On July 3, 1987, Madonna accepted a rare Canadian Diamond Album certification award at a press conference at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel on the eve of her sold-out concert at CNE Stadium. The certification award was presented by WEA Music Canada president Stan Kulin to commemorate over one million units sold of the True Blue album in Canada.
Madonna would receive a second Canadian Diamond Album certification for Like A Virgin in 1992.
On June 28 1986, Billboard magazine reported that Madonna made a surprise appearance at WEA International’s annual manager’s meeting with Seymour Stein in New York earlier that month where she previewed tracks from her forthcoming album, True Blue.
On June 27 2015, Bitch I’m Madonna earned Top Breakout and Most Added track on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart in the U.S.
On June 17 2005, Madonna’s official website posted a teaser of Madonna’s forthcoming documentary and revealed its title for the first time – I’m Going To Tell You A Secret.
On June 16 2007, Hey You peaked at #57 on Billboard’s Canadian Hot 100 Singles chart.
The charity single, recorded for the Live Earth benefit, was not promoted to radio and appeared on the chart for a single week only. It marked Madonna’s first appearance on the newly created Canadian Hot 100 Singles chart, which replaced the Nielsen Soundscan chart as Canada’s official singles monitor earlier that year.
Hey You was produced by Madonna & Pharrell Williams during the sessions for the Hard Candy album and is credited to Madonna alone.
On June 11 1986, Madonna’s Papa Don’t Preach single was released.
The single and its music video, which made its debut a week later, caused controversy due to its focus on the issue of teenage pregnancy. Perhaps if the media had paid a little closer attention to the video, they would have found that it contained a few other points of interest. While Danny Aiello’s inclusion in the video was duly reported, the same can’t be said for Madonna’s breasts, which also made several brief cameo appearances in the clip.
We imagine Madonna must have had a good laugh over the fact that these scenes flew under the radar of MTV, the media, and by all but the most perceptive of fans at the time.
On June 6 2013, a press release by Universal Music announced the release date of the MDNA World Tour concert film and live album:
Madonna’s groundbreaking, critically acclaimed, controversial and visually stunning MDNA concert will be available in the US on August 27th (August 26th globally), it was announced today by Universal Music. The two hour MDNA extravaganza was the most successful tour of 2012. Presented by Live Nation Global Touring, the tour included 88 sold out shows in 29 countries. Madonna and her ten member band lead by musical director Kevin Antunes and troupe of 25 dancers performed a wild two hour spectacle that fascinated, enthralled and entertained 2.2 million fans.
“Madonna spent six months personally editing the video footage from 30 cameras and many different shows to put together the MDNA DVD. Her attention to every frame, every detail and nuance and total commitment to show her creative vision has been done to perfection. Each song is like a short movie. One minute you are in an action movie and the next you’re at a golden era musical before shooting across to India and back for a house party to finish. It’s better than any 3-D Imax movie out there and at a break neck pace that would make any Olympian struggle for breath,” commented the show’s co- director and supervising editor, Danny B. Tull.
Songs included “Girl Gone Wild” and “Gang Bang” from Madonna’s MDNA CD which debuted at No. 1 in 35 countries as well as fan favorite classic Madonna songs such as “Hung Up”, “Express Yourself,” “Vogue,” “Open Your Heart,” “Like A Prayer” and “Celebration”.
“My show is a journey.. the journey of a soul from darkness to light. It is part cinematic musical theatre, part spectacle and sometimes intimate performance art. I know people can relate to it. It’s very important to me as an artist that my show not be taken out of context. It must be watched with an open heart from beginning to end.. I am sure if it is viewed this way, the viewer will walk away feeling inspired, invigorated and will want to make the world a better place.. And this of course is my intention,” remarked Madonna in her manifesto about the show.
Amongst the glowing reviews, the Daily Mail raved, “The queen of pop’s latest album MDNA provided the bedrock for a two hour show that sent out a powerful message to any young pretenders eyeing up her crown.. She remains one of the greats.”
“Madonna’s sold-out concert was a jaw-dropping sequence of stunningly designed set pieces; including an aerial drum crops, a battalion of dazzling dancers, an explosively bloody gangster fantasy and a surreal spiritual voyage,” remarked The Miami Herald.
“The Material Girl proceeds to take us through a song cycle that examined sex, liberation, sin , empowerment, love, addiction, rebellion and finally redemption.. She did it all in classic Madonna style – controversial and eye-popping,” commented The Dallas Morning News.
The MDNA DVD was directed by Danny B. Tull and Stephane Sennour and was produced by Madonna. Executive producers: Arthur Fogel, Guy Oseary and Sara Zambreno. Tour wardrobe was created by Arianne Phillips. Supervising Editor Danny B. Tull. Director of Photography Mark Ritchie.
