On August 14 2012, Madonna appeared on the cover of Russian Hello magazine.
Category Archives: 2012
Today in Madonna History: July 26, 2012
On July 26 2012, Madonna performed at the historic Olympia music hall in Paris, France.
The one-off mini show – performed during her MDNA Tour but not part of the tour proper – featured a selection of performances from the standard set list, plus two additional songs: a Beautiful Killer/Die Another Day mash-up (with choreography adapted from the tour performance of Revolver) and a cover of Serge Gainsbourg’s Je t’aime…moi non plus. A live webcast of the show streamed on YouTube.
The show was not without controversy, although the exact nature of the controversy depends on who you believe. According to some, a small group of hecklers in attendance decided to cause a commotion after the show had ended, booing and throwing bottles on the stage. Others suggested there may have been political motivations behind the heckling due to Madonna’s opposition to the platform of National Front party leader Marine Le Pen. Much of the local media claimed that some fans were upset over the short length of the show (45 minutes), as it had not been explicitly promoted as a mini concert, despite the fact that it was likely the lengthiest of any club show Madonna had performed at the time.
Madonna responded to the kerfuffle with the following statement:
Playing the Olympia was a magical moment for me and it was a real treat to do this special show for my fans and be so close to them. Unfortunately at the end of the show – after I left the stage – a few thugs who were not my fans rushed the stage and started throwing plastic bottles pretending to be angry fans. The press reports have focused on this and not the joyous aspect of the evening. But nothing can take away or ruin this very special evening for me and my fans. When I looked out in the audience, everyone I saw had a smile on their face. I look forward to having this wonderful experience again.”
Set list:
- Turn Up The Radio
- Open Your Heart
- Masterpiece
- Justify My Love (interlude)
- Vogue
- Candy Shop
- Human Nature
- Beautiful Killer (featuring elements from Die Another Day)
- Je t’aime…moi non plus
Today in Madonna History: June 3, 2012
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: April 18, 2012
On April 18 2012, Madonna was interviewed by Harry Smith as part of NBC’s Rock Center.
Madonna talked about her Super Bowl performance, rehearsing for her upcoming MDNA World Tour, parenting and her thoughts on the paparazzi photos of Lourdes smoking.
Today in Madonna History: April 1, 2012
On April 1 2012, Madonna achieved her 12th UK #1 album with MDNA, overtaking Elvis Presley as the solo artist with the most chart-topping albums of all-time in Great Britain.
Today in Madonna History: March 25, 2012
On March 25 2012, borderline MUSIC held the official MDNA release party in Chicago.
Today in Madonna History: March 24, 2012
On March 24th 2012, The New York Post’s Page Six reported that Madonna’s video for Girl Gone Wild had been deemed too wild for general viewing on YouTube. It would be restricted to registered users over the age of eighteen in its uncensored form:
“Madonna’s steamy new video for Girl Gone Wild has been banned from open view on YouTube for being too raunchy, with scenes including nudity and a close-up of a man’s PVC-clad crotch. YouTube chiefs have restricted the video for those 18 years or above, and sources tell us they’ve told the superstar’s management that if they want it to be available for viewing by all, they must edit out shots of bare bottoms, a man rubbing his crotch and an implied masturbation scene where a man gyrates before a mirror. Madonna’s team was working yesterday on an edited version of the video for YouTube because, for the first time, it’s based its marketing strategy for her new album, MDNA, on social media, including a live Facebook interview with Jimmy Fallon today. A source told us, ‘YouTube has decided the video is too raunchy and should only be viewed by those 18 or over, and actually, the video is hard to find on the site. YouTube has sent Madonna’s team a list of shots that should be cut to make it appropriate for everyone.’ Fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott directed Girl Gone Wild, using much of the singer’s trademark erotic imagery, including topless men dancing in black tights (mantyhose) and platform heels. YouTube also took exception to an S&M-inspired scene of a silhouette in chains. The video was deemed ‘inappropriate for some users’ by YouTube, and viewers must verify they’re 18 or older and log in to watch it. Madonna’s rep, Liz Rosenberg, told us, ‘Some things never change. This is a throwback to [1990] when MTV refused to show Justify My Love.'”
A re-edited version of the Girl Gone Wild video was provided to YouTube several days later and was approved for general viewing.
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