Today in Madonna History: May 10, 2003

On May 10 2003, Madonna’s American Life album reached #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart in the USA.

In 2008, Sal Cinquemani had this to say about American Life in Slant magazine:

In hindsight, American Life isn’t the masterpiece that Erotica so quickly revealed itself to be. It’s frequently self-indulgent, misguided, unpleasant, difficult to listen to, silly yet somehow humorless, but it’s also consistent, uncompromising, and unapologetic. The album is a testament to the artist’s willingness to take risks and her refusal to stay inside her comfort zone. In the grand scheme of things, the album might rank as one of the weakest in Madonna’s extensive catalog, and the ones that followed have been as good, if not better, but American Life stands as the last time Madonna seemed to make music without the primary objective of scoring a hit. It’s interesting to imagine what Madonna’s career would look like today had American Life been a success: For better or worse, that pink leotard and Justin duet might never have existed.

Today in Madonna History: April 28, 2003

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On April 28 2003, Madonna graced the cover of People Magazine: Madonna’s Real Life

Here’s a snippet of the article that went with the cover:

Once a naughty material girl, the pop icon has turned into a doting mom and devoted wife. But she’s still making waves. Visitors to Madonna’s $6.5 million Beverly Hills mansion on a recent afternoon could stroll through and behold master-works by Picasso, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and…resident artist Lourdes Leon, age 6. Alas, Lourdes belongs to the enfant terrible school of art, which has her famous mom clenching her teeth in frustration. “My daughter spilled black paint on the bedroom rug,” says a stressed Madonna. “We’re not really sure how it happened. She was left alone for two minutes, and, well, it’s not pretty.” So where is her husband, British film director Guy Ritchie? “He’s upstairs, working on a script,” she says. “I’m much more the disciplinarian of the house, although Guy is getting more involved.” Then, flashing a playful grin, she adds, “I’d have to fire him as a dad if he didn’t get more involved. I can’t be the hard one all the time.”

Today in Madonna History: April 19, 2003

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On April 19 2003, Madonna.com was hacked by some “fans” that didn’t agree with her anti-download policy.

Madonna’s official website was hacked and replaced by a page with links to download the complete American Life album as well as some remixes. The hack occurred only days after Madonna tried to combat illegal trading of songs from her American Life album, by flooding the Internet with fake MP3s.

The hacker defaced the homepage with the words, “This is what the fuck I think I’m doing” — a response to MP3s circulated to confuse file traders that included only a tape-looped message from Madonna herself saying, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” MP3s of every song from American Life were posted along with the hackers’ message.

Madonna.com was taken offline for an nearly fifteen hours after the hack.

Today in Madonna History: February 10, 2003

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On February 10 2003, Swept Away was nominated for the following Razzie Awards:

  • Worst Picture
  • Worst Remake or Sequel
  • Worst Director (Guy Ritchie)
  • Worst Screenplay
  • Worst Actress (Madonna)
  • Worst Actor (Adriano Giannini)
  • Worst Screen Couple (Madonna and Adriano Giannini)

Madonna was also nominated for Razzies for Die Another Day:

  • Worst Support Actress
  • Worst Original Song

The Golden Raspberry Awards, or the Razzies, recognize the worst in film.

Today in Madonna History: December 9, 2003

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On December 9 2003, Madonna’s Nothing Fails CD maxi-single (featuring remixes of Nobody Knows Me) was released in the USA.

The CD included the following remixes:

  1. Nothing Fails (Peter Rauhofer’s Classic House Mix)
  2. Nothing Fails (Nevins Big Room Rock Mix)
  3. Nothing Fails (Tracy Young’s Underground Mix)
  4. Nothing Fails (Nevins Global Dub)
  5. Nothing Fails (Jackie’s In Love in the Club Mix)
  6. Nobody Knows Me (Peter Rauhofer’s Private Life Part 1)
  7. Nobody Knows Me (Above & Beyond 12″ Mix)
  8. Nobody Knows Me (Mount Sims Italo Kiss Mix)

Were CD single designers on strike when this was released? What happened to cool designs for singles? Lame lame lame ..  

Today in Madonna History: November 24, 2003

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Today in Madonna History: September 26, 2003

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On September 26 2003, a Madonna special collector’s edition of Q magazine hit newsstands in the UK.