Author Archives: Jay

Today in Madonna History: June 5, 2026

June 5, 2026 By in 2026, June Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On June 5, 2026, Madonna appeared in headlines around the world following her surprise Grindr Presents: Madonna LIVE in New York performance in Times Square.

The June 4 pop-up event was staged at the TSX Stage in Times Square and helped launch Pride Month with a live celebration of Madonna’s upcoming Confessions II album, while also revisiting songs from 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor.

The performance was widely celebrated in the media, with major outlets covering Madonna’s Pride Month return to New York:

“Madonna Kicks Off Pride Month With a Surprise Times Square Performance” — Vogue

“Madonna Turns Times Square into Night Club, Previews New Album to Kick Off Pride Month at Surprise Concert: ‘C’mon, Gays!’” — People

“Madonna Performs a Surprise Times Square Concert in Custom Dolce & Gabbana” — Harper’s Bazaar

Madonna performed the following songs:

  1. I Feel So Free
  2. Bring Your Love
  3. Love Sensation
  4. Get Together
  5. I Love New York
  6. Hung Up

The performance featured new music from Confessions II, including Love Sensation, and celebrated Pride Month with visuals honouring LGBTQ+ icons including Marsha P. Johnson, Keith Haring, and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Before leaving the stage, Madonna shouted to the crowd: “Thank you for coming, I love you, happy Pride!”

Today in Madonna History: June 4, 2026

June 4, 2026 By in 2026, June Tags: , , , 1 Comment

On June 4, 2026, Madonna participated in Grindr Presents: Madonna LIVE in New York, a special Pride Month livestream from Times Square.

The event was part of the promotional campaign for Confessions II and featured Madonna welcoming fans back to the dance floor while debuting new music from the album. The livestream was presented through Grindr and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0S1pR1AKj4

Madonna’s partnership with Grindr also included an in-app takeover, exclusive content, behind-the-scenes access, and a limited-edition Confessions II vinyl picture disc made available through the app.

Today in Madonna History: June 3, 2012

June 3, 2026 By in 2012, June Tags: , , , 1 Comment

marine-le-pen-madonna-1 marine-le-pen-madonna-2 marine-le-pen-madonna-3

On June 3 2012, Marine Le Pen threatened to sue Madonna if she included her image with a swastika during her shows in France.

Here’s a snippet of an article that appeared in the Telegraph:

The fleeting image was shown at a concert the US-born singer gave in Tel Aviv last Thursday as part of her MDNA World Tour.

Projected during the song Nobody Knows Me, the film morphed Madonna’s face with a number of famous figures, including Chinese leader Hu Jinatao, US Republican former presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Pope Benedict XVI.

Miss Le Pen’s eyes and forehead then appear for a second before a swastika and the eyes of Adolf Hitler are superimposed onto the FN leader.

Furious, Miss Le Pen threatened to sue the singer if she kept the video unchanged when she performs in Paris on the July 14 national holiday and in Nice in August. “If she does that in France, we’ll be waiting for her,” she told Le Parisien.

Hitting back at Madonna, she was quoted by the newspaper as asking: “By the way, has Madonna given back the children she stole from Africa? Or did she end up buying them?”

Today in Madonna History: June 2, 2005

June 2, 2026 By in 2005, June Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

live8_5 550 live8_backstage50 live8_backstage3 550 live8_4 550 live8_2 550 live8_1 550

On June 2 2005, Madonna.com confirmed Madonna’s participation of Live 8:

“Sir Bob Geldof confirmed in a press conference yesterday the details and confirmed the artists featuring in Live 8 – a series of five live shows in London, Paris, Philadelphia, Rome and Berlin on Saturday July 2nd. The concerts have been organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure as part of a campaign to force the world’s richest nations to relieve poverty in the third world. The concerts – which will be free – are aimed at raising awareness of poverty just before leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations meet in Scotland…”

Madonna went on to perform a three-song set from London’s Hyde Park consisting of Like A Prayer, Ray Of Light & Music.

Today in Madonna History: May 25, 1990

May 26, 2026 By in 1990, May Tags: , , , 1 Comment

madonna_throat

On May 25 1990, Madonna had to cancel a third scheduled Blond Ambition concert at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago, Illinois, due to laryngitis.

Today in Madonna History: May 24, 1991

May 24, 2026 By in 1991, May Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

madonna_rescue me sleeve 550

On May 24 1991, Madonna’s Rescue Me single was certified Gold by the RIAA for shipment of over 500,000 units in the U.S.

Today in Madonna History: May 23, 1985

May 24, 2026 By in 1985, May Tags: , , 1 Comment

virgin-toronto-1 virgin-toronto-2 virgin-toronto-3 virgin-toronto-4 virgin-toronto-5

On May 23 1985, Madonna performed her Virgin Tour concert in front of a sold-out crowd of 16,000 fans at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens. The show generated $238,264 in ticket sales.

Here’s a great photo of the Beastie Boys hanging outside Maple Leaf Gardens before the show (on Church Street just north of Carlton):

beastie-boys-maple-leaf-gardens

Maple Leaf Gardens was primarily a hockey and concert venue from 1931 until 2001. The building sat dormant until November 2011, when it reopened as a Loblaws grocery store.  To celebrate the history of the building, Loblaws kept centre ice, created art out of some of the seats and commemorated important dates on some of the supporting columns.  Here is one of those columns:

madonna-maple-leaf-gardens

Jay’s note: I’d like to say that I made a special trip to Loblaws just to take this photo, but it’s the long-weekend here in Canada — and I really wanted one of their amazing chocolate dip donuts!