.@Madonna comes to London town next month – time to get working on your best Vogue 🎵 Know a superfan? Surprise them on Xmas with tickets to see the absolute icon live in the intimate setting of @LondonPalladium in Jan/Feb → https://t.co/FMtOHW6zo9 pic.twitter.com/n7xObuowFD
— Live Nation UK (@LiveNationUK) December 23, 2019
Two hours before the show was due to start, people were told that the show had been cancelled.
No official explanation has been issued, but people have been refunded instantly.
It seems a few Dutch stores have received various import copies of the U.S. only release of ‘I Rise’ remixes. Order links below:
Many thanks to Maaike Hendriks!
IF
Four years ago today Madonna concluded the European leg of the Rebel Heart Tour in Glasgow.
Madonna delivered a phenomenal show and performed ‘Ghosttown’ as it has just been voted ‘song of the year’ by Billboard. Madonna surprised the crowd by sporting a fabulous new hairdo which suited her much better.
She went past the curfew causing her to perform ‘Holiday’ with the lights on and no music. Madonna sang the song, tried to remember the words and the audience helped by singing it to her.
Madonna and her pink Santa hat finished one of the more memorable shows of the European leg of the tour.
Check out a video down below
Does Madonna have anything to say? Perhaps the answer to that question is less interesting than her attempt to say something in the first place.
Madonna is in the midst of her “Madame X” tour, named for her latest album, which débuted (as I’m sure you remember) at No. 1 in June. While the album is typical for Madonna in its attempt to meld yet more world music into a pop-dance milieu, the tour is a bit of a curveball for the superstar, since she’s decided to forego giant venues in favor of smaller rooms coupled with longer “residencies” in a few cities. When you typically fill stadiums and arenas, a 3,000-seat theater is practically Sunday supper with the family.
The Philadelphia Metropolitan Opera House is such a venue, and that’s where I saw Madonna take her creative stand. The show was sloppy, disjointed and rambling, but it was brave in its own way, and perhaps the most compelling case I’ve heard for considering Madonna as a bona fide, boundary-pushing artist rather than a commercial pop star.
Gen X-ers who paid through the nose to hear the ’80s hits left disappointed. People who came to collect Instagram and Facebook proof they paid through the nose to see Madonna were shut out—all phones were locked in Yondr bags for the duration of the show. “Like a Virgin” virgins paid through the nose for satisfaction, but left the theater as chaste as they came.
The original showtime of 8:30 p.m. was pushed back to 10:30. When music started at 10:45, it was a quartet of talented Portuguese musicians playing acoustic versions of Madonna hits. After 30 minutes, an announcement declared technical difficulties would delay the show. The crowd stewed.
In retrospect, the preternatural attempts to enrage her devoted fans had a certain logic. Making people uncomfortable is, and perhaps has always been, Madonna’s goal. She makes it clear at the opening of the show, which features a clean-cut businessman being gunned down as a James Baldwin quote is projected across the stage: “Art is here to prove that all safety is an illusion. … Artists are here to disturb the peace.”
Heady stuff, and perhaps a little above Madonna’s pay grade, but a mission statement most popsters would shy away from. She did her part by calling out sexism, voicing support for gun control and declaring “I’m not keeping my baby” in an a cappella chorus of “Papa Don’t Preach.”
There were moments of humor and some raunchy bits, as you might expect, but there was also some stunning, Martha Graham-inspired choreography, and moments of uplift that did their best to eschew raw nostalgia.
Four of her daughters took part in the performance. She paid homage to her adopted home of Portugal by adding fado music to her set, and some seriously talented musicians from Lisbon. Orquestra Batukadeiras, an all-female drum ensemble from Cape Verde, was a stunning surprise mid-show. Coupled with classic tunes such as “Human Nature,” “Like a Prayer” and “Vogue,” it became a celebration of Philadelphia freedom, even if the through-line frayed at times.
The most egregious lulls came when Madonna took advantage of the setting to engage the audience in a bit of impromptu back-and-forth. Instead of using the time to further the themes of the show, she took a seat in the crowd, flirted with a few starstruck guys and swiped some swigs of beer from overjoyed fans. It was cute, but proved Madonna is only quick on her feet in a literal sense.
Even in an unusually intimate show, the biggest surprise was that Madonna’s brand of pop spoke with such direct authority. She had a lot to say, and it was worth hearing.
More at Fredericksburg.com
Get your ‘I Rise’ Remixes U.S.A. only RSD Black Friday vinyl now through Amazon.de (various pricing) HERE
With their naïve—some might say crude—expressions of bloody-hearted empathy, there’s something almost Björkian about songs such as “God Control” and “Killers Who Are Partying.” English is, of course, Madonna’s first language, and lyrics like “I’ll be Africa/If Africa is shut down” are received with less generosity when one’s claws are already out. We expect pop stars to stay in their lane, but Madonna is at heart a rock auteur, with all of the inclinations toward upending the status quo and expressing a singular vision that designation implies. Inspired by her time living in Lisbon, where she was surrounded by musicians and art in a way she hadn’t been since her pre-fame days in the East Village, Madame X plays like a musical memoir, sometimes literally: “I came from the Midwest/Then I went to the Far East/I tried to discover my own identity,” she sings on “Extreme Occident.” The album is far from her creative zenith, but it’s her most fearless effort in at least 15 years—the sound of an artist who’s got no more fucks to give. Sal Cinquemani
More at Slant Magazine
45. Madonna ‘Madame X’ (Interscope)
In a nutshell: The ultimate pop icon taps into the Latin pop zeitgeist.
On her best in album in years, Madonna returned under the guise of ‘Madame X’, an alter-ego that encompassed roles of a mother, child, teacher, spy, nun, saint, and more. The album that shared her new pseudonym was similarly imaginative, pulling together inspiration from the Latin-pop and Batuque music she’d been exposed to since moving to Lisbon, Portugal. Ultimately, ‘Madame X’ represented an eclectic, masterful new phase that stood tall amid her inimitable back catalogue.
NME
Limited availability of the ‘I Rise’ U.S.A. only Black Friday RSD release over at fnac.com for EUR25,41.
Order HERE
On to the next era in our discography!
After concluding the ‘American Life’ era and uploaded the singles to the current Madame X era, the time has come to start off one of Madonna’s most succesful era’s: ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’.
Hung Up was the first single to be taken from the 2005 album and became one of Madonna’s biggest hit singles to date. Instantly recognizable upon hearing the famous ABBA ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’ sample, an instant hit with a super infectious beat and chorus.
The song actually became Madonna’s biggest hit in Holland, spending 7 weeks at the top spot!
For the discography we have collected 33 different pressings, check them out HERE
Brand new items in the official Madonna store:
The Billboard staff picked their 50 best albums of 2019, and music fans had their own suggestions based on their favorite artists’ offerings. We asked them what their 2019 album of the year was based on our curation, and some solid write-ins popped up from the poll too.
From our poll picks, the top three fan favorites were Madonna’s Madame X (with 47% of the vote), Celine Dion’s Courage (with 25% of the vote) and Billboard‘s own No. 1, Ariana Grande’s thank u, next, at third (with 7% of the vote).
As for the write-in picks, we’re sharing the top 10 most popular below, starting with BTS‘ sixth EP and third No. 1 project Map of the Soul: Persona. Death Race for Love, the second LP from the late Juice WRLD and his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, was also among one of the most suggested fan picks.
Full article at Billboard
Madonna’s road to bringing her Madame X residency to the Fillmore Miami Beach began with a lawsuit. Last month, Madonna fan Nate Hollander filed suit in Miami-Dade County court after the Queen of Pop pushed back the start time of her concert from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Hollander argued that the late start time made it virtually impossible for him to re-sell his tickets, which he no longer wanted due to the change.
Here’s hoping Hollander was able to sell his tickets, because for the first show of her seven-night Fillmore residency, Madonna took the stage shortly after 11 p.m. and played straight through 1:30 a.m. Before the phone-free show began, fans bided their time in the Fillmore’s lobby, where they danced to a mix of Madonna’s hits, most of which she declined to play during the show later that night. And even in an intimate theater show packed with some of her most dedicated fans, there was one other complaint: Virtually no air conditioning could be felt in the building throughout the duration of the concert. Midway through the show, the mezzanine filled with chants of “AC! AC! AC!”
“Fuck you! I’m cold,” responded the singer. “Take your fucking clothes off,” she continued, hinting that the hot temperature eased the physical pain that led her to cancel three tour dates in Boston less than a month ago.
Fans reprised their pleas for air conditioning a couple more times throughout the night, but it’s telling that no one actually left early. The adoring audience at the Miami Beach theater knew this was a rare chance to see their idol in an intimate venue.
“I’ve wanted this opportunity to play in small theaters for a long time,” said the singer shortly after opening the show with Madame X tracks “God Control” and “Dark Ballet.” If fans were expecting Madonna’s theater shows to bring them closer to the songs they grew up listening to, the master of surprise had other plans for them. The Madame X tour setlist is mostly comprised of tracks from her latest album, with the occasional cut from Bedtime Stories and Ray of Light sprinkled throughout. “La Isla Bonita” makes an appearance when it’s interpolated into her Maluma collaboration, “Medellín.” “Express Yourself” also makes it onto the setlist, but as an acapella interlude.
Fan favorites “Frozen” and “Like A Prayer” elicited the most enthusiastic crowd reactions, but the audience kept an open mind for the newer tracks, which were accompanied by an elaborate stage show that recalled Broadway productions more than it did the average pop concert. During the opening number, Madonna emerged in a colonial dress flanked by dancers in police uniforms and riot gear as videos of Black Lives Matter protests were projected behind her. Among other theatrical flourishes were a string quartet dressed in nun’s habits and a casket draped with an American flag carried across the stage by actors in servicemen’s uniforms. During “I Don’t Search I Find,” Madonna embodied her femme fatale Madame X persona in an interrogation scene that recalled Michael Jackson’s noir “Smooth Criminal” music video.
Her kitchen sink approach wasn’t only limited to the set design. Referring to herself as a freedom fighter, Madonna also addressed a flurry of political issues throughout the show, from gun reform to Black Lives Matter to Palestine, environmentalism, LGBTQ equality, and women’s rights. “I made up my mind and I’m not keeping my baby,” she sang during “Papa Don’t Preach,” altering the lyrics before pausing the music to launch into a monologue about the rollback of abortion rights in state legislatures throughout the country.
Sitting next to the singer — who relished the intimate setting by walking into the crowd and interacting with fans several times — one fan illustrated the impact that decades of activist artistic messaging can foster. “There was no It Gets Better campaign when I was growing up,” the fan told Madonna as she held the microphone for him. Without her pioneering encouragement of LGBTQ communities, he continued, he’s not sure he would have been alive today.
Even for fans who may not have hit repeat on Madonna’s Lisbon-inspired Madame X and maybe found the “One, two, cha-cha-cha” of “Medellín” a little cringey, the album’s supporting tour was worth the late start time and lack of air conditioning. Looking ahead to additional dates, fans who stick it out will get an intimate look at an artist who, nearly 40 years into her career, is refusing to rest on the beloved, paradigm-shifting art she made in the past, instead opting to continue challenging even her most devoted audiences.
“I hope I’ve disturbed your peace this evening,” she said near the end of the show, in reference to a James Baldwin quote that was projected onscreen at the beginning of the concert. As much as she’s proven she loves to provoke her audiences, it’s clear her greatest pleasure still comes from challenging herself.
Setlist:
“God Control”
“Dark Ballet”
“Human Nature”
“Express Yourself” acapella
“Vogue”
“I Don’t Search I Find”
“Papa Don’t Preach”
“American Life”
“Batuka” with Batukadeiras Orchestra
“Killers Who Are Partying”
“Crazy”
“La Isla Bonita” Interlude
“Medellín”
“Extreme Occident”
“Frozen”
“Future”
“Crave”
“Like A Prayer”
Encore:
“I Rise”
More at Miami New Times
Appearing energized by her intimate surroundings, pop provocateur Madonna delivered a sassy and steamy show (literally) in front of a capacity crowd of nearly 2,500 fans on Saturday at the Fillmore Miami Beach.
Part of Madonna’s unusual tour of small theaters around the country in support of her new album, “Madame X,” the performance was the first in a seven-night residency at the Fillmore, which continues Sunday, Tuesday-Thursday and Dec. 21-22.
Saturday’s concert was a showcase of rousing music, mostly new jams sprinkled with just enough old favorites and deep tracks, presented in a series of theatrical set pieces populated by about 20 superb backup singers, dancers and musicians.
But it was the many personal moments of unscripted, ruthlessly candid banter (mostly aimed at her own issues) that elevated this evening with Madonna into something memorable. It was an altogether remarkable way to see a pop superstar.
There were three other distinctive elements that future audiences may want to keep in mind.
1. Saturday night’s concert started at just after 11 p.m. and took up every bit of the tour’s projection for a 2-hour, 20-minute show. That meant walking out of the Fillmore at 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
2. It was hot. The air-conditioning was turned off for the concert, apparently to maintain an atmosphere more agreeable to Madonna’s balky knee (an injury that prompted her to cancel all three shows in Boston recently). You’d think that a crowd that grew up sweating with Madonna’s hits might be understanding. Not so much.
Just after a particularly stimulating version of “Vogue” — with Madonna as alter-ego Madame X backed by eight dancers, all in matching blonde wigs and trench coats — came the first chant: “AC! AC! AC!” Madonna’s response was good natured but firm: “I’m cold. F— you. … Take your f—— clothes off!”
3. No phones are allowed in the venue. Madonna called it “a little intervention. We’re all addicted, myself included.” What it means is that as you enter you’ll be asked to slide your phone into a locking pouch provided by a company called Yondr. (Set your phone to vibrate if you need to be reachable.) The post-concert unlocking process takes a quick tap by staffers waiting in the lobby with their digital “keys” held aloft. There did not seem to be any issues Saturday night. And Madonna was right — there was something liberating about being unplugged and part of a group all watching the same thing.
Never shy about speaking truth to power, this Madonna concert was defined by provocation and confrontation, opening with text of James Baldwin’s motto that “Artists are here to disturb the peace.” The words were typed out to the sound of gunfire, a segue for her stirring gun-violence protest “God Control,” with a snippet of its controversial video that echoed the Pulse nightclub shooting. The song drew strong applause.
A brief foray into “Papa Don’t Preach” stopped hard on the lyric changed to “I’m not keeping my baby,” which introduced a discussion of abortion rights. “If a man could get pregnant, you could get an abortion at an ATM machine,” Madonna said.
A truncated version of “Express Yourself” allowed Madonna — standing onstage next to daughters Mercy James, Esther and Stella — to talk about raising girls “to believe in themselves.”
Eldest daughter Lourdes had one of the most visually stunning moments of the evening as a large black-and-white video of her graceful, pliable dance was layered over her mother, behind the translucent scrim, singing her under-appreciated single “Frozen,” from “Ray of Light.” Beautiful.
Another big moment came during a section of music inspired by Madonna’s life in Portugal — a time when she described herself as being lonely and, according to her son, overweight. She discovered fado music, which she shares in a beautiful interlude with the Portuguese guitarra of 16-year-old Gaspar Varela, great-grandson of the late fado singer Celeste Rodrigues.
Next came the powerful “Batuka.” from “Madame X,” with Madonna joined by the all-female Orquestra Batukadeiras, Batuque musicians from Cape Verde who entered by walking up the aisle through the audience to the stage.
“Medellin,” with Colombian singer Maluma in a video vocal, was an upbeat favorite of the night, along with the Swae Lee-enhanced come-on “Crave” and Madonna’s poppy Camila Cabello-style moment “Crazy,” all from the new album.
After more than two hours onstage, Madonna closed with a flourish, an unadorned version of “Like a Prayer,” with 14 black-robed gospel singers on tiers that formed a cross. Behind them played sections of Madonna’s iconic original video of the song. Not every performer would be brave enough to duet with a version of themselves 30 years younger.
The curtain dropped, but soon rose for the encore, “I Rise,” a pulsating song concerned with many forms of social justice. It opened with a video cut from the famed “We call BS” speech by Parkland gun-control advocate Emma González, which drew prolonged applause.
As González’s “We call BS” was seen onscreen again at the end of the song, Madonna and a group of dancers stepped down from the stage and walked up the aisle, fist-bumping and high-fiving as they went.
Madonna performs 10:30 p.m. Dec. 15, 17-19 and 21-22 at the Fillmore Miami Beach , 1700 Washington Ave. Tickets: $99+. Visit: FillmoreMB.com.
More at Sun Sentinel
Her concert was a neat blend of songs from her latest studio offering, Madame X, coupled with her smash hits such as “Express Yourself,” “Vogue,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “American Life,” and “La Isla Bonita.” It is evident that her music is still very much relevant in today’s music scene as she has served as a musical influence for countless artists that followed her precedent and ambition.
Equally brilliant were her classics “Frozen” and “Like a Prayer.” She proves that she has one of the most honey-rich, versatile voices in music history. It is no wonder that she is the best-selling female artist of all time.
Fan Russell Joseph, who attended her show at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, said it best: “The ‘Madame X’ Tour feels like you’re are a voyeur into Madonna’s private life.”
Joseph noted that the concert was ”part theater spectacle, part intimate nightclub, part tour of the world through music soundscapes.” “The woman is a true artist,” he underscored.
The Verdict
Overall, Madonna put on the greatest live show by a female artist in 2019, and this year she did at the intimate BAM Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn. She was worth every penny of the pricey ticket because she was able to transport her fans and listeners to different realms.
Madonna is one true song stylist, visionary, and an excellent all-around performer. The “Madame X” production was superb from start to finish, and one will leave drenched in a wide spectrum of raw emotions. The pop throne still belongs to her.
Who says you have to calm down with age? Madonna has pissed off someone or other for the entirety of her multidecade career.
The pop music icon made her name in the ’80s as a controversial artist with infectious dance-pop hooks that couldn’t be ignored. Everyone wanted to dress like the “Material Girl,” but she didn’t fade with the fashions of the time in which she rose to fame. In more than 30 years, she has undergone nearly just as many metamorphoses, going from boy-toy bride to Hindi goddess, naked hitchhiker to hippie cowgirl. All the while, with her star-quality sass, she has offended, affronted, and confused the masses.
So what that she’s built a children’s hospital and ten schools in Malawi? Who cares that when she was named Billboard‘s Woman of the Year in 2016, she used her eloquent speech to draw attention to ageism and sexism in a male-dominated entertainment industry? Does it really matter that she has continued to be a forward-thinking artist and live performer ten years after most erstwhile sex symbols are relegated to grandma roles? Pfffffffft — we heard she’s a diva.
Just because she’s 61 doesn’t mean she ain’t still swingin’. Here are some of our favorite more modern and lesser celebrated Madonna miffs.
Lots of people change their voices to appear smarter or more cultured. It’s a misguided shame thing, but it’s always a head-scratcher, especially for an international pop icon whom the world had watched speak for a decade. Madonna’s faux-British vocal first appeared around 1995 and was blamed on voice coaching while filming Evita, but like her 2002 James Bond tie-in, it chose to Die Another Day. Indeed, it hit peak preposterousness in the mid-2000s. Seriously, every time she spoke in 2005 and 2006, we were all, What game is she playing, and what’s the prize? By 2012, the accent mysteriously vanished.
Maybe we should blame the cheesy accent on her marriage to English film director Guy Ritchie (of Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels fame). The two met in 1998 and married in 2000 one day after Madge gave birth to their son Rocco (for which, honestly, she might deserve a medal). The couple worked on the critically panned romantic remake Swept Away in 2002, but before that, Ritchie directed Madonna’s music video for “What It Feels Like for a Girl.” The euphoric club track is set to a wild series of events wherein Madonna, along with her very aged grandma, goes on a violent joy ride in which she runs her “pussy” sports car into dudes, robs men at Taser-point, and generally acts like a gender-motivated badass. MTV wasn’t with the violence — which is kind of cute by today’s standards — so it axed the video. Silly cable television: Canceling Madonna only makes her more exciting.
Before she was the Queen of Pop, Madonna was a wild young woman finding her calling on a dance floor. In the ’90s, she worked with some of the top house producers and DJs on club remixes of her biggest hits, and as the EDM explosion struck America’s youth, Madonna was more than ready to capitalize on the influx of a new generation electronic-inclined youth and, in the process, worked with hitmakers Diplo, Avicii, Benny Benassi, and Martin Solveig. When Ultra came to downtown Miami in March 2012, she was busy promoting her dance-inspired album MDNA, and she surprised the audience with a cameo on the festival’s main stage to help introduce headliner Avicii. “I can honestly say that a DJ saved my life,” she told audiences, her voice heavy with honesty, before referencing a then-popular Cedric Gervais song and asking, “How many people in this crowd have seen molly?” Clearly, Madonna’s LP title, the Gervais song, and her public query were not-so-subtle references to MDMA, known popularly as Ecstasy, but when deadmau5 and other DJs grew angry at Madonna for her comment, she argued she was only promoting her new songs. That doesn’t really make sense, because she didn’t have anything to do with that Gervais song, but we digress. It was a hilarious moment and one that has since been scrubbed from all official Ultra recap videos. We’re thankful the evidence remains on fan footage.
Madonna’s announcement of her latest LP, Madame X, in April came with a really neat and fun spy concept that winked at all of the entertainer’s previous fashion phases, attributing them to the various false identities this “Madame X” took on for various spy missions. It was a cute way for the chameleonic star to self-reference and move forward, except for the fact there’s a house DJ with a very similar name. Bygones will be bygones, and no one filed any lawsuits, but Madam X (the DJ) got the best kind of revenge when she played the Do Lab stage at Coachella that weekend dressed as Madonna in the iconic “Express Yourself” cone bra while dropping tunes such as former Madonna collaborator Junior Vasquez’s “If Madonna Calls (I’m Not Here).”
Madame X dropped in June, a 15-track collection of modern pop tunes with global influences and features from Maluma, Migos’ Quavo, Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee, and Anitta. It features production from Diplo, Mike Dean, Billboard, Mirwais, and others, but you won’t find producer credit for former Fischerspooner producer Casey Spooner. That became an issue for the courts when Spooner claimed he had worked on the song in December 2017, back when he thought it was to be included on Mirwais’ since-shelved solo album. Spooner claims to have been shocked when it appeared on Madame X and posted email screenshots of her team denying she had known of his involvement and offering $25,000 in compensation. The entire process left a bitter taste in his mouth, so he went off on social media anyway, as reported by Pitchfork.
The buck doesn’t stop there for “God Control.” When it came to giving the politically charged single an accompanying music video, Madonna and director Jonas Åkerlund didn’t shy away from the lyrics’ heavy gun control-oriented message. The eight-minute-20-second clip depicts a deadly nightclub shooting interspersed with footage of activist marches, guns for sale, and, on a lighter note, disco dance sequences. The video was released soon after the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting that left 50 dead and 53 injured in the summer of 2016. The video — beginning and ending with messages to reform “gun control now” — is meant to raise awareness about gun violence in the United States. Parkland shooting survivor and gun control activist Emma González did not find the depiction appropriate. Actually, she jumped on Twitter and called the video “fucked up.”
“This is NOT the correct way to talk about gun violence, unlike how many fans have been exclaiming,” she wrote. “People who have been working in the GVP community know how to talk about gun violence, not most celebrities… Also if you tweet pictures or videos from the video of #GodControl, please tag it as Triggering for fucks sake.”
Madonna. Saturday, December 14, through Sunday, December 22, at the Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; fillmoremb.com. Tickets cost $60 to $760 via livenation.com. No show will be held Friday, December 20.
More at Miami New Times
Danny Aiello fans are sad to hear the news of the movie star’s passing, taking the time to recognize him for not just his famous roles in films like Do the Right Thing and Moonstruck, but also for his role in Madonna‘s music video for “Papa Don’t Preach.” In the 1986 video, directed by James Foley, Madonna struggles with an internal battle of wanting to tell her father about finding love and getting pregnant, but worries that he’ll disapprove.
Throughout the video, Aiello can be seen interacting with Madonna’s character as a young girl in old home videos, raising her on his own until she grows up and eventually takes over household duties. When she falls in love and gets pregnant, she sings the famous lyrics asking her dad for understanding.
When she finally tells Aiello’s character about the pregnancy, he’s clearly shaken by the news. But after stepping away and thinking about it for a good while, the video concludes with a happy ending: the father and daughter embracing in a hug.
nuanced opinion guy@charles_kinbotelotta tributes gonna be rolling in but let’s not forget Danny Aiello’s truly, and I don’t use this word often, iconic role in the papa don’t preach music video
Jesse Hawken✔@jessehawken
Danny Aiello was memorable in the Madonna video where he played the Papa who was asked not to preach
steph@Stephamaybe
It’s just a music video but this was one of Aiello’s most memorable roles for me.
Aiello fans took to social media to remember his role in the iconic video.
“RIP Danny Aiello. Besides his screen work, let’s not forget Papa Don’t Preach,” one Twitter user wrote. “Not kidding. He was great in that video.”
“You know you’re a child of the 80’s (sic) when you see … Danny Aiello has died & know EXACTLY why Papa Don’t Preach is trending. RIP, Papa,” another said.
Aiello died Thursday night at the age of 86, his family reportedly told TMZ. His death was sudden and stemmed from an infection he suffered after being admitted to a medical facility for a sudden illness. He reportedly passed away shortly after his family left the facility after visiting with him on Thursday.
Aiello is best known for his role as pizzeria owner Sal in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, for which he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award as well as the corresponding Golden Globe Award. He’s also well known for his roles in Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Moonstruck, where he played Johnny Cammareri — the character who Cher‘s character Loretta was set to marry until she fell for his brother, played by Nicolas Cage.
Aiello is survived by his wife of nearly 65 years, Sandy, as well as children Rick, Jaime and Stacey Aiello. His son, Danny Aiello III, who was a stuntman and actor, died in 2010 of pancreatic cancer.
Photo credit: Jim Spellman / Contributor / Getty
More at Popculture
