Today in Madonna History: March 8, 2012

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On March 8 2012, British singer-songwriter Mika tweeted his reaction to hearing Madonna’s recording of Gang Bang, which was based on a song he co-wrote, titled Bang Bang:

“Weird as fuck, underground and lyrically cool; it’s amazing and bizarre. I love it, she sounds so good singing words so harsh.”

Madonna had originally recorded a demo that was faithful to Mika’s original vision for the song but later gave it a drastic overhaul, stripping it down to a pulsating beat with panning sound effects and violent ad libbed vocals – although its original core lyrics remained intact.

Gang Bang was produced by Madonna, William Orbit and Demolition Crew and appeared on the 2012 album, MDNA. Due to its violent overtones, the track was excluded from the “clean” version of the album.

Today in Madonna History: February 29, 2012

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On February 29 2012, Shirley Manson (Garbage) talked to Bullet Media and defended Madonna against ageist, misogynistic critics:

“The tabloids complain about Madonna looking old, and people laugh at her for that. Then Madonna goes and fixes her face, and they laugh at her for that. Even though they begrudgingly say she looks amazing, they’ll still laugh at her for trying to look young. Then she steps out, looking amazing, and the tabloids go and blow up a picture of her aging hand. Nobody’s doing that to George Clooney, blowing up pictures of his hands! I look at these magazines, and I want to say to them, ‘What’s your point? That she’s aged? Does that surprise you? Or is your ‘point’ an attempt to undercut what she’s achieved?’ I think it is, even if it’s on a subconscious level. … And you probably wouldn’t turn down those hands if they were grabbing you under the table, you fucking idiots!”

TODAY IN MADONNA HISTORY: JANUARY 29, 2012

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On January 29 2012, Live Nation Entertainment and Interscope Records released a press release announcing Madonna’s Give Me All Your Luvin’ single:

Madonna will be releasing her new single Give Me All Your Luvin’ featuring Nicki Minaj & M.I.A. on February 3rd, three days before her highly anticipated Bridgestone Super Bowl halftime performance. Give Me All Your Luvin’ is the first single from Madonna’s upcoming album MDNA, her 12th studio album and follow up to 2008’s Hard Candy which debuted at No. 1 in 37 countries. The song was written by Madonna, Martin Solveig, Nicki Minaj and M.I.A, composed by Martin Solveig and Michael Tordjman and produced by Madonna and Martin Solveig.

Where does this single rank for you in the history of Madonna’s hit singles? Is it a favorite? Forgotten? Should she perform it again? 

Today in Madonna History: January 15, 2012

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On January 15 2012, Madonna and co-writers Julie Frost and Jimmy Harry won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song for Masterpiece (from the film W.E.) at the Golden Globe Awards.

Today in Madonna History: January 4, 2012

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On January 4 2012, Kylie Minogue denied a rumour (via Twitter) that she and Madonna would be joining forces for a killer duet:

“It’s just a rumour, but of course it would be amazing!! maybe one day!”

Madonna demonstrated her admiration for Kylie by wearing a Kylie t-shirt during a performance at the November 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Today in Madonna History: October 28, 2012

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On October 28, newswires reported that Madonna was boo’d  for praising President Barack Obama during her (October 27) MDNA Tour stop in New Orleans.

Madonna asked the crowd, “Who’s registered to vote?” and then followed with, “I don’t care who you vote for as long as you vote for Obama.”

After the boo’s, Madonna went on to say, “Seriously, I don’t care who you vote for. Do not take this privilege for granted. Go vote.”

Today in Madonna History: August 14, 2012

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On August 14 2012, Madonna’s first make-up artist, and close friend, Debi Mazar spoke to Allure.com’s beauty editor, Sophia Panych about what Madonna’s hair and make-up was like for The Virgin Tour in 1985:

Her hair was long and wild, and she had just had her bangs cut. She had this thick, curly, gorgeous hair—thicker than anyone else I knew—and it didn’t really need much. I just tried to make sure her bangs nicely framed her face and make sure it moved well, rather than creating a polished look. Really, it was more about the music and the show. We just wanted her to look good, get on stage, and do the damn tour. Plus, she was in her twenties: Her skin was good, and as long as you had bright lipstick and good hair, the crowd didn’t care—they just wanted to dance.