Madonna Extreme

In the United States, "Like a Prayer" debuted at number 38 on the  Billboard  Hot 100 , and reached the top of the chart on the issue dated April 22, 1989.    It was number one for three weeks, before being replaced by the  Bon Jovi  song " I'll Be There for You "."Like a Prayer" also topped the  Hot Dance Music/Club Play  chart, while reaching number three on the  Hot Adult Contemporary  chart   and number 20 on the  Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs  chart.  "Like a Prayer" was ranked at number 25 on the Hot 100 year-end chart of 1989, and was certified  platinum  by the  Recording Industry Association of America  (RIAA) in May 1989, for shipment of a million copies of the single. According to  Nielsen SoundScan , it has also sold 443,000  digital downloads  as of April 2010, becoming Madonna's best-selling digital track since SoundScan started calculating downlo...

Carin Goldberg — the art director behind Madonna’s debut album cover — spoke to  the Cut  about her first experience with the then-unknown pop star. It’s the first question that anybody asks me, even today: What was it like to work with Madonna? People think that maybe something dramatic or interesting or kind of wild might have happened, based on, you know, Madonna’s persona. But I would say that Madonna was probably the easiest job I ever had — the most cooperation from a recording artist I think I ever had. She was a true professional, even at that young age. It was ’83, and at that point I had my own small design firm. Warner Bros. called and asked me to do her cover as a freelance designer. When I got the call, I rolled my eyes, because it was another [musician with a] one-word name. At that time it had become cliché to have a one-word name, because of Cher, so I remember thinking, God, it’s going to be one of those. So I really went into it with very little...

Madonna plants a tree at Katawa clinic in Kazembe village outside Lilongwe April 20, 2007.  

French and American TV already broadcasted their exclusive Madonna interviews. Today, ITV finally showed the exclusive Madonna UK only TV interview with Dan Wootton on breakfast shows “Daybreak” and “Lorraine”. Here's a short preview followed by the official trailer:

If you had to take a wild stab in the dark at  Madonna ’s political leanings, you’d probably land somewhere to the left of centre. After all, she’s opposed to anti-gay laws in Russia, stridently against artistic censorship and has been an outspoken supporter of the Democrat party, particularly ahead of Barack Obama’s election in 2008. But she is not, it seems, against the odd poll tax, aggressive foreign policy and stop free milk in schools. The Queen of Pop caused mild outrage when she posted a tribute to the Iron Lady, former Tory Prime Minister  Margaret Thatcher , on Instagram. “If you just set out to be liked, you will be prepared to compromise on anything at anytime, and would achieve nothing,” she captioned it. “Thank you  Margaret Thatcher ! #unapologetic #rebelheart” Among the most upset, it seems, may be Madonna’s large gay fanbase. Thatcher’s government is famed for having introduced Section 28, banning the promotion of homosexuality ...

Pop music's original Material Girl is about to become a multi-media mogul. Time Warner plans to announce an agreement today in which Madonna, in partnership with Time Warner, will form her own multi-media entertainment company, Maverick. Under a 7-year arrangement, which can be extended to 11 years, Madonna, who is 33 years old, will be advanced as much $60 million, making this one of the most lucrative contracts offered to a pop star. The long-term commitment is comparable in scale to a similar deal that Sony signed last year with Michael Jackson. Although Time Warner executives would not confirm figures that have been widely circulated, Madonna's renegotiated recording contract is said to give this singer a $5 million advance for each of her next seven albums and a 20 percent royalty rate. This would put her royalty rate on a par with Mr. Jackson's, which is the highest for any artist in the music business. Both in its size and in the autonomy it confers, the agre...