all stops in between.

In Madonna’s now 25-year, Hall of Fame-awarded, recording career, the album that "Hard Candy" most resembles in context is 1994’s "Bedtime Story." That was Madonna’s sticky valentine to the hot black producers of the time after 1992’s icy house-brewed "Erotica" left her high and, well, dry. This time round though, there’s no trace of Babyface (producer of Bedtime’s 1995’s US #1 "Take A Bow"), or Dallas Austin (Bedtime’s underrated lead single Secret), but in their place Pharrell Williams, Timbaland and posse.

Strangely, album opener "Candy Shop," (almost identical to the version that leaked online a year ago), is one of the album's weaker tracks and doesn’t bode well for the rest of the 12-track set. Still, any song with Madonna making smutty double entendres out of lyrics as knowingly silly as "I got Turkish delights" can’t be taken too seriously.

On track two the big guns (or should that be "gums"?) are wheeled out. While "4 Minutes" is a virtual join-the-dots exercise in how to make an American hit, circa 2008, it’s undoubtedly a grower. With so many busy elements (those blaring horns, the cutesy banter trading with guest star Justin Timberlake – relegated to a "featuring" role in the credits – and Timbaland hovering close by) "4 Minutes" succeeds on a number of levels. It's not Madonna’s greatest single ever, and one that will no doubt age very dis-gracefully, but the best track to right US chart wrongs. Want proof? This week "4 Minutes" soared to #3, handing Madonna the honour of now being the artist with the most top ten hits in the US – edging past Elvis Presley. Tick-tock, tick-tock indeed!

Thankfully, the record's tasty triple selection of tracks 3-5 are all prime examples of what Madonna does best – memorable pop with great choruses that’ll ricochet globally for months to come. If you’re looking for singles #2, #3 and #4, here’s your one-stop Candy shop.

"Give It To Me" is Confession’s "Get Together" cleverly remodeled in the winning electro-funk style of her classic 1983 breakthrough single "Holiday." Pharrell Williams must have been itching for years to upgrade that particular Madonna standard and may well have just managed too. We’re guessing a sure shot heir to "4 Minutes."

That’s followed by "Heartbeat," the most "traditional" Madonna song here. Not only is it yet another ode to getting down – "when I dance I feel free" – in the finest Into The Groove tradition, but boasts a chorus as sweet as, well, candy. Fans have been waiting decades for Madonna to utter a line as club-friendly as ITG’s "only when I'm dancing can I feel this free" and Heartbeat’s "see my booty get down" is a fitting, albeit bootylicious, successor.

Finishing off the delicious trifecta is "Miles Away" – sweet urban pop with an undercurrent of melancholy and unmistakable echoes of Nelly Furtado’s "Say It Right." It’s a poignant tale of being far from the one you love and hints at what might be going on in Madonna’s private life. For someone who’s long crafted her musical art from personal experiences, "Hard Candy" is almost devoid of that usual frankness and "Miles Away" might be the only crack in the façade we’re allowed to view this time around. Or perhaps she left that all for the punchy cover shot?!

Next up is "She’s Not Me" – a snippy, bitchy, catchy disco groover that appears to be the Queen of Pop taking direct aim at her competition. Yet with so much early promise it’s tragically let down with an unfortunately bombastic middle section. From then on it just gets messy as spooky, swirling noises throb relentlessly throughout, giving the impression Pharrell fell asleep on the mixing board while the track was still running.

That’s the biggest complaint for the rest of the album – so many of the songs have great potential, yet end too raw and unfinished. From the middle onwards "Hard Candy" is definitely more miss than hit. It’s a bit like sticking your hand blindly into the candy jar and coming up with trick after trick when you keep hoping for a treat.

Of "Incredible" the less said the better. Suffice to say it in no way lives up to its name. “Sex with you is incredible” is one of the few remarkable lines uttered during this quite unremarkable track.

"Beat Goes On" is significantly different to the version that also leaked last year. It’s yet another tribute to dancing, with more of an early 80s vibe, and at first seems like the perfect blend of old skool Madonna with new skool grooves. After a curt Kanye West rap in which he mentions "doing F," whatever that may be, things once again dissolve into a meandering mess. The chorus is brazenly forgotten about, spoiling what could easily have been another Madonna classic. On and on it does indeed go.

"Hard Candy" is redeemed at this point by "Dance 2night" – with the Timbaland/Timberlake duo close by once more. Harking back to mid-80s Janet Jackson with its jaunty freestyle R&B approach, it sports a brain-hugging chorus that could easily have been stolen from some boy band archive. Hmmm, now who could be responsible for that?

Track ten, "Spanish Lesson," is mercifully short. Guess what? There are more references to the dance floor, a Spanish guitar tossed in, alongside some plodding beats, and it’s all over so quickly it barely rates a mention. Ho hum.

The closest thing to a ballad on the album is "Devil Wouldn’t Recognise You" where Justin once again makes his presence felt double-tracking Madonna. With echoes of JT’s own "Cry Me A River," it proves to be yet again a decent pop song left wanting under the weight of the “everything including the kitchen sink” production approach.

Finally, "Hard Candy" comes to a haunting end with "Voices." Cue Justin uttering the opening line: “who is the master, who is the slave?” Well, that certainly gives us plenty to ponder! Over a moody, mid-tempo beat "Voices" comes on like a veritable act of contrition for what has essentially been a collection of confessions on a urban dance floor.

Overall "Hard Candy" is patchy, but blessed with a handful of great singles (which is what you’d expect from any Madonna album) that stick close to the winning formula of keeping the most recognisable voice in pop uncluttered and out front. It’s when she’s tossed boxing gloves first into the mix, along with all manner of production pots and pans (a case of too many cooks perhaps?) that "Hard Candy" goes a tad sour.

Expectations-wise, file "Hard Candy" alongside 2000’s inconsistent "Music" album – which suffered coming post-Ray Of Light and delivering a truly killer lead single that promised too much. Likewise, beyond the handful of obvious singles, things start to get somewhat sticky on "Hard Candy."

As it is, it’s a sweet enough treat with just enough for longtime Madonna fans to cherish, or (ahem!) get their teeth into. And for those who suspected Madonna was well past her use-by-date in her 50th year, it’s mostly a timely reminder she’s still got a lot more than just "4 Minutes" to save the world’s charts with.

Marc Andrews is a media and entertainment journalist who writes for MEDIAWEEK magazine (http://www.mediaweek.com.au) and DNA Magazine (dnamagazine.com).

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Exclusive review of Madonna's Hard Candy

Rating: 3/5

As finishing touches were being applied to the East London premiere of Madonna’s latest album, academics specialising in adoption at Liverpool University announced what they called The Madonna Effect – a phenomenon “in which parents in Africa surrender their children for adoption thinking they will enjoy a better life”.

Whatever context is applied to it, you felt like adding that The Madonna Effect – sure to accumulate now that she has set her sights on adopting in India – isn’t restricted to adoption. There’s a Madonna effect for almost everything she does. In the past week alone, the Swiss jewellers Chopard have been besieged with requests for replicas of the £500,000 knuckleduster rings exhibited on the sleeve of Hard Candy.

All of which is worth dwelling on, because how will The Madonna Effect play out when Hard Candy is released? It’s tempting even to theorise that Madonna has made it so that there won’t be much of an Effect.

Seemingly eager to relieve herself from the pressure of being imitated at every turn, Madonna’s 11th studio album finds her deploying a coterie of producers – Timbaland, Danja, Pharrell Williams – who have, in varying combinations, already done the same thing with Nelly Furtado, Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani. Naturally, this being Madonna, she has already filed the riposte before you made the criticism. On She’s Not Me, she makes the point that however any other woman attempts to match her, they don’t have the advantage of being Madonna. So, what’s the song like? Well, it’s like roughly two thirds of Hard Candy – a sequenced avalanche of beats in the sonic centre ground that, in the olden days, used to be occupied by tunes.

Far from being a problem, that’s how some of the most exciting pop music is assembled these days. Madonna’s instinct for a killer tune has pushed producers such as Stuart Price, Mirwais and William Orbit to career peaks. Given time here, Incredible and the Kanye West-assisted Beat Goes On will scrub up alongside some of her best – especially the latter’s nods to Detroit techno at its poppermost.

Justin Timberlake cameos on the new single 4 Minutes and three other songs, including the immediately excellent Miles Away – a collision of acoustic downstrokes and feverishly jaunty rhythm that verges on reggae.

When the songs work, it doesn’t much matter that Madonna is blazing a fourth-hand trail. After 25 years of reinvention, we can surely cut her slack in that department. But on Dance 2Night, She’s Not Me and Give it 2 Me, what surprises is how deferential Madonna is to her collaborators. Even the album’s showstopping ballad, The Devil Wouldn’t Recognise You succumbs to a default mode of vast beats.

By this late stage, you rather feel like you’re in your fifth hour at the Ambassador’s famous party. Great, but is there anything else on offer other than Ferrero sodding Rochers?

Only on the final song, Voices, does Madonna remember that her stock-in-trade is to assimilate the sound of a well-known producer and turn it into something else. Here, the sort of poignant, unresolved chords you might sooner hear on an early Serge Gainsbourg record accord with a more personal lyric, before a grandiloquent finale of bells and pipe organ sends us on our way.

Hard Candy is no disaster, but a little more of that wouldn’t have gone amiss.

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Madonna’s Hard and Delicious Candy: My review…

Hard Candy drops on April 28th but I have already been fortunate to have a sneak listen to the record at an exclusive playback in London today. A handful of journos piled into 3 Rooms in Shoreditch to hear it.



The decor was totally fab - giant candy emblazoned with Madge pictures and a lovely little goddie bag featuring all M’s latest pictorials.

So the album. Overall it’s easily as good as Confessions…..if not better. It’s a dancefloor filler from start to finish. At times I’d say there’s a bit too much going on with some of the tracks but it’s a fun album that I reckon could exceed the last album in global success. I only had one little listen but here’s my initial thoughts on the album! And a picture of me and my Madonna branded lolly! I got a D for….Dean! Ha ha.

1. Candy Shop - “Come into my store, we got candy galore,” Madge purrs. It’s a little less frantic as 4 Minutes but a good single if it were to be released - definitely catchy.

2. 4 Minutes - A killer tune that we already know and love.

3. Give it 2 Me - She’s just filmed the video for this track, the second single. It starts off with an Abba twinge and it’s almost circusy. It gets almost techno and rave style towards the end and there’s some enjoyable heavy mechanical voice work towards the end. It’s a definite radio hit.

4. Heartbeat - starts off with the sound of a beating heart. This track sticks in your head - it feels like an ace track from the Bedtime Stories era.

5. Miles Away - An acoustic guitar starts at the beginning. It’s vocally very Madonna and possibly a little Ray Of Lightish! It’s all over the internet on You Tube if you fancy a listen…..

6. She’s Not Me - This song feels very personal - is she yelling and screeching at hubby Guy’s ex Tania Strecker (who Madonna pushed out the way to get Guy) when she squeals: “She’s not me and she never will be!” There’s anger and it’s great.

7. Incredible - It’s very happy as a record. Has a furious ending that goes on and on. It’s fairly dark and gets very NERD-ish towards the end.

8. Beat Goes On - Disco number and very fun. It’s electro with a hip hop edge and has a great orchestral bit. One of my favourite tracks.

9. Dance Tonight - It feels like the ‘Forbidden Love’ track of the album. It’s smooth and sexier than most tracks on the album. Dancy towards the end and feels like proper old school Madge.

10. Spanish Lessons - The gypsy guitar is out and proud. I wanted to walk around the room click my fingers and slamming my feet on the floor.

11. Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You - I really wanted to listen to this one again big time! Stand out track for me - that’s what I wrote down but I was mingling around at the time and have memory loss annoyingly!

12. Voices - “Who is the master and who is the slave,” Madge asks. It’s dramatic with strings and slightly more laid back and chilled. A good end to a fab new album.

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Hard Candy: UK Album Playback

Madonnalicious was fortunate enough to attend the UK playback for Hard Candy in East London earlier this evening with about 100 other members of the press.

Behind a non-descript door near Spitalfields market, UK press, TV and internet journalists gathered to listen to Madonna's new album. Once checked in at the door, all mobile phones were taken away and champagne handed out in return!



The playback took place in a large loft-type space, with many sofas and comfy chairs, cushions and LCD televisions, on every table there were candy canes and jelly beans - and large lollypops spelling out M-A-D-O-N-N-A H-A-R-D C-A-N-D-Y, many of the journalists snapped up these goodies.

Handouts of the album tracklist were handed out to everyone and then the playback started with the name of each track was displayed on the many LCD screens - and at the end the 4 Minutes video was also played.



As everyone left, they were handed a Hard Candy goodie bag which contained copies of Dazed and Confused, Elle, Q and Vanity Fair (May editions with the Madonna covers), a set of four Hard Candy collectors postcards, candy canes, a Hard Candy lollypop and some Madonna Hard Candy's which would spell out her name and the album title if you dared open the packet!





And the album you ask? For those who were worried Madonna has ventured too far into RnB, fear not - although some songs contain the RnB beat, the way Madonna sings her lyrics over the top tends to make the songs recognisably 'Madonna'.

Far from being just an RnB album, madonnalicious felt a definite early 1980's club disco/electronic vibe to the album, and it felt like Madonna was going back to her beginnings (with a little RnB added on top!).

The second single Give It 2 Me will be an excellent club hit - in it's funky club/disco stomper way - it even contains a very similar bridge/break to Thief of Hearts.

For those fans who previously heard The Beat Goes On - prepare for a surprise - the song is so different madonnalicious even thought the wrong track was being played. Only the chorus (barely) survives, and there are new verses and a new rap by Kanye West.

Other standout tracks include 4 Minutes, Miles Away, She's Not Me, Incredible, Devil Wouldn't Recognise You and Voices.

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Madonna playback 'mayhem' (ie not mayhem at all)

We went to a 'Hard Candy' album playback yesterday evening. Playbacks are great because there is booze and food and the music is played quite loud - factors which, when combined, ensure that everything sounds better than it actually is.

These leaflets (click to enlarge) were lying around.



Let's have a look at this again.

"'The album title is a juxtaposition of tough and sweetness.. Kind of like "I'm gonna kick your ass but it's going to make you feel good". And of course, I love candy,' laughed the material girl."

'Laughed the material girl'? What is this, a local TV news report? Christ alive.

Anyway the album's brilliant (see our extensive review) but of course what you really want to know is whether the playback was festooned with loads of 'Hard Candy'-inspired nonsense. The answer is yes. As well as loads of massive 'candy canes' and the like, the entrance featured this 'amazing' (slightly unnerving) picture of the album sleeve, made out of jelly beans.



Let's take a closer look.



Let's take an even closer look.



On second thoughts, let's not.

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Op donderdag 10 april 2008 21:03 schreef creno het volgende:
Heeft iemand al kunnen ontcijferen wat er op haar ring staat ? Het lijkt op "Mdolla" maar is dat ook zo ?!?

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EXCLUSIVE - DrownedMadonna.com has some great news for Madonna's fans.

Madonna is due to start her world tour on the anniversary of 9/11, DrownedMadonna.com can reveal. The first show will be at London’s Wembley STADIUM on September 11th with a second show on 13th. She wants a big opening for her tour and there’s no where bigger than Wembley Stadium. After London she will go to Paris.

Huge shows are being planned in Australia, Brazil and Argentina to name but a few. There are also plans to travel to Dubai for the first time and a visit to Israel is looking hopeful.

Keep in mind that this is a tentative schedule and it's obviously subjected to change.