On April 16 2016, Madonna’s 1985 Japanese mini-album, Like A Virgin & Other Big Hits, was re-issued on pink vinyl for Record Store Day.
The four track collection included the following:
Like A Virgin (Extended Dance Remix)
Holiday (Original Version)
Lucky Star (Extended Dance Remix)
Borderline (Extended Dance Remix)
Were you in the line-ups like I was? How festive was it to see so many vinyl fans? Did you score a copy of Like A Virgin & Other Big Hits on Record Store Day, or did you have to order through eBay? – Jay
On January 23 2016, Madonna’s daughter Mercy James was the ceremonial Unapologetic Bitch during the first of two sold-out Rebel Heart Tour shows in Miami. Ariana Grande was the Unapologetic Bitch at the second Miami show.
Madonna stopped the show to present Mercy with a birthday cupcake. The crowd of 13,234 joined Madonna in singing Mercy “Happy Birthday”.
On January 22 2016, the Japanese Tour Edition of Madonna’s Rebel Heart album was released (Catalog No: UICS-9152).
The Tour Edition included a bonus DVD with four music videos. The DVD disc was encoded for region 2 (Japan, Europe and Middle East), and no subtitles were included.
The Rebel Heart CD included the following tracks:
Living For Love
Devil Pray
Ghosttown
Unapologetic Bitch
Illuminati
Bitch I’m Madonna feat. Nicki Minaj
Hold Tight
Joan of Arc
Iconic feat. Chance The Rapper & Mike Tyson
HeartBreakCity
Body Shop
Holy Water
Inside Out
Wash All Over Me
Best Night
Veni Vedi Vici feat. Nas
S.E.X.
Messiah
Rebel Heart
Living For Love (Dirty Pop Remix)
The bonus DVD included the following music videos:
Living For Love
Ghosttown
Bitch I’m Madonna feat. Nicki Minaj
Bitch I’m Madonna (Sander Kleinenberg Remix) feat. Nicki Minaj
On January 11 2016, Madonna posted this message regarding David Bowie’s death on her social media channels:
I’m devastated. David Bowie changed the course of my life forever. I never felt like I fit in growing up in Michigan. Like an oddball or a freak. I went to see him in concert at Cobo Arena in Detroit. It was the first concert I’d ever been too. I snuck out of the house with my girlfriend wearing a cape. We got caught after and I was grounded for the summer. I didn’t care. I already had many of his records and was so inspired by the way he played with gender confusion. Was both masculine and feminine. Funny and serious. Clever and wise. His lyrics were witty ironic and mysterious. At the time he was the Thin White Duke and he had mime artists on stage with him and very specific choreography. And I saw how he created a persona and used different art forms within the arena of Rock and Roll to create entertainment. I found him so inspiring and innovative. Unique and provocative. A real genius. His music was always inspiring but seeing him live set me off on a journey that for me I hope will never end. His photographs are hanging all over my house today. He was so chic and beautiful and elegant. So ahead of his time. Thank you David Bowie. I owe you a lot. The world will miss you. Love M.”
David Bowie died of liver cancer at the age of 69 in New York on January 10, 2016.
On August 31 2016, The New York Times profiled photographer Peter Lindbergh in which he recalled, among other works, his 1994 shoot with Madonna for Harper’s Bazaar magazine. Several outtakes from this stunningly beautiful session were featured along with the article.
“I worked only once with Madonna. What really struck me was her very strong motivation. We were doing a tribute to Martha Graham, her admired dance teacher. I discovered a dancer with a very rare talent: Madonna was moving in a very soulful and personal way, very touching and very much herself. At the same time, there was a feeling of perfection to everything she was doing. I was very interested in capturing some of this extraordinary contradiction, which I found absolutely stunning. Those images are as modern today as they were in 1994.”
On June 9 2016, Madonna appeared as musical guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, singing a soulfully spot-on take of her classic 1984 hit, Borderline.
With nothing in particular to promote, Madonna accepted the offer to perform as a means of meeting the featured guest, U.S. President Barrack Obama. An uncharacteristically starstruck Madonna posing for a picture with Obama backstage offered proof that Madonna’s wish was indeed granted.
Forgivably opportunistic photo-ops aside, there was a poetic twist behind the nostalgia of her rare throwback performance that went typically unnoticed: Madonna’s very first appearance on the The Tonight Show had occurred exactly twenty-nine years earlier to the day – on June 9, 1987 – with late-night legend of the era, Johnny Carson. In that flirtatious first appearance she effortlessly accomplished her modest goal of having a smitten Carson in the palm of her hand.
Twenty-nine years, three hosts and four Presidents later, Madonna returned to The Tonight Show to deliver the definitive performance of an under-performed classic, and capped it off with a spontaneous roll on the floor with Fallon and some snapshots with Obama. Cuz that’s just how she rolls.
Today In Madonna History 