On December 10 1983, Madonna was featured on the back cover of Billboard magazine with the caption: “A Star Is Born!”
Very perceptive, Billboard! Bravo!
Today in Madonna History: December 9, 1989
On December 9 1989, Madonna was featured in a two-page spread in Billboard magazine, paid for by her record company and management, congratulating her on being named Artist of the Decade by Musician magazine.
Madonna’s September 1989 performance of Express Yourself at the MTV VMA’s perfectly encapsulates the sentiments expressed in the tribute. As her only live performance that year, it only hinted at Madonna’s next mission: to revolutionize the concert touring industry.
Today in Madonna History: December 8, 1997
On December 8 1997, Madonna attended the Met Gala at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Madonna attended the Met Gala with Ingrid Casares, Donatella Versace and Cher.
The Met Gala (formerly called the Costume Institute Gala) is a fundraising benefit that serves as an opening celebration for the Institute’s annual fashion exhibit. Following the event, the exhibition runs for several months.
Each year the event has a theme, and includes a cocktail hour and a formal dinner. During the cocktail hour, guests arrive to walk on the red carpet, tour the years themed exhibition, and be seated before the dinner party that includes entertainment. The theme of the December 1997-March 1998 exhibition was Gianni Versace.
Today in Madonna History: December 7, 2006
On December 7 2006, H&M announced that Madonna would design a range of clothes and accessories to be released in March 2007.
“The M by Madonna fashion line will reflect Madonna’s timeless, unique and always glamorous style,” H&M said of the new collection.
“I’ve made no secret of my love for fashion and trends,” Madonna said in a statement announcing her partnership with H&M’s head of design Margareta van den Bosch. “Working with Margareta and H&M was an exciting and new creative challenge for me. I’m really happy with the results and look forward to wearing M by Madonna along with the rest of the world.”
H&M clothed Madonna and her dancers for her Confessions World Tour.
Today in Madonna History: December 6, 2004
On December 6 2004, Madonna’s Re-Invention Tour corset made by French designer Christian Lacroix was put on display as part of the inauguration celebration of the Villa du Marais hotel. Seventeen rooms of the hotel were filled with Christian’s most impressive creations.
Madonna had two variations of the corset: gold and lilac. She wore the corset during Vogue, Nobody Knows Me and Frozen.
Today in Madonna History: December 5, 1993
On December 5 1993, the final single from Madonna’s Erotica album, Bye Bye Baby, debuted at 31 on the Australian Singles Chart.
The single included the following versions of Bye Bye Baby:
- Album Version
- N.Y. Hip Hop Mix
- California Hip Hop Jazzy
- Madonna’s Night On The Club
- Rick Does Madonna’s Dub
- House Mix
- Madonna Gets Hardcore
Today in Madonna History: December 4, 1987
On December 4 1987, Madonna filed for divorce from Sean Penn in Los Angeles County Superior Court, California. Twelve days later, Madonna withdrew the divorce papers and the couple stayed together until January 5 1989, when Madonna filed new divorce papers citing “irreconcilable differences”.
Jay’s Note: I often wondered why Madonna released You Can Dance with so little promotion behind it (You Can Dance was released November 17/1987). Understanding that her personal life was falling apart at the time, it makes sense that she wouldn’t have been concerned with releasing singles or filming music videos to promote the remix collection.
I also found this quote from her about You Can Dance:
“I don’t know that I like it, people screwing with my records, remixing them. The jury is out on it for me. But the fans like it, and really, this one was for the fans, for the kids in the clubs who like these songs and wanted to hear them in a new, fresh way.”
Today In Madonna History 