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Madonna is planning a massive 40th anniversary tour later this year with her longtime concert promotion partner and producer Live Nation and music manager Guy Oseary, sources tell Billboard.
The 64-year-old pop icon will perform music from her entire catalogue, dating back to her 1983 self-titled debut album through her most recent studio album, 2019’s Madame X. The world tour will be Madonna’s first ever career retrospective, featuring a compilation of her biggest hits across four decades of music and will reportedly include a multi-night run at the O2 in London.
“It’s going to be the biggest tour she’s ever done,” one executive familiar with her plans tells Billboard. The tour will include both stadium and arena dates, the source says, and include over-the-top production that delivers both “Material Girl” kitsch and occasionally outrageous sex appeal with plenty of show-stopping moments made for social media.
Billboard has also learned that Oseary will continue to serve on Madonna’s management team, despite stepping down from his role at mega-management collective Maverick in 2020 and splitting with longtime clients U2 in 2022.
The tour buzz comes just months after the “Hey You” singer released her career-spanning compilation album Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones, spanning her entire dance club career, featuring remixes by top producers including 20 rare recordings officially released for the first time. In 2021, Madonna signed a deal with Warner Music Group for an “extensive, multi-year series of catalog releases that will revisit the groundbreaking music that made her an international icon.”
Madonna last toured in 2019 and early 2020 on her Madame X tour, a theater run that was struggled through production delays and Madonna’s recurring hip and knee injuries. While the Madame X tour earned strong critical reviews in the press, its habitually late start time often angered ticket holders and prompted two class actions lawsuits from fans.
When it comes to choosing her nightly set list for this new tour, Madonna will have no shortage of songs to choose from with 57 titles charting on the Billboard Hot 100, 38 top 10 hits and 12 No. 1s, including 1990’s “Vogue,” and 2000’s “Music,” released a decade apart and each spending 24 weeks on the Hot 100. Madonna’s “Borderline” from 1984 spent 30 weeks on the Hot 100. She followed that impressive feat a decade later with the ballad “Take a Bow,” which held the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 for seven weeks.
Madonna’s 2008-2009 Sticky and Sweet Tour is the highest grossing tour by a female artist ever, according to Billboard Boxscore, netting $407 million. Her most recent Madame X theater run grossed $36.4 million with 124,655 ticket sold.
Reps for Madonna could not be reached for comment at time of publishing.
Madonna superfans rejoice! The Queen of Pop’s 1985 hit song “Gambler” has finally made its global streaming and digital retail debut — more than 37 years after its initial release.
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Three versions of the high-energy tune — the 7” version, an extended dance mix and an instrumental mix — are all now available globally on streaming providers and digital storefronts via Rhino and Warner Music Group. Previously, the song (in its 7” version) was only available on the Vision Quest film soundtrack (released by Geffen Records), while the dance mix and instrumental mix were previously available decades ago on physical singles outside of the U.S. “Gambler” has never been included on any Madonna album.
So why now for this long-awaited debut? “It was Madonna’s personal request,” according to a representative at Rhino. It’s the latest release in the ongoing catalog campaign announced in 2021. While “Gambler” is the final Madonna reissue from Rhino/Warner in 2022, Rhino promises “more fun things to look forward to in 2023” and that “Gambler” is “just a small glimpse of what fans can expect” next year.
Courtesy Photo
Of note, while there is an official music video for “Gambler,” it will not receive a remastered digital HD upgrade (as some of her videos have garnered in the past). And there are no current plans to issue “Gambler” on physical single formats – such as a 12” vinyl single.
“Gambler” – written by Madonna and produced by John “Jellybean” Benitez – was one of two songs Madonna contributed to the Vision Quest album. The other was her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit ballad “Crazy for You,” also produced by Jellybean. (Madonna has a cameo in the film as a club singer, and she’s seen performing both songs briefly in the movie.)
While “Gambler” was never released as a single in the United States, it was a hit outside America, reaching the top 10 on Billboard’s European Hot 100 Singles chart and on the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart.
Though American fans did not get a proper single release for “Gambler,” an official music video was played by U.S. MTV for a few weeks in late June and early July in 1985. Fans who attended Madonna’s The Virgin Tour concert that summer also saw her perform the track live. The trek was commemorated on the longform home video Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour, which was released in November 1985. The Virgin Tour spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Music Video Sales chart in early 1986.
Some might wonder why “Gambler” was not released in the U.S. as a single, considering how popular Madonna was in 1985 (she was No. 1 on Billboard’s year-end Top Artists chart). Madonna had an abundance of popular new songs that year – but only half of them were on the U.S. version of her then-current Like a Virgin album. In 1985, Madonna released a total of six singles outside of the U.S. – three songs from the Warner Bros. Virgin album (“Material Girl,” “Angel” and “Dress You Up”) two from the Geffen soundtrack Vision Quest (“Crazy for You” and “Gambler”) and the non-album track “Into the Groove” (from the film Desperately Seeking Susan). Of those, four were released as proper singles in the U.S.: “Material Girl,” “Crazy for You,” “Angel” and “Dress You Up.” (Though, “Groove” was also the B-side of the U.S. 12” single of “Angel.”)
In the last few years, Madonna’s music catalog has been reintroduced to the public through a wealth of digital single and remix reissues, upgraded and remastered official music videos, limited-edition vinyl single releases, new remix collaborations and this year’s compilation album Finally Enough Love. The latter set, which celebrated Madonna’s landmark 50 No. 1s on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart, hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and marked her 23rd top 10-charting set on the all-genre Billboard 200.
David Harbour got to live his dream when he found out one of his celebrity crushes found him sexy.
The Stranger Things star stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday (Nov. 30), where he shared the story behind getting invited to a table read for the Madonna-directed 2011 film, W.E.. “It was a crazy thing. It was a real cloak and dagger type of experience,” the actor explained. “I got a call from a casting director that I knew very well saying they’re putting together a top secret movie read through, but you just have to show up at the St. Regis and go in this room and all will be revealed. And I was like, ‘This is really weird and creepy.’”
Harbour then recalls asking why they wanted him to be in the film, and found out that the director had seen him in Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road, where he had a sex scene. “They thought you were sexy,” he says he was told.
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“And so all weekend, I was literally thinking about Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese,” Harbour joked. “I show up at the St. Regis and I get in the room and there’s a bunch of other New York actors there and in walks Madonna, who’s directing this movie. The first thing that flooded over me, I was like, ‘Wow, Madonna thinks I’m sexy.’”
Harbour then gushed over Madonna, noting that he had been in love with her since seeing her in the 1986 music video for “Open Your Heart.” “I was eleven years old when I saw that video and so there I am, in this boardroom of the St. Regis, and it all comes flooding back,” he said. “And I’m there with a bowler cap like, ‘I’m going to run off with you into the distance.’”
While he didn’t think the film was “terrific,” it was all worth it because Harbour ended up getting invited to Madonna’s birthday party. “She came in and she was in like this gorgeous, emerald dress and then the party started and she put on sweatpants and they just cranked Madonna music,” he said. “I danced with Madonna to Madonna music. On my headstone, that is it!”
Watch the full interview below.
Madonna will ring in three decades of Sex at Miami’s Art Basel later this month.
The pop star’s 1992 erotic coffee table book is set to receive a 30th-anniversary re-release during the art show courtesy of Yves Saint Laurent and New York-based published Callaway. The new edition of Sex will be 800 pages long and come with its own art exhibition curated by Madonna and YSL’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello.
“I’d like to put you in a trance. ……………YSL presents SEX-Re-Release…Miami Nov 29- Dec 4,” Madonna shared on Instagram alongside a photo of herself with red hair, staring in the mirror while waring a nude-colored corset and tan fur coat. A separate post of the event’s invitation confirms the exhibit will be held at Yves Saint Laurent’s Rive Droite project.
With photography by the famous Stephen Meisel, Madonna originally released Sex on Oct. 21, 1992, as a sort of visual companion to her fifth studio album Erotica. The LP contained sexually charged singles like the title track, “Deeper and Deeper,” “Bad Girl” and “Fever” and ultimately bowed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
The book, meanwhile, created quite the stir as it spent three weeks at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller List and became — according to her 2002 biography by Andrew Morton — the best-selling coffee table book of all time.
Last month, Madonna reflected on Sex‘s cultural impact in a separate Instagram post, writing in part, “I also wrote about my sexual fantasies and shared my point of view about sexuality in an ironic way. I spent the next few years being interviewed by narrow minded people who tried to shame me for empowering myself as a Woman. I was called a whore, a witch, a heretic and the devil.
“Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP. Kim Kardashian can grace the cover of any magazine with her naked ass and Miley Cyrus can come in like a wrecking ball,” Her Madgesty continued. “You’re welcome bi—es.”
Check out Madonna’s announcement below.
Lola Leon released her debut EP titled Go on Wednesday (Nov. 9). Her musical debut consists of five tracks released via Chemical X Records.
Leon, who goes by the musical name Lolahol, made headlines first thing Wednesday with the release of a dark, NSFW music video for single “CUNTRADICTION” (watch below). The music video, which features Leon dancing in the stables of a ranch, is fitting for the edgy song.
According to a press release announcing the EP, the project “spans R&B, alternative pop and classic trip-hop.”
While Go is Leon’s first EP, the singer, fashion model and designer released her first song “Lock & Key” on Aug. 24. The song’s drop coincided with the release of a sensual music video filmed on the beach. The leap into the music industry was a natural one for the 25-year-old daughter of pop icon Madonna.
Leon’s mom was more than enthusiastic about the development. She took to her Instagram story to post a screenshot of the cover art for “Lock & Key,” = captioning it, “I am so proud of you Lola!”
Madonna is showing her love for Cardi B after the superstar duo patched up their feud over comments the Queen of Pop made while reflecting on the 30-year anniversary of her Sex coffee table book.
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Madge took to her Instagram Stories on Monday (Oct. 24) to share a video of herself dancing and lip syncing along to Cardi’s GloRilla collab, “Tomorrow 2.” She captioned the clip with a sweet “[heart] u @iamcardib.” Madonna followed up by giving love to Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian, whom she also mentioned while reflecting on her book.
Watch her Stories before they disappear here.
On Sunday morning (Oct. 23), Cardi B fired off a series of since-deleted tweets sharing that she felt disrespected by comments Madonna made on her Instagram Story the previous evening about how she helped pave the way for other female artists expressing their sexuality.
“30 years ago I published a book called S.E.X. In addition to photos of me naked there were photos of Men kissing Men, Woman kissing Woman and Me kissing everyone,” Madonna wrote on Saturday, noting that she faced a great deal of criticism at the time. “Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP. Kim Kardashian can grace the cover of any magazine with her naked ass and Miley Cyrus can come in like a wrecking ball.”
The final line of Madonna’s post read, “You’re welcome b—-es,” followed by a clown emoji.
“I literally [paid] this woman homage so many times cause I grew up listening to her …she can make her point without putting clown emojis and getting slick out the mouth,” the rapper wrote in a now-deleted tweet alongside a screenshot of a 2018 Billboard article in which she praises Madonna. “These icons really become disappointments once u make it in the industry that’s why I keep to myself.”
Later Sunday morning, Hollywood Unlocked founder Jason Lee tweeted that he was “on the phone with Madonna and Cardi” and listening to the stars “share their perspective on the communication going on has broadened their love for each other.”
Both Cardi and Madonna then took to Twitter to reveal that they have reconciled. “I talked to Madonna …It was beautiful …Have a great day and drive safely yallll,” the rapper wrote. Madonna added, “I love you @iamcardib!! Always have and always will.”
Madonna partied with Post Malone during his concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. While Malone was the star onstage, the “Material Girl” definitely stole the show backstage.
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“Get f—ed up motherf—ers!” she shouts in a video posted to her Instagram before rocking out to Malone’s eight-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 song “Rockstar” with her crew.
The 64-year-old pop icon was appropriately dressed for the occasion in an all-black outfit with suspenders, a heap of silver jewelry, and bedazzled silver sunglasses. The superstar also sported bubblegum-pink hair, a departure from her usual blond tresses.
Madonna spent time with Malone backstage after his concert, posting a photo of herself with the “White Iverson” rapper backstage, a bottle of French wine between them. She embraced Malone before showing off her flexibility, swinging her legs in the air.
The pair also jokingly showed off their French skills, complete with an over-the-top French accent.
“Drinking this wine from Provence, and then later on we’re gonna have a croissant,” said Madonna, later adding, “Excusez moi?”
It seems Madonna and Malone now have a little French inside joke — she even captioned her post “Croissant” with a croissant emoji.
The concert is part of Post’s Twelve Carat Tour, and it comes just weeks after he was hospitalized for difficulty breathing following his fall through a hole onstage during his concert in St. Louis.