Tag Archives: On the Cover of a Magazine

Today in Madonna History: February 16, 1984

February 16, 2018 By in 1984, February Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

On February 16 1984, Madonna appeared on the cover of Smash Hits magazine.

The article indicates that Madonna’s “next project is a follow-up LP. It’s to be produced by Trevor Horn, possibly Nile Rodgers and John “Jellybean” Benitez – her on and off boyfriend (off at the moment).”

Madonna is quoted in the article as saying, “Three to four years ago dancing was the most important thing – now it’s music. That will lead on to something else .. acting. Above all I want to be an all-round entertainer. And happy.”

Today in Madonna History: February 10, 1998

February 10, 2018 By in 1998, February Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

 

On February 10 1998, Madonna appeared on the March cover of Vanity Fair, with incredible photos by Mario Testino.

Today in Madonna History: February 2, 1998

February 2, 2018 By in 1998, February Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

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

February 1, 2018 By in 1999, February Tags: , , , 3 Comments

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: January 18, 1999

January 18, 2018 By in 1999, January Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On January 18 1999, Madonna appeared on the cover of People magazine with the headline, “The New Pop Divas.”

The new pop divas.  By that definition, say hello to the latest wave of pop divas: Celine Dion, 30; Whitney Houston, 35; Mariah Carey, 29; Madonna, the old-timer at 40; Janet Jackson, 32; Shania Twain, 33; and Jewel, 24—with divas-in-waiting Brandy, 19; Monica, 18; and LeAnn Rimes, 16, warbling in the wings. All certainly have the requisite lung power. Houston, whose Top 20 album My Love Is Your Love marks her first studio release in eight years, can rattle roof beams, Carey skips octaves with the ease of a kindergartner at jump rope, and Dion (who, like Carey and Twain, sang with Franklin on VH1) belts out “My Heart Will Go On,” the Oscar-winning Titanic theme, with chest-thumping majesty. And, with all due R-E-S-P-E-C-T to Aretha and company, these superdivas are richer and wield more power. True, some of their pre-MTV forebears dabbled in movies, but were they also best-selling authors a la Jewel? Did they, like Madonna, run their own record labels? Even divette Brandy has her own TV show.

Today in Madonna History: January 12, 2012

January 12, 2018 By in 2012, January Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

On January 12 2012, Madonna’s Celebration album artwork was featured on the cover of One Small Seed magazine. The purpose of the cover was to feature Mr. Brainwash’s art, and the issue included an article titled, “Mr. Brainwash: Laughing All The Way To The Banksy.”

Here’s a snippet of the article:

Mr Brainwash creates satirical twists on classic pieces, including some of Banksy’s ‘own’ stuff, and his lavish exhibitions routinely draw crowds of aficionados, detractors and the curious. Mr Brainwash is dedicated to spreading a message that is positive, colourful and – like Andy Warhol’s – accessible. Jean-Michel Basquiat said, ‘I start a picture and I finish it. I don’t think about art while I work. I try to think about life.’

Today in Madonna History: December 2, 1995

December 2, 2017 By in 1995, December Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

On December 2 1995, Madonna appeared on the cover of NME (New Music Express) magazine. The cover/interview was part of the Something To Remember promotional plan.

Here are a few questions from the interview:

Is ‘You’ll See’ about revenge?

“No, It’s about empowering yourself. As much as I like a song like ‘Take A Bow’, lyrically it only reflects one side of my personality. I have that side which in completely masochistic and willing to, literally, do anything for love. But there’s another side too which is – ‘Don’t f*** with me, I don’t need anybody. I can do what I want’ and ‘You’ll See’ reflects that.”

Are you getting harder as you get older?

“No, just wiser. I’ve read a couple of reviews that say I’m getting harder in my old age but I don’t think that’s true at all. I think that you can’t help but become a little cynical about life and love but I’m still a romantic, I’m still an idealist. I fall in love quite easily so I don’t think I’ve gotten harder at all. It’s just another thing for people to mention when they want to undermine who I am and what I say. Some people have a really hard time resisting thinking in a one-dimensional way in general.”

For a woman whose first hit was a song about holidays, Madonna implies that she is singularly bad at taking them.

“I despise anyone who looks at me and my lifestyle and thinks – ‘Oh God! Her life is so easy!’ Like I was born into it and it happened overnight. Bullshit! I work so f**ing hard.”

Nor is she deluded about her commercial ranking. Though still one of the most famous women in the world – most people have forgotten more about Madonna than they achieve in their entire lives – her record sales don’t always reflect this.

“I’ve gone from having a huge fan base to losing a huge fan base to having a kind of fluctuating fan base. I’ve always had a core of fans who’ve stuck by me but, depending on the kind of music I do, I end up appealing to certain groups of people and alienating others.”

Does this bother you?

“No. I may not be as popular as I once was but people are starting to pay attention to my music and respect me as an artist more.”

Have you lost your nerve at any point over the years?

“Absolutely!” she laughs. “I panic every time I put out a record. I think every artist does. Every time you have a Number One record you think., ‘Well that was great but I’ll probably never be able to do it again’. It’s never-ending.”