Just got home from a test I have been studying for what seems like months. Thankfully I think I did pretty well. Now there is one more test to get through (next week) and then I get two whole months off from school! Maybe I can have some sort of a life again...
But, before that there is the small matter of getting through the last one, which is German! I urge you to try to learn all the basics in a new language in less then a month, while doing another course!
But, for inspiration I will call upon the princess of Germany. Yes, it's Sandra of course!
My Euro-priestess of pop turned 50 years young a few days ago, but thankfully she is still releasing fabulous music and touring around Europe. Back in 1985, after the massive success of "Maria Magdalena", Sandra released the follow up single in November: "In The Heat Of The Night".
The song became another big hit for her, charting inside the Top 5 in Germany, Italy, France and Sweden to name a few. She released her first proper music video to go with the song, which you can of course enjoy below. What followed was a string of fabulous hit singles and quite a few fantastic albums. Her latest album, Stay In Touch, is amongst the best she's done and proves that she is far from finished.
On June 5th Army Of Lovers will release a
new EP called the Scandinavian Crime EP. It will contain the four brand new songs from the Big
Battle Of Egos album, but with main focus on the new single "Signed On My
Tattoo" (a duet with Gravitonas). The EP also features brand new vocals
from La Dominika and Jean-Pierre on "Tragedy" and "Rockin' The
Ride".
The EP is a global release from SoFo
Records and will be followed by further new material from Army Of Lovers
throughout 2013-14. Here is a fanmade video for the new single:
After the news a couple of days ago that Miss Janet Jackson is working on new material, Bananarama have now announced that they are working with their US management on a new album, which will probably be out next year! Watch the interview:
After Madonna accepted her Top Touring
Artist award at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday, she sat down exclusively
with Extra’s Jerry Penacoli, and opened up about her family, her Met Gala photo
with Kim Kardashian and her feud with Elton John.
She also revealed that the MDNA Tour is
being released on DVD and Blu-ray in September.
On family…
It was great to have a working family… to
me that’s my idea of fun, to be creative, to do what I love to do and see my
kids working around me and earning their way in life. My daughter worked in the
costume department and she loved it. My son was in the show, and he loved it.
I try to find the right balance between
being there for them and guiding them and also being an artist. I’m trying to
find enough time in the day to do those jobs well. I try to be very clear with them. This is
my persona for work. What we aspire to do is to work and to be good people. If
you don’t have those two things, fame is nothing, so I try to drill that into
their heads.
On Kim Kardashian…
I met her years and years ago when she was
a little girl, believe it or not. She told me she was a huge fan of mine, and
it was during the time I was wearing all of the rubber bracelets on my arms. I
took off all of the bracelets and gave them to her and then I completely forgot
about it. She reminded me when I saw her the other night. Now she’s a pregnant
lady!
Madonna confirmed the reconciliation with
Elton John at a restaurant in Nice, France…
After we kissed and hugged, he paid for my
dinner, as he should.
Right after winning Top Touring Artist at the Billboard Music Awards Sunday night, we caught up with Madonna backstage for a quick chat. The pop icon discussed her upcoming MDNA concert special, new album rumors and her charitable initiatives in Africa and beyond.
Madonna was quick to quiet any notion that she had started work on a new studio album. 'No, not yet. I just finished editing the DVD of my ('MDNA') concert,' adding jokingly, 'so I haven't had any free time.' Madonna's editing handiwork will be revealed on June 22, when her MDNA Tour concert special premieres on premium network EPIX. The concert will debut at 8 p.m. EST that night on EPIX's TV network and online at EpixHD.com and on EPIX apps. A home video release of the tour is due out in fall, possibly in September. The globe-trekking MDNA Tour was 2012's highest-grossing trek and the 10th-biggest tour of all time according to Billboard Boxscore. It played 88 shows on four continents to over 2.2 million attendees. The tour supported her 2012 studio album 'MDNA,' which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. At the Billboard Music Awards, Madonna also spoke about her continued commitment to girls education and outreach in Malawi and beyond. 'I continue to do my work there,' she said, noting that her organization had recently finished building 10 schools, 'which I'm very proud of,' and that she continues 'to do work with various orphanages, hospitals, medical trainees, supporting doctors (and) pediatricians.' She continued, saying how she's 'trying to expand' her efforts 'beyond Malawi to other parts of the world.' As part of that charitable expansion, she recently sold a Fernand Leger painting for $7.2 million, the proceeds of which will benefit her Ray of Light Foundation that supports girls' education projects in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. The 1921 painting, titled 'Trois Femmes a la Table Rouge,' was sold at a Sotheby's auction on May 7, exceeding pre-sale expectations. Madonna had owned the work since 1990, when she bought it at Sotheby's for $3.4 million.
And in other Madonna news:
Madonna has confirmed her participation as
presenter in 'The Sound of Change Live' concert, presented by CHIME FOR CHANGE.
Recently founded by Gucci, the organization hosts campaigns for improved
Education, Health and Justice for women and girls worldwide. The four-hour
concert, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 1 June, is
supported by an impressive line-up of world-class artists and internationally
renowned presenters, lending their voices to CHIME FOR CHANGE.
The confirmed line-up is: Aishwarya Rai *
Archbishop Desmond Tutu * Beyonce * Blake Lively * Ellie Goulding * Florence +
the Machine * Freida Pinto * Gloria Steinman * Gordon and Sarah Brown * HAIM *
Humaira Bachal * Iggy Azalea * Jada Pinkett Smith * James Franco * Jennifer
Lopez * Jessica Chastain * John Legend * Laura Pausini * Leymah Gbowee *
Madonna * Mpho Tutu * Rita Ora * Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy * Timbaland * Zoe
Saldana *
Madonna said, "60 percent of the
children in the world NOT in school, are girls! 2/3 of the world's illiterate
are WOMEN! I Do NOT accept this. We need to change this and we WILL CHANGE
THIS!"
The concert will start at 5.30pm and finish
at 10:00pm and each artist will perform special sets with some exciting
collaborations expected. Throughout the concert short films will be shown
highlighting issues such as: 60% of children not in school are girls, 800 women
die daily in pregnancy or childbirth - most of whom would live with access to
proper care, and despite gains, just 21% of seats in national parliaments are
held by women.
Tickets for the concert are available from:
www.chimeforchange.org
The eternal diva that is Cher is celebrating her 67th birthday today!
May seems to be the month of the divas. Yesterday, Grace Jones celebrated her 65th birthday and on May 16th Janet Jackson turned 47. Sandra turned 50 (!) on May 18th and of course Kylie Minogue will celebrate her 45th birthday on May 28th!
But let's get back to Cher and the Song Of The Day.
"Strong Enough" was released on February 19th 1999 as the second single from her massive album Believe. An instant favorite of mine, the song became a big hit in Europe (#1 in Denmark, #3 in Germany and France, #5 in the UK etc). It did however not do as well in the US where it peaked at #57, although it did of course become a #1 hit on the Dance Chart!
The diva has told us that her brand new single will be out in June and that her first album since 2001 will be out in the first week of September!
She compared her forthcoming 26th LP
to 1998's Believe. "It's about being fabulous.Truthfully, I'm not a huge Cher fan and I've
said this many times, but I think this is the best album I've ever done.The songs are so brilliant. I got so
lucky. The closest thing to this album I think is the Believe album."
She mentioned that her duet with
Lady Gaga is "on the line" as to whether it will make the final cut
on the collection, adding: "Lady GaGa may not want to be on the
album". It was recently reported that Cher has
collaborated with Scissor Sisters singer Jake Shears on the record.
Now, with the endless delays and false starts one most take this info with a grain of salt. But one thing is for sure: Cher is still very much around!
Happy birthday to Cher and all the other divas that celebrate their birthdays this month. They have all proven to be strong enough indeed!
![Signed On My Tattoo [feat. Gravitonas]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/6125LS6oUIL._SL500_AA280_.jpg)
