Madonna announces The Celebration global world tour to mark 40th anniversary

Published

2 years ago

January 17, 2023

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Madonna has announced a major world tour marking her 40th anniversary, including a show at London’s O2 Arena.

The announcement comes after weeks of speculation the Queen of Pop had been planning something big to celebrate her career since the release of her self-titled debut album, which launched her on the path to stardom with hits including Holiday, Lucky Star and Borderline.

Writing on Instagram – after previously clearing her page to make way for the news – Madonna simply said: “Come join the party!” In a statement sent to Sky News, she said: “I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for.”

The Celebration tour will feature the 64-year-old artist’s four decades of greatest hits, starting in Vancouver, Canada, on 15 July. The star will play gigs across Canada and the US between July and October, before starting the European leg at the O2 on 14 October.

She will follow this with shows in cities including Barcelona, Paris and Berlin, before finishing in Amsterdam on 1 December – taking in 35 cities in total.

Tickets will likely sell out quickly, so it is possible there could be an announcement of further shows to come.

As the tour was revealed on big screens in London, Madonna also released a video featuring stars including Diplo, Judd Apatow, Jack Black, Lil Wayne and Bob The Drag Queen, culminating with Amy Schumer daring the star to go on tour and perform her four decades of mega hits.

Madonna is one of the biggest-selling artists of all time and the best-selling female artist in the world, holding numerous records in the US and UK – with 13 number one singles in the UK she has more than any other female artist, as well as 12 number one albums.

In 2022, she became the first woman to chart in the US Billboard top 10 in every decade since the 1980s.

Her last tour was the smaller Madame X tour in 2019 and 2020, which saw the star performing at more intimate theatre venues. However, the shows were delayed due to the singer suffering knee and hip problems, and some were cancelled due to the pandemic. This time round, she will be on stage at major arenas, including Madison Square Garden in New York.

Over the years she has been known for continuously reinventing her music and her image, with hits including Like A Virgin, Into The Groove, Papa Don’t Preach and Like A Prayer in the 1980s; Vogue, Justify My Love, Erotica and Frozen in the 1990s; and Music, Hung Up, Sorry and collaborations with Britney Spears (Me Against The Music) and Justin Timberlake (4 Minutes) in the 2000s.

Her first greatest hits album, The Immaculate Collection, released in 1990, is one of the best-selling albums of all time, with reported sales of around 30 million. Overall, she is reported to have sold up to 300 million records worldwide.

A multi-Grammy, Brit and Ivor Novello winning performer, she was also inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2008, her first year of eligibility, for which she was described in her introduction as “the record-setting, line-crossing, sexuality-flaunting, ever-evolving Material Girl”.

It continued: “Madonna is an icon. With her larger than life persona and penchant for provocation, she needs no introduction.”

As well as her music, the star is almost as famous for pushing boundaries with fashion and her choices of explicit outfits over the decades.

In the early days of her career, she pioneered the “underwear as outerwear” trend by wearing a corset bodysuit with conical bra cups, designed by Jean Paul Gaultier.

And in 2016, she attended the Met Gala in a bondage-inspired Givenchy outfit featuring leather, lace, thigh-high boots, a thong and nipple pasties.

In 2021, she hit out at Instagram for taking down provocative photographs in which her nipple was exposed, saying: “It is still astounding to me that we live in a culture that allows every inch of a woman’s body to be shown except a nipple. As if that is the only part of a woman’s anatomy that could be sexualized. The nipple that nourishes the baby! Can’t a mans nipple be experienced as erotic ??!!”

In 2022, the singer revisited a number of tracks which made her an international star, including a new take on her 1998 classic Frozen, which she recorded with Canadian musician Sickick, and a remix of her dance hit Hung Up with Dominican rapper Tokischa.

It followed a reformed partnership with her previous long-time record label Warner Music Group, which produced her debut single in 1982.

Tickets for Madonna: The Celebration tour will go on sale on Friday.

Entertainment

Taylor Swift ‘shares extremely important reminder’ to her fans on US election

Published

2 hours ago

November 5, 2024

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Taylor Swift 'shares extremely important reminder' to her fans on US election

Taylor Swift has given a “friendly but extremely important reminder” to her American fans to vote in the presidential election.

The neck-and-neck race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – which is believed to be the closest since 2000 – has seen US stars throw their weight behind both candidates.

It had been widely speculated that Swift would appear at Ms Harris’s final rally in Pennsylvania – where the 34-year-old singer grew up.

However, the Shake It Off singer was at Arrowhead Stadium to support her boyfriend – NFL star Travis Kelce – who was playing for the Kansas City Chiefs in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

US election latest: Voting begins for millions of Americans

Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga were the big names alongside Ms Harris at her final big event.

Swift’s election reminder came in a post she shared on the eve of polling night, celebrating the wrap of the US leg of her Eras Tour, and sharing images from her last three gigs.

In the Instagram post, the singer wrote: “Thank you to everyone who came out to see us on our last three American shows.

“And here’s a friendly but extremely important reminder that tomorrow is the US election and your last chance to vote.”

She will pick up her tour in Canada next week, with six shows in Toronto and three in Vancouver.

Her record-breaking shows – which have boosted the economy around the globe – will wrap on 8 December.

Swift publicly confirmed her support for Ms Harris in September, sharing the message on social media: “I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”

At the time, Swift also shared links to information on how to register to vote and find out early voting dates, reminding voters: “Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make”.

Shared with a photo of the star cuddling one of her beloved cats, she signed off her post “Childless Cat Lady,” in a nod to Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance’s now infamous 2021 remarks.

Entertainment

Quincy Jones: Oprah Winfrey, Elton John and Barack Obama among famous figures paying tribute to music legend

Published

14 hours ago

November 4, 2024

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Quincy Jones: Oprah Winfrey, Elton John and Barack Obama among famous figures paying tribute to music legend

Oprah Winfrey, Sir Elton John and Barack Obama among the famous figures who have paid tribute to Quincy Jones following his death at the age of 91.

Following the announcement of his death on Monday, a string of friends, collaborators and admirers have been speaking out to praise the music producer and composer.

TV host Oprah Winfrey said her life “changed forever for the better” after meeting Jones as he helped secure her role in the 1985 film adaptation of The Colour Purple, which earned her an Oscar nomination.

Jones, the jazz musician known for collaborating with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson, wrote the film score and also co-produced the film.

Winfrey wrote on Instagram: “My beloved Q. The world’s beloved Q. The one and only Quincy Jones ‘discovered’ me for The Color Purple movie in 1985. My life changed forever for the better after meeting him.

“I had never experienced, nor have since, anyone who’s heart was so filled with love.

“He walked around with his heart wide open, and he treated everybody as if they were the most important person he’d ever met. He was the Light. No shadows.

“He was love lived out loud in human form and he was the first person I ever loved unconditionally.”

Whoopi Goldberg, who was also in The Colour Purple, also wrote on Instagram: “I was lucky enough to have him in my life for all these years.

“My heart is breaking for his friends and his extended family who loved and adored him… my condolences.”

Former US president Barack Obama, who honoured Jones with the US National Medal of Arts in 2010, said: “For decades, Quincy Jones was music.

“From producing Thriller, to composing the score for The Color Purple, to working with Frank Sinatra to Ray Charles, it seemed like every big record – and every big film – had Quincy’s name on it.

“His music appealed to listeners of every race and every age. And by building a career that took him from the streets of Chicago to the heights of Hollywood, Quincy paved the way for generations of Black executives to leave their mark on the entertainment business.”

He added: “Michelle and I send our thoughts to Quincy’s friends, family, and everyone who has lived their lives to his songs.”

Sir Elton John remembered Jones as someone who had a more “incredible” career in music than anyone else.

He shared a photo with him at the Elton John Aids Foundation Oscar viewing party, and called him a “loyal supporter of this important fundraiser”.

The singer added: “Nobody had a career as incredible as Quincy Jones. He played with the best and he produced the best. What a guy. Loved him.”

Rapper Ice T hailed Jones as a “genius”, while US Grammy-winner Lenny Kravitz said he was “speechless”, but added: “What a life. What an expression of authenticity. What a teacher. I am humbled that I was given the gift of your openness and friendship”.

Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland thanked Jones for being “such a wonderful teacher” and creating the soundtrack to “some of the most extraordinary moments” in her life.

Jones also helped to launch and was an executive producer on the popular US sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, starring Will Smith.

Smith said: “Quincy Jones is the true definition of a mentor, a father and a friend. He pointed me toward the greatest parts of myself. He defended me. He nurtured me.

“He encouraged me. He inspired me. He checked me when he needed to. He let me use his wings until mine were strong enough to fly.”

Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers, who was friends with Jones, shared a video that said “Rest In Power Quincy Jones. The Greatest of All Time”.

Peter Hook, the bassist and co-founder of Joy Division and New Order, wrote on social media: “It’s so sad to hear about Quincy Jones. When he signed us to his label, he made us feel so welcome – inviting us to dinner at his home every time we were in town.

“He made us big in America. He was so humble & sweet that you immediately fell in love with him.”

Hook added: “And to this day I still got a lovely message from him every year on Christmas and birthday cards! A musical genius and a great, lovely man.”

Entertainment

Amy Dowden ‘heartbroken’ as she leaves this year’s Strictly Come Dancing

Published

18 hours ago

November 4, 2024

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Amy Dowden 'heartbroken' as she leaves this year's Strictly Come Dancing

Amy Dowden will not take part in the rest of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

The professional dancer made a return to the celebrity contest this series after undergoing treatment for breast cancer and had been partnered with JLS star JB Gill.

However, the 34-year-old has now had to pull out of the competition due to a foot injury.

In a statement on Instagram, she said: “I’m so sad, so upset and asking why me, why now that our journey has been cut short.

“My heart right now is breaking having to pull out of the competition due to a foot injury.”

Dowden added: “I know only too well ‘this too shall pass’ and I’ll be soon better and back dancing. Something I’ve had to get used to in my life. I’m sure at some point we will dance again JB.

“To all the fans, to my loved ones, my strictly family thank you.”

A spokeswoman for Strictly added: “Sadly, Amy Dowden MBE will not be partaking in the rest of the competition this year.

“Whilst Amy focuses on her recovery following a foot injury, fellow professional dancer Lauren Oakley will step in as JB’s dance partner.

“The health and wellbeing of everyone involved in Strictly are always the utmost priority. The whole Strictly family sends Amy love and well wishes.”

The news was first announced on Monday evening during the show’s spin-off programme Strictly: It Takes Two.

Dowden was taken ill during the live show the previous weekend and missed the Sunday results programme.

She was taken to hospital from the BBC show’s production centre, Elstree Studios, as a “precaution” after “feeling unwell”, a spokesman for Dowden said at the time.

Last year, Dowden found a lump in her breast while on her honeymoon in the Maldives with fellow professional dancer Ben Jones, and was unable to compete on Strictly.

After treatment for stage three breast cancer, she announced in February that tests showed she had “no evidence of disease“.

Dowden was made an MBE in this year’s New Year’s honours list for services to fundraising and raising awareness of Crohn’s. She was diagnosed with the disease as a teenager and is a UK ambassador for the charity Crohn’s and Colitis.

She was also admitted to hospital in Manchester following a Crohn’s flare-up during the 2022 Strictly live tour.

Dowden also said in her statement that in the past few months she had “finally felt like me again”.

She added: “Cancer was no longer the first thing I thought of when I woke up. It was choreography, music choices, which dances in which order, what we needed to work on. I felt free again.

“My goal since hearing those words you have cancer was to get back on the strictly dance floor. It’s been such a challenge to get back.”

Dowden also praised JB Gill for being the “perfect partner” on the dancefloor.

“I know you and Lauren will continue to ace that dance floor. I’ll forever be your biggest cheerleader,” she added.