Today in Madonna History: February 5, 1985

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On February 5 1985, Madonna’s Like A Virgin was certified 3x platinum (for sales of 3 million units) in the USA.

Today in Madonna History: February 4, 2018

   

On February 4 2018, Vulture.com reviewed every Super Bowl Halftime Show since 1993, and ranked them from worst to best. Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl Halftime performance ranked #2, behind Prince’s 2007 performance.

Here’s what Brian Moylan (Vulture.com) had to say about Madonna’s Halftime Show:

A year after the halftime show embraced its pop sensibilities with the Black-Eyed Peas, Madonna arrived as a Greek goddess on a giant litter carried by a legion of Spartan soldiers, showing all the kids exactly how it’s done. There was so much on the LED-lit stage at any given time: From the swirling dancers and the gospel choir to the slack-line performer, it was almost too much. Madonna offered new arrangements of her old songs, like a drum-corps version of “Open Your Heart” sung with Cee Lo Green and an LMFAO mashup of “Music” with “Party Rock Anthem.” While she loses points for devoting significant time to the lackluster single “Give Me All Your Luvin,” at least that featured Nicki Minaj and a bird-flipping MIA. Madonna successfully moved through several modes in rapid succession, collaborated with other big artists, and made it all look effortless, as if being at the swirling center of 200 performers is what she does every Tuesday. Maybe because it is.

Read the entire list here.

Today in Madonna History: February 3, 2015

On February 3 2015, Billboard announced The 50 Greatest Grammy Moments. Madonna’s 2006 performance of Hung Up made the list at #13:

Holograms Get Down (2006) – Gorillaz are joined onstage first by De La Soul and then by Madonna, as the holograms segue into her song Hung Up.

Today in Madonna History: February 2, 1998

On February 2 1998, the April issue of Spin magazine with Madonna featured on the cover hit stands across North America.

From the issue:

Thirty-nine-year-old Madonna Louise Ciccone could easily have hacked out an album of Babs-and-Celine-style schmaltz and laughed all the way to the ashram. Instead, says Barry Walters, she delivered Ray Of Light, the riskiest, most revealing record of her career. Photographs by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin.

Today in Madonna History: February 1, 1999

On February 1 1999, a geisha-inspired Madonna was featured on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar magazine in the USA, with photos by Patrick Demarchelier.

Today in Madonna History: February 28, 2017

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On February 28 2017, Bay City (Michigan) City Commissioner Christopher Gerard explained to WNEM.com why the signs welcoming visitors into Bay City still do not mention it being the birthplace of Madonna:

“We couldn’t get some commitments from Madonna’s folks and Madonna is a polarizing issue in town surprisingly enough.”

In 2014 the city agreed to update the signs to mention Bay City as Madonna’s birthplace, to both honor Madonna and create more tourism in the city.

Gerard said the city is committed to updating the signs if there is enough interest from the community.

This is a photo of one of the former homes of Madonna’s grandparents in Bay City:

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Bay City — make the signs! Every Madonna fan will want their photo taken with the signs. We guarantee you will see a spike in tourism! And Madonna was only kidding when she called you a “smelly little town” — she’s a clown at heart! — Jay

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Today in Madonna History: February 27, 2012

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On February 27 2012, the tickets for Madonna’s MDNA Tour stop in Abu Dhabi (June 3) went on sale and all 22,000 tickets for her first-ever United Arab Emirates show were sold-out immediately.

“The moment you’ve all been waiting for, here’s your chance to witness the concert of the decade as Madonna, the world’s top-selling female recording artist, makes her appearance on our shores,” announced the Flash Entertainment website, before replacing the picture on their site with a sold-out banner.

Mira Sadek from Flash entertainment said: “We are proud and delighted that the UAE will host Madonna’s first concert in the Gulf region. We were surprised with the speed at which the tickets were sold out, although we were expecting such a huge fan base.”

A second show at Yas Arena was added for June 4 and also sold-out immediately (tickets for the second show went on sale March 5).
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