On December 3 2005, Confessions On A Dance Floor entered the Billboard 200 album chart at number-one with sales of of over 350,000. It was her third consecutive studio album to reach the top and her sixth chart-topping album overall in the US.
Internationally the album hit number-one in 40 countries, including Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Brazil and Australia.
On November 27 2005, Confessions Of Madonna – a one-hour interview conducted by Dermot O’Leary which focused mainly on promoting the television broadcast of I’m Going To Tell You A Secret – aired on Channel 4 in the UK.
On November 8 2005, Madonna recorded an interview with Michael Parkinson for an episode of the British television series Parkinson, for broadcast on November 12th.
Madonna was in great spirits during the appearance, which also included performances of two songs from her soon-to-be-released album, Confessions On A Dance Floor: lead single Hung Up along with the very first live performance of Get Together.
(Thanks Amalio for sharing the video!)
On October 17 2005, Hung Up was released by Warner Brothers Records as the lead single from the album Confessions On A Dance Floor.
Written & produced by Madonna & Stuart Price (with additional sampling credits to ABBA’s Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus), Hung Up had initially been previewed instrumentally in a September 2005 commercial for Motorola’s ROKR mobile phone. Price had also teased a dub remix of the track to unknowing audiences during his DJ sets throughout the previous year.
The single was Madonna’s first to be released digitally through iTunes.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph from October 2005, Benny Andersson spoke about their decision to allow Madonna to sample ABBA’s 1979 hit, Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight):
We get so many requests from people wanting to use our tracks but we normally say ‘no’. This is only the second time we have given permission. We said ‘yes’ this time because we admire Madonna so much and always have done. She has got guts and has been around for 21 years. That is not bad going.”
On July 2 2005, Madonna performed Like A Prayer, Ray Of Light and Music in front of an audience of over 200,000 during the Live 8 benefit concert at London’s Hyde Park. Part of a series of concerts, many of which were held simultaneously at various locations around the world, Live 8 was broadcast live on television and radio to an estimated global audience of two billion.
Madonna is one of only eight acts – and the only female artist – to have been a headlining performer at both 1985’s Live Aid and 2005’s Live 8. Other returning performers were U2, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sting, The Who, George Michael, and organizer, Bob Geldof. It took a bit of arm twisting on Geldof’s part to win Madonna’s commitment the second time around, as Madonna explained to MTV’s John Norris in a backstage interview after her performance:
Bob Geldof sent me a letter asking ‘will you do Live 8?’ and he didn’t really tell me anything and I went ‘Oh common dude, you gotta do better than that! Prove to me that it’s gonna make a difference and I’ll be there for you.’ And he did!”
In what turned out to be one of the event’s most moving moments, Madonna was introduced to the stage by Geldof with Birhan Woldu – the starving African child featured in the CBC News report twenty years earlier who had prompted Geldof to organize Live Aid. When Geldof had asked Woldu which artist she would like to appear with on stage, she immediately selected Madonna for the simple reason that she was the only artist on the bill that she had ever heard of. In a later interview, Woldu recalled the experience:
The crowd seemed to stretch for miles, but I’d been telling myself not to be nervous. There was just a huge picture of me as a child on the screen. That photo still upsets me. It was taken 20 years ago, when both my mother and sister died. I knew I must be strong for them but when I walked on I could feel my body shaking. Then Madonna took my hand and looked into my eyes, the crowd roared and I realised the world wanted to help my continent. I felt myself grow stronger.”
Madonna’s memorable performance at Live 8 was largely praised by mainstream media and fans alike.
On June 28 2005, Madonna told Britain’s Grazia magazine:
“I am perfectly happy to muck around in a pair of drawstring pants and wellies. Sometimes my daughter gets angry because I go to school with her wearing my tracksuit and she say ‘Can’t you just wear normal clothes?’ I think she wants me to be a Yummy Mummy, but that’s not me.”
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.
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