On April 25 1987, Madonna became the only female solo artist to have four Number One singles in the UK with La Isla Bonita.
Today in Madonna History: April 24, 2015
On April 24 2015, the second single from Madonna’s Rebel Heart album, Ghosttown, was released as a 2-track single in Germany.
Digital Spy had this to say about the single:
If anyone will prove themselves indestructible come the apocalypse, then surely it will be the enduring might of Madonna that survives? According to her latest single Ghosttown, that’s exactly the case. “When it all falls, when it all falls down/ I’ll be your fire when the lights go out,” Madge promises her love on the haunting pop serenade, which gradually builds into a suitably theatrical finale ready for the Queen of Pop’s forthcoming world tour. It hears Madonna significantly more subdued and reflective compared to her handbag bangers of recent years, but by doing so it makes the biggest possible impact.
Today in Madonna History: April 23, 2015
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: April 22, 2003
On April 22 2003, Madonna performed a special mini-concert for MTV’s On Stage & On The Record program, filmed in Times Square, New York.
Madonna performed the following songs:
- American Life
- Hollywood
- Nothing Fails
- X-Static Process
- Like A Prayer
Today in Madonna History: April 21, 2015
On April 21 2015, Madonna appeared on the cover of the Belgium entertainment magazine, Storywood.
Today in Madonna History: April 20, 1992
On April 20 1992, Madonna signed a deal with Time Warner to set up her own multimedia entertainment company called Maverick.
The 7-year arrangement (with an option to extend to 11 years) allowed Madonna to run Maverick with her then long-time manager, Freddy DeMann, and have its headquarters based in Los Angeles.
Madonna was advanced as much as $60 million for the deal that included music publishing, television, film, merchandising and book-publishing.
David Geffen said this of the deal:
“Madonna’s deal is certainly extraordinary, but I think she’s a great talent with a great will, and if she wants to do something she’ll do it. She works very hard, takes big risks and stays at the cutting edge of what’s happening.”
Charles Koppelman, the chief operating officer of EMI Records North America, had this to day:
“If anyone is going to get a deal of this magnitude, she is the kind of artist to give it to, she’s the exception: someone who taps into artists and musical genres before the rest of the world does. In other deals where artists get their own labels, such perks are usually window dressing to satisfy their egos. Madonna’s different. I would bet on her to make something more of it.”
The first two projects released under Maverick included Madonna’s own Erotica album and her coffee table SEX book, in October of 1992.
Today in Madonna History: April 19, 1997
On April 19 1997, Madonna’s You Must Love Me spent its final week on Billboard’s Hot 100 Single Sales chart, after peaking at #14 on January 25 1997.
