Madonna is back on top as “The Power of Madonna” soundtrack from the hit tv show “Glee” jumps into the No. 1 slot on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart.
According to Billboard, the “Glee” cast’s version of Madonna’s l989 No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit, “Like a Prayer” was the biggest selling individual track from the show last week, debuting at No. l0 on the Digital Songs chart with 87,000 downloads sold. “Prayer“ debuted today at No. 27 on Billboard’s Hot l00 singles chart.
“I’m thrilled to be Number One.. It’s such an honor. It makes me want to go back into the studio and write more songs,” commented the Material Girl.
The Material Girl’s catalogue sales have also surged this week. The appropriately titled, “Celebration" re-enters Billboard 200 at No. 85 – up 219%. All told, Madonna’s catalogue of albums saw a 44% jump in sales with “4 Minutes” and “Like a Prayer” gaining sales of l83% and 267% consecutively.
Rumors continue to circulate about the possibility of another episode of “Glee” filled with Madonna songs but this has yet to be confirmed by the Madonna camp.
The ‘Sticky & Sweet Tour Sweepstakes’ contest launched by Madonna.com and Spin.com is now over.
Thank you to all of you who entered for a chance to win one of our ‘Sticky & Sweet’ packages!
Listed below are our 5 winners, along with their respective prizes. Congratulations to them!
Judy.K and Lucian.M win:
- Autographed DVD from Madonna
- Official DVD t-shirt
- Sticky & Sweet Tour photo book
- Sticky & Sweet Tour program
- 1 year subscription to SPIN Magazine
Lison.G, Irakli.G and Kimberly.C win:
- Official DVD t-shirt
- Sticky & Sweet Tour program
Thanks to your picture submissions, the Madonna Picture Project gallery already includes more than 300 items! But wait, we want more of them!!
A few days ago, we’ve added new categories, which include autographed photos & items, postcards & stickers and vinyl picture discs. If you have any of those, go ahead and e-mail them to us!
Visit the Picture Project page now for more info.
Also, and as a way to thank you for making this new feature a success, we’re picking one e-mail on a random basis each month.The picked address will be mailed a signed Madonna surprise. This month’s winner is Filip.G from Serbia. Make sure to check your mailbox on a daily basis as your signed surprise is coming your way!!
GLEE, the No. 1 new scripted series of the season, pays homage to Madonna and the power of her music with a full episode devoted to one of the most revered and iconic musicians of this generation. The sure-to-be-fan-favorite installment of television’s most-loved new series will air in its regular time period Tuesday, April 20 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
In “The Power of Madonna” episode, MR. SCHUESTER (Matthew Morrison) is concerned that the girls in the glee club are being disrespected and bullied by the male members. Looking to Madonna and her musical message of equality as inspiration, he challenges the entire team to choose Madonna songs as their next assignment in the hopes that the girls embrace Madonna’s strength, independence and confidence so that the guys will see the errors of their misogynistic ways. The glee club takes the assignment to heart and performs some of Madonna’s greatest hits, including “Express Yourself” and “Like a Prayer.” Meanwhile, KURT (Chris Colfer) and MERCEDES (Amber Riley) give SUE (Jane Lynch) a vote of confidence with a Madonna makeover that is definitely in “Vogue.”
Madonna commenting on the episode said, “I think Mr. Schuester is very cute, and I’m glad he’s doing such a good job empowering all the girls.”
“This episode is our love letter to Madonna, an artist who has inspired me all my life. The hardest part was having to choose which songs to include from her incredible catalogue, as there were so many we wanted to do,” said GLEE executive producer and co-creator Ryan Murphy. “We send her our thanks for her generosity with her music.”
If you missed last night's Chevy-sponsored world premiere of Sue Sylvester’s version of “Vogue,” which will appear as part of the Madonna-themed episode, watch it now at hulu.com and fox.com. GLEE’s “Vogue” features Sue, Kurt and Mercedes in an homage to Madonna with a brilliant re-creation of the groundbreaking music video.
The soundtrack from “The Power of Madonna” episode will be available in stores the same day it airs, Tuesday, April 20. The album features GLEE’s distinctive and unique take on such classics as “Like A Virgin,” “Express Yourself,” “Vogue,” “4 Minutes” and more.
Last night’s spring premiere of GLEE posted a 5.6 rating among Adults 18-49 and achieved its highest-rated telecast to date among all key demos. GLEE is the No. 1 new series of the season among Adults 18-34 and last night’s telecast was the highest rated of any new scripted show this season among Adults 18-49.
Television’s most award-winning new series, GLEE was recently honored with a Peabody Award; a Golden Globe for Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical; a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series; and a People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy. The music from GLEE is an international sensation with “Glee: The Music, Volume 1” and “Glee: The Music, Volume 2” topping charts in Australia, the U.K., New Zealand, Ireland and Canada. In the U.S., over 4.5 million songs have been downloaded, and both albums have been certified Gold for sales in excess of 500,000 units.
GLEE follows an optimistic teacher who – against all odds and a malicious cheerleading coach – inspires McKinley High’s Glee Club to conquer the world one singing competition at a time. GLEE stars Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz.
GLEE is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan are co-creators of the series. Murphy, Falchuk and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers, while Ian Brennan serves as co-executive producer.
Madonna laid the first brick of her new girls' academy near Malawi's capital Tuesday, in which she encouraged Malawian girls to "dare to dream," according to the inscription on the brick.
The pop star said it has long been her dream to build a girls' school. She said she hopes the girls attending the academy will go on to become doctors, lawyers and future leaders of their country.
The $15 million Raising Malawi Academy for Girls is scheduled to open in 2011, and will assist 500 orphaned children.
At the same event, Madonna also launched a telecommunications and fundraising initiative that aims to provide education to children around the world by offering secondary school scholarships and by supporting schools in developing countries in accessing the internet.
"Kids will be able to connect with kids from the other parts of the world," the singer said. "This will promote peace throughout the world."
Telecommunications giant Ericsson will donate computers to various schools in 11 African countries through the United Nations Millennium Village initiative, where model villages are established to demonstrate how the quality of life in African rural areas can be improved through community-led development.
Daughters Lourdes and Mercy accompanied Madonna to Tuesday's ceremony.
Madonna arrived in Malawi on Monday for a weeklong charity tour to inspect projects she established since her first visit in 2006 while filming a documentary on its devastating poverty and AIDS crisis. She also funds six Malawian orphanages, which feed, clothe and educate some 25,000 orphans.
Source: AP
Madonna and her family are scheduled to travel to Malawi next week to visit several important projects for orphans and vulnerable children that she and Raising Malawi have been working on since 2006.
She is expected to visit the Millennium Village which she supports along with Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the world's leading economists. “I look forward to seeing the amazing progress being made in that community as well as several other projects that are currently underway including the creation of a Girl’s Academy. I'm hugely excited to be joining Dr. Sachs and Hans Vestberg, the CEO of Ericsson, to launch a new campaign for worldwide access to education using mobile technology,” stated Madonna. A formal announcement regarding the campaign will be made on Tuesday in Malawi.
For further information on Raising Malawi, go to
www.raisingmalawi.org