Madonna in Malawi

From the beginning of Madonna's involvement in Malawi's concerns, she has been criticized for every action she has taken on there, whether it was making a film (if you click the link, do not enlarge the browser site; it is impossible to view it then) about its situation or adopting a child. Picking holes in the latter is particularly unfair and prejudicial, because what she had done was actually saving lives of two kids that by now would have died without her help.

Despite being under fire, Madonna has not given up and still supports the impoverished country in its development. She flied there on the Easter Monday with her oldest daughter Lourdes (13) and the adopted one - Mercy (3). She had some conversations with local politics and heads of the organizations supporting Malawi, she also visited some financed by her orphanages and, what is uppermost, she laid the first brick at the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls. It bore words: "Raising Malawi Academy for Girls", the date of laying the brick (April 6, 2010) and the motto "Dare to Dream". Here is Madonna's view on the event.

The $15 million Raising Malawi Academy for Girls is Madonna's newest educational project in this country. The school, which will be available only for girls, is set to be open in 2011 and will be attented by 450 orphaned children. Moreover, the telecommunications giant Ericsson will provide 11 African country with computers and the Internet connection, Malawi and the "Madonna's" academy included.

Madonna left Malawi on the 9th April, promising she would visit the country, calling it "my second home", twice a year.

TO HELP MALAWI AS WELL, JUST GO TO THIS SITE: http://www.raisingmalawi.org/pages/take-action

Why Madonna? / The very beginning

After several non-emotional posts, it is time to change the official mood of this blog and throw aside presenting just the sheer facts about Madonna's actions. Not forever, of course, I am not going to completely abandon updating the site with news, but now my posts will be more personal. I think I will write a couple (well, a bit more than that as I still cannot fit myself in a few hundred) of words, in which I will reveal more about my "illness".

First of all, if two years ago someone had told me that in a few months I would be a huge fan of Madonna, I would have laughed them off. At that time I knew and really liked only a few of her songs and associated her mainly with her disco era, pink/purple outfits and a lot of scandals. Although I appreciated her as the Queen of Pop, she had never impressed me enough to become really interesting for me.

I changed my mind on the 28th August 2008, when my father took me to her concert in Berlin. I do not remember the whole show now, but I can see some moments very vividly and one of them is the beginning. The lights were off, the intro was running and I, without any special feelings, was waiting for Madonna to appear. I was surprised with the full-of-tension-and-excitement atmosphere in the Olimpia Stadium, because what I was thinking at that time was that she was just a person (well, not anymore lol. Now when someone says it I am rather like 'Who told you that?'). And although not so much to made me yell and scream, the mood started to affect me as well, especially when the screen was slowly turning, when I finally could see her sitting on a throne and when the whole stadium went mad clapping and shouting. That was an awakening experience - I had never assumed that one person can be adored so greatly.

I also enjoyed the other songs, such as Into the Groove, when Madonna was doing a jump rome extravaganza - she was simultaneously dancing and double-dutch jumping rope. That convinced me that she has an enviable stamina, which allowed her to do an amazing show, different from other artists'; there are not many people who sing and dance at the same time, because it is very exhausting and may prevent singing in tune.

However, above all, I was impressed with her personality and charisma, visible throughout the whole show, because of which I has probably become a fan of her. One word, one move or one smile and 50,000 people are screaming. Incredible.

After the concert I read her short biography (again being impressed - this woman could erase half of her achievements and the remainings still would be overwhelming!) and listened to hundreds of the old songs, which resulted in realisation that although I had not known their titles before, some of them were already my favourites. And that is when I fell in entirely and it seems like I am not going to be healed soon.

Lourdes (and Madonna) designing a clothing line!

Firstly reported as Madonna's, but now it is out that it will be Lourdes (Madonna's 13-year-old daughter), who will design the clothing line!

Earlier this month MadonnaTribe announced that Madonna and her manager Guy Oseary signed a deal and form now the MG Icon brand with the firm Iconix, which owns labels such as Candie's and has stakes in i.a. Ed Hardy. Madonna and Guy are owning 50% stake in the company while Iconix owns the other half.

The teen clothing line that Madonna and her daughter are now creating will be named 'Material Girl' and will hit the Macy's stores just before autumn; on the 'back-to-school' time. The line will start with jeans, schoes, fingerless gloves, jewelry and other accessories costing enough to be within an average teenager's price range.

Madonna has recently had an interview for Access Hollywood about her input in the line. Check it out below:

AP: Why did you want to do a juniors' line?

Madonna: Lola [Lourdes] has been bothering me for ages about designing clothes. Stella McCartney is a good friend of mine and she got her mind thinking when Lola was a little girl, about 8 years old. She started giving Lola fabrics and inviting her into her showroom and asking her opinion on things, giving her sketch books and stuff like that. Stella always pushed her. I have a lot of friends who are clothing designers whether it is Gaultier or Dolce and Gabbana. (Lola) has been around all of the shoots I have done and all of the campaigns I have done. She is always hanging out backstage. The last two tours I have done, she has been working in the wardrobe department. On this last tour she dressed all of the dancers.

AP: What has Lola taught you about fashion?

Madonna: I am boring basically. She reminds me of me when I was younger. She just goes for it and tries different things. It doesn't look like she thought too much about it. That is how I used to be, but after years and years of everybody commenting on the way I look and dress and being photographed, one starts to become self-conscious and starts to plan things more. You end up judging yourself more, what looks good and what doesn't.

AP: What has it been like to work with your daughter?
Madonna: It is good because she does have good taste in fashion. I respect her taste and I rarely disagree with her.

AP: Was part of you hesitant about Lola designing this line as she would be thrust into the spotlight?

Madonna: That is why I am here talking about the line and she is not. Eventually I will let her. I feel like she needs to get into high school and focus on her studies, her lessons. She got into the high school of the performing arts. She has a lot of work to do. I don't want her to be distracted. She will eventually be able to talk about it. I am going to be happy when she does because she can speak much more clearly in and in a more informed way than I can about a line she is ultimately designing. I just stand in the background and go, "That's cool. That's not cool."

AP: The clothing is affordable. Why was it important to you to keep the price low?

Madonna: When I was 13 years old, I couldn't afford designer clothes. I couldn't afford expensive clothing. When I designed a line of clothes for H&M, that was one of the things I liked so much about it, that it was really affordable. I think that is one of the nice things about it, that you can make nice clothes at affordable prices.
AP: You are known as being a fashion risk taker. Do you ever look back and wonder, "What was I thinking?"

Madonna: Yeah. I would rather not point them out. I think I had a lot of bad hair moments. In the early 80's just sometimes I wore purple lipstick or green lipstick. Clothing-wise, I am happy about the way I dressed.
AP: With your music career and with the girls' school you are building in Malawi, was part of you hesitant about taking on another project with this clothing line?

Madonna: If Lola wasn't so completely involved in the line, designing, consulting, whatever you want to call it, I wouldn't do it. Really she does most of the work, honestly.

AP: Who are Lola's fashion influences?
Madonna: Lola spent most of her childhood growing up in England. According to her, she thinks people have more style in London, especially the boys. French boys in particular have very good style, according to Lola. I think she has been very influenced by European fashion. She is very influenced by the music she listens to, different bands she is in to. She has favorite models. She takes all kinds of dance classes. She is inspired by different items people wear as dancers whether it is a hip- hop class or a jazz class or ballet class. ... Of course she is inspired by my closet. My Christian Dior shoes will go missing and then some fabulous bag I won't be able to find or my skinny jeans, the only pair that fit me are gone.

AP: Has working on this clothing line together bonded you in a different way?
Madonna: I see her more as a creative person, as an artist and less as my daughter as we are working, and then every once and a while I remembered she is my daughter.

hayyah: Oh, yeah! Finally something that I can afford! :D By the way, that Lourdes seems to be a pretty talented girl... And she looks like she is 18, not 13,5. :O

Madonna directing a new film!

Between designing an eyewear line, taking part in a photoshoot, making new songs, creating a clothing line for Macy's (next post about it) and being a mother of four, Madonna still found time to write a scrip for her new film, called "W.E.".

The film is simultaneously centering on two stories. One is the love affair between king Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, the Dutchess of Windsor, and the second one is a completely made-up history about a couple in New York City.

Madonna was originally planning to play the role of Wallis, but she has changed her mind and she tries to get Vera Farmiga to stand in for her. Yet, the only oficially confirmed actress to play any role is Abbie Cornish who will play Wally, a woman fascinated by what happened to Mrs. Simpson. Cornish is not familiar with Madonna's previous film achievements, though. "But no matter. I don’t really go by that. I go by other things. I go by scripts. I go with what I think I can do with a character and if I feel a kinetic energy with someone and I feel we can uplift and challenge each other," she says.

The film is now in the pre-production and it is going to be released sometime in 2010. Although the cast is not announced yet, Madonna is said to be coming to Britain for filming this summer. There is also a gossip that she has asked the queen Elisabeth II to let her film in some places not available for an ordinary person. However, the queen probably will not be keen on the idea. 'I can't imagine that Her Majesty would make an exception, particularly for a film about Wallis Simpson,' a courtier says.

hayyah: Well... I really like Madonna and I do believe in her as a film-maker (by the way, her previous film was 'Filth and Wisdom')... But cannot she concentrate on her music? It is not good with it since 2006. And those gossips about collaborating with Jason Derulo are scaring me - I do not wanna another Hard Candy era!

Madonna and Dolce&Gabbana's new project!

Madonna, after being the face of their latest Spring&Summer 2010 campain, has joinced forces with Dolce & Gabbana again, this time to produce a new sunglasses line. She is the first person the duo have ever made a co-branded collaboration and here is what they say about it:

"We're so excited. Designing an eyewear line with Madonna was a new experience for us. This further strenghtens our relationship with Madonna, and it was a very constructive experience for us. She is very exacting and a professional who seeks perfection in everything she does, and this was no exception."

Madonna has herself designed some of the models and has already taken part in a photoshoot for the advertising campaign. Steven Klein, inspired by "film noir", is responsible for the photos and probably for a short advertisement in the tv.

The sunglasses will have a "MDG" logo on their arm and will go on sale in May, costing from €180 to €210 (current EUR and PLN exchange rate: 1 EUR = 3,88 PLN).

hayyah: That is a shame... They are so expensive! :(

Madonna in Rio!

Madonna, together Jesus Luz, her daughters Lola and Mercy and some friends landed in Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of February. Madonna met the Governor Jose Serra in Sao Paulo, which whom she discussed possible social projects as part of the Success for Kids initiative in the Sao Paulo area. She also received a $1 000 000 worth cheque for that initiative.

However, the visit was not only devoted for her charity work, but for some entertainment as well. The week she spent there was also the week of internationally famous carnival in Rio de Janeiro, full of differents events. One of them was a rock concert at Circo Voador, which she joined with Jesus and some friends. The lead vocal of the band Locomotivos said to the audience: "Our Circo is so huge, that Madonna is here to see us" and she blushed. A video below:

The crowning of her visit was taking part in the carnival. Firstly being willing to join the people in the normal crowd, Madonna caused so huge excitement among paparazzis and other people she had to quickly sneak out to the exclusive VIP boxes along the parade route, where she stayed to the end of the parade.

Outtakes-mania

Since Madonna's contract with the Warner Bros. Records had expired, there is nothing more that could restrain them from making accesible files they had collected throughout the 25-year long partnership. They began from the top shelf, letting out of their hands the most awaited one - the "Re-Invention" tour recording - and for the last few days they have consistently been uploading outtakes and unretouched photos from different sessions from 1983 to 2009, causing a lot of fuss in the fan society.

Zack from AbMad has uploaded those pics to hotfile. Enjoy!

Part1

Part2
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Part6

Part7

'Hope for Haiti Now' Rehearsal

Here is Madonna rehearsing for her 'Hope for Haiti Now' performance. The group is probably warming up their voices by doing another #1 hit from Queen of Pop's repertoire - 4 Minutes. Video by Guy Oseary.

hayyah: Even though I do not like this song at all, I prefer its original version to the accoustic one.

"Hope for Haiti"

From hayyah: I watched the whole telethon yesterday, from 2 to 4 a.m. I thought of it as a great idea, with all those stars answering telephones from donors, with all those beautiful performances by Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake or Shakira - they were really touching and made me feel worldwide unity, but... The former plan, as mentioned in the title, was to give hope to Haitian people, to reassure them. Instead of that, the performances were full of sadness and sorrow, which undoubtedly influenced more people to donate (no wonder they intended it), but quarelled with 'giving hope'. Also, the absence of public was very visible and disturbing.

For me, Madonna was the only one, who fully understood the title (or maybe she was not alone, but surely only she expressed it). The setting of "Like a Prayer" - dancing, smiling, eventually a gospel choir and clapping - was exactly what I expected from all performers and received only from Madonna.

Now, when you all know how much I am affected by her (yeah, I know this is sick, I am constantly saying it to myself - who knows, maybe someday it will have a result), here is the recording of "Like a Prayer":

Madonna to perform at the Haiti Telethon!

After the earthquake that devastated Haiti a couple of days ago, Madonna has given a donation of $250,000 to assist the victims. Other internationally famous stars have also shared their fortunes with people, who has recently lost their relatives and houses However, George Clooney and Haiti-born Wyclef Jean decided to render their assistance in other way. They are organising an all-star “Hope for Haiti” telethon for Haitian earthquake relief, hosted by both of them - tomorrow, on 22nd of January.

Yesterday, MadonnaTribe reported that Madonna is going to join the telethon too, performing one of her well-known classics. Madonna.com confirmed their announcement today:

"We are happy to confirm that Madonna will join the upcoming star studded Telethon to air on every major network this coming Friday evening. Organized and hosted by George Clooney, the Telethon is set to raise millions for the citizens of Haiti, which were affected by the recent earthquake."

Networks showing the telethon are ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, the CW, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT. The show is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Eastern time (Poland: about 2 a.m. on Saturday) and will run commercial-free.

Below some photos from 2007 Live Earth, the latest charity concert joined by Madonna: