Finally!!!...

The legendery concert(s) Diana Ross did in Central Park back in 1983 will be shown on US TV in March for the first time since the original airdate. I have a bootleg DVD of this, but Shout Factory has confirmed that they intend to release the show on DVD later this year! It was a legendery concert for many reasons and such a shame that it was never released (not even on VHS back in the 80s).  I cant wait - the quality in the advert below is fantastic!











On July 21, 1983, the legendary Diana Ross took the stage in New York's Central Park before an audience of over 800,000 adoring fans. Soon after the singer began, pouring rain and heavy wind threatened to put an end to the show, but Diana pushed on for much of the set, urging the drenched crowd to remain calm and stay with her. Eventually the torrential storm put an end to the performance, but not before Diana promised her fans she would return the next day. True to her word, Diana performed the entire concert again on July 22nd for the people of New York and, as planned, proceeds from the concert benefited the Diana Ross Playground, which was built three years later in Central Park. Initially broadcast live around the world, this renowned concert was never again shown on television, and has never been released on DVD until now.

Setlist: I'm Coming Out Home Family It's My House Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand) Let's Go Up? Supremes Medley: Reflections / Baby Love / Stop! In The Name Love / Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart God Bless The Child Mirror, Mirror Maniac You Can't Hurry Love Upside Down So Close Why Do Fools Fall In Love Ribbon In The Sky Beat It Muscles Endless Love Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To) Ain't No Mountain High Enough All For One

Bonus Features: *Complete Rained-Out Concert From Previous Day *Commentary By Director Steve Binder

Running Time 2 hours and 40 minutes: 1 hour 50 minutes for the full show 49 minutes of the rained out show

Legal Line (c) 2012 Anaid Film Productions under license to Shout! Factory LLC, 2034 Armacost Ave., Floor 1, Los Angeles, CA 90025. All Rights Reserved. For noncommercial private exhibition in homes only. Any public performance, other use or copying is strictly prohibited.



Miss Ross will be at the Grammy Awards this Sunday. She will present an award (and she is of course getting a Lifetime Achivement Award this year as well - and not a moment too soon!). I will of course post everything about it right here after the weekend :)

Primadonna...

Marina And The Diamonds has announced her next single. It is called "Primadonna" and will be released on April 16th. Marina has described the track as a cross between "Material Girl" by Madonna (the queen) and "Barbie Girl" by Aqua. Sounds good to me!

The track follows up buzz single "Radioactive" which peaked at number 25 on the UK singles chart last September. Both tracks are taken from her forthcoming album Electra Heart, which will be released on April 30th.

Wild!...

Madonna did an interview with Ryan Seacrest today. She announced that the second single from her MDNA album will be "Girls Gone Wild". She commented on MIA (and her finger) and talked a bit about the new album etc. Listen below:



There will be a physical CD single (hooray!) in Europe for "Give Me All Your Luvin". It is currently slated for release on February 24th - it will be a 2 track with the remix featuring LMFAO as the B-side. Hopefully there will also be a remix single later on!



The album has sold very well so far in pre-orders (including the biggest first day pre-orders sales by ANY artist on iTunes). The single entered the US singles chart at #13 - amazing, considering that the song only had three days that week to chart! It is also one of the biggest debuts Madonna has had on the Hot 100. In the UK however, the single will most likely debut lower on Sunday since a lot of the sales have been disqualified as they were sold as a part of the album (or something - I hate that MP3 business!) and most people seem to be buying the whole album rather then just the single.

Here are some interesting videos from the SuperBowl performance EVERYONE has been talking about all week:









And here is the full Anderson Cooper interview which was broadcast last week:

Posters...

 

The poster for the new Lady Gaga tour. It looks like an advert  for a B-horror movie.

 

 

The poster for the new Madonna tour. Plain, slick and uber cool!

The Tour...

Madonna is having a huge party and everyone's invited.

The Madonna 2012 World Tour begins May 29th 2012 in Tel Aviv, Israel it was officially announced by Live Nation Entertainment, the tour's international promoter. The shows will include arenas, stadiums and special outdoor sights including the Plains of Abraham in Quebec and a return visit to South America as well as Australia where she has not performed in 20 years. The tour will stop in 26 European cities including London, Paris, Milan and Berlin.

The first of 26 North American shows is scheduled for August 28th in Philadelphia and includes a September 6th show in NY's Yankee Stadium and an October 10th performance at LA's Staples Center. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale beginning February 10th in Tel Aviv and the United Kingdom, with North American tickets going on sale beginning February 13th. Tickets for North America are available at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com. A complete itinerary of Madonna 2012 follows this release.

 

The announcement of Madonna's 2012 World Tour follows an extraordinary week which included a monumental extravaganza of a performance at the Bridgestone Super Bowl Halftime which was seen in over 200 countries by over a billion people. Last week also saw the release of Madonna's new single, 'Give Me All Your Luvin'' from her highly anticipated new album MDNA on Live Nation Entertainment/Interscope Records - scheduled to be released on March 26th. Pre orders have already catapulted MDNA to No. 1 on iTunes in 51 countries including the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Canada, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands.

 

'Madonna's track record as a world class entertainer and touring artist speaks for itself. Her artistry, talent and creative productions get bigger and better with each tour and Madonna 2012 will be no exception. We are thrilled to have her back on the road and know her fans feel the same,' commented Arthur Fogel, CEO Live Nation Entertainment Global Touring and Madonna tour promoter.

 

Madonna 2012 World Tour is the Material Girl's 9th Tour. Her first tour was the 1985 Virgin Tour.

US residents ordering tickets online to a US performance will receive their choice of a digital or physical copy of Madonna's new MDNA album with every ticket purchased.

 

Citi® is the official credit card of the US leg of Madonna's upcoming world tour. Citi® cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Wednesday, Feb. 8th at 10am through Citi's Private Pass® Program. For complete presale details visit http://www.citiprivatepass.com/

 

Icon is Madonna's official fan club. Lifetime Legacy members of Icon will receive first access to tickets and VIP Packages starting February 7, 2012. Registered free Icon members will have the opportunity to purchase an 'Icon Live Pass,' which gives them access not only to ticket & VIP Package pre-sales, but also to a tour devoted forum and an exclusive tour gift. Fans can sign up for a free Icon membership at Madonna.com today.

 

VIP Packages will are available through VIP Nation, including premium seats, exclusive merchandise and more. For more information please visit: www.VIPNation.com

viagogo, Europe's leading secondary ticketing company (www.viagogo.co.uk), has been named as the Official Premium and Secondary Ticketing Partner for Madonna's 2012 summer tour dates across Europe. viagogo will handle premium tickets for select shows this summer, offering fans the chance to see one of the most anticipated concert tours of the year. Fans that can no longer use their tickets will be able to resell them to other fans through viagogo's secure online platform, and, as always, all tickets are guaranteed.

MADONNA 2012 WORLD TOUR ITINERARY EUROPE

29-May  Tel Aviv, Israel Ramat Gam Stadium  On Sale Feb. 10
3-Jun Abu Dhabi Yas Arena  On Sale Feb. 27
7-Jun Istanbul, Turkey Turk Telecom Arena  On sale soon
11-Jun Zagreb, Croatia Maksimir Stadium  On Sale Feb. 17
14-Jun Milan, Italy Stadio San Siro  On Sale Feb. 13
16-Jun Florence, Italy Stadio Franchi  On Sale Feb. 13
20-Jun Barcelona, Spain Palau Sant Jordi  On Sale Feb. 16
24-Jun Coimbra, Portugal Estadio Cidade de Coimbra On Sale Feb. 11
28-Jun Berlin, Germany O2 Arena  On Sale Feb. 13
2-Jul  Copenhagen, Denmark Parken Stadium  On Sale Feb. 13
4-Jul Gothenburg, Sweden Ullevi Stadium  On Sale Feb. 17
7-Jul Amsterdam,The Netherlands Ziggo Dome  On Sale Feb. 11
12-Jul Brussels, Belgium Stade Roi-Baudouin  On Sale Feb. 17
14-Jul Paris, France Stade De France  On Sale Feb. 14
17-Jul London, UK Hyde Park  On Sale Feb. 10
21-Jul Edinburgh, UK Murrayfield Stadium  On Sale Feb. 10
24-Jul Dublin, Ireland Aviva Stadium  On Sale Feb. 17
29-Jul Vienna, Austria Ernst-Happel-Stadion  On Sale Feb. 24
1-Aug Warsaw, Poland National Stadium  On Sale Feb. 17
7-Aug Moscow, Russia Olimpiski Arena  On sale soon
8-Aug  St. Petersburg, Russia SKK Arena  On sale soon
12-Aug Helsinki, Finland Olympic Stadium  On Sale Feb. 14
15-Aug Oslo, Norway Telenor Arena  On Sale Feb. 20
18-Aug Zurich, Switzerland Stadion Letzigrund  On Sale Feb. 24
21-Aug Nice, France Stade Charles-Erhmann  On Sale Feb. 14

NORTH AMERICA
28-Aug Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center  On Sale Feb. 13
30-Aug Montreal, QC Bell Centre  On Sale Feb. 18
1-Sep Quebec City, QC Plains of Abraham Site  On Sale Feb. 17
4-Sep Boston, MA TD  Garden  On Sale Feb. 13
6-Sep New York, NY Yankee Stadium  On Sale Feb. 13
10-Sep Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place  On Sale Feb. 13
12-Sep Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre  On Sale Feb. 13
15-Sep Atlantic City, NJ Boardwalk Hall  On Sale Feb. 27
19-Sep Chicago, IL United Center  On Sale Feb. 13
23-Sep Washington, D.C. Verizon Center  On Sale Feb. 13
29-Sep Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena  On Sale Feb. 13
2-Oct Seattle, WA Key Arena  On Sale Feb. 13
6-Oct San Jose, CA HP  Pavilion  On Sale Feb. 13
10-Oct Los Angeles, CA Staples Center  On Sale Feb. 13
13-Oct Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand  On Sale Feb. 27
16-Oct Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center  On Sale Feb. 27
20-Oct Dallas, TX American Airlines Center  On Sale Feb. 27
24-Oct Houston, TX Toyota Center  On Sale Feb. 27
27-Oct New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena  On Sale Mar. 5
30-Oct Kansas City, MO Sprint Center  On Sale Mar. 5
1-Nov St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center  On Sale Mar. 5
3-Nov St. Paul, MN Xcel  Energy Center  On Sale Feb. 27
10-Nov Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena  On Sale Mar. 5
15-Nov Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena  On Sale Mar. 5
17-Nov Atlanta, GA Philips Arena  On Sale Mar. 5
TBC Miami, FL To Be Confirmed  On Sale Soon

 

 In an early morning press conference in Tel Aviv, Shuky Vice, Madonna's Israeli producer, gave some details into Madonna's up coming world tour which is set to launch in Israel on May 29th.

 
Seems like Madonna pulled all the stops with a state of the art stage design which will bring the singer colser to her audience then ever before. With the help of (yet unnamed) top architects, a "satellite stage" will hover from the 1,850 cubic feet main stage into the audience and back. The distance between the satellite stage and the audiance will be less then 40 meters, which will give a feeling as if "she is walking among the audience"
The stage will be 6 story high and each venue will be redesigned to look like an amphitheater "The audience will be wrapped around Madonna", Voice said. The Ramat Gan stadium will go through a massive face lift to cater for the massive show. Madonna will kick off the tour in Israel on Mat 29th, but she will arrive 2 weeks prior to hold full rehearsals. She'll bring with her 350 crew members and 1,200 local ones, set to be hired specially for this event."I hope she'll have time to travel as well, though knowing her she'll do nothing but work" Vice concluded.
 
Only 30,000 tickets will be sold, with a much wider gab of prices starting at 240 shekels. When asked about guest stars and opening acts vice said "As you saw at the Super Bowl" Madonna likes to collaborate, and I will not get into details. And yes there will be an opening act which I can not name at this time"
A massive world press core will be coming to Israel as well and we are getting ready for that. When asked if he has any fears brining such a massive show only two years after she was here last, Vice said "After what everyone saw at the Super Bowl and what she is capable of I have no fears, she is one of a kind and her shows are one of a kind. I have no fears. Privilege is what I have"

 

Well, this all sounds good - except that I wont be going to see her this year. I dont like these "huge" concert events - I mean, she is doing Hyde Park for crying out loud! Seeing her live, front row, in a seat (of course I didnt sit, but it meant I had my own space) during the amazing Confessions Tour was pure perfection. I also saw her "Re-Invention" tour which was fabulous, but I wasnt that crazy about the Sticky & Sweet tour for the same reason as now. I will catch the queen the next time she does an arena show in London.

And finally: here is the remix of "Give Me All Your Luvin" feat LMFAO:

http://www.hulkshare.com/abi0j7l4hn7f

Yet Another Record...

More people watched the 2012 Super Bowl than any other show in American television history - the total number of viewers was 111.3 million. This means that Super Bowl XLVI was the most watched program in American TV history.

Madonna's halftime show was viewed by an average of 114 million viewers, which makes it the most watched Super Bowl halftime show ever!

The glittering Super Bowl half-time show from Madonna saw an average of 8,000 tweets per second being sent for five minutes, although that peaked at a staggering 10,245.




And here is the artwork for the standard 12 track edition of MDNA:



(me loves!)

Tour...

Fansite Madonnatribe has just posted the summer dates of Madonna's 2012 tour! There will be an official press release and more dates published tomorrow.