Say what you like about Madonna, but one area she always delivers is when it comes to live performances.
Even when confronted with obstacles (or a very stubborn cape), you can always rely on the Queen of Pop to give it her all when it comes to her live routines, and that’s been showcased at an innumerable amount of awards shows throughout her decades-spanning career in music.
We’ve delived into the pop vaults and picked just 12 of our favourites..
‘Like A Virgin’ – MTV Video Music Awards 1984
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The performance that started it all at the very first VMAs, the controversy surrounding her rendition of ‘Like A Virgin’ that saw her rolling around on the floor seductively cemented Madonna’s place as a pop culture icon. Little did people know, she was just getting started…
‘Vogue’ – MTV Video Music Awards 1990
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Take note, Chezza and BritBrit. If you’re going to lip sync, the only excuse can be that you’re delivering a performance as flawless as this.
‘Sooner Or Later’ – Academy Awards 1991
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This awards performance at the Oscars gave Madonna a rare opportunity to show off her vocals, while still paying homage to her idol, Marilyn Monroe. Sidenote: Her date to the awards that night was none other than Michael Jackson.
‘Bedtime Story’ – Brit Awards 1995
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One of Madonna’s most overlooked tracks was also the only song she’d ever performed live at the Brits… until she finally returned to the UK awards bash for the first time in two decades in 2015, that is. And we all know what happened then (more on that later).
‘You Must Love Me’ – Academy Awards 1997
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Later that evening, ‘You Must Love Me’ would scoop the Oscar for Best Original Song. So you see… Madonna was sort of involved in an Academy Award-winning track, which should come as a shock to anyone who’s seen ‘Body Of Evidence’.
‘Shanti/Ashtangi’ – MTV Video Music Awards 1998
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After taking time out from the music scene, Madonna re-launched herself in full ‘Earth Mother’ mode with her ‘Ray Of Light’ album, helped by this performance at the 1998 Video Music Awards, which she kicked off by singing entirely in Sanskrit.
‘Like A Virgin’/’Hollywood’ – MTV Video Music Awards 2004
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Indisputably one of the most iconic moments of the 21st century. Christina’s inky hair. Madonna’s shock arrival at the top of a cake. Justin Timberlake’s reaction. This performance has it all.
‘Hung Up’ – MTV European Music Awards 2005
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Nothing says “disco” quite like a leotard-clad Madonna emerging from a giant glitter ball, right?
‘Feel Good Inc.’/’Hung Up’ – Grammys 2006
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Over her long and illustrious career Madonna has collaborated with so many greats: Prince, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Missy Elliot, Nicki Minaj, Pharrell Williams, to name but a few.
But let’s not forget she also danced with a cartoon pop group at the Grammys way back in 2006, wearing – what else? – a purple leotard.
‘Same Love’/’Open Your Heart’ – Grammys 2014
YouTube
And even last year, Madonna put in an appearance at the Grammys as part of Macklemore’s touching ‘Same Love’ performance.
While he performed his smash hit single, a number of mixed-sex couples tying the knot live on air, all presided over by, of course, Queen Latifah.
As if all that wasn’t enough, Madonna then stormed the stage to perform a stripped-back version of her hit, ‘Open Your Heart’.
‘Living For Love’ – Brit Awards 2015
The fall that was felt around the world… but say what you want about Madonna, she jumped right up and carried on with her performance.
A true pro.
Prince Tribute – Billboard Music Awards 2016
When it came to paying tribute to one of the biggest pop icons of all time, it felt only appropriate that it should be Madonna who took on the performance on his honour at the Billboard Music Awards.
Donning her best purple paisley, she whizzed through some of his most memorable numbers.
Madonna starred as Breathless Mahoney in this flick with Warren Beatty whom she was dating at the time. We have added a few more magazine articles, rare memorabilia and more!
To make viewing the press tab easier we have separated the press articles on ‘I’m Breathless’ in a different tab. The memorabilia for both the movie and I’m Breathless are still mixed together under ‘memorabilia’
One of the most defining songs of Madonna‘s career, “Like a Virgin” established the artist as a risk taker and gave us the first taste of her fearless exploration into her sexuality. Her MTV performance of the song — adorned in a wedding dress and writhing on the floor — is considered one of the most iconic in the award show’s history.
Material Girl (1984)
Madonna’s “Material Girl” was the quintessential 80s anthem of excess — conjuring images of both wealth and an array of accoutrements, the latter making the star a fashion icon with her famous layers of netted tops and bangles. Commenting on her hits “Like a Virgin” and “Material Girl,” Madonna once said: “I liked them both because they were ironic and provocative at the same time but also unlike me. I am not a materialistic person, and I certainly wasn’t a virgin, and, by the way, how can you be like a virgin? I liked the play on words, I thought they were clever. They’re so geeky, they’re cool.”
Like a Prayer (1989)
“Like a Prayer” revealed that no sensitive subject was off limits to Madonna — not even religion or the Catholic Church. The accompanying music video proved just that with its burning crosses, depictions of stigmata and Madonna kissing a black saint. The video was so controversial, the Pope issued a statement condemning it. Conservative groups also joined in on attacking the song by boycotting Pepsi which used the song in its commercial.
Live to Tell (1986)
“Live to Tell” represented another defining moment in Madonna’s life: she was madly in love with actor Sean Penn, whom she married in 1985. The song was featured in Penn’s film At Close Range, which also starred Christopher Walken. Unfortunately, for Madge, her roller coaster relationship with Penn would end in divorce in 1989, although she’d later admit in her doc Truth or Dare that he was the love of her life. In later years, the ex-couple would become fond friends.
Express Yourself (1989)
The embodiment of power and independence, Madonna solidified her stature and urged all women to find their own with the female-empowering anthem “Express Yourself.” The hit song was a celebration of women to express their feelings and “never go for second best.” The industrial Metropolis-inspired music video was directed by David Fincherand its $5-million dollar budget was the most expensive of its kind up until that point.
Vogue (1990)
Another one of her all-time hits, Madonna struck a pose with “Vogue,” a song that celebrated escapism and gave a nod to the 1970s disco era. (Vogueing was introduced to Madonna at the Sound Factory in New York City.) The black-and-white music video was yet again the brainchild of David Fincher, who was still riding high on his 1920s-1930s retro kick.
Justify My Love (1990)
Let’s talk about sex. Always running into controversy, Madonna’s erotic hit, which was co-written by Lenny Kravitz, made waves when its music video depicted sadomasochism and bisexuality. The video was subsequently banned from MTV and other networks, to Madonna’s dismay. “Why is it that people are willing to go and watch a movie about someone getting blown to bits for no reason at all, and nobody wants to see two girls kissing and two men snuggling?” she stated. Regardless of the ban, the song became a bestseller when it was released on VHS. Madonna also followed it up with a coffee table book simply entitled Sexin 1992.
Don’t Cry For Me Argentina (1996)
Madonna’s cover of the 1976 song, which was adopted in the 1978 musical Evita, was yet another milestone for the blonde bombshell. Madonna starred in the 1996 film adaptation in the title role as Argentine leader Eva Perón, opposite Antonio Banderas, and was arguably her most serious acting project. That same year the film came out, Madonna had also become a mother for the first time, giving birth to her daughter Lourdes.
Ray of Light (1998)
The title track to her seventh studio album marked Madonna’s spiritual awakening. Incorporating electronic sounds, the club favorite gave form to the hippy dippy side of Madonna who began studying Kabbalah the year before.
Me Against the Music (2003)
Some fans winced at the elder pop icon frolicking about with her much younger sex pot successor Britney, but for Madonna, it was the beginning of her “I’m still here and still got it” tour. That same year, the blonde duo, along with an obscenely tan Christina Aguilera, performed at the MTV Music Awards and debuted that infamously sensual kiss, which didn’t make Britney’s ex Justin Timberlake all too happy. Cry us a river, JT…
Hung Up (2005)
The lead single off her tenth studio album, Madonna’s “Hung Up” was an ode to 80s dance pop and resurrected the singer’s popularity, which had waned with the release of her 2003 album American Life. The lead single soared to the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and became the top dance song of the decade, as well as one of the hottest-selling singles of all time.
4 Minutes (2008)
Apparently, Justin had no hard feelings when Madonna kissed Britney at the 2003 MTV Music Awards. Collaborating with the Material Girl, JT offered his vocals on the Timbaland-produced track, which was co-written by Madonna. After a trip to Africa and seeing the humanitarian crisis around her, Madonna wrote the dance song, which carried the message of saving the environment. With over three million downloads, “4 Minutes,” has become her most successful digital single to date.
B*tch I’m Madonna (2015)
Off of her album Rebel Heart, Madonna exuded celebratory defiance with her track “B*tch I’m Madonna.” With its unusual arrangement, the EDM Diplo-produced song received mixed reviews from critics but, alas, shot to the top of the dance charts. Despite naysayers saying the 50-something-year-old was acting out of desperation, “B*tch I’m Madonna” was Madonna’s way of saying she’s still having fun because she’s… her. That same year, she reiterated this message with her headline-grabbing kissing incident with Drake, who wasn’t too keen on the singer’s choice of lip gloss. Oh well, as long as Madonna’s having a good time — that’s her point, right?
LOS ANGELES, CA – After gracing the building with his presence at DX Turbo earlier in Summertime ‘17, rising Houston star Stoppa came through to bless #DXLive with some exclusive songs and even spoke on getting noticed by the one and only Madonna, via DanceOn, the company she co-founded with So You Think You Can Dance creator Nigel Lythgoe.
“I hooked up with her company and they took my single ‘What’s The Word?’ And gave it to some of the dopest dancers online from [all over the world],” Stoppa told Trent, Jake and Marcel during the weekly show. “There have been people from like Bulgaria sending in videos, people from India, people from South Africa. It’s just been going crazy. Shout out to DanceOn for that.”
Madge and her company have come to be known for their viral ability to pair songs with world class cancers and as it turns out Stoppa was one of the lucky ones and now hopes the affiliation will boost his career to even greater heights.
“What her company does. They find some of the dopest dancers online via Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, they take all the dance videos that these influencers do and they put them on Youtube so they put What’s the word on and I think the first dancer [that danced to it was] Tommy The Clown,” Stoppa remembered.
As promised we have added 11 exclusive genuine photographs of the Blond Ambition Tour to the ‘pictures’ tab.
These are genuine live shots from two shows; the latter are ones taken at the Rotterdam show the other ones she’s still wearing a ponytail and looks like a show done in the US (but I have no specific date on these).
To continue our big Blond Ambition Tour update; we have added more items to the memorabilia section as well such as various official (backstage) passes, instore promotions and this item I’d like to direct your attention to. This is the French inhouse VHS belonging to Tele7 containing the full show as recorded in Barcelona, for broadcast purposes.
As reported yesterday there is a massive press update in our Blond Ambition Tour page!
We have now gathered 71 (!!) original newspapers reviews and articles to the ‘newspapers’ section, all reporting on various (mostly Rotterdam) shows and original ads! We have also added some more magazine articles to the ‘magazines’ section.
We are not done yet, some more memorabilia and never before seen picture will be added.
Any fans of the groundbreaking Blond Ambition Tour here?
Just wanted to let you know that we have been going through various archives and have come up with over 50 original newspaper/magazine reviews, promotional ads and clippings from the tour. Most original reviews are from the show in Rotterdam, but also some from other countries including an entire newspaper from Barcelona dedicated to the show.
There are also some never before seen live shots taken during the tour we will be adding.
We are busy scanning the lot and restyling the Blond Ambition page, we hope to have it up tomorrow!
MANY new magazine scans have been added to the press section, such as various foreign promotional ads, articles on the music videos (papa ich krieg ein kind!), varous reviews (how some think it’s brilliant while others can’t discover a hit single…how wrong were they) and much more!
Also to the memorabilia section we have added some rare records straight from our discography
Dutch retailer Bol.com has a total of FIVE pre-orders available for the upcoming Rebel Heart Tour release, click on the button below for the product of your choice:
1987 was a very busy Madonna year; the Who’s That Girl film, the soundtrack and its singles plus the world tour! There was also a brand new remix album titled ‘You Can Dance’ Madonna’s first worldwide remix album! In Venezuela it carried an additional title ‘Mix 2’ due to the earlier officially released ‘Madonna Mix’ LP (as to avoid confusion).
You Can Dance was released in one lengthy remix (the single edits were only available on a promotional CD and LP) and a brand new song was added ‘Spotlight’. Originally planned to be the new single, eventually it was only ever released officialy in Japan.
We have added some original promotional magazine ads and reviews from that era to the You Can Dance page. We now have a total of eight different official Dutch promotional (full page) ads in our archive!
Brugotta, de afkorting van Bruges Got Talent, het label waarmee het Cultuurcentrum Brugge plaatselijk muzikaal talent ondersteunt, brengt op zaterdag 14 april 2018 in de Stadsschouwburg een hommage aan Madonna.
Volgend jaar viert Madge op donderdag 16 augustus immers haar zestigste verjaardag. Reden genoeg voor het Cultuurcentrum Brugge om de voormalige (?) Queen of Pop te eren.
Daarom is het Cultuurcentrum Brugge op zoek naar artiesten en bands die één of meer songs van Madonna naar hun hand willen zetten. “De meest uiteenlopende genres zijn hierbij toegelaten”, zegt Peter Roose, waarnemend artistiek directeur van het Cultuurcentrum Brugge.
Wie zich geroepen voelt om aan deze Brugotta Tribute deel te nemen kan een opname met een interpretatie van één of meer Madonna-nummers mailen naar brugotta@brugge.be. De deadline werd vastgelegd op donderdag 31 oktober.
To continue to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Who’s That Girl film we have added another 18 newspaper/magazine clippings, scanned from our own collection. There are early articles on the film when it was still titled ‘Slammer’ as well as original newspaper and magazine ads and reviews of the original soundtrack to the film!
Check out the extensive ‘press’ gallery (tab) HERE
In 1990 worden zeven jonge dansers – zes homo, één hetero – door Madonna gecast voor haar spraakmakende Blond Ambition Tour. Hun reis wordt vastgelegd in een van de succesvolste documentaires ooit: In Bed with Madonna (1991).
Al gauw groeien Madonna’s trotse en flamboyante dansers uit tot iconen van seksuele vrijheid. Wild, onbezonnen en amper twintig laten ze de wereld zien wat het betekent om jezelf te durven zijn: ‘Express yourself, so you can respect yourself.’ Als zelfverklaarde moeder van haar dansers gebruikt Madonna de film om haar boodschap over homorechten en de strijd tegen aids te verkondigen. Nu, 25 jaar later, nemen de dansers ons mee terug achter de schermen en onthullen ze de werkelijkheid over hun levens tijdens en na de tour.
Carlton, Kevin, Jose, Luis, Gabriel, Oliver en Salim groeien samen op in de snelkookpan van een controversiële wereldtournee. In een tijd waarin homofobie en de angst voor het hiv-virus hoogtij vieren, schrijven ze popgeschiedenis als Madonna’s trotse ‘gay-dansers’. Maar al gauw blijkt danser Gabriel helemaal niet zo trots te zijn op zijn homoseksualiteit en enkele jaren na de tour overlijdt hij aan aids, de ziekte die hij geheim had gehouden voor zijn tourfamilie. Ook voor de andere dansers blijkt het – buiten het licht van de schijnwerpers – moeilijk om echt zichzelf te zijn. De ooit zo hechte familie valt uiteen, maar in de jaren erna bevechten ze hun demonen, dansen ze door en nu geven ze in deze film een nieuwe betekenis aan het nog steeds actuele credo van toen.
Sinds de emotionele première op het filmfestival van Berlijn in 2016, waar Strike a Pose een publieksprijs won, maakte de film een wereldtournee door meer dan dertig landen op zes continenten. In de Nederlandse bioscopen bereikte hij de Kristallen Film (meer dan 10.000 bezoekers).
Regie en scenario: Ester Gould en Reijer Zwaan
Geproduceerd door: CTM Docs en The Other Room in coproductie met Serendipity Films, SWR in samenwerking met ARTE en NTR.
Deze documentaire is eerder uitgezonden in 2016 en wordt nu opnieuw uitgezonden naar aanleiding van Pride Amsterdam.
‘3Doc: Strike A Pose’, zaterdag 5 augustus om 23.59 uur bij de NTR op NPO 3.
Not only are we celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Who’s That Girl Tour, the film with the same title is just as young! We are currently working on gathering a whole lot of magazine and original newspaper articles to scan for you.
We have just added the first few magazine articles of the Who’s That Girl film, check them out by clicking HERE (tab ‘press’)
There is A LOT more to come, including many original newspaper reviews of the Who’s That Girl Tour, stay tuned!
We have just added the rare Lucky Star U.K. 12″ sunglasses sleeve to our Lucky Star discography. We already had the Irish pressing up, but here is the U.K. too!
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