Madonna Stars in New Versace Ad Campaign

Perched on the edge of her chair, fixing the camera with a smoldering gaze, she looks feral, poised for the kill.  She is Madonna, enshrined in a new advertising campaign showcasing Donatella Versace’s spring/summer 2015 collection. Lean and faintly menacing, she appears, at least in the lens of the fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the image of candid aggression.  She is that and more, said Ms. Versace, whose latest print collaboration with the star (a 12-page portfolio set to break next spring in magazines including Vanity Fair and the American, French and Italian editions of Vogue) is but the latest expression of a running theme.  “Madonna says it best herself: She is unapologetic,” Ms. Versace said the other day. “She is her own woman, a role model who shows other women how we can do what we want, and get what we want, and do so for all of our lives, with no compromise.”

Jennifer Lopez inspired by Madonna

Promothing her new book on USA Today, Jennifer Lopez talked about Madonna being an inspiration to her.

Madonna & Nicki Minaj Collaborate On Song Produced By Diplo

Diplo and Skrillex recently sat down with Ebro, Peter Rosenberg and Laura Stylez on their Hot 97 “The Morning Show” for an interview, which you can watch below.

During the 10:25 mark of the interview, Diplo mentions that he produced a “ridiculous” beat for Madonna and Nicki Minaj. There is currently no release date just yet for the collaboration, but it will appear on Madonna‘s upcoming thirteenth studio album.

Strike a Pose...2014

Madonna attends Keep A Child Alive

Madonna to perform on X Factor live final?

According to reports, Madge is due to appear on the talent show's live final but only if she 'approves of the line-up'.

The superstar is said to have been persuaded by the show's creator, Simon Cowell, to perform on the final, but before excited mounts - there are apparently terms and conditions.

A source said: "Madonna will have been provisionally booked because the final can be subject to change if an artist doesn't approve of the finalists - especially if they have agreed to sing with them. "Someone like Madonna will want a lot of creative control over her appearance, but for Simon the ratings will worth it."

The source added: "She has been told that her label will be expected to pay for any stage props and backing dancers she brings with her".

It is no doubt the 56-year-old will boost the ITV show's ratings if she appears on their stage on December 13.

At the start of this series ratings were reportedly dropping, so hopefully Madge will bring back the days where The X Factor would draw in a high-set list of worldwide performers.

Previously the show has seen Sir Paul McCartney, Beyonce, Sir Elton John grace the X Factor stage and last weekend we saw Pharrell Williams and Taylor Swift perform.

Of course more importantly, the proposed appearance could help boost sales of Madonna's next album, which is due to go on sale shortly after she is due to appear on the show.

Strike a Pose...2014

Strike a Pose...2014

New Album: Nicki Minaj Colab?

Madonna Adds DJ Dahi & Blood Diamonds to Collaborators List

The diva posted an Instagram photo on Saturday (Sept. 20) of DJ Dahi and Blood Diamonds working behind a computer, with the caption, “Nothing can stop the Sex Boyzzzzzz!”  The list of collaborators for Madonna’s next album continues to grow.  DJ Dahi is the producer behind Drake’s "Worst Behavior,” and has worked with other artists like Kendrick Lamar and Lily Allen. Pop act Blood Diamonds (aka Mike Diamond) is a frequent collaborator with Grimes.

Madonna has also been working with super-producer Diplo, who has turned up in multiple photos on her Instagram account. In his Billboard magazine cover feature, Diplo said that he's had multiple studio sessions with Madonna that have resulted in at least three "amazing, smashes."

The diva's next as-yet untitled album will be released in 2015 on Interscope Records. Her last release, 2012's MDNA, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Based on a glance at Madonna’s Instagram feed, the set may also feature collaborations with Toby Gad, MoZella, S1, Ariel Rechtshaid, Avicii, Natalia Killsand Martin Kierszenbaum.

On the Cover of a Magazine...2014

'Heartbreak City' & 'Two Steps Behind Me'

Madonna has reportedly laid into Lady Gaga and ex-hubbie Guy Ritchie in songs which could end up on her new album.

Leaked lyrics from the track Heartbreak City allegedly slam Ritchie for:

"Getting what [he] came for, a bit of fame and fortune, and I’m no longer needed."

Though the lyrics have yet to be confirmed, multiple news sources corroborated that the song seemed to call out Ritchie. And, although Ritchie is not named, the lyrics seem very much from the heart.

While Gaga, who has praised Madonna as a major influence on her work, is the apparent target in the song Two Steps Behind Me, in which Madge sings: 

“You’re a copycat, where is my royalty? Did you study me hard enough? You're never gonna be, you're just a wannabe me. Like a sister all messed-up, who's gonna help you out? In your fantasy, you can try it all. But you can't be me.

'You can walk the walk, even talk the talk. But you'll always be two steps behind me.”

The both songs were recorded with Avicii, but that no final tracklist for the album has yet been decided. More than one track on the album is about the ending of their three year relationship which left Madonna more vulnerable than most people might think.

Neither track may actually end up on the new album, but the lyrics show that The Queen of pop, who celebrated her 56th birthday earlier this month, has not lost her touch.

After originally finding fame in the '80s with hits like Papa Don't Preach and True Blue, Madonna has gone on to have hits across four decades, establishing herself as one of the biggest musical icons of all time.

I'll Remember...1995

“And lots of available drugs!” Madge throwing shade before shade was a thing.

In honor of tonight’s VMAs, let’s pay tribute to one of the greatest moments in VMA history. Before STUNT QUEEN bitches pulled some stunts that they choreographed and planned with the help of several publicists and producers (see: Miley Cyrus rubbing her cold chicken ass on Robin Thicke’s douche stick at the VMAs and Beyonce letting it be known that she was carrying the chosen one at the VMAs), natural messes naturally and spontaneously pulled stunts for attention. Every time the VMAs rolls around, my mind automatically burps up the beautiful moment between Courtney Love and Madge. It was a beautiful moment, because it obviously wasn’t planned and magic happened when those two wrecks got together.

What do you think?

In 1995, Madge was still kind of fun and she only had a twig up her ass instead of a stick. And in 1995, Courtney Love was a human crack pipe in toddler lingerie and a dishwater, raggedy blonde mop that looked like Benji with mange (and she still is, actually). After Courtney tried to knock Madge out with her compact, Kurt Loder invited her up on the stage and gloriousness happened when Madge dragged and shit on her with just a few words.

I always wonder what happened to that compact. Courtney probably snorted it up later that night. But it should really be in the Smithsonian because it’s a big part of music history!

All 16 of the Icons Name-Dropped in Madonna’s “Vogue” Are Now Gone

An odd bit of trivia about the passing of Lauren Bacall on Tuesday: As Marci Robin pointed out on Twitter, all 16 of the 20^th-century stars immortalized in Madonna's “Vogue” are now dead. The famous black-and-white music video, directed by David Fincher, is an homage to the golden age of Hollywood.

The song came out in March of 1990; Greta Garbo died just a month later. (James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and others had already gone, of course.) Bacall, 24 years on, was the final one.  The song was a tribute, of course, to a certain kind of old-fashioned glamour. With Bacall gone, that flame has just about burned out. 

Greta Garbo (April 15, 1990)

Marilyn Monroe (Aug. 5, 1962)

Marlene Dietrich (May 6, 1992)

Joe DiMaggio (March 8, 1999)

Marlon Brando (July 1, 2004)

James Dean (Sept. 30, 1955)

Grace Kelly (Sept. 14, 1982)

Jean Harlow (June 7, 1937)

Gene Kelly (Feb. 2, 1996)

Fred Astaire (June 2, 1987)

Ginger Rogers (April 25, 1995)

Rita Hayworth (May 14, 1987)

Lauren Bacall (Aug. 12, 2014)

Katharine Hepburn (June 29, 2003)

Lana Turner (June 29, 1995)

Bette Davis (Oct. 6, 1989)​

Paparazzi...2014

The saying goes time flies when you're having fun. And it seemed the hours passed by unnoticed for Madonna, whose car was spotted being given a parking ticket by a warden as she left the Chiltern Firehouse on Saturday night.  The 55-year-old Grammy Award winning singer was seen leaving the popular London nightspot, with her chic black lace dress and click of bright red lipstick, Madonna ramped up the glamour on a night out in London on Saturday.  But despite leaving the club via a back exit, there was trouble in store for Madge when her driver received a parking ticket.

Earlier in the evening, the pop icon took to Instagram to share an extremely close-up shot of her face.  Referencing a line from her 1990 hit song Vogue, she included the message: 'What are you looking at!'

Madonna Fires Back In Hard Candy Beauty Company Lawsuit

Madonna is often called pop culture’s great influencer. But according to beauty and fashion brand Hard Candy, the superstar maliciously swiped their name in order to hawk fitness DVDs and apparel.

The Florida company, founded in 1995, filed a lawsuit in federal court for trademark infringement and unfair competition, claiming the mogul mom, 55, began selling her goods under the Hard Candy name in 2011 — despite a previous rejection from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

“Defendants’ actions have caused and will cause Hard Candy, LLC irreparable harm for which money damages and other legal remedies are inadequate,” federal court papers state. “Unless Defendants are restrained by this Court, Defendants will continue and/or expand the improper activities alleged in this Complaint and otherwise continue to cause great and irreparable harm and injury to Hard Candy, LLC.”

Though Hard Candy is also suing Madonna’s longtime manager, Guy Oseary, they claim the controversial singer “is the driving force behind the infringing activity, taking credit herself for the initial selection and subsequent expansion,” the documents continue.

V Magazine Limited Edition

For Inspiration

 

'Messiah'...is coming!

Madonna is back and jumping on social media to tease her fans with tidbits from her upcoming album.  She has been hard at work in the studio putting together her 13^th album and took to her Instagram account teasing what appears to be a new track, entitled “Messiah,” which we can presumably expect to see find its way onto the album.  In the first of two related posts, Madonna uploaded a pic of a page of sheet music with “Messiah” scrawled across the top. The photo is captioned with “Coming soon……..#promise #keep#sorceress#deep”

Three hours later, Madonna posted a video of an orchestra string section playing in a recording studio. She tagged the post, “Magic makes the people come together yaaaaaaaasssssssssss. #messiah”

With words like sorceress, magic and messiah being thrown around, it’s fair to say that this song is likely to have a mystical aspect to it. The tidbit we’re given of the strings section is very grandiose and evocative, which would fit nicely with the theme. Admittedly this is only one small segment we’ve been given and it hasn’t been mixed yet so who knows what the final sound will be like.

Madonna has some high profile collaborators on the new album. Along with hitting the studio with songwriter MoZella (of Miley Cyrus “Wrecking Ball” fame), she has also been working with Avicii and British popstar Natalia Kills.

I’ve long been a fan of the “Material Girl.” What I have loved about her is her ability to reinvent herself time and time again as well as reinvent her sound and play around with the genre-de-rigueur of the day. I’m really excited to hear what kind of sound will result from her current collaborations and look forward to the release of the album. Here’s also hoping for another world tour.

Can You Spot the Difference?

1993                                                                                  2014