Today in Madonna History: June 21, 2015

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On June 21 2015, Madonna and Live Nation announced that Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour would take Madonna to Australia for the first time in two decades, and her first time ever in New Zealand.

Live Nation Australia and New Zealand:

Madonna will make a historic return to Australia performing live for the first time in 23 years as well as her first ever shows in New Zealand, with her Rebel Heart Tour.

The tour will kick off at Vector Arena on March 5th and 6th in Auckland, followed by the Australian dates presented by Telstra Thanks and including concerts on March 12th & 13th in Melbourne, March 19th & 20th in Sydney and March 26th & 27th in Brisbane.

Tickets and VIP Packages go on sale Monday, July 6th at 10am.

Tour dates:

Vector Arena, Auckland – March 5th
Vector Arena, Auckland – March 6th
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne – March 12th
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne – March 13th
Allphones Arena, Sydney – March 19th
Allphones Arena, Sydney – March 20th
Entertainment Centre, Brisbane – March 26th
Entertainment Centre, Brisbane – March 27th

Today in Madonna History: June 12, 2015

On June 12 2015, Madonna’s Bitch I’m Madonna music video teaser premiered.

The video was shot in New York City at the Standard Hotel and was directed by long-time fan-favourite director, Jonas Åkerlund.

Jonas explained how the video evolved:

Madonna called me about Ghosttown. We hadn’t worked for a while because of different circumstances so when I heard all the songs from Rebel Heart, I was very excited about Ghosttown. I connected to it creatively. And, yeah, we enjoyed working together. I was supposed to start something else right after and that got pushed [back] and she asked me to do Bitch I’m Madonna. I saw it being so completely different from Ghosttown, something a little bit less serious, just fun and crazy.

Today in Madonna History: May 18, 2015

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On May 18 2015, the remix EP for Ghosttown was released by digital retailers. The release followed the news that song had hit the number-one position on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Club chart. It became her 45th song to top the dance chart – the most number-ones for any artist on any Billboard chart.

Tracklist:

01 – Ghosttown (Offer Nissim Drama Remix) – 07:17
02 – Ghosttown (Armand Van Helden Remix) – 06:16
03 – Ghosttown (S-Man Mix) – 06:08
04 – Ghosttown (Razor N Guido Remix) – 07:46
05 – Ghosttown (Mindskap Remix) – 05:35
06 – Ghosttown (Don Diablo Remix) – 04:47
07 – Ghosttown (Dirty Pop Intro Remix) – 05:20
08 – Ghosttown (DJ Mike Cruz Mix Show Edit) – 07:05
09 – Ghosttown (THRILL Remix) – 06:27
10 – Ghosttown (DJ Yiannis String Intro Mix) – 01:40

Today in Madonna History: May 14, 2015

On May 14 2015, Madonna’s Ghosttown became her 45th #1 dance club hit, breaking George Strait’s record of total number ones.

Here’s what Billboard had to say about Madonna’s achievement:

The Queen of Pop reigns with Ghosttown giving her the most No. 1s of any artist on a single Billboard chart.

The Queen of Pop is now unequaled chart royalty. Madonna makes momentous Billboard chart history, as she now has the most No. 1s ever, 45, by an act on a singular Billboard chart. She earns her 45th No. 1 on Dance Club Songs, where Ghosttown lifts 3-1.

With the coronation, Madonna passes another icon, George Strait, who’s logged 44 No. 1s on Hot Country Songs.

“Thanks to all my fans on and off the dance floor,” Madonna said in an exclusive statement to Billboard. “I’ll always be your partner.”

With her 45th leader on Dance Club Songs, which measures reports submitted by a national sample of club DJs, Madonna pulls further ahead of runners-up Beyonce and Rihanna. In fact, Madonna has tallied more No. 1s as they have combined: 22 each. (The chart launched as a national survey in the Billboard issue dated Aug. 28, 1976.) Madonna bests Strait (still, and always, the King of Country), who’s sent 44 singles to No. 1 on Hot Country Songs between 1982 and 2009. He first reigned with “Fool Hearted Memory” (Aug. 28, 1982) and most recently ruled with “River of Love” (April 18, 2009).

Today in Madonna History: April 23, 2015

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On April 23 2015, Tori Amos came to Madonna’s defense when questioned about the ageist undertones on social media – and by the media at large – in reaction to her “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2015 Brit Awards:

Madonna is an entertainer. There are very few people who could’ve gotten up off that floor. It wasn’t because of her that she fell, but it was because of her that the performance carried on. Some of the vilification comes from women as much as men. She’s making choices and she’s able to do things physically that a lot of people 25 years younger can’t; she got up and refused to allow that to shame her. I think people want her to be shamed into a role that they find acceptable for her age. It makes me sad that we can’t embrace Madonna and say, Wow, this is an artist who’s expressing herself in a certain way.”

— Tori Amos

Tori often incorporates one or two cover songs by other artists into her live shows, but there are only a handful of artists whom she has covered multiple songs, and Madonna is one of them. She has performed both Live To Tell and Like A Prayer at numerous concerts, with the most recent Madonna composition to join her live repertoire being Frozen, which made its debut in Amsterdam in 2014.

(Many thanks to YouTube user LittleQueenbee77 for the great live footage of this performance!)

Today in Madonna History: March 1, 2015

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On March 1 2015, Madonna visited Italian talk show, Che tempo che fa, as part of her promotional tour for the Rebel Heart album. In addition to an interview with host Fabio Fazio, she performed Devil Pray for the first time, along with the album’s second single, Ghosttown.

Madonna’s appearance on the show aired on March 8th.

Today in Madonna History: February 28, 2015

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On February 28 2015, JK Rowling tweeted in response to “the fall” during Madonna’s performance of Living For Love at the Brit Awards:

are you the sort of person who gloats when they see a woman fall, or the kind that celebrates a magnificent recovery? #TeamMadonna