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Today in Madonna History: February 5, 2014

February 5, 2019 By in 2014, February Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

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On February 5 2014, Madonna introduced Pussy Riot at the Amnesty International’s human rights concert.

It was the first Amnesty International concert for the cause in 16 years, and took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

During her introduction, Madonna thanked Pussy Riot “for making pussy a ‘sayable’ word in my household. Now, my 8-year-olds say it all the time.”

More seriously, Madonna spoke of the death threats she received during the Russian portion of her MDNA World Tour, which took place at the same time as Pussy Riot’s trial.

“Eighty-seven of my fans were arrested for gay behavior — whatever that is,” she said.

The Pussy Riot members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, spoke in Russian with aggression and passion. A translator related the women’s speech.

“Freedom is not a given,” she translated. “It is something we have to fight for every day. It is our duty to speak for those who are still behind bars.”

Today in Madonna History: February 4, 1984

February 4, 2019 By in 1984, February Tags: 1 Comment

m-no-1-magazine

On February 4 1984, Madonna was featured on the cover of No. 1 magazine.

Today in Madonna History: February 1, 1997

February 1, 2019 By in 1997, February Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

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On February 1 1997, Evita – The Complete Motion Picture Soundtrack peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the U.S. Meanwhile across the pond, the soundtrack simultaneously shot to the #1 position on the UK album chart. It had initially peaked at #6 in the U.S. and at #7 in the U.K. upon release in November, 1996.

The surge in sales was largely attributed to the film’s wide release in January and the heavy promotional push that accompanied it, along with the interest generated by the soundtrack’s second single, Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.

Today In Madonna History: January 31, 2012

January 31, 2019 By in 2012, January Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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On January 31 2012, the deluxe edition cover for MDNA was unveiled through Madonna’s official Facebook page.  The album’s artwork was shot by Mert and Marcus and directed by Giovanni Bianco.

Today in Madonna History: January 30, 1995

January 30, 2019 By in 1995, January Tags: , , , , , , 2 Comments

Soul singer Babyface (L) and Madonna pos m-tab-ama-2 m-tab-ama-3

On January 30, 1995, Madonna and Babyface performed Take A Bow at the 22nd annual American Music Awards at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California.

Today in Madonna History: January 29, 2002

January 29, 2019 By in 2002, January Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

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On January 29 2002, Madonna attended the opening of photographer Mario Testino’s exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England.

Today in Madonna History: January 28, 1984

January 28, 2019 By in 1984, January Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

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On January 28 1984, Madonna’s single, Holiday hit #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA.

Holiday was released on September 7, 1983, and became Madonna’s first hit single and remained on the charts from Thanksgiving to Christmas in 1983. It was Madonna’s first song to enter the Billboard Hot 100, at 88 on the issue dated October 29, 1983 and reached a peak of 16 on January 28, 1984 and was on the chart for 21-weeks. The song debuted at eight on the Hot Dance Club Play chart on the issue dated November 2, 1983 and was Madonna’s first number one single on the Hot Dance Club Play chart remaining at the top for five weeks.

In the United Kingdom, Holiday has been released three times as a single; in January 1984, reaching number six, and in August 1985 reaching number 2 (only being kept from number one by her own Into the Groove single). Its third release in 1991 included new artwork to promote The Immaculate Collection with a limited edition EP titled The Holiday Collection, which contained tracks omitted from the compilation; this version peaked at number five.

The photos for this post are from Madonna’s Solid Gold performance of Holiday.