According to Hits Daily Double, Madonna‘s MDNA will top the Billboard 200 chart this week at #1 with 357,943 copies sold.
EDIT: The official Billboard report is in–Madonna clocks in at #1 with 359,000 sold. From Billboard:
Madonna remains in second place among women with the most No. 1 albums. She now needs only one more No. 1 to tie Barbra Streisand, the leader among women with nine chart-toppers.
“MDNA” sold 359,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan, and is Madonna’s fifth straight studio album to debut at No. 1. It follows 2008′s “Hard Candy,” which moved 280,000 in its first week. “MDNA’s” opener is her best sales week since 2000′s “Music” shifted 420,000 when it debuted at No. 1.
The opening week album sales surpasses that of Rihanna‘s Talk That Talk (198,000), Katy Perry‘s Teenage Dream (192,000), Beyonce‘s 4 (310,000), The Holy Spearit‘s Femme Fatale (276,000) and yes, even Adele’s 21 (352,000). The only one to outsell her opening week is, of course, Lady Gaga‘s Born This Way (1,108,000). (Lest we forget, the controversial $0.99 Amazon MP3 sale accounted for roughly 440,000 of those copies. Also, entire subways and buildings were covered in her face.* La, la, la…)
The sales also best the opening weeks of several of her most recent efforts, including 2008′s Hard Candy (280,000), 2003′s American Life (241,000) and slightly edges out 2005′s Confessions On A Dance Floor (350,000).
But wait! There was one major promotional move: Those who purchased tickets to the MDNA Tour via Ticketmaster also had the option to receive a copy of MDNA along with their purchase. Since those albums factor into the mix, sales from concert-goers factor into the final tally. (There aren’t any official figures around the Ticketmaster-specific albums, but 1 album per $150 ticket is a different story than 150 albums for $150. I digress.**)
That’s right, y’all: Madonna just outsold almost every single one of your favorites (and mine too) relying on a single Super Bowl performance back in February, a 20 minute Facebook chat and a Q&A on Twitter on the night of the album’s release.
*I’m being facetious. Calm the fuck down, Little Monsters.
**I’m still being facetious. Calm the fuck down, Little Monsters.
Madonna: Queen of Everything.
MDNA was released on March 26. (iTunes)
Last night was the 54th Annual Grammy Awards! Or was it the 2012 CMT Music Awards? I literally couldn’t tell, what with all the banjos, geetars and all that.
No, it was The Grammys! A time when the industry comes together to honor REAL music! A time to dress tastefully and bring a bishop as a date! A time when Jennifer Hudson sings half of a Whitney Houston song while Chris Brown gets two whole performances and a Grammy! Yes! Music finally wins!
Mercifully, Adele rightfully won in all six of her major categories: Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Solo Vocal Performance, Short Form Music Video, Record Of The Year, and Song Of The Year, and Album Of The Year. (Okay, the music video win was a bit “Really though?”, but…you know, whatever.)
All in all, that shit was as cray as usual. Here are nine moments worth your time. There were more, but, like…I’m tired. You know?
Finally! After weeks of teasing, it’s here: The Madonna ABC News interview with Cynthia McFadden!
The first installment came with last night’s Nightline. The Queen looked ravishing and regal of course, seated in the fancy-schmancy royal suite at the Waldorf-Astoria (with a decorative pug pillow resting in the background–truly iconic) as she fielded questions from the ABC News anchor.
Aside from discussing her new film W.E., the bulk of the conversation was focused around the Queen’s personal life: Her boyfriend Brahim Zaibat, her proclivity toward younger men in general, her life as a mother (I do always love a good Lourdes tale!), etc. Don’t get me wrong–I love hearing the juicy details and all–but I’d much prefer hearing about the recording process behind M.D.N.A. than how often Brahim rubs her feet.
In the last few moments however, McFadden finally probed about her next move musically: The Superbowl performance in February. “What’s more frightening: Having your movie open or performing live at the Superbowl?” “The Superbowl, for sure,” Madonna responded. And while Madge didn’t reveal any solid details about the performance (did anyone actually think she would?), she did deliver a goosebumps-inducing little quote:
I have 8 minutes to set up my stage, 12 minutes to put on the greatest show on Earth.
She also joked about the ideas that wouldn’t work, including dropping 100 drummers from the ceiling. Clearly, she’s thinking big.
And there you have it! God, it’s so refreshing to hear her speaking again. So well-spoken, poised and honest. The final two installments will be featured on Good Morning America and 20/20 later today. (This post will be updated as those parts air!)
EDIT: The Good Morning America segment just aired! Mostly a rehash of last night’s interview, plus sneak peeks at tonight’s 20/20 segment, including…yes, The Gaga Question.
EDIT: The 20/20 segment aired last night, which you can now view below. Again, it’s mostly a rehash–except for The Gaga Question. The Queen answered with measured poise, noting that Gaga does “reference me a lot in her work,” but that she doesn’t feel that Gaga is ripping her off (“She’s she and I’m me”)–though not without a little bit of (deserved) sass when it comes to “Born This Way,” resulting in one of the most legendary shady moments yet:
It feels…reductive.
Plus, there’s an extended sequence of Madonna in the studio with M.I.A. recording a slap-happy song about being happy and shouting “Happy Birthday!” at the end. Doesn’t sound the most thrilling or genre-breaking, but watching her reduce M.I.A. into a bucket of giggles and boss her around is actually quite major.
All hail the Queen.
Madonna, on Lady Gaga‘s “Born This Way,” in an interview with Jacob Bernstein in the January 30th issue of Newsweek:
I thought, this is a wonderful way to redo my song (‘Express Yourself’). I mean, I recognized the chord changes. I thought it was…interesting.
At last! Shade deservedly thrown! I feel vindicated…BECAUSE IT IS THE TRUTH!
Now help me out here, Legendtina!
ALL HAIL THE QUEEN.
Good news!
It’s been rumored for a while, but now it’s official: Madonna, Queen of Pop (And Also Everything), has inked a deal with Interscope Records to distribute her upcoming twelfth studio album.
From Billboard.biz:
Madonna has signed with Interscope, a source close to the situation confirmed to Billboard.biz Wednesday morning (December 14).
According to a report in the New York Post, the singer will continue the 10-year multi-rights deal with Live Nation — said to be worth more as much as $100 million — that she signed in 2007, but has inked a three-album pact with Interscope at a base of $1 million per album. Billboard.biz’s source could not confirm the terms of the deal at press time but said the report sounded right.
Three albums? Well, that sounds mighty fine to me!
Now, I’ve seen a lot of childish banter online about Madonna signing with the same label as professional Madonna impersonator Lady Gaga, but we all know that–as the Great Legendtina of Former Floppiness Who Sits On A Throne of Unsold Bionic Albums once preached–”There is room for all of us on everyone’s iPods.”
I mean…we’re all grown, empowered women. Amirite, ladies?
After the 13-minute video for “Marry The Night” premiered late last week, the remix package for Mademoiselle Gaga‘s fifth Born This Way single is now steadily making its way to the public.
The first of which, produced by Belgian brother duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, smooths out Gaga’s grittier original with a blazing Ibiza-ready synthesizers and throbbing arena-ready pulsations, along with a gorgeous piano-led breakdown smack dab in the middle of the mix.
What can I say? I’m a sucker for a good piano riff! Gives me pure ’90′s House nostalgia every single time.
Lady Gaga – Marry The Night ( Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Remix ) by dimitrivegasandlikemike
“Marry The Night” was released on November 15. (iTunes)
From the preview of “The Prelude Pathétique,” I knew that the opening sequence to Lady Gaga‘s “Marry The Night” would be a downhill gurney ride for me.
Happy Thanksgiving, Muusers! I hope everyone had a most joyous celebration.
While we were all busy pigging out and fighting over the last serving of cheesy broccoli this evening, Mizz Lady Gaga was busy premiering her Thanksgiving special on ABC: A Very Gaga Thanksgiving.
Along with delivering several gorgeously stripped-down renditions of her signature tracks and current songs (including “Marry The Night”–watch that one immediately), the sneaky pop starlet surprised her Little Monsters with a minute clip of her upcoming video (or maybe the prelude, or maybe just another preview of the prelude) for “Marry The Night,” her fifth single off of Born This Way.
Set in a dance studio, the rather straightforward sneak peek (wait, this is Gaga we’re talking about, right?) features the “Born This Way” belter suited up in ripped leggings and a rill tight top getting into the groove in a most fierce-tastic routine along with her back-up dancers. (Whether or not this choreography is pre or post-Laurieann Gibson remains to be seen…RIP Boomkack!!1!11!)
No heavy-handed messages or pretentiously abstract symbolism to be found here–just a sweaty, sharply choreographed routine that’d have any proper pop fanatic salivating for more. Oof–and those pre-dance stretches? Girl, just look at those lady lumps! Work, bitch!
At this point, it’s safe to say that we’re all quite ready for the premiere of Gaga’s latest mïnï-ëpïc now. Let’s-a go!
“Marry The Night” was released to radio in November. (iTunes)
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