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The Impressive Drowned World Music Era


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Other Timelines:

The Pre- Madonna Era http://www.madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/11688-the-pre-madonna-era/?p=542015

The First Album Era http://www.madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/11796-the-madonna-first-album-era/?p=547412

The Like a Virgin Era http://www.madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/12035-the-like-a-virgin-era/?p=557045

The True Blue Era http://www.madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/12055-the-true-blue-era/?p=557777

The Who’s That Girl/You Can Dance Era http://www.madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/12085-the-whos-that-girlyou-can-dance-era/?p=558619

The Like a Prayer Era http://www.madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/12134-the-like-a-prayer-era/?p=560321

The Immaculate Breathless Blond Ambition Era http://www.madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/12230-the-immaculate-breathless-blond-ambition-era/?p=562946

The Erotic Body of Girlie Sex Show Era http://www.madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/12452-the-erotic-body-of-girlie-sex-show-era/?p=570519

The Let’s Get Unconscious Era http://www.madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/14849-the-lets-get-unconscious-era/

The You Must Remember to Love Her Era http://www.madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/14891-the-you-must-remember-to-love-her-era/

The Quicker Than Ray of Light Era https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/14900-the-quicker-than-ray-of-light-era/

 

Artwork & Packaging:  https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682377

Legacy:  https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682378

 

 

Timeline:

 

1998/ Jan – April 1999 https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682381·        

May – August 1999 https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682382·        

 

Sept – Dec 1999 https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682383·        

 

Jan – April 2000 https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682384·        

 

May – August 2000 https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682385·        

 

Sept – Dec 2000 https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682386·        

 

Jan – April 2001 https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682387·        

 

May – August 2001 https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682388·        

 

Sept – Dec 2001 https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682389·        

 

2002 https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682390

 

 

Unreleasedhttps://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682379

Music Press:   http://madonnaunderground.com/madonna-live/album-promo/music-promo-tour/#tab-1432754322-2-25

 

Music Memorabilia:  http://madonnaunderground.com/madonna-live/album-promo/music-promo-tour/#tab-1432754748649-2-3

Music Pictures:   http://madonnaunderground.com/madonna-live/album-promo/music-promo-tour/#tab-1524657862953-6-3

Videography: https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/index.php?/topic/15957-the-impressive-drowned-world-music-era/&do=findComment&comment=682380

 

Sources:  

 

http://madonna-mdolla.blogspot.com/2008/08/madonna-2000.htm

 http://madonna-mdolla.blogspot.com/2008/08/madonna-2001.html

https://www.revolvy.com/topic/List+of+unreleased+songs+recorded+by+Madonna

MNation Forum: Timeline

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_(Madonna_album)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_(Madonna_song)

https://allaboutmadonna.com/

http://madonna-mdolla.blogspot.com

http://madonnaunderground.com/

https://todayinmadonnahistory.com

 

Overview

·         Madonna promoted Music with a launch party in the USA wearing a ripped ‘Snatch’ shirt (Guy Ritchie’s movie at the time). Guy in his turn wore a Music promotional shirt

·         She attended an exclusive signing session in Los Angeles, something that she hadn’t done before

·         In the Roseland club in New York she performed a promotional show, tickets were only available through lotteries

·         In London she performed the same gig in Brixton, her first live show since 1993’s Girlie Show. Here she added Holiday to the set which was streamed live on the internet. She set a new record in the Guinness book of records due to the amount of people that tuned in live to see it

·         Madonna performed both Music and Don’t Tell Me at TOTP in London

·         In France she performed the same set at Nulle Part Ailleurs plus sat down for an interview

·         The first real live performance of Music was at the MTV Awards in Sweden, where she received two awards and was introduced by Ali G

·         She opened the Grammy Awards with Music and a very young Lil’ Bow Wow, here she gave a sneak peak of the upcoming Drowned World Tour performance wise

·         Music was a massive success worldwide spanning three hit singles ‘Music’, ‘Don’t Tell Me’ and ‘What It Feels Like For A Girl’

·         The music video to What It Feels Like For A Girl was banned in some countries and received limited playtime due to the excessive violence shown

·         The video was directed by Guy Ritchie, surprisingly they used a remix version instead of the album version to go with the video

·         M recorded a Spanish version of What It Feels Like For A Girl titled ‘Lo Que Siente La Mujer’, she chose to perform this version at the upcoming Drowned World Tour in 2001

·         The record company wanted to release ‘Amazing’ as the fourth single off the album. Madonna didn’t agree as she voted for ‘Impressive Instant’. There is a rumor going she didn’t want to film a video for ‘Amazing’ so the record company opted to use live footage for the video from ‘Amazing’ as it was scheduled to be played. Madonna on her turn replaced Amazing for Beautiful Stranger in the setlist to prevent this from happening

·         There was a promotional single pressed for ‘Amazing’ but never commercially released

 

 

 

 

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Artwork

For the artwork for Music, Madonna wore a blue shirt, jeans, red boots and a blue cowboy hat. In it, she faces the camera, while in the background a car and a gas station are seen.

The country was a constant theme throughout the design, as the album's title, which was a logo that simulated a buckle, showing the silhouette of a cowboy while riding a horse and a yellow background; the bright colors give a sharp contrast compared to the photograph. 

Photo sessions were conducted by Jean Baptiste Mondino, who had worked previously with the singer on photoshoots and music videos. According to Fouz-Hernández, the artwork is "a complete celebration to the field" western United States. He also added that it "is camp, notably Madonna's combination of Western clothing with expensive shoes and bright red high heels. In particular, there is a clear evocation of Judy Garland – a major gay icon – in the artwork".

The art direction and design for the album were done by Kevin Reagan.

The pictures were shot in Los Angeles, California, in April 2000.

In an interview with CNN's Style with Elsa Klensch, Mondino said that he was the one who had the idea of the western themes for the album, and also stated: "[Madonna] wasn't sure at first, but I told her that if she didn't like it I won't charge her. But she loved the final result!".Madonna also decided to use her new country style during her public appearances for Music's promotion; including jeans, shirts and cowboy hats. 

On her next tour in 2001, Madonna included a segment based entirely on this ambient.

The cowgirl image of Madonna has become one of her most recognized reinventions

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Legacy

"Music" earned two nominations at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards, in the categories of Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. 

It also won the ASCAP Awards in the categories of Most Performed Pop Songs and Top Dance Songs.

The Music video won several awards, including "Best Pop Clip of the Year" at the 2000 Billboard Music Video Awards and "Best Dance Video" at the International Dance Music Awards in 2000.

At the Danish Music Awards it won the trophy of Best International Hit.

The 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards nominated the track in the category of Best Song.

"Music" also received a nomination at the 2001 TEC Awards, for its record production, and International Song of the Year at the 2001 NRJ Music Award.

"Music" has been included in many critic lists for Madonna's top singles and is often ranked as one of the best songs of the 2000s. 

Dotmusic placed it within its top-ten singles for 2000.

Rolling Stone listed "Music" as the 66th best of the 2000s decade, commenting that "despite all the new pop starlets out there trying to jump her train, Madonna definitely [is] not slackening pace. When she dropped "Music". she was older than Britney and Christina combined, yet she took them to school with vintage electro-boom, Eurodisco flourishes from French producer Mirwais, and her own inimitable sass." The publication also ranked it at number nine on their list of Madonna's 50 Greatest Songs, writing that "After years spent making albums that bridged boundaries of race, gender and sexual orientation, Madonna finally wrote a tune explicitly devoted to the democratizing power of music itself."

The Huffington Post's Matthew Jacobs ranked it at number 11 on his list "The Definitive Ranking Of Madonna Singles". Jacobs believed that the phrase "Hey Mr. DJ" gave rise to the usage of name-checking in songs thereafter, employed by other artists like Jennifer Lopez, Black Eyed Peas and Mariah Carey.

In 2011, VH1 created a countdown of the top songs of 2000 decade and placed Music" at number 28. 

Entertainment Weekly likewise ranked "Music" at number seven on their list of Madonna's 35 top singles, saying that the "message [in the song] is universal".

Michael Roffman from Consequence of Sound listed the track at number 15, feeling that the commercial reception to the release of "Music" was "almost meta come to think of it; the song did make people come together".

Enio Chola of PopMatters placed "Music" at number five in his list of The Top 15 Madonna Singles of All Time, feeling that "After the confessional Ray of Light, Madonna was ready to dance again, and like no one else can, she proved that her ability to write pure unadulterated mega pop hits was still in full form as she began the third decade of her music career."

LA Weekly's Michael Cooper ranked the track at number 12 in his list of Madonna's Top 20 Singles. He opined that Ahmadzaï's production of the track "[helped] to cement Madonna as the queen of reinvention".

Ed Masley of The Arizona Republic placed it at number 13 on his Essential Madonna playlist.

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Unreleased

Music
 

·         "Alone Again", a Madonna co-write with Rick Nowels, CMRRA song registration# 1775314. A song widely publicised in the media in 2002 as having been recorded by Kylie Minogue. The Minogue version was supposed to be the B-side to her "Come into My World" single, but the song remained unreleased until it was featured in the Kylie documentary "White Diamond", which premiered on October 16, 2007. Madonna and Rick Nowels are credited as writers. Madonna is also thanked in the credits of the film. Madonna has two ASCAP entries for this song. Her own version remains unreleased.

·         "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room" Madonna and Orbit covered this ABBA song during the Music sessions. The demo and the Orbit instrumental leaked onto the internet on August 15, 2008.

·         "Little Girl" and "La Petite Jeune Fille" (translation: "The Little Girl") Written and produced with William Orbit, recorded during the Music sessions. The original ballad "Little Girl" leaked onto the internet on September 18, 2010. An early demo instrumental version of the song, with the title of 'Dear Pumpkin' leaked onto the internet in April 2011. Confirmed ASCAP title codes 420566552. 420566570 and 430653519. The second version of the song, "La Petite Jeune Fille" with similar lyrics, is an up-tempo dance song (resembling "Runaway Lover" from the same album) and leaked on the internet on December 14, 2011.

·         "Liquid Love", co-written and produced by William Orbit, originates from late 1999, presumably from the same sessions that yielded "Amazing" and "Runaway Lover", which would end up being featured on her Music album a year later. Madonna confirmed in a 2005 interview with Attitude that the track was also supposed to be on the album but was axed because it gave her "the wrong tingles". When the song leaked onto the internet on June 3, 2006, it became clear that the song "Bubble Universe" from William Orbit's album Hello Waveforms was actually based on the same instrumental track. An alternate mix of "Liquid Love" leaked onto the internet on August 15, 2008.

·         "Mysore Smile". Written and produced with William Orbit but never used or released. Instrumental leaked by William Orbit in 2013. It appeared to be an early version of "Cyber-Raga", a B-side for "Music" and "Don't Tell Me" and also a bonus track for the Japanese and Australian editions of Music, the album. Mysore is a city in India, a center of yoga and meditation study.

·         "Run". Written and produced with William Orbit but never used or released. Confirmed ASCAP title code 480358398. "Run" has since been released in instrumental form on William Orbit's official Streamcast site, with the track retitled "Forbidden Planet". It was also revealed by Peter Magennis in a 2008 interview with madonnalicious.com that Swedish girl group Sahara Hotnights recorded a cover of "Run" that remains unreleased, as was revealed to Peter during his interview with long-time Orbit collaborator, Rico Conning. On January 11, 2011, William Orbit commented on "Run" on his Twitter account. He stated that he would not release the song, after receiving multiple requests from fans to leak the song in full. Clips of Madonna's Run demo leaked onto the internet on April 19, 2011, the full demo leaking two days later.

·         "Arioso", written and produced by Madonna and William Orbit. The title was misspelled as "Ariosa". In classical music, arioso is a type of solo vocal piece, usually occurring in an opera. Literally, arioso means airy. This song is actually from where the notorious Wonderland 47-seconds track – used for a TV series from 1999 – comes (see below). A 30-second snippet leaked online, on August 4, 2014. The song leaked in full on December 25, 2014 amidst the mass leak of demos from her album Rebel Heart. The demo was based on Johann Sebastian Bach's Arioso, Adagio in G from Cantata BWV 156.

·         "Wonderland", the 45-second score to the short lived ABC TV show of the same name. The series aired only two episodes due to controversial content which viewers found disturbing. ASCAP title code 530521409. Written by Madonna and William Orbit. The full track remained unreleased until "Arioso" surfaced at Christmas 2014 (see above). Interestingly, when various other Madonna demos recorded with William Orbit leaked onto the internet in the summer of 2008, a slightly different version of this track leaked, crediting actor Rupert Everett as a co-vocalist (cf. William Orbit's blog post 54).

·         "The Funny Song". ASCAP Title Code: 501807576. Writers: Ciccone Madonna L. Madonna performed a live version of this song as part of her 2001 Drowned World Tour setlist, calling it her "brand new song". Madonna recorded a studio version in preparation for the tour, along with the rest of the setlist. Whilst most of the other studio recorded setlist songs have been made available online, the studio version of this song remains unleaked. The track is also listed in the Warner/Chappell Music database with Madonna again credited as sole composer. The song is often listed as "Oh Dear Daddy" or "The Funny Song (Oh Dear Daddy)" on lyric web sites, due to its chorus.

·         "(title(s) unknown)", two songs recorded with Belgian-Congolese fusion group Zap Mama mixed by Pairs-based Bengali artist Subhendu Bapi Das Baul says the Screen India June 8, 2001. Plus a third recording is a Madonna guest vocal on a Bapi Das Baul track says the India Today April 2 2001. Ultimately, Shubhendu ended up cutting not one, but two tracks. So far, these collaborations have not surfaced.

 

 

An old article on Launch. It confirms two of the lost "Music" collaborations with William Orbit--

Madonna Registers Two New Songs With ASCAP, Possibly For Next Album
(LAUNCH, 07/17/2002 1:00 PM)

By Jerry Armor

(7/17/02, 1 p.m. ET) -- Madonna has registered two new songs, "La Petit" and "Liquid Love," with performance rights organization the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). 

An ASCAP spokesperson confirmed the songs are credited to writers Madonna L. Ciccone and William Mark Wainwright (also known as William Orbit), while the publishers are listed as Webo Girl Publishing Inc and Almo Music Corp. 

Orbit co-wrote the title song from Madonna's album Ray Of Light and the hit "Beautiful Stranger," featured on the soundtrack from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. He also co-produced and remixed the tracks. 

The two new songs may be slated for Madonna's next album. There are reports that she's been speaking with Dr. Dre about producing tracks and has also been in contact with Paul Oakenfold, who remixed her song "What It Feels Like For A Girl."

-- Darryl Morden, Los Angeles

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Videography

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPn6Pzcmx60&feature=youtu.be

American Pie Music Video [2000] Directed by Philip Stolzl

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRa9ulVPZYA

American Pie Humpty Vission Remix Video [2000]

Directed by Philip Stolzl

Edited by Dan-O-Rama

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jrmbiOMsZM

American Pie Calderone Remix Video [2000]

Directed by Philip Stolzl

Edited by Dan-O-Rama

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFgdeLXDrvE

American Pie Video Montage [2000]

Cast: Madonna, Rupert Everett, Benjamin Brattand Malcolm Stumpf

Incl. footage from "The Next Best Thing" film

 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x191u2z

Music Montage Video [2000]

Edited by Dan-O-Rama

 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xlkk4i

Music HQ2 Club Edit Video  [2000]

Edited by Dan-O-Rama

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdz2oW0NMFk

Music Video 4:44 Version [2000]

Directed by Jonas Åkerlund

Cast: Madonna, Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G), Debi Mazar and Niki Haris

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLFWRDsx5AI

Don't Tell Me Music Video [2000]

Directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeMZUp7O2bs&feature=youtu.be

Don't Tell Me Thunderpuss Remix Edit Video [2000]

Directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino

Edited by Dan-O-Rama

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IOJjoJuQFY&feature=youtu.be

Don't Tell Me Vission Radio Remix Video [2000]

Directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino

Edited by Dan-O-Rama

 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xz469e

What It Feels Like For A Girl Above & Beyond Mix Music Video [2001]

Directed by Guy Ritchie

 

A clip of the making of the What It Feels Like for a Girl video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrPSSJBzGzQ

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n59io-eL6w&feature=youtu.be

Paradise Drowned World Tour Backdrop Video [2001]

Directed by Dago Gonzales

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrFrpWU95-w

Mer Girl Drowned World Tour Backdrop Video [2001]

Directed by Dago Gonzales

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5PnLCmLS_c&feature=youtu.be

GHV2 Thunderpuss Megamix Video [2001]

Edited by Dan-O-Rama

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3cZ2bVIZMY

GHV2 Johnny Rocks & Mac Quayle Megamix Edit Video [2001]

Edited by Dan-O-Rama

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTPGWt2jj24

Holiday Drowned World Tour Live Montage Video [2001]

Directed by Hamish Hamilton

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU4qles9ms4

GHV2 Tracy Young Megamix Video [2001]

Edited by Dan-O-Rama

 

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1998:

November 18, 1998: In a Swedish press conference, Madonna says that the Veronica Electronica remix album is no longer happening because she & William Ørbit have other projects to focus on right now and she doesn’t want to go back into the studio and re-record this album. She does say that she will be "releasing a new album in a year or so."

1999:

January 1999

On January 18 1999, Madonna appeared on the cover of People magazine with the headline, “The New Pop Divas.”

The new pop divas.  By that definition, say hello to the latest wave of pop divas: Celine Dion, 30; Whitney Houston, 35; Mariah Carey, 29; Madonna, the old-timer at 40; Janet Jackson, 32; Shania Twain, 33; and Jewel, 24—with divas-in-waiting Brandy, 19; Monica, 18; and LeAnn Rimes, 16, warbling in the wings. All certainly have the requisite lung power. Houston, whose Top 20 album My Love Is Your Love marks her first studio release in eight years, can rattle roof beams, Carey skips octaves with the ease of a kindergartner at jump rope, and Dion (who, like Carey and Twain, sang with Franklin on VH1) belts out “My Heart Will Go On,” the Oscar-winning Titanic theme, with chest-thumping majesty. And, with all due R-E-S-P-E-C-T to Aretha and company, these superdivas are richer and wield more power. True, some of their pre-MTV forebears dabbled in movies, but were they also best-selling authors a la Jewel? Did they, like Madonna, run their own record labels? Even divette Brandy has her own TV show.

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/19990118-750-0.jpg?w=550&h=720

 

February 1999

On February 1 1999, a geisha-inspired Madonna was featured on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar magazine in the USA, with photos by Patrick Demarchelier.

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/harpers-bazaar-feb-1999-1.jpg?w=550&h=743

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/harpers-bazaar-feb-1999-2.jpg?w=550&h=745

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/harpers-bazaar-feb-1999-3.jpg?w=550&h=706

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/harpers-bazaar-feb-1999-4.jpg?w=550&h=465

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/harpers-bazaar-feb-1999-5.jpg?w=550&h=746

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/harpers-bazaar-feb-1999-5b.jpg?w=550&h=771

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/harpers-bazaar-feb-1999-6.jpg?w=550&h=780

(2) Madonna signs a long-term licensing and marketing contract with Sony Signatures: she will lend her name and image to fashion designers and manufacturers of fragrances, cosmetics and collectibles, and Swiss watchmaker Ebel.
* (5) Madonna is interviewed on ABC-TV's Entertainment Tonight.
* (6) Madonna wins Best International Female Artist and Best International Album (Ray Of Light) at the 10th annual Dansk Grammy Awards at Tivoli's Garden Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark.
* (8) Madonna wins Female Artist Of The Year at the 1st annual NRJ Radio Awards at Cirkus in Stockholm, Sweden.
* (10) Madonna attends a reception at Astra in the D&D Building, New York, for the unveiling of Esquire magazine's March 1999 issue about the AIDS crisis in which she is featured on the cover with other AIDS activists.
* (13) "Nothing Really Matters" video premieres on MTV.
* (16) Madonna attends the Los Angeles premiere of Guy Ritchie film Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.
* (22) Max Factor announces a $6.5 million agreement with Madonna to collaborate on a line of several new cosmetic products, and she will also appear in TV commercials and ad campaigns which will run in Europe, Japan and Asia.
* (24) Madonna performs "Nothing Really Matters" at the 41st annual Grammy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA; Ray Of Light wins Best Pop Album, Best Dance Recording, Best Recording Package and Best Short-Form Music Video.

March 1999
* Mar (2) Maverick Recording Company and Warner Bros. Inc. announce a long-term extension of their joint venture which also includes a new long-term contract with Maverick partners Madonna, Guy Oseary and Ronnie Dashev.
* (3) Madonna is voted Electronic Artist Of The Year and Ray Of Light is voted Electronic Album Of The Year in the 2nd annual Sonicnet / Addicted To Noise Readers Poll.
* (4) Madonna wins Best International Female Artist at the 39th annual Edison Music Awards in Amsterdam, Holland.
* (9) "Madonna - Ciao Italia: Live From Italy" (1988) is released on DVD. On March 9 1999, the concert film for Madonna’s Who’s That Girl World Tour, Ciao Italia, was released on DVD.

Dennis Hunt from the Los Angeles Times gave Ciao Italia a positive review:

“A festive Italian stadium show featuring the Material Girl, who’s turned into a first-rate entertainer, strutting and singing in flashy production-number renditions of her most recent Billboard topping songs, is indeed a delight. The video captures the enormity of Madonna as a performer, and her theatrics, oomph and chutzpah.”

* (15) Madonna is named one of People magazine's "25 Legends Of The Past 25 Years".

March 15: Madonna’s publicist, Liz Rosenberg, confirmed to MTV News that a tour in support of Ray Of Light had been canceled.  Instead, Madonna would be working on a number of other projects including:

A new song with Ricky Martin for his next album

A new song for the Austin Powers 2 soundtrack

Assembling a new greatest hits album (Liz called it “The Immaculate Collection2“) with a few new songs

Starring in a new film, The Next Best Thing, with Rupert Everett

Liz had this to say:

“The starting date of the movie was postponed, and it created such a small window to turn things around and get into total tour mode and put together the kind of show Madonna does, with no stone unturned, that she thought it would be better to wait until 2000.”

March 17 1999, CBS-TV’s news magazine, 60 Minutes II, aired a Madonna interview conducted by Charlie Rose. The segment was titled “Madonna at 40”.

“I refused to wear makeup – and that’s when girls are, sort of, going out of their way to be attractive and please boys at school. I said, ‘Well I’ll be damned! They’re going to have to like me with hairy armpits or they’re not worthy of me!'”

https://vimeo.com/87247843

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/60-minutes-1999.png?w=550

On March 17 1999, Madonna won Best Dance Artist – Solo and Best Dance Video (Ray Of Light) at the 14th annual International Dance Music Awards at the Winter Music Conference in Miami, Florida.

* (19) Madonna attends Sony Music's pre-Academy Awards party at Mondrian Hotel's Asia de Cuba restaurant, Los Angeles, CA.
* (20) Madonna begins filming Max Factor commercial in Los Angeles, CA, directed by Alek Keshishian.
* (21) Madonna attends the Vanity Fair post-Academy Awards party at Morton's restaurant, West Hollywood, CA.
* (29) Evita: The Complete Motion Picture Music Soundtrack is certified 5x platinum (5 million units).

April 1999
* Apr (5) On April 5 1999, Madonna was voted the Most Positive & Influential Sexual Voice Of The Past 35 Years in a USA Today online survey.

On April 8 1999, American TV newsmagazine Entertainment Tonight (aka ET) revealed the title of the new song Madonna had recorded for the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack: Beautiful Stranger.

Beautiful Stranger launched to radio in mid-May and quickly became a sizeable summertime hit along with the Maverick Records issued soundtrack album which landed in North American record stores on June 1st, 1999.

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/beautiful-stranger-us-sheet-music-550.jpg

* (9) "Ray Of Light" wins Pop Video Of The Year and "Frozen" wins Best Special Effects In A Music Video at the 8th annual Music Video Production Association (MVPA) Awards at the Egyptian Theatre, Los Angeles, CA.
* (13) "Nothing Really Matters" single is released.
* (14) Ray Of Light wins Best Foreign Album Of The Year at the Fryderyk Music Awards in Warsaw, Poland.
* (20) Four Rooms (1995) is released on DVD.
* (23) Madonna begins filming The Next Best Thing, starring Rupert Everett and Benjamin Bratt, directed by John Schlesinger.
* (25) Madonna is featured in various photographs in The UK Sunday Times for the Max Factor campaign.
* (30) The Max Factor commercial premieres on TV in Europe.

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May 1999
* May 1 1999, the music video for Madonna’s Beautiful Stranger was shot at Universal Studios in Universal City, California.

Beautiful Stranger was directed by Brett Ratner, and went on to win an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film.

* (2) Madonna wins Best International Pop/Rock Album (Ray Of Light) and Best International Music Video ("Frozen") at the 6th annual Croatian Porin Music Awards in Makarska, Croatia.
* (8) "Nothing Really Matters" hits US #93.
* (11) Madonna & Ricky Martin duet "Cuidado Con Mi Corazon (Be Careful With My Heart)" is featured on his CD Ricky Martin.
* (13) Ray Of Light is named one of Rolling Stone magazine's "Essential Recordings Of The 90s".
* (17) "Frozen" is honored as one of the Most Performed Songs Of 1998 at the 16th annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA.
* (19) "Beautiful Stranger" video premieres on MTV. Madonna is interviewed by Charlie Rose on CBS-TV's 60 Minutes II.
* (23) Guinness Book of Records - Top 100 Singles includes "Crazy For You" #16 and "Holiday" #33.
* (26) "Ray Of Light" is honored as Top ASCAP Dance Song at the 12th annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards in the Hammerstein Ballroom at Manhattan Center, New York, NY.

 

 

June 1999

June: Fatboy Slim recently spoke with Madonna's team about doing a record together in the future. Meanwhile, progressive-house DJ Sasha is doing some original tracks too after remixing for Madonna last year. (MLVC Mailing List)
* Jun (1) "Beautiful Stranger" single (from film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) is released.
* (8) "The Immaculate Collection" (1990) is released on DVD. On June 8 1999, Madonna’s Immaculate Collection video collection was released on DVD.
* (10) Madonna and Rupert Everett attend the Los Angeles premiere of his film An Ideal Husband.
* (16) Madonna is interviewed on ABC-TV's Entertainment Tonight.

On June 26 1999, Madonna’s Beautiful Stranger debuted and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot Dance Play chart in the USA.

* (29) Madonna files a $2.5 million lawsuit against her ex-financial advisors, Padell, Nadell, Fine, Weinberger & Co. for malpractice and breach of contract: she claims to have paid $2 million in New York state income taxes in 1992 after the firm prepared her taxes saying she was a California resident; Madonna seeks $2 million in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.
* (30) Madonna completes filming The Next Best Thing in Los Angeles, CA.

Summer 1999: Madonna Interview : Aperture

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-aperture-magazine-summer-1999

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/1999-madonna-aperture.jpg

 

July 1999

July: Madonna is planning to record material with William Ørbit for a Fall 2000 album. (MLVC Mailing List)

* Jul (15) "Beautiful Stranger" is the most-played song on radio ever in UK: it was played 2,462 times in only one week.
* (17) During a 2-week vacation in Europe, Madonna attends the Versace Fashion Couture party at Man Ray Club in Paris, France.
* (24) "Beautiful Stranger" hits US #19.

On July 24 1999, Beautiful Stranger reached its peak position of #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was based on the strength of airplay alone, as Maverick Records opted to boost sales of the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack album by not releasing the song as a physical single in the US. Had it been issued commercially, it would have easily given Madonna another Top 10 hit. The single was released in most major markets outside the US including Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan.

July 26 1999, Beautiful Stranger hit #1 for the first of two weeks on the Top 100 Canadian Singles chart published by RPM.

In the U.S. a commercial single had been withheld for Beautiful Stranger to drive sales of Maverick Records’ Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack album, limiting the song’s chart potential on the Hot 100 despite favorable support from radio. In a rare move, Warner Music Canada opted against following the lead of its U.S. counterpart and instead released the song as a CD maxi-single on July 20th, 1999.

During the week of its release, Beautiful Stranger was spending a second week at #4 on the Canadian singles chart based on the strength of its airplay alone, however the loss of its bullet indicated that it had likely peaked at radio. Fortunately, the added boost from sales of the domestic maxi-single was enough to earn Madonna her 17th #1 single in Canada – her first since 1995’s Take A Bow, despite having achieved three Canadian top-5 hits in the interim between 1996 and 1998.

* (26) "Beautiful Stranger" wins Best Pop Song Of The Year on BBC2-TV's Gaytime TV Awards in London, England. On July 26 1999, Beautiful Stranger hit #1 for the first of two weeks on the Top 100 Canadian Singles chart published by RPM.

In the U.S. a commercial single had been withheld for Beautiful Stranger to drive sales of Maverick Records’ Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack album, limiting the song’s chart potential on the Hot 100 despite favorable support from radio. In a rare move, Warner Music Canada opted against following the lead of its U.S. counterpart and instead released the song as a CD maxi-single on July 20th, 1999.

During the week of its release, Beautiful Stranger was spending a second week at #4 on the Canadian singles chart based on the strength of its airplay alone, however the loss of its bullet indicated that it had likely peaked at radio. Fortunately, the added boost from sales of the domestic maxi-single was enough to earn Madonna her 17th #1 single in Canada – her first since 1995’s Take A Bow, despite having achieved three Canadian top-5 hits in the interim between 1996 and 1998.

August 1999
* Aug (2) Madonna attends the Talk magazine launch party on Liberty Island, Manhattan, NY.

August: According to William Ørbit's spokesperson, he and Madonna will begin work on a new album for 2000 shortly. (William Orbit's website)

August 12: Madonna is currently working on songwriting for the soundtrack to The Next Best Thing. (Liz Smith's column)

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September 1999
* Sep (9) Madonna wins Best Video From A Film for "Beautiful Stranger" and co-presents with Paul McCartney the Best Video Of The Year award to Lauryn Hill for "Doo Wop (That Thing)" at the 16th annual MTV Video Music Awards at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, NY. (Madonna is crowned Most Honored Artist Of The 20th Century in the 15-year history of the MTV Video Music Awards with a career total of 18 awards). On September 9 1999, MTV staged a tribute to Madonna, the most-nominated artist in Video Music Award history, by presenting a host of male drag performers dressed up as Madonna from her past music videos.

Madonna also introduced Paul McCartney, and then together they presented the Video of the Year.

Madonna was also nominated and won a VMA for:

Best Video from a Film – Beautiful Stranger

Beautiful Stranger was also nominated for:

Best Female Video

Best Cinematography

Best Visual Effects

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/m-vma-1999-1.jpg?w=550&h=388

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/m-vma-1999-5.jpg?w=550&h=611

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/m-vma-1999-6.jpg?w=550&h=408

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/m-vma-1999-8.jpg?w=550&h=365

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/m-vma-1999-9.jpg?w=550&h=395


* (12) Madonna and Lourdes attend the Versace Spring 2000 Show at the Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY.

September: According to William Ørbit’s manager Andy Kipness, Madonna has summoned Ørbit into the studio once again to co-produce her new album. Originally, Madonna had booked him for January 2000 to start the new album but she changed her mind. Ørbit is now rushing to finish the All Saints material he was working on, and he only has afew days left until he's due to start work with M.

Later on, Orbit will say they started with the cover of "American Pie" which was really just an attempt to appease Rupert Everett's request that it be included in he and Madonna's film. After that, Ørbit said what they came up with was mostly ballads which got scrapped.

September 9 1999, MTV staged a tribute to Madonna, the most-nominated artist in Video Music Award history, by presenting a host of male drag performers dressed up as Madonna from her past music videos.

Madonna also introduced Paul McCartney, and then together they presented the Video of the Year.

Madonna was also nominated and won a VMA for:

Best Video from a Film – Beautiful Stranger

Beautiful Stranger was also nominated for:

Best Female Video

Best Cinematography

Best Visual Effects

September 18 1999, Madonna’s Beautiful Stranger spent its final week on the Adult Contemporary chart in the USA. The hit single debuted at #30 on the AC chart on July 17, and peaked at #23 on August 14.

* (30) "Blond Ambition Tour" is named The Greatest Concert Of The 1990s by Rolling Stone magazine.

End of Sept/Beginning of October: Mirwaïs Ahmadzai (via a friend) sends his demo to Maverick which comes across the path of Guy Oseary. A mere two weeks after sending them his demo, he is in a London studio laying down tracks with Madonna.

In an interview much later on, Mirwaïs says in the fall of 1999, he was finishing his album

Production

and Stephane Sednaoui sent the record and video for "Disco Science" to Maverick Records. Guy Oseary called a few days later and asked for some additional material, so Mirwaïs obliged with several tracks from Production. Then, he got a phone call from Madonna and she loved them both. Madonna sent Sednaoui to ask Mirwaïs if he wanted to work on "one or two" tracks for her album.

October 5: Madonna will reunite with William Ørbit when she flies to London in two weeks' time to finish her new album. William Ørbit has a number of songs ready for the record which is due out next year. Madonna and Ørbit have also been collaberating on the soundtrack to The Next Best Thing.

The two are rumored to have recently completed a song for the soundtrack called "The Best Thing"

[they probably mean "Time Stood Still" because it has the title in its chorus]

at a NYC sound studio, the rest of her studio album will be done in London.


October 1999

On October 5 1999, Madonna’s The Video Collection 92:99 was originally scheduled to be released, but was later renamed The Video Collection 93:99 and was finally released on November 2 1999.

The original release was planned to include the Erotica music video, but excluded the video for The Power of Good-Bye. The actual release excluded Erotica, and added The Power of Good-Bye to the collection.

The following music videos were included in 93:99

Bad Girl
Fever
Rain
Secret
Take A Bow
Bedtime Story
Human Nature
Love Don’t Live Here Anymore
Frozen
Ray Of Light
Drowned World/Substitute For Love
The Power Of Good-Bye
Nothing Really Matters
Beautiful Stranger

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/92-99_video-collection-brochure.jpg

 

(7) Madonna wins Favorite Female Artist at the 1st annual ARTIST Direct Online Music Awards in Los Angeles, CA.
* (13) Madonna attends the Details magazine party at the Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, NY.
* (17) Madonna receives death threats from a telephone caller on her way to London, England to begin work on a new album; upon their arrival at Heathrow Airport, Madonna and Lourdes are escorted by police but there are no incidents.

October 17, 1999: Madonna and Lola arrive in London today. She's in London to complete her new album. (MLVC Mailing List)

October 20, 1999: Madonna begins recording at SARM Studios in London. Mark "Spike" Stent also gets involved with the album production this month. (MLVC Mailing List)

October 21, 1999: Contrary to reports that MADONNA is doing the soundtrack for The Next Big Thing, her press office indicates she will actually only be doing one or two songs for that project. In the meantime, she is working on the follow-up to her hugely successful foray into the electronica mainstream, Ray of Light. British DJ SASHA, who did remix work on the material girl's last effort, is said to be working on ideas for her to listen to ...(Rolling Stone, 10/21/1999)

 

November 1999

* Nov (1) Guinness World Records: Madonna is the most successful female solo artist for selling 120 million albums worldwide.

On November 2 1999, the Madonna: The Video Collection 1993-99 was released on home video and DVD.

Madonna: The Video Collection 1993-99 was released as a collection of Madonna’s favourite videos from 1993-1999. The collection contains 14 videos: Bad Girl, Fever, Rain, Secret, Take A Bow, Bedtime Story, Human Nature, Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, Frozen, Ray Of Light, Drowned World, The Power of Goodbye, Nothing Really Matters, and Beautiful Stranger.

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/madonna-93-99-video-collection-1.jpg

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/madonna-93-99-video-collection-2.jpg

November 6, 1999: William Ørbit is currently working on a second album with the Material Girl - and despite the gruelling work schedule he's up for another. He explained: "I know the ropes now. I wouldn't rule out a third one, but let's see how this one does." But he's not lacking in confidence: "When I first heard Madonna singing some of the things she's singing on this album I got shivers because I can hear these songs being covered and being played everywhere for decades." (Yahoo News)
* (7) Madonna is #5 on "Top Entertainers Of The Half-Century (1950-2000)" list by Entertainment Weekly magazine.

November 8, 1999: BT is travelling to the UK on Wednesday or Thursday of this week to meet up with Sasha. Sasha is working on a new track for the upcoming Madonna CD and BT is going to give him a hand. No word on whether he'll be credited. (MLVC List)

* (9) "Madonna: The Video Collection 1993-99" is released on home video and DVD. Madonna is named Top-Selling Female Rock Artist Of The Century by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA).
* (13) In UK, Madonna is voted Female Performer Of The Millenium on Channel 4's Music Of The Millenium Poll.
* (17) Madonna is voted Favorite Female Music Artist Of The 80s (37.8% votes) on AccessHollywood.com - Millenium Poll.

November 19, 1999: Madonna was back in New York City this week to finish mixing her new album and some lyrical content. She was seen momentarily at her brother’s eatery ORIONT on Wednesday,

On November 17, 2000, Madonna is interviewed by a Norweigan TV show that asks her how MUSIC started:

"Well, I knew that I didn't want to repeat myself and I wasn't actually sure of the direction I wanted to go in, so I started working with William Orbit again - cuz we had, I thought, a really great collaboration. And after I wrote about 9 songs, I decided that there was too much of a sameness or similarity of sound as the last record. So I kind of threw out everything and started all over again. And at that point I met Mirwais and we started working together and that's really when I found the sound that I wanted the record to be. And then I went back to William after that and sort of re-worked the stuff that we were doing."

She also says that her engineer working on the album was raving about Da Ali G Show so she got some tapes of it and thought Sacha Baron Cohen was hilarious. She later decided to put him in the "Music" video.

November 17, chatting with friends. (Liz Smith's column, I think)

NOTE: Madonna will later mention in an interview to promote MUSIC, that she wrote the verse "Music makes the bourgeoisie and the rebel" after seeing Sting in concert (and from a balcony she could see the rich and less rich in the audience all brought together by music). Sting was performing at the Beacon Theatre in NYC on Nov. 16-21 this week so she could've seen him there. He also did one show on Nov. 11 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in NYC. However, this is purely speculative on my part. She could've seen him long ago and written about it in a journal too.

November 23, 1999: The reason Ørbit is in town, away from his home in L.A.'s leafy Brentwood, is because he's working with Madonna on her new album in west London's SARM Studios. Nine tracks have been recorded in four weeks so far ("we've definitely got another Ray Of Light on there") with Ørbit at the controls, though Madonna is also working with trip-hoppers Alpha and "a French guy called Mirwaïs". It's all going so well, in fact, that Ørbit has cancelled a holiday in Majorca and condensed his press duty into a four-day burst just so the pair can further explore their "inspirational reciprocity" and finish the album. It's pencilled in for a springtime release next year. Chances are, it'll be quite a big record.

November 23, 1999: The reason Ørbit is in town, away from his home in L.A.'s leafy Brentwood, is because he's working with Madonna on her new album in west London's SARM Studios. Nine tracks have been recorded in four weeks so far ("we've definitely got another Ray Of Light on there") with Ørbit at the controls, though Madonna is also working with trip-hoppers Alpha and "a French guy called Mirwaïs". It's all going so well, in fact, that Ørbit has cancelled a holiday in Majorca and condensed his press duty into a four-day burst just so the pair can further explore their "inspirational reciprocity" and finish the album. It's pencilled in for a springtime release next year. Chances are, it'll be quite a big record.

Alpha is on Massive Attack’s label, Melankolic, information cannot be found on Mirwaïs, other than he was introduced to Madonna by French photographer Stephane Sednaoui. (MLVC Mailing List)


* (27) "Madonna: The Video Collection 1993-99" hits US #3 on Top Music Videos chart.
* (30) MTV & TV Guide's Top 100 Videos Ever Made includes "Vogue" #2, "Express Yourself" #10 and "Lucky Star" #50.

 

December 1999
* Dec (1) Madonna is crowned Artist Of The Millenium by MTV Asia. Madonna is voted #3 Artist Of The Decade and "Beautiful Stranger" is #2 Song Of The Decade in RollingStone.com and TDK's "90s Music Time Capsule" Online Survey.
* (5) Madonna presents the Male Celebrity Style Award to Rupert Everett at the 5th annual VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards at the Lexington Avenue Armory, Manhattan, NY.
* (12) Madonna is #8 on The Detroit Free Press newspaper's "100 Greatest Artists & Entertainers Of Michigan's Century".
* (14) Madonna is voted Female Artist Of The Century by readers of SongLink International, a UK songwriters and music magazine.
* (18) Madonna is #3 on VH1-UK's "Millenium Honors List" of the top 100 greatest artists of the millenium. On December 18 1999, Madonna was ranked #3 on VH1-UK’s Millennium Honors List of the top 100 greatest artists of the millenium.

December: Madonna is finalizing the soundtrack to The Next Best Thing around this time and she includes a cut by Brit triphop group Mandalay called “This Life” which is co-produced by one Guy Sigsworth...

December 23: DJ SASHA WORKING WITH MADONNA: Madonna is currently in London working with British house DJ Sasha and producer William Ørbit on the follow up to her hugely successful Ray Of Light album. A source close to Sasha confirmed that he is writing material for the album, though it is not known how many tracks he will collaborate with Madonna on.

"It's mad," said the insider. "Madonna's next album is definitely going to have a progressive house feel to it."

Sasha, who has in the past completed remixes for Madonna, is a highly respected DJ on the global progressive house scene and has a residency at New York's famous Twilo nightclub. Fellow Brit Ørbit produced Ray Of Light which was Madonna's most commercially successful album since the 20 million selling Like A Virgin.

Ørbit, who is also in the studio with Madonna, said: "She is much more expeditious than anyone I've worked with. She drives things at a very fast pace. We've been slamming tracks down - we might even ace the last LP. I'm inspired." (MLVC List)

December 25, 1999: In an interview published later on, Joe Henry says that today - Christmas 1999 - Madonna emails him and says she has recorded his song "Stop" for her album. The track was sent to Madonna originally by her sister who is married to Joe.

* (25) Madonna is featured in Billboard magazine's "Totally 90s - Diary Of A Decade": Top Pop Artist Of The Decade #6, Top Pop Female Artist Of The Decade #4, Hot 100 Singles Of The Decade "Take A Bow" #24 and "Vogue" #93.
* (28) Madonna is honored as Female Artist Of The Millenium by Radio Tel Aviv in Israel.
* (30) In Australia, Madonna is voted #1 "Female Music Star Of The Millenium" in a Virtual Time Capsule by 2DayFM radio station.
* (31) MuchMusic: Top 100 Videos Of The Century includes "Express Yourself" #3, "Ray Of Light" #8 and "Like A Prayer" #47.

On December 31 1999, the following Madonna videos were included in the Much Music: Top 100 Videos Of The Century includes Express Yourself #3, Ray Of Light #8 and Like A Prayer #47.

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2000:

JANUARY 2000
* Jan (1) Madonna and Guy Ritchie celebrate the new millenium at Donatella Versace's party at the Versace Mansion in Miami, FL.
* (3) In Israel, Madonna is named Female Artist Of The Decade by listeners of Galgalatz radio station.
* (4) Madonna is nominated for 2 Grammy Awards: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media ("Beautiful Stranger").
* (10) Madonna begins filming "American Pie" video in London, England, directed by Phillip Stolzl.
* (14) "Beautiful Stranger" wins Best Song at the 3rd annual Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards in Las Vegas, NV.
* (18) "Beautiful Stranger" is named the most-played song on UK radio in the year 1999: it was played 44,483 times to an audience of 1,468,204 radio listeners which makes Madonna the first female solo artist to top the Radio Airplay chart in England.

FEBRUARY 2000

* Feb (2) Madonna is interviewed on ABC-TV's Entertainment Tonight.

February 2, 2000: Madonna tells Entertainment Weekly that she will "probably not" be at this month's Grammy Awards (on Feb. 23) - she is up for two trophies for "Beautiful Stranger." Instead, she'll be in London finishing up her album.

She says the new album is "three-fourths complete" and admits she doesn't know quite how to describe it:

"People always ask me, and I don't have a clue," she says. "But if you held a gun to my head and said describe it, it's electronic. It's very soulful, very melodic, and very minimalist. Does that help?"

"It's quite a little edgier than Ray of Light. It's almost like we started off with a lot of slow ballad songs and she's started to kind of chuck 'em out in favor of more edgy tracks. The album is getting more kind of fast, very European sounding, very English and French sounding, naturally, 'cause everybody working on it apart from her is English or French. Pretty exciting, actually. It's like a follow-up for Ray of Light without stopping still. It's perfect."

* (4) Madonna and Benjamin Bratt (co-star of The Next Best Thing) guest on NBC-TV's The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
* (5) Madonna is a special guest at the 27th annual Evening Standard British Film Awards at the Savoy Hotel, London, England.

February 9: The ICON website says the new album will be out in the SUMMER of 2000!

(mid to late February): This is pure speculation, but I suspect Madonna wrote and recorded "What It Feels Like For a Girl" around this time. One reason is because she mentioned she was pregnant and hadn't informed the media yet (see below) and another is because she was back in London around this time to finish her album and I am pretty sure she recorded with Guy Sigsworth while in London.

Madonna will say in the March 2001 Interview magazine (about “What It Feels Like For A Girl”):

I wrote it kind of halfway through the album, when I was pregnant and hiding it from the world. It was a really tumultuous period in my life. I was not in a terribly stable relationship at that point, and part of the reason was because we both lived in different countries. So, it was a combination of that, and also just feeling incredibly vulnerable that inspired that song.

February 11: Madonna Interview : Next

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-next-magazine-february-11-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-next.jpg

On February 12 2000, Madonna’s American Pie video first aired on MTV. The video was directed by Philipp Stölzl, with Madonna’s parts being filmed in London.

What did Don McLean think about Madonna’s cover of his hit song?

“It is a gift for her to have recorded American Pie. I think it is sensual and mystical. I also feel that she’s chosen autobiographical verses that reflect her career and personal history. I have received many gifts from God but this is the first time I have ever received a gift from a goddess.”

* (14) Madonna attends the London premiere of film The Talented Mr. Ripley at the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square.
* (22) The Next Best Thing: Music From The Motion Picture soundtrack CD is released and includes 2 new songs by Madonna: "American Pie" (a remake of 1971 Don McLean classic) and "Time Stood Still".
* (23) "Beautiful Stranger" wins Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media at the 42nd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA. On February 23 1999, Madonna’s Beautiful Stranger won Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media at the 42nd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles, California.
* (26) MTV - Top 25 Most Played Music Videos includes "Like A Virgin" #8 and "Vogue" #18.
* (28) "American Pie" single (from The Next Best Thing) is released.

February 28: Madonna Interview : TV Week

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-tv-week-february-28-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-tv-week.jpg

February 29: In an interview with Britian’s Mixmag, Madonna reveals her current musical muses:

I really like the soundtrack to The Beach - Orbital are on that, of course. Around the house we're always dancing to Moby or Leftfield or Daft Punk, stuff like that. And Mr Scruff I love, that weird little album ['Keep It Unreal'] that's got so much personality. European or British dance music is by far the best in that area just now and I play it all the time. Trancey stuff, stuff with soul, anything with an idea and some spirit. One of the guys I'm working with just now, Mirwais, we're always playing his record. He's the future, Mirwais. I loved his demo and so naturally I immediately felt I had to have him on my record before anyone else heard him.

ON HER CURRENT FAVORITE DJ’s:

I love, love Sasha [she pronounces his name the American way: Sar-sha]. I like the way he approaches sound, as something you can move and change any way you want. Victor Calderone is great too. Have you ever heard Moby DJ at a party? He is damn good. I did a little work with Sasha here while I was working with William. We all got together but what we did never actually turned into a song, which is the danger of this way of working. So it's in the vaults and who knows what's going to happen to it? He is very talented, though.

LATER ON:

An instrumental from Sasha's sessions with Madonna in 1999 would later become the track "Wavy Gravy" for his 2002 album Airdrawndagger.

In an interview with Britian’s Dotmusic, Ørbit says there are 16-17 tracks total and that some will be going into the vault, including Sasha’s work. He thinks about 10 tracks will make the cut as Madonna wants a "tighter, more cohesive album." He says it is being mixed right now and that the tracks represent a number of styles.

* (29) Madonna and Guy Ritchie attend the New York premiere of The Next Best Thing at the Loews Cineplex Theatre. Madonna Exposed - The Next Best Thing Movie Special premieres on VH1.

 

MARCH 2000

March: Madonna Interview : Jane

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-jane-march-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-jane.jpg

Madonna Interview : Mixmag

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-mixmag-march-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-mixmag.jpg

Madonna Interview : Vanity Fair

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-vanity-fair-march-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-vanity-fair.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 


* Mar (1) Madonna guests on MTV's Total Request Live (TRL) at the MTV Building in Times Square, New York, NY.
* (2,3) Madonna is interviewed by Matt Lauer on NBC-TV's Today.
* (3) The Next Best Thing is released nationwide. Madonna is featured in an interview on MTV's Fanatic.
* (4) "American Pie" hits US #29. On March 3 2000, American Pie was released as a single in the UK. The cover of the Don McLean classic would hit number-one on the UK singles chart the following week.

A huge international hit, American Pie also topped the charts in Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Finland. In the U.S. the track was not released commercially in a strategic move designed to maximize sales of The Next Best Thing soundtrack, however it managed to reach number twenty-nine on the Hot 100 based on the strength of airplay alone.

* (5) The Next Best Thing hits #2 at the US box-office with $5.8 million on its opening weekend. On March 5 2000, The Next Best Thing, starring Madonna and Rupert Everett hit #2 at the box-office in the USA with $5.8 million for its opening weekend.

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On March 13 2000, Madonna was featured on the cover of People magazine.

Here’s an excerpt of the article about Madonna as a mother:

With the Sexcapades, Scandals and Wild Times Behind Her, Pop’s Former Boy Toy Tackles the Roles of Adoring Mother and Mature Woman in Love.

“This is Lola,” Madonna announces as Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon bounds into the sitting room of her mother’s four-story mansion, a reported $15,000-a-month rented home in Kensington, London, where the singer is currently recording her 13th album.

“No,” the wide-eyed 3-year-old declares. “I’m an alien.” Madonna scoops up Lourdes (whom she always calls by her nickname, Lola) for a kiss and a hug and joyfully enters her world of make-believe. When Lourdes tells Madonna she’s wearing “alien gloves” with magic powers, Mom uses them to turn her daughter first into a princess, then a frog, then back into a princess. Madonna now wants her little girl to return the favor: “Can you turn me into something?” she asks.

By most accounts she already has. Lourdes, whose father is Madonna’s ex-lover Carlos Leon, has transformed Madonna into her most fulfilling role yet—adoring single mother—after 17 years of restless shape-shifting across the pop-culture landscape. At 41, her body—in a clingy, black Chloé T-shirt and teal-blue Maharishi cargo pants—is supple and taut from Ashtanga yoga, and she radiates serene contentment.

“She’s so much calmer, so much more centered than she used to be,” says talk show host Rosie O’Donnell, a friend of Madonna’s since the two starred in the 1992 comedy A League of Their Own. And while Lourdes is one reason for Madonna’s joyful reinvention, the other may be the singer’s boyfriend, British director Guy Ritchie. According to O’Donnell, the bonds with Lourdes and Ritchie are hardly unrelated. “Madonna fell in love with her daughter, and that taught her how to fall in love for real,” she says. “When you’re ready, it comes to you. She’s definitely ready. I’ve never seen her happier. Lola has helped her to become more grounded, to leave the star part behind.”

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March 12, 2000: Madonna and Mirwaïs have co-written and co-produced a song called "Paradise (Not for Me)." The track will appear on Mirwaïs' new album, Production (Naïve), due in late April, it may (or may not) also appear on Madonna’s new album. On the track, Madonna sings some of the lyrics in French. (MLVC List)

Later, this information will reveal itself in interviews that I do not have sources for:

Madonna says this is the first song they probably did together, and the second is "Music." She says "Music" set the tone for the rest of the album.

Mirwaïs says the first song they did was "Impressive Instant" because it was the most "complete" demo he had originally sent to Madonna in the first batch of songs. He says the track was an instrumental that was never intended to be included on Production but Madonna had ideas for it lyrically, so he had her sing them to him soon after they met in London (at SARM Studios) for the first time in October 1999. "Paradise" was also a fully formed track when Mirwaïs sent it to Madonna. "Those are live strings, arranged by Cyril Morin," he says. "This track was originally for my own album, Production. When she listened to my tracks, she absolutely wanted to sing this one. My only problem was that I wanted to include it on my own album. So it's on both my album and hers! The only difference is I did a two-bar edit on my version."

"I Deserve It" was recorded with an old German microphone from the 1930's - which was Mark "Spike" Stent’s idea.

March 13, 2000: Madonna Interview : People

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-people-march-13-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-people.jpg
* (16) The Immaculate Collection is certified 9x platinum (9 million units), Ray Of Light is certified 4x platinum (4 million units).

March 16, 2000: From French VSD Magazine Interview with Madonna: "Wait till you hear the new album I'm preparing with Mirwaïs. He's a producer and a composer. The music will be very different from everything I've done before. Without flourishes, more direct, reduced to its plain expression. Emotion is on the surface, naked."
* (20) Madonna announces she is 3-months pregnant with her second child and the father is Guy Ritchie.
* (23) Madonna and Guy attend the re-opening of the Tate Britain Gallery, London, England.
* (25) Madonna wins a Razzie Award for Worst Actress Of The Century at the 20th annual Golden Raspberry Awards at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Academy Room, Los Angeles, CA.

March 27, 2000: Jonas Åkerlund tells a Swedish newspaper that he has been tapped to direct Madonna's next music video. He says they will do it "very soon" since she is pregnant. The song will be the first single from her new album - it is also the title track: MUSIC. He says the video will have a "retro-modern theme" and adds, "It's a great song."

March 30, 2000 Madonna and William Orbit recently composed the opening theme music to the ABC series Wonderland. The series is written and directed by one of Madonna's ex-boyfriends, Peter Berg.

March 31, 2000: (31) WORLD EXCLUSIVE: MADONNA GOES UNDERGROUND (MUZAK Magazine)

Madonna's new album has been described as "underground" and "gothic" by a source close to everyone's favorite material girl. Acclaimed French producer Mirwaïs Ahmadzai has worked on three tracks so far and former producer William Ørbit has produced a fourth. The album--untitled as yet--is pencilled in for a September release on Maverick.

"Mirwais produced three tracks so far," our source told us. "The fourth is an acoustic track with a signature William Ørbit production. They're both working on additional songs."

Muzik's source was played the tracks by Madonna's manager in L.A. late Last month. "The tracks with Mirwais have a distinct French feel," he revealed.

"They have looped, processed vocals and a stuttered signature kick. It seems a return to a darker, more underground feel, a little like the sound she explored on 'Erotica'. "Is it pop? Only by virtue of being Madonna!" he continued. "It really tests the current state of pop. It's more sexually charged and underground. She's the master of reinvention so it's no wonder that she's doing it again. I got a real gothic vibe out of the tracks."

Reports in the press suggest that Madonna had planned to make a Progressive house album. This no longer appears to be the case. "I know that she did a track with Sasha but I think that he's going to hold onto it now,"

Muzik's source said. "I don't want to put Sasha into a box but maybe she wanted to move away from that uplifting sound."

"The good thing about Madonna is that she's very much a producer

herself," he explained. "She brings out the best in those around her and prompts them to elevate her game. 'American Pie' won't be on the album, neither will “Time Stood Still' which is William and Madonna at their best." Both tracks are taken from the soundtrack to The Next Best Thing which is out now on Maverick.

Rae & Christian, Tom Middleton, Zero 7, Eric Kupper, and Wamdue Kid Chris Brann are among the names who have been approached to remix future singles. "I think Rae & Christian are ready for this," said Muzik's source. "I love their British twist on Hip Hop."

March/April: Madonna Interview : American Photo

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-american-photo-march-april-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-american-photo.jpg

 

APRIL 2000

April: Madonna Interview : Good Housekeeping

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-good-housekeeping-april-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-good-housekeeping.jpg

Madonna Interview : Tatler

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-tatler-april-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-tatler.jpg

On April 1 2000, Madonna’s cover of American Pie hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Club Play chart in the USA.

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April 3, 2000: The OMFC (Official Madonna Fan Club) website now says the album will be released in September.

April 3 2000, Madonna appeared on the cover of People magazine with the headline, “Madonna’s Surprise: I’m Pregnant.”

Here’s a snippet from the article inside People:

When British filmmaker Guy Ritchie dropped by his dad and stepmum’s London home last week, he didn’t waste time with small talk. “Guy just told us straight out,” recalls retired advertising executive John Ritchie. Guy said, “Look, I think I should tell you this: Madonna’s pregnant.”

And so the elder Ritchie, 71, and his wife, Shireen, a charity worker, found themselves at ground zero for the bombshell that the rest of the world would soon hear.

“We’re happy to confirm rumors that we’re expecting a child at the end of this year,” Madonna, 41, and her 31-year-old paramour said in a joint statement issued March 20 from London, where the singer and her 3-year-old daughter Lourdes (nicknamed Lola) share a rented town-house in tony Kensington, about a mile from Ritchie’s home.

The announcement ended rumors that had been swirling on both sides of the Atlantic for months: that Madonna wanted to repeat her favorite role yet—motherhood.

“Are you pregnant? That’s the question everyone wants to hear,” Matt Lauer bluntly asked Madonna in a March 3 Today show interview to promote her recent film The Next Best Thing, about an unmarried woman who becomes pregnant by her gay best friend.

Though her answer was a flat no, Madonna herself fueled speculation when she told an interviewer for Jane magazine earlier this year that she would like to have another child. “I think Lola should have a brother or sister,” she said. “I think she’s incredibly spoiled. She needs a bit of competition.”

And on March 17, Britain’s Mirror, tipped by paparazzi that Madonna had made repeated visits to a London women’s clinic, predicted that a formal announcement of the pregnancy was imminent. When it came, it was with an appeal for privacy. “This is not a public pregnancy,” says Madonna’s publicist Liz Rosenberg. “It’s going to be as private as she can keep it.”

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(7) "Beautiful Stranger" wins Best Cinematography In A Music Video at the 9th annual Music Video Production Association (MVPA) Awards at the Directors Guild of America, Los Angeles, CA. On April 7 2000, Madonna’s Beautiful Stranger won Best Cinematography In A Music Video at the 9th annual Music Video Production Association (MVPA) Awards at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, California.

The video was directed by Brett Ratner.

April 9, 2000: L.A. Times Article: Madonna's New French Accent

The singer hires Paris-based Mirwaïs to produce her next album and signs him to her Maverick label too.

Meet Madonna's new man. Not Guy Ritchie, the English film director with whom she's having her second child, but Mirwaïs, a Paris-based musician with whom she's producing much of the music for her next album.

Richie was introduced to the singer by Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler. Mirwaïs, who goes by just the one name, was more of a blind date.

The 39-year-old, formerly of the French group Taxi Girl, contacted Madonna's Maverick Records late last year looking to get signed as an artist, not to produce the star.

"He sent a demo tape to Maverick with four tracks," says Caresse Norman, Madonna's manager. "Madonna heard it and went insane. Two weeks later they were in the studio together."

"This is not a repudiation of William Ørbit, who co-produced most of 1998's electronica-infused

Ray of Light and last year's "Austin Powers' single "Beautiful Stranger." Orbit returned to do three songs on the new album but has also been focusing on several other projects, including his own recent "Pieces in a Modern Style" album of electronic interpretations of classical pieces. And Madonna, Norman notes, has never been one to sit still stylistically.

"This is taking Ray of Light to the next level," Norman says. 'It's not as electronic. It's funky, with a pop edge to it. I have heard most of it a lot, and it's something I never get sick of. And there's one song that brings me to tears."

How much does Madonna like Mirwaïs? In addition to hiring him to produce, she signed him as an artist to Maverick and will also share a song with him.

[this data is not correct, Mirwais was signed to a Sony label and was never on Maverick]

It will be on both Madonna's album and his debut, which will be released April 18 outside North America and then here, after the expected late September release of the Madonna set.

When not finding partners for herself, Madonna seems to have a knack for matchmaking. Her latest move was to hook up k.d. lang with Damian LeGassick, introducing the two at a party last year. A protege of Orbit, LeGassick has co-produced Invincible Summer, k.d. lang's first album since 1997's Drag, due June 21.

NOTE: Damian LeGassick co-wrote Madonna's "Gone" track for this album.

April 10-13, 2000: Madonna and Jean Baptiste Mondino shoot the album cover for MUSIC in Los Angeles.

LATER: JEAN-BAPTISTE MONDINO ON MUSIC'S THEME (August 15, 2000)

Jean-Baptiste Mondino, the world-renowned photographer who was called upon to capture Madonna's Music portfolio in April, was interviewed on CNN Style, where he said that it was his idea to have the cowboy theme to Madonna's new album. "(Madonna) wasn't sure at first," he said. "But I told her that if she didn't like it I won't charge her. But she loved the final result!" When asked if he's helmed to direct any videos for the MUSIC album, he replied, "I'm honoured to photograph a Madonna album, I've done few of her videos before so that is already accomplished.”

April 14-16, 2000: “Music” – Madonna and Jonas Akerlund filmed the video in L.A. with Ali G., Niki Haris and Debbi Mazar. The video is currently scheduled to debut at the MTV VMA pre-show in September (the month the new album is due to drop). Madonna goes "gangsta" in the video and wears a fur coat and rapper medallion around her neck - Madonna herself describes it as "70's ghetto-fabulous." Album promotion will begin in August.

April 15, 2000: Sasha was quoted in the UK dance mags earlier this year saying that his work with Madonna (classed as progressive trance) doesn't fit in with the other producers' work and will not be on the album. He said there were no plans to release it, although he hoped that it would be released sometime. Sasha said in Mixmag that they didn't even get to record vocals for the track.

* (20) Madonna begins filming "Music" video in Los Angeles, CA, directed by Jonas Akerlund.
* (25) "Beautiful Stranger" is honored as one of the Most Performed Songs From A Motion Picture at the 15th annual ASCAP Film & Television Music Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA.

April 29, 2000: From a Dotmusic interview with Mirwais: French house producer Mirwaïs revealed details of two of the tracks on Madonna's forthcoming follow-up to 'Ray Of Light' and hinted at the simple title, 'Music'.

"I was free to work but within her limits," he says. "When you work with someone - it doesn't matter if it's Madonna or people I've worked with in the past - you have to respect them. When she didn't agree with me I'd try to find a compromise."

The sound of the Mirwaïs -produced tracks on the album will clearly be driven by the 39-year-old's sparse electronic funk, a sound that will become familiar when his solo release 'Disco Science' hits the charts in a couple of weeks. "I worked on six tracks," he explains. "My favourites are the last two tracks we did. One is called "I Deserve It" and it's the most simple track on there and the one I prefer. The biggest surprise will be the simplicity."

Speculation about the title of the album has been rife with many sources suggesting that it will simply be called "Music." Mirwaïs is caught off guard: "I don't know, it could change. A lot of people have said that because of one track we did called "Music." You'll have to ask Madonna."

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MAY 2000
May 1, 2000: Spoof rapper Ali G has won himself a starring role in Madonna's latest pop video, it is reported. He was flown to Hollywood to film the video to “Music,” the title track from the pop queen's new album, according to the Observer newspaper.

Madonna is said to have become a fan after a friend sent her a copy of his Christmas special, Ali G, Innit

.

"She watched the tape and thought he was brilliant - the Peter Sellers of our generation," her manager, Caresse Norman, told the Observer.

"We came up with the video idea, and she thought he would be great in it."

Ali G - Cambridge graduate Sacha Baron Cohen in real life - is said to appear in the video wearing his trademark yellow track suit and wraparound sunglasses.

The details are not being revealed, but Ali G is said to feature at the centre of a "strong storyline".

He is said not to contribute musically to the video.

May 3, 2000: Victor Calderone claims he has heard the album and it is “incredible.” He says it is mostly done with Mirwaïs, and William Ørbit’s contribution is limited. Calderone says that he sent “4 or 5” tracks to her for vocals for this project but they do not appear on the album. He doesn’t know what she will do with them.

* May (21) The Next Best Thing has grossed a total of $14.9 million US at the box-office.
* (25) "Beautiful Stranger" wins PRS (Performing Rights Society) Most Performed Work at the 45th annual Ivor Novello Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, England.

May 28, 2000: “Music” shows up on Napster. Lyrics are reprinted immediately all over the Web.

* (31) A copy of Madonna's new single "Music" is illegally downloaded on the internet by Napster months before its release date and her record company is threatening legal action.

JUNE 2000
* Jun (1) Madonna attends a charity dinner hosted by HRH Prince Charles at his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire, England.

* (6) Madonna attends the London premiere of The Next Best Thing at the Odeon West End Theatre, Leicester Square.

* (7) "Nothing Really Matters" is honored as one of the Most Performed Dance Songs Of 1999 at the 13th annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards in the Hammerstein Ballroom at Manhattan Center, New York, NY.

June 8, 2000: Liz R. confirms that Groove Armada have done a remix of “Music.”

June 9, 2000: The Official Madonna Fan Club web page says the second single will be called “What It Feels Like (For a Girl)” after the lead single: “Music.” The album is due sometime in September 2000. Madonna reveals her ghetto-cowboy look and says the video for the lead single is due in August.

LATER: Madonna tells an interviewer more about this song:

“What It Feels Like (For A Girl)”:

I wrote it kind of halfway through the album, when I was pregnant and hiding it from the world. It was a really tumultuous period in my life. I was not in a terribly stable relationship at that point, and part of the reason was because we both lived in different countries. I just lived in limbo from every angle you could imagine, and I think that is also part of where that song came from, a big part of it. Then the other thing was - - it's probably the more obvious thing - that you go through life, I mean our generation certainly has been encouraged to grab life by the balls, be super-independent, get a great education, follow our dreams, kick ass, all that stuff, and I feel like I woke up one day holding the golden ring and realized that smart, sassy girls who accomplish a lot and have their own cash and are independent are really frightening to men. I felt like, "Why didn't somebody tell me? Why didn't somebody warn me?" And that's also what that song is about - swallowing that bitter pill. So, it was a combination of that, and also just feeling incredibly vulnerable that inspired that song.

* (13) Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) is released on DVD.
 

June 14, 2000: The final mixing and mastering of MUSIC (the album) was completed today and delivered to WB this afternoon. (MLVC Mailing List)

June 15, 2000: The Official Madonna Fan Club webpage (OMFC) confirms the album MUSIC will have a release date of September 22. The “Music” single release is due to hit radio in July – being significantly moved up to accommodate the Internet leak.

* (18) In Singapore, Madonna is named Best Female Artist at the 1st annual Radio Music Awards at the Harbour Pavilion.

June 22, 2000: Moby told MTV this weekend that Madonna had expressed interest in working with him on new album material but his tour and own recording obligations prevented him from doing this. He also says he’d rather focus on his own work than do a remix for her right now. (MTV News)

June 27: The release date of “Music” the single has been pushed back but remixers are now known:

• Hex Hector

• Victor Calderone

• Deep Dish

• Groove Armada

• Tracy Young

JULY 2000
July 7, 2000: Warner Japan posts several track names on their website: "Music," "Don't Tell Me" and "Runaway Lover."

July 11, 2000: Caresse Norman says Madonna’s 8th studio effort, entitled MUSIC, is set to be released on Sept. 19. The album features Madonna’s production work with Mirwaïs, a French-Afghani club artist, and William Ørbit. Other last minute additions include songs co-produced by Mark “Spike” Stent and Guy Sigsworth.

July 21, 2000: Warner announces the Euro/Japanese release track listings:

1. Music (Mirwaïs) 3:44

2. Impressive Instant (Mirwaïs) 3:37

3. Runaway Lover (W. Ørbit) 4:47

4. I Deserve It (Mirwaïs) 4:23

5. Amazing (W. Ørbit) 3:43

6. Nobody's Perfect (Mirwaïs) 4:58

7. Don't Tell Me (Mirwaïs) 4:40

8. What It Feels Like For A Girl (Guy Sigsworth) 4:43

9. Paradise (Not For Me) (Mirwaïs) 6:29

10. Gone (W. Ørbit) 3:29

11. American Pie (W. Ørbit) – bonus track (Europe)

12. Cyberraga (Talvin Singh) bonus track (Asia/Australia)

July 26, 2000: The album cover art leaks online.

 

AUGUST 2000

August: Madonna interview : The Face

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-the-face-august-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-face.jpg

* Aug (1) The official website www.MadonnaMusic.com is launched by Warner Bros Records.
* (2) "Music" video premieres on MTV.

August 2: Madonna Interview : Hits Daily Double

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-hits-daily-double-august-02-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-hits-daily-double.jpg

August 2, 2000: Today at 4:00PM (ET/PT) the video for “Music” debuts on MTV. Madonna goes ghetto-fabulous in the flick directed by Jonas Akerlund. Madonna wears £250,000 of chunky gold jewelry on loan from Van Cleef & Arpels.

A London paper says Madonna may do a small concert at a London venue before the end of the year a prelude to her first tour in 7 years to launch in 2001. Madonna’s rep denies this. (this would end up being the Brixton Academy performance)

A London paper gives a track-by-track synopsis of the new album:

“Music” is an electro-funk track.

“Impressive Instant” has the remarkable refrain “I like to singy singy singy like a bird on a wingy wingy wingy.”

“Runaway Lover” is a disco-rave song.

“I Deserve It” is hiphop-tinged

“Amazing” recalls Martha and the Vandellas’ Motown classic “Dancing in the Street”

“Nobody’s Perfect” is electro-funk

“Don’t Tell Me’ is souful

“What It Feels Like For A Girl” is the second single

“Paradise” is melodramatic

“Gone” was co-written with Damian LeGlassik and Nicola Young and features electronic and acoustic elements.

August 7, 2000: Madonna tells Vh-1 in an interview, that she intends to do a few club dates a month after the album’s release – this will be preparation for a full tour next year.

August 9, 2000: Liz R. says the second single will probably be “What It Feels Like For A Girl.”

August 10, 2000: There will be four different limited edition album versions of MUSIC. The limited edition includes a 24-page color booklet and embossed with a burnished copper buckle with linen cloth covers in rose, olive, beige and black.

On August 11 2000, Madonna gave birth to a 5-lb, 9-oz boy, Rocco Ritchie, at 11:59 am at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, Los Angeles, CA.

On August 12 2000, Madonna’s Music single entered the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, spending its first week at #34.

August 21, 2000: The lyrics to "Cyberrage" leak online.

On August 21 2000, Madonna’s Music single was released.  Music was the lead single from her eighth studio album of the same name.  It was written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï.

Music peaked number one in 22 other countries, including Australia, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom.  The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Music was the longest running number-one single on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for the decade (five weeks).  The song was the second most successful dance single of the decade in the United States, behind Madonna’s own Hung Up (2005). Music was the last number one hit on the Canadian RPM singles chart.

* (22) "Music" single is released.
* (24) Madonna files a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) of the United Nations for ownership of the internet address www.madonna.com, a pornographic website presently owned by New Jersey entrepreneur Dan Parisi.

August 25: Madonna Interview : World Of Pop

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-world-of-pop-august-25-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-worldpop.jpg


* (26) Madonna becomes the first female solo artist to have 10 No. 1 singles in UK with "Music".

On August 28 2000, Madonna appeared on the cover of People magazine with the headline: Labor Days! With Their Men Standing By, Madonna, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Iman Give Birth to New Little Scene-Stealers.

Here’s a snippet of the article inside:

August is often the busiest month for the nation’s maternity wards, but this year it was certainly the most glamorous. On Aug. 8 actress Catherine Zeta-Jones gave birth to son Dylan, with fiancé Michael Douglas nearby. Three days later, reportedly under more urgent circumstances, pop diva Madonna and film director Guy Ritchie welcomed son Rocco. And on Aug. 15 model-actress Iman and her husband, David Bowie, celebrated the arrival of daughter Alexandria. Here, the stories of those joyful beginnings. A Rocky Ride for Madonna’s Rocco There are limits even for those who like to have it all. With daughter Lourdes, 3, underfoot and another child on the way—an addition that she has said will add to her battalion of “nannies, housekeepers and assistants”—Madonna decided that life was getting a bit too hectic, shuttling between homes in Los Angeles, New York City and London, where she most recently shared a $15,000-a-month, four-story townhouse with Baby No. 2’s father, British director Guy Ritchie. Three weeks ago the Material Mom gave away two of her three Chihuahuas, letting Lourdes keep Evita while farming out Chiquita and Rosita to actor Glenn Shadix. “I e-mailed our mutual friend Rupert Everett in Italy to help convince Madonna that I would give the girls a proper home,” says Shadix, who owns two female terriers. “All four girls get along fabulously.”

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* (29) The Next Best Thing is released on home video and DVD.

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SEPTEMBER 2000
* Sep (5) "Music" DVD video single is released.

September 6: Madonna Interview : Smash Hits

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-smash-hits-september-06-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-smash-hits.jpg

On September 9 2000, Madonna’s Music single debuted at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart in the USA.

Billboard’s review of Music:

“Music is a stunning enterprise, a ballsy testament to Madonna’s insistence on being a style-setter and one of the industry’s most savvy-and now critically accountable-tunesmiths. Call this one dance, pop, even alternative…listeners will be shocked then mesmerized by this composition, showcasing yet another side of an artist, who after 20 years, continues to be a true industry artisan and the by-the-book definition of evolutionary.”

* (16) "Music" hits US #1 for four consecutive weeks - it is her 12th No. 1 and 33rd Top 10 single in US.

On September 16 2000, Madonna’s Music hit #1 in the USA and stayed at the top for four consecutive weeks – it was her 12th No. 1 and 33rd Top 10 single in the US.  Music was was written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï.

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/music_remixes-e1410826775644.jpg

September 16: Madonna Interview : Billboard

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-billboard-september-16-2000

http://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-billboard.jpg

* (18) Madonna participates in her first live online chat on America Online (AOL).

On September 18 2000, Madonna’s eighth studio album, Music, was released by Maverick and Warner Bros. Records.

The album was recorded at The Hit Factory in New York, the Guerilla Beach Studios in Los Angeles and the Sarm East and West Studios in London.

Madonna adopted a cowgirl/country theme for the album, with the album artwork photographed by Jean Baptiste Mondino.

Tracklist for Music:

Music (written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï)

Impressive Instant (written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï)

Runaway Lover (written and produced by Madonna and William Orbit)

I Deserve It (written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï)

Amazing (written and produced by Madonna and William Orbit)

Nobody’s Perfect (written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï)

Don’t Tell Me (written by Madonna, Mirwais and Joe Henry, produced by Madonna and Mirwais)

What It Feels Like For A Girl (written by Madonna and Guy Sigsworth and produced by Madonna, Sigsworth and Mike Stent)

Paradise (Not For Me) (written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï)

Gone (written by Madonna,Damian Le Gassick, Nik Young and produced by Madonna, Orbit and Stent)

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September 19, 2000: Warner Brothers hosts a release party for MUSIC at Catch One, 4067 W. Pico Blvd @ Norton (L.A.)

PRESS RELEASE:

Madonna's recently released track "Music" is a worldwide phenomenon. In the USA, it tops Billboard's Top 100, Dance and Club Play charts. It #1 in fourteen other countries including Italy, Canada, France, Spain, Australia, Mexico, Greece and Latvia. The album of the same title debuts in stores Tuesday, September 19 with advance orders of over 5 million copies throughout the world. Music is Madonna's fourteenth album; all thirteen of its predecessors have achieved multi-platinum sales status.

Madonna comments on Music: "Some of the songs reflect my melancholic and thoughtful side, while others just take the plunge right into reckless abandon. I didn't put limits on myself, other than to make sure there was plenty of club-oriented, dance-friendly material, because I enjoy that myself."

* (19) Music CD is released. Madonna attends the Music launch party at the club Catch One, Los Angeles, CA. On September 19 2000, Madonna’s eighth studio album Music was released by Maverick Records.  Music was released in some markets on September 18.

In anticipation of the release Madonna made this statement:

“Hey Mr. DJ, put a record on… Hi, it’s Madonna. You’ve probably been hearing about my new record, Music, for a while. Well, I just wanted to make sure you knew that the single is gonna drop very soon. I worked on it with a French guy named Mirwais, and he is the shit. The album will be released worldwide on September 19, and I hope you like my music.”

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September 21: Madonna Interview : The Sun

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-sun-september-21-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-the-sun-september-21-01.jpg

* (22) Madonna makes a surprise in-store appearance at the Virgin Megastore, West Hollywood, CA, to sign copies of Music CD. On September 22 2000, Madonna made a surprise in-store appearance at the Virgin Megastore in West Hollywood, California, to sign copies of her Music CD.

* (23) "Music" DVD hits US #3 on Top Music Videos chart.

On September 23 2000, Madonna’s hit single, Music, spent a second week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA.

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/music-single-advert.jpg

On September 23 2000, Madonna’s Music DVD single debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top Music Videos sales chart in the USA.

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/screen-shot-2015-08-31-at-7-09-02-pm.png

* (24) Music has sold 420,000 US copies in one week and hits #1 in 23 countries such as: Austria, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, US.
* (26) Madonna announces she will perform mini-concerts in New York and London clubs in Nov 2000.

September 28: Madonna Interview : Rolling Stone

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-rolling-stone-september-28th-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-rolling-stone.jpg

 

OCTOBER 2000

October 2: Madonna Interview : Us Weekly

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-us-weekly-october-02-2000

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-us-weekly.jpg

* Oct (3) Madonna is certified 5x platinum (5 million units), Something To Remember is certified 3x platinum (3 million units).
* (7) Music hits US #1 for one week - her first No. 1 album in 11 years. On October 7 2000, Madonna’s MUSIC album debuted at #1 in the USA with sales of 420,000 copies.

Dimitri Ehrlich from Vibe described the album as “a masterpiece of brilliantly arranged keyboards, futuristic drums, and electronica dressings. With folky acoustic guitars and a vaguely spiritual bend to her lyrics (like those on Ray of Light), it’s a weird and fresh-sounding album.”

* (10) VH1 - 100 Greatest Dance Songs includes "Vogue" #4 and "Into The Groove" #40.
* (16) Madonna wins her case for ownership of the internet address www.madonna.com and the World Intellectual Property Organization orders businessman Dan Parisi to transfer the site back to her.
* (17) Madonna begins filming "Don't Tell Me" video in Los Angeles, CA, directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

On October 21 2000, Madonna’s Music single peaked at #3 on Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in the USA.

Slant magazine review:

The title track, a retro hands-in-the-air club song reminiscent of Debbie Deb’s When I Hear Music and Madonna’s own Into The Groove, is the singer’s best dancefloor-beckoning track since Vogue. She sings “Music makes the people come together” like a track off of her debut album, and as an added bonus she uses words like “bourgeoisie” and “acid-rock” with equal abandon.

* (24) Madonna contributes "Shanti/Ashtangi" to all-star Tibetan benefit CD Mantra Mix.
* (25) Music is certified 2x platinum (2 million units), "Music" single is certified 1x platinum (1 million units).
* (26) RIAA Top Selling Artists: Madonna is #10 with 57 million certified units in US.

 

NOVEMBER 2000

November 2000: “Madonna – Like An Artist” : Vanity Fair

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-articles/madonna-like-artist-vanity-fair-november-2000

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* Nov (1) Guinness World Records: Madonna is the most successful female solo artist for selling 130 million records (singles and albums) and having 35 Top 10 singles and 12 Top 10 albums in US with a UK total of 47 Top 10 singles and 14 Top 10 albums. On November 1 2000, Guinness World Records announced Madonna as the Most Successful Female Solo Artist for selling 130 million records (singles and albums) and having 35 Top 10 singles and 12 Top 10 albums in the US with a UK total of 47 Top 10 singles and 14 Top 10 albums.
* (3) Madonna guests and performs "Don't Tell Me" on CBS-TV's Late Show With David Letterman. On November 3 2000, Madonna guested on CBS-TV’s Late Show With David Letterman to promote the Music album. She performed an acoustic version of the album’s second single, Don’t Tell Me.

The performance featured several firsts for Madonna: her first live performance to promote the Music album; her first TV appearance following the birth of her son Rocco; her first performance on guitar since her pre-fame days in NYC band Emmy; her first unplugged/acoustic live performance; her first live performance with longtime guitarist Monte Pittman; and her first (and only) musical performance on the Late Show.

Despite being promoted as such, it was not, however, Madonna’s first time back to the Late Show after her infamously censored 1994 appearance. She had made a brief, unscheduled visit to the set to drop off a valentine for Letterman during a 1995 taping of the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G9c2otjLqE

* (5) Madonna performs a mini-concert at the Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY. On November 5 2000, Madonna performed a mini-concert to promote the Music album at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

During the show Madonna performed: Impressive Instant, Runaway Lover, Don’t Tell Me, What It Feels Like For A Girl and Music.

https://youtu.be/3Z1t9hzxqkg

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On November 6 2000, Madonna’s Music single entered its 9th consecutive week at #1 on the Canadian Top 100 Singles chart in the final issue of RPM magazine, which ceased publication after 36 years as the voice of the Canadian music industry.

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* (7) Madonna announces she will perform at Brixton Academy, London on Nov 28 - her first UK concert in 7 years.
* (10) "Music" wins Best Pop Clip Of The Year at the 22nd annual Billboard Video Awards at the Universal Hilton, Los Angeles, CA.
* (11) Madonna guests and performs "Don't Tell Me" on Wetten Dass TV show in Freiburg, Germany.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pou1W4_-I40

* (12) Madonna is interviewed on CNN-TV's World Beat.
* (13) Madonna is named Best International Female Artist at the 4th annual Premios Amigo Awards in Madrid, Spain.
* (16) Madonna performs "Music" at the 7th annual MTV Europe Music Awards at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden and wins 2 awards: Best Female and Best Dance Act.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEZg3fIMC3I

* (17) "Don't Tell Me" video world premieres on BBC1-TV's Top Of The Pops in London, England.
* (18) Madonna is interviewed on NRJ Radio Show at the Champs Elysées in Paris, France.
* (19) Madonna performs "Music" and "Don't Tell Me" and is interviewed on Nulle Part Ailleurs TV show in Paris, France.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItKrwgpWyxU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCuRH4XlXQY

* (20) Madonna is interviewed on TF1's Journal de 20 Heures in Paris, France.

On November 21 2000, the second single from Madonna’s Music album, Don’t Tell Me, was released by Maverick Records. The b-side for Don’t Tell Me was Cyber-Raga.

During an interview for Interview Magazine, in March 2001, Madonna discussed the lyrics for Don’t Tell Me:

“To me it is a romantic song. Just, you know, rip my skin off, do not tell me who I should love, or how I should love. Don’t tell me to give up. To me, in a way it’s like that Frank Sinatra song, ‘If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere’.”

The North American CD maxi-single included the following versions of Don’t Tell Me:

Don’t Tell Me – (Timo Maas Mix) – 6:55
Don’t Tell Me – (Tracy Young Club Mix) – 11:01
Don’t Tell Me – (Vission Remix) – 7:52
Don’t Tell Me – (Thunderpuss’ 2001 Hands in the Air Anthem) – 10:20
Don’t Tell Me – (Victor Calderone Sensory Mix) – 6:48
Don’t Tell Me – (Vission Radio Mix) – 3:38
Don’t Tell Me – (Thunderpuss’ 2001 Hands in the Air Radio) – 4:26
Don’t Tell Me – (Music Video)

* (24) Madonna performs "Don't Tell Me" on BBC1-TV's Top Of The Pops in London, England.

On November 24 2000, Madonna performed Don’t Tell Me and Music live on French television program Nulle Part Ailleurs.
* (25) Rolling Stone & MTV: The 100 Greatest Pop Songs includes "Like A Virgin" #4, "Vogue" #19 and "Papa Don't Preach" #62.
* (27) "Don't Tell Me" video premieres on VH1.
* (28) Madonna performs a mini-concert at Brixton Academy, London, England, which is webcast live on the internet on Microsoft Network (MSN) at 8:00 pm GMT and seen by 9 million viewers in UK, US and Europe - it is the biggest live webcast ever and breaks the record of 3 million set by Paul McCartney's online concert at Liverpool's The Cavern Club in 1999. On November 28 2000, Madonna performed a mini-set at London’s Brixton Academy. The show was part of the Don’t Tell Me Promo Tour, which began only two months after the birth of her second child, Rocco, and consisted of a few small club dates as well as television performances and interviews to promote the second single from her Musicalbum. Aside from the promotional aspect, Madonna also used the club shows as an opportunity to test the waters for performing live shows again following a seven-year hiatus from touring. The Brixton gig closely mirrored her set at New York’s Roseland Ballroom several weeks earlier, with one notable exception being the addition of Holiday to the UK set-list.

The full London set-list consisted of:

Impressive Instant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DM02mDdBTQ

Runaway Lover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43NKiXmPYGk

Don’t Tell Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuVNA3qgMoM

What It Feels Like For A Girl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvO_MBxGS7k

Holiday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCZaYbe7GUk

Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoEeEKScar4

The Brixton Academy performance was streamed live across the internet to an estimated 9 million viewers.

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/brixton-1.jpg

* (30) In UK, Madonna's house is burglarized while she and her family are asleep: reports confirm that thieves stole her boyfriend's Range Rover and various other items; the vehicle is recovered and the matter is being investigated by police.

DECEMBER 2000
* Dec (2) Madonna performs "Don't Tell Me" on Carramba Che Fortuna TV show in Rome, Italy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00gcoXMpKsw


* (7) Madonna announces her engagement to Guy Ritchie and that they will marry in Scotland on Dec 22, 2000.
* (15) Madonna purchases an $8 million estate in London, England. "Music" is named Single Of The Year by People magazine.

On December 15 2000, Madonna’s Music was named Single Of The Year by People magazine.

* (17) "Music" is voted Best Pop Single and Best Pop Album in Dotmusic.com Records Of The Year Readers Poll.
* (18) Madonna and her family arrive in Scotland to begin wedding preparations; upon her arrival at Inverness Airport, she is greeted by journalists, fans and a bagpiper who welcomes her with a rendition of "Like A Virgin".

On December 18 2000, Madonna appeared on the cover of People magazine:  Madonna and family: A burglar in the house.

In the predawn hours of Dec. 1, the unsettling sounds of an intruder downstairs awoke Madonna and her fiancé, British film director Guy Ritchie, 32, at their rented Victorian mansion in London’s Notting Hill. By the time help arrived, the thief, who police believe had targeted the house at random, had fled with a laptop computer in Ritchie’s year-old black Range Rover. The shock of the invasion aside, little harm was done. The couple’s 4-month-old son, Rocco, and Madonna’s daughter Lourdes, 4, slept right through the excitement, and the SUV was recovered later that day in London.

“On a scale of 1 to 10,” says Ritchie pal and publicist Kris Thykier, “it’s a 1.”   Yet security plainly rates a 10 in Madonna’s mind. Though she recently knocked L.A. by announcing “I feel safer” in London, she was burgled in the same house last June. After that theft, the star shelled out $280,000 to tighten security at the three-story house, which came equipped with a 5-ft. stone wall and iron railings.

Contrary to press reports that she purchased a $10.3 million Georgian property in nearby Belgravia, real estate agents say that Madonna—who has made a second career of shopping for London houses—is still on the prowl to buy a residence.   Meanwhile, jetting off to Rome 12 hours after the heist to promote her new Music album, Madonna, 42, put aside her burglary fears with a 90-minute shopping spree at the chichi Fendi boutique. Shop manager Mariano Manselli, who declines to confirm reports of a $15,000 tab, demurely labels the haul “Christmas shopping.”

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* (21) Rocco Ritchie is baptized at Dornoch Cathedral, Dornoch, Scotland. On December 21 2000, Madonna and her then soon-to-be husband Guy Ritchie christened their son Rocco John Ritchie at Dornoch Cathedral in Dornoch, Scotland.

Madonna and Guy were married the following day at Skibo Castle.

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* (22) Madonna and Guy Ritchie are married at Skibo Castle in Dornoch, Sutherland, Scotland with Gwyneth Paltrow, Stella McCartney, Sting, George Clooney, Jon Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, Rupert Everett and others in attendance.
* (23) Madonna and Guy leave Scotland for their honeymoon: it is reported that they will spend Christmas with Sting and his wife Trudi Styler at their holiday-weekend estate in Wiltshire, England.
* (25) Madonna performs "Music" on a special Christmas episode of BBC1-TV's Top Of The Pops in London, England.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x29wt5x

* (29) Madonna is named Woman Of The Year, Hype Of The Year (Madonna at Brixton) and "Music" is named Best Promo Video Of The Year by the writers of Dotmusic.com. On December 29 2000, Madonna was named Woman Of The Year, Hype Of The Year(Madonna at Brixton) and Music is named Best Promo Video Of The Year by the writers of Dotmusic.com.

On December 29 2000, Madonna was named Woman Of The Year, Hype Of The Year(Madonna at Brixton) and Music is named Best Promo Video Of The Year by the writers of Dotmusic.com.
* (30) Madonna wins Top Hot Dance Club Play Artist, Top Hot Dance Club Play Single ("Music") and Top Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Sales ("Music") in Billboard magazine's The Year In Music survey.

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JANUARY 2001

January: Madonna Interview : In Style

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-in-style-january-2001

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2001-madonna-in-style.jpg

* Jan (3) Madonna is nominated for 4 Grammy Awards: Record Of The Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Music"), Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Recording Package (Music).
* (4) VH1 - 100 Greatest Albums Of Rock N Roll includes Like A Prayer at #100.

On January 8 2001, Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s wedding was featured on the cover of People magazine with the headline: Kilt by Association Amid Tears, Tiaras and Scottish Tartan, Madonna and Guy Ritchie Baptize Baby Rocco and Tie the Knot.

Here’s a snippet of the article inside:

Shortly  after 6:30 on the evening of December 22, the guests were invited, without fanfare, to take their seats. Guided by the glow of hundreds of candles, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rupert Everett, Donatella Versace, a kilt-clad Sting and some 55 others gathered near the foot of the grand staircase in the Great Hall of Scotland’s 19th-century Skibo Castle. As the skirls of a lone bagpiper gave way to the music of French pianist Katia Labèque and a local organist, the wedding ceremony of Madonna Louise Ciccone, 42, and film director Guy Ritchie, 32, began.   Madonna’s 4-year-old daughter, Lourdes, shoeless and draped in a long ivory dress with short sleeves and a high neck, led the processional. Descending the staircase—its balustrade laced with ivy and white orchids—she tossed handfuls of red rose petals from a basket, almost exhausting her supply by the time she reached the front row, where she sat in her nanny’s lap. “As soon as they saw Madonna’s daughter throwing rose petals,” says a guest, “people were crying.”

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* (9) Madonna contributes "Lucky Star" (1984) to Snatch: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD. Madonna is #4 on Mr. Blackwell's 41st annual list of the worst-dressed women of 2000.

On January 13 2001, Madonna graced the cover of InStyle magazine.  Inside included new photos by Regan Cameron (some were later used to promote the Drowned World Tour) and an interview by Tim Allis.

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* (14) In Canada, "Music" and "American Pie" are named the No. 1 and No. 2 Top Singles Of The Year 2000 - it is the first time in Canadian chart history that an artist holds both the top 2 positions on the year-end music charts.
* (16) "Don't Tell Me" single (which includes a bonus CD-ROM video) is released. On January 16 2001, Don’t Tell Me was released commercially in North America as the second single from Music.

Written by Madonna, Mirwais & Joe Henry, the song was Madonna’s first collaboration with her brother-in-law, whom she had known since high school. Henry sent a demo (then titled Stop) to Madonna after his wife, Melanie, insisted that her sister would love the song. Madonna & Mirwais drastically altered the music and melody and renamed the song Don’t Tell Me. Henry released his version on his eighth studio album, Scar, in May 2001.

The maxi-single featured remixes by Thunderpuss, Timo Mass, Victor Calderone, Richard “Humpty” Vission and Tracy Young. Don’t Tell Me was the last Madonna release to be issued on cassette single in the U.S. and was also available on 2-track CD single, CD Maxi-Single (enhanced with the music video) and as a double 12″ vinyl set. In Canada, it was released only on CD maxi-single.


* (18) Madonna and Guy attend the Los Angeles premiere of his film Snatch at the Directors Guild of America. Madonna wins Best Single ("Music"), Best Video ("Music") and Best-Dressed Artist in Rolling Stone magazine's 25th annual Readers Poll.
* (20) Madonna wins Best International Female Artist and Best International Album (Music) at the 2nd annual NRJ Music Awards at the Midem Music Conference, Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France.

On January 31 2001, Madonna’s Manager (at the time) Caresse Henry shut down the rumours that Madonna and Britney Spears would be collaborating (due to scheduling conflicts).

The two later worked together on Me Against the Music, the lead single from Britney’s In The Zone album, released November 12 2003.

 

FEBRUARY 2001

February: Madonna Interview : ELLE

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-elle-february-2001

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2001-madonna-elle.jpg

“Mirwais on Music” : Keyboard

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/mirwais-on-music-keyboard-february-2001

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2001-madonna-keyboard-february-cover.jpg

* Feb (3) "Don't Tell Me" hits US #4 - it is her 34th Top 10 US single and surpasses The Beatles to become the second artist behind Elvis Presley with the most Top 10 hits on the US charts.
* (7) Madonna is named Best International Female Artist at the 3rd annual NRJ Radio Awards in Heron City, Stockholm, Sweden.
* (11) Madonna begins filming "What It Feels Like For A Girl" video in Los Angeles, CA, directed by Guy Ritchie.

On February 13 2001, Guy Ritchie announced that he and Madonna were planning to work together on her new music video for What It Feels Like For A Girl.

Guy had this to say about Madonna: “Creatively, we like the same sort of things, so it just makes sense to work together.”

When asked if he and Madonna would work together on a full-length movie, Guy commented, “I’d like to work with the missus, but there’s nothing in the pipeline at the moment.”

On February 17 2001, Don’t Tell Me hit #1 on the SoundScan Canadian Singles chart, spending a single week at the top.

After the long-running Canadian music industry publication RPM folded in late 2000, Nielsen SoundScan (which had tracked music sales across Canada since 1996) became the country’s recognized national singles chart publisher until the introduction of Billboard’s Canadian Hot 100 in 2007. Don’t Tell Me was Madonna’s first single to reach its peak during the SoundScan Canadian chart era.


* (18) Madonna writes a letter to the Los Angeles Times newspaper in defense of controversial rap artist Eminem over the public and media criticism of his offensive song lyrics and Grammy Award nominations: "What is the big deal about Eminem? Since when is offensive language a reason for being unpopular? I find the language of George W. much more offensive. I find the hypocritical nature of most popular figures in our culture much more offensive. I like the fact that Eminem is brash and angry and politically incorrect. At least he has an opinion. He's stirring things up, he's provoking a discussion, he's making people's blood boil. He's reflecting what's going on in society right now. That is what art is supposed to do. And after all he's just a boy. Thank God he's rebellious and not well-groomed. He gets my vote. Yours truly, Mrs. Ritchie".On February 18 2001, Madonna wrote a letter to the Los Angeles Times newspaper in defence of controversial rap artist Eminem over the public and media criticism of his offensive song lyrics and Grammy Award nominations:

“What is the big deal about Eminem? Since when is offensive language a reason for being unpopular? I find the language of George W. much more offensive. I find the hypocritical nature of most popular figures in our culture much more offensive. I like the fact that Eminem is brash and angry and politically incorrect. At least he has an opinion. He’s stirring things up, he’s provoking a discussion, he’s making people’s blood boil. He’s reflecting what’s going on in society right now. That is what art is supposed to do. And after all he’s just a boy. Thank God he’s rebellious and not well-groomed. He gets my vote. Yours truly, Mrs. Ritchie.”

On February 20 2001, Madonna’s official website announced that Madonna planned to record a Spanish version of her next single, What It Feels Like For A Girl, with a tentative release date of late March.

While the Spanish version (titled Lo Que Siente La Mujer) featured on the maxi-single and serviced to Latin radio stations was set to the album version of the song, Madonna would blend the Spanish lyrics with the music from the Calderone & Quayle Dark Side Mix for the live version performed during the Drowned World Tour.

* (21) Madonna performs "Music" at the 43rd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxm8UNQJZJw

On February 21 2001, Kevin Reagan won a Grammy award for Best Recording Package for Music.

Reagan had collected the same award two years earlier for his art direction on Madonna’s Ray Of Light album. He would go on to win it a third time in 2003 for The Dixie Chicks’ Home.

* (23) Madonna announces she is planning her first concert tour in 8 years and rehearsals are scheduled to begin in April 2001.
* (25) "The First Los Angeles Madonna Convention" is held at The Palace Theatre, Los Angeles, CA.
* (26) Madonna wins Best International Female Solo Artist at the 20th annual Brit Awards at Earl's Court, London, England.
* (27) "Music" video is certified gold (50,000 units). Madonna wins Best International Female Artist at the 41st annual Edison Music Awards at the Amsterdam Convention Factory in Amsterdam, Holland.

On February 28 2001, Madonna announced she was going out on tour for the first time since The Girlie Show World Tour in 1993:

“I’m finally going to fucking drag my ass into a rehearsal studio. I never want to repeat myself. I don’t see the point of doing a show unless you offer something that is going to mind-boggle the senses. It’s not enough to get on the stage and sing a song. It’s all about theatre and drama and surprise and suspense. So I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also nervous about it.”

[The Drowned World Tour started on June 9 2001, in Spain. The tour ended after 47 shows in Los Angeles on September 15 2001.]

 

MARCH 2001

March 2001: Madonna Interview : GQ

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-gq-march-2001

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2001-madonna-gq-march-cover.jpg

Madonna Interview : Interview Magazine

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonna-interview-interview-magazine-march-2001

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2000-madonna-interview.jpg

* Mar (3) Madonna wins Best International Album (Music) and Best International Hit ("Music") at the 12th annual Danish Music Awards at the Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark.
* (5) Robert Podesta, 51, pleads guilty for having secretly filmed the baptism of Madonna and Guy's son Rocco on Dec 21, 2000 in Dornoch, Scotland and the court orders the destruction of the videotape; Podesta is to appear in court on March 29.
* (7) "Material Girl" (1985) is #161 on the list of "365 Songs Of The Century" by The Recording Industry Assocation Of America (RIAA) and the National Endowment For The Arts (NEA).
* (9) In Hungary, Madonna wins Best International Pop Album Of The Year (Music) at the Golden Giraffe Awards.
* (13) Music is named Best Selling Dance Recording Of The Year at NARM's 43rd annual Best Seller Awards in Orlando, FL.
* (14) Madonna holds open auditions for dancers for her world tour at Musical Theatre Works, New York, NY. On March 14, 2001, Madonna held open auditions for dancers for her Drowned World Tour at Musical Theatre Works in New York, NY.
* (16) MTV and VH1 networks announce that Madonna's new video "What It Feels Like For A Girl" will be broadcast only once on March 20 at 11:30 pm amid controversy over its violent content.

Madonna later released What It Feels Like For A Girl as a DVD single.

Madonna biographer Andrew Morton had this to say about the video:

“The video is entirely consistent with the themes that she has been exploring for the last twenty years, namely the relationship between the sexes, the ambiguity of gender, and the unresolved conflict, for women in a patriarchal society of being fully female and sexual while exercising control over their lives.”

* (20) "What It Feels Like For A Girl" video world premieres on America Online (AOL), MTV, VH1 and MuchMusic at 11:30 pm EST.
* (22) In Canada, MuchMusic network announces it will continue to broadcast "What It Feels Like For A Girl" video.

On March 22 2001, Madonna’s What It Feels Like For A Girl music video premiered.

The video was directed by Madonna’s then-husband, Guy Ritchie, and was deemed to be “Too Hot for TV” by MTV and VH1 because the video depicted gunplay, assault and suicide.

MTV released this statement about the video and their decision to ban it:

It’s been some time since Madonna ruffled the feathers of MTV or VH1 execs with a controversial video — perhaps not since 1992’s Erotica clip — so just under a decade later, the first lady of shock pop is out to prove she can still make ’em sweat.

Unlike the steamy segments of Erotica, 1990’s Justify My Love, and the one that started it all, Like a Prayer, it’s not the sexual content of What It Feels Like for a Girl that raises the red flag, it’s the violence — a concerted no-no in the post-Columbine, and more recently post-Santana, decision-making process.

The music in the video, it should be noted, is a dance remix of the version found on Madonna’s latest album, Music. The album cut will serve as the LP’s third single.

 Directed by her husband, British filmmaker Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), the clip depicts gunplay, violent assault and suicide — elements MTV and VH1 prohibit in any videos they air. In it, the pop diva portrays a self-described “nihilistic pissed-off chick” who cruises around town inflicting damage on any man that crosses her path.

After picking up Grandma at the “Ol Kuntz Guest Home,” Madonna crashes into a car full of men who wink at her, threatens male police officers with a squirt gun before sideswiping their vehicle, and mugs a man at an ATM with a stun gun before wrapping her stolen car around a lamppost in what appears to be an intentional act.

The video “shows my character acting out a fantasy and doing things girls are not allowed to do,” Madonna said in a written statement distributed by her record label, Warner Bros. “This is an angry song and I wanted a matching visual with an edgy dance mix.”
Although What It Feels Like for a Girl won’t be added to the music channel’s regular rotation, MTV and VH1 will air the clip just once.


* (24) Madonna wins a Razzie Award for Worst Actress in The Next Best Thing at the 21st annual Golden Raspberry Awards at the Radisson-Huntley Hotel's Garden Room, Santa Monica, CA.
* (25) Madonna is signed to star in a $1.4 million, 7-minute commercial for BMW car company to be directed by Guy Ritchie.

On March 27 2001, the remixers for Madonna’s third single from the Music album, What It Feels Like For A Girl, were announced: Richard Humpty Vission, Paul Oakenfold, Above & Beyond, Victor Calderone and Tracy Young. Additional remixers were later added.
* (28) Madonna begins filming BMW commercial "Star" in Los Angeles, CA, co-starring Clive Owen and directed by Guy Ritchie. "Don't Tell Me" single is certified gold (500,000 units). Madonna wins Best Dance Artist - Solo, Best Dance Video ("Music") and Best Pop 12-Inch Dance Record ("Music") at the 16th annual International Dance Music Awards in Miami Beach, FL.
On March 28, 2001, Madonna began filming the BMW commercial Star in Los Angeles, California, co-starring Clive Owen and directed by Guy Ritchie.  Star was part of a series of short films (called The Hire) produced to promote BMW.

“I’m gracing this armpit of a town for one night, if you think I’m gonna know the name of the venue in El Arm-Pitto… You’re Sadly Mistaken” – Madonna’s character in Star

https://youtu.be/q1dYv_gKTA8

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* (29) Robert Podesta is fined $1,440 for having filmed the baptism of Madonna and Guy's son.

On March 30 2001, Madonna’s Drowned World Tour was confirmed via this announcement:

For the first time in eight years since The Girlie Show, Madonna promises to take the stage live in a extensive international concert tour this summer. The exhilarating itinerary promises to take her in a series of shows in Europe beginning in June and all across America starting in July. The tour will be promoted by SFX. A complete schedule of these landmark events will be announced within weeks. Madonna is expected to perform material from her smash hit electrifying Cowboy Punk album Music as well as signature songs spanning the length of her incredible stunning career in a cutting edge concert setting that will continue the tradition of trend setting innovation that Madonna is famous and known for on the stage!

APRIL 2001
* Apr (5) Madonna begins tour rehearsals at Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City, CA. In Switzerland, Madonna is named the most successful singles artist of all time in Swiss music history: she has spent 497 weeks on the singles charts.
* (11) Madonna wins Favorite International Solo Artist at the Capital FM Awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, England.
* (16) Madonna announces 18 official dates for "Drowned World Tour 2001" which will begin on June 5 at the Cologne Arena, Cologne, Germany and will end Sept 9 at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA.

This the complete list of Drowned World Tour dates as performed by Madonna:

June 05 – Kölnarena, Cologne, Germany – cancelled (technical difficulties)
June 06 – Kölnarena, Cologne, Germany – cancelled (technical difficulties)
June 09 – Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain
June 10 – Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain
June 14 – Fila Forum, Milan, Italy
June 13 – Fila Forum, Milan, Italy
June 15 – Fila Forum, Milan, Italy
June 19 – Max Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
June 20 – Max Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
June 22 – Max Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
June 23 – Max Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
June 26 – Palace Omnisports de Paris Bercy, Paris, France
June 27 – Palace Omnisports de Paris Bercy, Paris, France
June 29 – Palace Omnisports de Paris Bercy, Paris, France
June 30 – Palace Omnisports de Paris Bercy, Paris, France
July 04 – Earls Court, London, England
July 06 – Earls Court, London, England
July 07 – Earls Court, London, England
July 09 – Earls Court, London, England
July 10 – Earls Court, London, England
July 12 – Earls Court, London, England
July 21 – First Union Center, Philadelphia, PA
July 22 – First Union Center, Philadelphia, PA
July 25 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
July 26 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
July 28 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
July 30 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
July 31 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
August 02 – Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
August 03 – Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ – cancelled (illness)
August 07 – Fleet Center, Boston, MA
August 08 – Fleet Center, Boston, MA
August 10 – MCI Center, Washington, DC
August 11 – MCI Center, Washington, DC
August 14 – National Car Rental Center, Miami, FL
August 15 – National Car Rental Center, Miami, FL
August 19 – Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
August 20 – Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
August 25 – The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
August 26 – The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
August 28 – United Center, Chicago, IL
August 29 – United Center, Chicago, IL
September 01 – MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV
September 02 – MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV
September 05 – Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA
September 06 – Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA
September 09 – Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
September 11 – Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA – rescheduled due to 9/11 attacks
September 13 – Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
September 14 – Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
September 15 – Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA

“Quite simply the musical event of the year” – The Sun.

“Simply sensational” – Daily Telegraph.

“Madonna Shoots to thrill” – Daily Mail.

On April 17 2001, Madonna’s What It Feels Like for a Girl – the third single from Music was released by Maverick Records. The song was written by Madonna, Guy Sigsworth and David Torn, who was credited later, while production was handled by Madonna, Guy Sigsworth and Mark Stent. The spoken intro, recited by Charlotte Gainsbourg, is an excerpt from the 1993 film The Cement Garden.

* (22) Madonna and Guy Ritchie are #6 on The UK Sunday Times list of Britain's richest people with a joint fortune of $260 million.
* (24) "What It Feels Like For A Girl" DVD video single is released.
* (26) In UK, Madonna breaks box-office records for the fastest-selling concerts at Earl's Court, London, England: 16,000 tickets for July 4 concert are sold-out in only 15 minutes and 80,000 tickets for 5 extra dates (July 6,7,9,10,12) are sold-out in only six hours.

On April 26, 2001, one of Madonna’s eye-popping conical bras, designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, sold for $21,150 at a pop memorabilia auction in London. The bra was sold to a Chilean fashion museum.

The conical bra was worn by Madonna during the Blond Ambition Tour in 1990.

Madonna’s fans would very much like to see the Blond Ambition Tour released on DVD and Blu-Ray.

* (27) Madonna sets more box-office records as tickets for 2 concerts in Germany and France are sold-out in only 30 minutes.

On April 28 2001, Madonna’s What It Feels Like For A Girl was the Hot Shot Debut (highest new entry) at #38 on Billboard’s Dance/Club Play chart. What It Feels Like For A Girl eventually became Madonna’s 25th #1 Dance hit in the U.S.

Despite the club success of the remixes, some fans and critics were displeased with the use of the Above & Beyond remix in the music video, and with the dark nature of the Guy Ritchie-directed clip, preferring the more subtle and restrained attack of the album version. Others felt that the more aggressive and confrontational feel of the remix and video were natural extensions of the emotions and experiences that Madonna was exploring within the song; feelings that were left bubbling beneath surface of the deceptively gentle and subdued album mix.

Regardless of which side of the fence you’re on, in retrospect one thing is clear: when revisited through the lens of the current “Me Too” movement, the overarching themes that Madonna explored with the release of What It Feels Like For A Girl were ahead of the curve in terms of social discourse. Although the same could be said for so much of Madonna’s work.

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MAY 2001
* May (1) "What It Feels Like For A Girl" is released as a maxi-single in US.
* (2) Madonna wins Best Music Web Event for Brixton Academy webcast at the 1st annual NetSounds Awards at the NetSounds Online Music Conference at the Hilton Hotel, London, England.
* (3) America Online (AOL) announces it will sponsor "Drowned World Tour 2001".
* (4) Madonna cancels her first 2 concerts at the Cologne Arena, Cologne, Germany (June 5,6) due to technical problems and the tour will instead begin on June 9 at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain.
* (7) VH1 - 100 Greatest Videos Of All Time includes "Like A Prayer" #2, "Justify My Love" #7, "Ray Of Light" #40, "Material Girl" #54, "Like A Virgin" #61 and "Borderline" #84.
* (10) Madonna is #2 on The Lycos 50 list of the "Top 25 Most Popular Celebrity Moms Online" based on web user searches.
* (12) "What It Feels Like For A Girl" DVD hits US #2 on Top Music Videos chart.
* (14) Madonna sets more box-office records as 100,000 tickets for the US leg of her tour are sold-out within hours.
* (15) "American Pie" is honored as one of the Most Performed Songs Of 2000 at the 49th annual BMI Pop Awards at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA.
* (16) "Don't Tell Me" wins Video Of The Year and Best Direction Of A Female Artist for its director Jean-Baptiste Mondino at the 10th annual Music Video Production Association (MVPA) Awards at the Directors Guild of America, Los Angeles, CA.
* (17) Madonna is named one of Britain's "Worst Dressed Celebrity" at Prima magazine's Fashion Awards in London, England.
* (19) "What It Feels Like For A Girl" hits US #23.
* (21) VH1 - Top 100 Most Shocking Moments In Rock N Roll includes Madonna's Sex book at #11 and "Like A Prayer" video at #87. On May 22 2001, VH1 published their list of 100 Most Shocking Moments in Rock ‘N Roll. Madonna appeared on the list twice:

#87 – Madonna scandalizes with her Like A Prayer video (1989)

#11 – Madonna bares all in her racy SEX book (1992)

On May 21 2001, the U.S. leg of Madonna’s Drowned World Tour continued to sell out performances in the final seven markets that went on sale the previous weekend. A press release stated that the tour, promoted by SFX, promised to be the most extravagant stage spectacle of Madonna’s career thus far. The last batch of cities announced for the tour included sold-out dates in New York, New Jersey, Washington, Miami, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. It was also announced that due to overwhelming demand, an additional three shows in New York and two in Los Angeles had been added to the itinerary, with tickets to go on sale May 30th.


* (22) Madonna, Like A Virgin and True Blue are re-released on CD with re-mastered sound and bonus dance mixes.
* (24) HBO-TV announces it will broadcast Madonna's concert live from The Palace Of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI on Aug 26. On May 24 2001, U.S. cable network HBO confirmed that it would broadcast Madonna’s Drowned World Tour on August 26th:

Madonna is taking her Music to the masses — HBO masses, that is. The cable network will air a live concert from the pop icon’s latest tour, the first in eight years, called the Drowned World Tour. Airing Aug. 26, the concert will be broadcast from The Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit, Madonna’s hometown. It’s a thrill for us to have Madonna back because we know it is going to be a spectacular show, with that combination of her amazing talent and extravagant style which only Madonna can bring, says Nancy Gellar, HBO’s senior vice president of original programming. HBO and Madonna last teamed for 1993’s Madonna — Live Down Under: The Girlie Show, which aired live from Sydney, Australia. The program was HBO’s most-watched original program of the year. Madonna’s first special on HBO, 1990’s Madonna — Live! Blond Ambition World Tour, premiered to record numbers and remains one of the highest-rated original programs in HBO history.

Unlike HBO’s previous Madonna tour broadcasts, however, the live airing of the Drowned World Tour was simulcast to Canadian viewers via premium channel, The Movie Network.

A re-edited version of the concert special was later released on VHS & DVD on November 13th, 2001.

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* (27) Madonna continues rehearsals for "Drowned World Tour 2001" at the Great Western Forum, Inglewood, CA.
* (29) Lucrezia's remake of "Live To Tell" (1986) is released as a maxi-single.
* (30) Madonna sets box-office records as 3 concerts at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY sell-out in less than 35 minutes.
* (31) A trailer for Madonna's BMW commercial "Star" is available to download on the internet at www.bmwfilms.com.

JUNE 2001
* Jun (4) Madonna arrives in Barcelona, Spain with family and tour crew for "Drowned World Tour 2001".
* (5) Shadows And Fog (1992) is released on DVD. On June 4 2001, Madonna arrived in Barcelona, with her family and tour crew for the start of the Drowned World Tour 2001.

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/drowned_world_barcelona.jpg

* (7) "Star" commercial premieres on the internet at www.bmwfilms.com. "Music" is honored as Top Dance Song at the 14th annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Atlanta, GA.
* (9,10) "Drowned World Tour 2001" opens with 2 sold-out concerts at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain.
* (13,14,15) Madonna performs at the Fila Forum, Milan, Italy.
* (18) In Germany, a 26-year-old man named Aaron wins "In Bed For Madonna" contest sponsored by German online tabloid Thema1 for a ticket to Madonna's concert in Berlin on June 22 in exchange for sex with the website's columnist.
* (19,20,22,23) Madonna performs 4 sold-out concerts at Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany.
* (24) In Berlin, Madonna makes a silent visit to ex-Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen with actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

On June 25 2001, Madonna was featured on the cover of People Magazine.

Kicking off her latest tour, the Material Mom shows Barcelona she hasn’t lost a step – or her nerve.

She strutted across the stage at Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi stadium as a snarling punk rocker. Then she became a shotgun-wielding geisha; next, a cowgirl gyrating on a mechanical bull. Clearly, marriage and motherhood haven’t mellowed Madonna. As nannies minded daughter Lourdes, 4, and son Rocco, 10 months, at a nearby villa, husband Guy Ritchie, 32, watched from the sound-board as the 42-year-old queen of pop mesmerized 18,000 fans on June 9, opening night of her 14-week Drowned World Tour—her first since 1993. Reports backup singer Niki Haris at a postconcert party: “Madonna was very, very happy. And tired.”

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* (26,27,29,30) Madonna performs at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France.

JULY 2001
* Jul (1) "The Virgin Tour 1985" is voted #4 in Spin magazine's list of "Top 10 Tours That Changed The World".
* (4,6,7,9,10,12) Madonna performs 6 sold-out concerts at Earl's Court, London, England. On July 4 2001, Madonna performed the first of 6 sold-out concerts at Earl’s Court in London, England.

On July 7 2001, Madonna performed the third of six sold out Drowned World Tourshows at Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre in London, England. Madonna made history with the fastest-selling show ever at Earl’s Court with 107,415 tickets sold in a record six hours, generating $8.7 million in ticket sales.

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/july-01-2001-ticket-stub-drowned-world-tour.jpg?w=550

On July 21 2001, Madonna kicked off the U.S. leg of her Drowned World Tour with the first of two sold-out concerts at the First Union Centre (now the Wells Fargo Centre) in Philadelphia.

For the first time in her career, Madonna altered one of her tour set lists by performing You’ll See in the place Gone at select shows during the U.S. leg of the tour. You’ll Seemade its live debut at the July 21st show in Philadelphia and was performed again the following night. The decision to alter the set list was rumoured to have been made in response to European reviews of the tour, which despite being generally favorable, often lamented the show’s overabundance of new material and lack of hits.

Personally, we were pleased that the Ray Of Light and Music albums were the primary focus of the Drowned World Tour. If she had instead focused on hits, it is likely that these two essential Madonna albums would have been treated similarly to Bedtime Stories–an album from which she has yet to perform anything other than its four released singles.

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* (21,22) Madonna opens the 12-city North American leg of "Drowned World Tour 2001" at First Union Center, Philadelphia, PA.

On July 25 2001, Madonna performed the first of five sold-out concerts at New York’s Madison Square Gardens (July 25th, 26th, 28th, 30th and 31st). The set of shows were the second stop on the North American leg of the Drowned World Tour, and the seventh city visited on the full tour itinerary. The European leg consisted of only five cities, with numerous dates at each stop. Twelve cities were visited on the North American leg, all within the United States.

Being her only tour before or since to not include at least one Canadian date, many Canadian fans ventured across the border to catch a performance of the show. The Detroit dates in particular welcomed a large group of fans from Southern Ontario and the Greater Toronto area, while many Quebecers traveled to New York to see Madonna in concert, having waited nearly eight years since her previous tour.

After being graced with stops in Canada on each of her tours since, we hope that Madonna will also share the love with her loyal Australian fans by including some dates down under during her next tour!

* (25,26,28,30,31) Madonna performs 5 sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY.

July 27, 2001: “The Mommy Returns – Madonna Tour de Force” : Entertainment Weekly

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-articles/mommy-returns-madonna-tour-de-force-entertainment-weekly-july-27-2001

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2001-madonna-entertainment-weekly.jpg

 

AUGUST 2001
* Aug (1) Madonna: An Intimate Biography, by J. Randy Taraborrelli, is released. MTV - 20th Anniversary: Top 100 Best Videos Poll includes "Ray Of Light" #4, "Frozen" #50, "Justify My Love" #76 and "Like A Prayer" #88.
* (2) Madonna performs at Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ.
* (3) Madonna cancels a second scheduled concert at Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, due to laryngitis.
* (7,8) Madonna performs at the Fleet Center, Boston, MA.
* (10,11) Madonna performs 2 sold-out concerts at MCI Center, Washington, DC.
* (11) Rocco Ritchie celebrates his 1st birthday.
* (14) Madonna performs at the National Car Rental Center, Sunrise, FL. Madonna is #2 in Billboard magazine's "Top Ten Concert Grosses" for 2 concerts at the Fleet Center, Boston, MA with sold-out crowds of 29,886 and gross sales of $3,503,520.
* (15) During a second sold-out concert at the National Car Rental Center, Sunrise, FL, Madonna is surprised by husband Guy Ritchie when he appears onstage to present her a chocolate cake for her 43rd birthday. On August 15 2001, during a sold-out “Drowned World Tour” concert at the National Car Rental Center, Sunrise, FL, Madonna was surprised by husband Guy Ritchie when he appeared onstage to present her a cake for her 43rd birthday.

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* (19,20) Madonna performs at Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA.

On August 20 2001, Sal Cinquemani published this review of Madonna’s MUSIC album in Slant magazine:

After her hugely successful and critically-lauded Ray Of Light, Madonna could have gone in one of several possible directions: (1) a more hardcore trance route, enlisting a world-class DJ like Sasha (who remixed a few tracks from Ray Of Light and whom Madonna allegedly dismissed after collaborating on several tracks early in the recording process of this new album); (2) staying in safe territory by writing and recording once again with William Orbit, the mastermind behind Ray Of Light; or (3) a weird, more experimental direction, commissioning someone like French electronica guru Mirwais Ahmadzai. Madonna once told producer Shep Pettibone “You can never do the same thing twice…ever,” but two new collaborations with Orbit, “Runaway Lover” and “Amazing,” prove that when you do, it will probably be completely uninteresting. “Runaway Lover” sounds like a Ray Of Light outtake with uninspired couplets like “It doesn’t pay to give away what you lack/You’ll never get your money back.” But amid the clichés, Madonna throws in profound food for thought like “You get your education from your lovers.” “Amazing” is incredibly catchy and has a Supremes-like melody but that’s where it ends. The track borrows the drum loop Orbit used in “Beautiful Stranger” (which was originally the loop from his “Ray Of Light” remix), and proves that he may not have had enough tricks up his sleeve for an entire new album anyway (and perhaps Madonna knew that).

As such, Madonna enlisted Mirwais for most of the rest of the album in question, Music. The title track, a retro hands-in-the-air club song reminiscent of Debbie Deb’s “When I Hear Music” and Madonna’s own “Into The Groove,” is the singer’s best dancefloor-beckoning track since “Vogue.” She sings “Music makes the people come together” like a track off of her debut album, and as an added bonus she uses words like “bourgeoisie” and “acid-rock” with equal abandon. If you can get past the initial horror of hearing Madonna’s voice get the Cher “Believe” treatment on “Nobody’s Perfect,” another Mirwais collaboration, you’ll find a brilliant song full of genuine sorrow. The track opens with an intentionally imperfect and somber “I feel so sad,” and it is indeed believable. Lyrics like “What did you expect? I’m doing my best” are sung with an intriguing juxtaposition of human emotion and mechanically detached vocalizations. Though hard to swallow at first (like most on the album), the track is one of the singer’s best creations. With its distorted vocals and grinding electronic burps, “Paradise (Not For Me)” is another distinctive Mirwais production. At a turning point in the song, Madonna awkwardly struggles to speak the words “There is a light above my head/Into your eyes my face remains” while strings swell and bring the song to a climax. It is at this point that “Paradise” resembles the cinematic grandeur of tracks like “Frozen,” and it is also one of the few moments throughout Music that recalls the spiritual introspection of Ray Of Light.

Two tracks take a striking folk direction. “I Deserve It” finds Madonna once again singing with a warm yet detached voice, but this time her vocals are completely untouched by effects. “Gone” ends the album and is possibly one of Madonna’s best performances. In the vein of “Live To Tell,” the song seems to sum up everything Madonna has tried to tell us about being the most famous woman in the world. Earlier attempts have seemed obvious and sometimes trite (“Goodbye To Innocence,” “Survival,” “Drowned World”), but this song seems to be particularly telling. It is also, perhaps, the most human she has ever been. Self-deprecation and vulnerability have never been Madonna’s strong-suits, but the way she sings “I won’t let it happen again/I’m not very smart” could make you wonder. Music seems more like a collection of songs than a cohesive album, and it is an unexpected answer to Ray Of Light. But strangely, in an attempt to make a “fun,” less-introspective album, Madonna has revealed more of herself than ever. No longer shrouded with pedantic spirituality, she has become even more human, exposing her fears on tracks like “Nobody’s Perfect” and “Paradise,” her soul on “Don’t Tell Me” and “What It Feels Like For A Girl,” and revealing her joys on “Impressive Instant” and “Music.”

* (21) Madonna is #1 in Billboard magazine's "Top Ten Concert Grosses" for 5 concerts at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY with sold-out crowds of 79,401 and gross sales of $9,297,105.
* (25) Madonna performs at The Palace Of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI and is profiled on CNN-TV's People In The News.
* (26) Madonna Live! Drowned World Tour 2001 is broadcast live on HBO-TV from The Palace Of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI and seen by 5.7 million viewers - it is the network's third highest rated prime-time concert special since 1997. On August 26 2001, Madonna Live! Drowned World Tour 2001 was broadcast live on HBO and The Movie Network in Canada from The Palace Of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI. It was seen by 5.7 million viewers – the network’s third highest rated prime-time concert special since 1997.

The broadcast marked the second time Madonna had selected her hometown as a location to record one of her shows, the first being The Virgin Tour home video/laserdisc release, filmed in 1985 at Cobo Arena in Detroit.

With the Drowned World Tour itinerary not including any dates in Canada, many Canadian fans who purchased tickets for one of the two shows in Detroit were pleasantly surprised when it was announced that the second show would be broadcast live in both countries. Madonna’s previous HBO specials for the Blond Ambition and Girlie Show tours did not receive a live broadcast in Canada, although the latter did air on MuchMusic at a later date.

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* (28,29) Madonna performs at the United Center, Chicago, IL.

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SEPTEMBER 2001
* Sep (1,2) Madonna performs 2 sold-out concerts at the MGM Grand Garden, Las Vegas, NV.
* (5,6) Madonna performs at Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA.
* (9) Madonna performs a sold-out concert at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA.
* (11) Madonna postpones a scheduled concert at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA due to terrorist airplane attacks on the World Trade Center, New York, NY and the Pentagon, Washington, DC. (The concert is re-scheduled for Sept 15). On September 11 2001, Madonna postponed a scheduled Drowned World Tour concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California due to terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington, DC.  The concert was re-scheduled for September 15.

“Violence begets violence,” Madonna told the Staples Center crowd of nearly 20,000 fans on September 14th, “and I don’t know about you, but I want to live a long and happy life. I want my kids to live a long and happy life.”

“What happened was horrible, but I’d like to think of it as a wake-up call. There’s terrorism every day all over the world.”

“Last night, we had a minute of prayer for everybody who died on Tuesday. Tonight I’d like to say a prayer for peace.”

“I said it last night and I’ll say it again: If you want to change the world, change yourself.”

Madonna pledged that proceeds from the final shows on the tour would go to relief funds for victims of the attacks and their families.

On September 13 2001, Madonna resumed the final string of dates on her Drowned World Tour after having postponed the September 11th show due to the terrorist attacks in New York. She donated the proceeds from her second Los Angeles concert on the 13th to benefit children who were orphaned following the tragic attacks that killed thousands of parents.

Several changes were made to soften some of the show’s violent theatrics for the final three shows: at the end of the Geisha segment she was lowered from the stage with her arm around the dancer’s shoulder instead of shooting him; her kilt in the opening section was changed to an American flag design; she did not perform The Funny Song but instead took the opportunity to share some more serious thoughts with the audience.

Madonna told the crowd at the Staples Center:

“Any of you who purchased a ticket to the show tonight will be contributing to a fund that will be for children orphaned by this tragedy, so thank you all. Now on a personal note I think that each and every one of us should look inside our own hearts and examine our own personal acts of terrorism, hatred, intolerance, negativity, the list goes on and on, we’re all responsible. If you are homophobic or racist or hate, you contributed to this disaster. It’s not just Bin Laden, it’s all of us, we’ve all contributed to hatred in the world today. And I would like to have one minute of silence to say a prayer for those who have died; to say a prayer for the friends and families of those who have died; to say a prayer for the rescuers who have worked night and day to rescue people from the rubble. And most of all say a prayer for anyone who thinks that it is right to kill in the name of God. Where there is violence, there is no God. Let’s have a moment of silence. Hold hands with those around you. Or stay still and reflect.”

A minute of silence followed before Madonna launched into Secret, which she prefaced by adding:

“One more thing–if you want to change the world, you must first start with yourself!”

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* (13) Madonna donates proceeds from her concert at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA to victims of terrorist attacks.
* (14) During a third sold-out concert at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, Madonna leads a prayer for peace and urges President George W. Bush to show restraint in retaliating for terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
* (15) "Drowned World Tour 2001" ends at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA. On September 15 2001 Madonna ended her Drowned World Tour at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

The September 15 show was originally scheduled to take place on September 11 but was postponed due to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

On September 17 2001, Madonna appeared on the cover of People magazine as part of the Best and Worst Dressed feature.

People magazine had this to say about Madonna’s great fashion choices in 2001:

Madonna wore midriff-baring Dolce & Gabbana cowgirl pants to Europe’s MTV Music Awards last fall—just three months after giving birth to son Rocco. Britain’s Times later praised the star for baring “her potbelly” during her concert tour, declaring, “The truly hip are taking a leaf out of Madonna’s book and learning to love their tummies.”

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* (18) "Impressive Instant" is released only to club DJs in US. Madonna is #1 in Billboard magazine's "Top Ten Concert Grosses" for 4 concerts at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA with sold-out crowds of 61,464 and gross sales of $8,303,165.

On September 18 2001, Impressive Instant was released as a promotional club single to DJs in the US. Written and produced by Madonna & Mirwais Ahmadzaï, the track is bright and uplifting in its content and composition. Originally intended to be the fourth single of the Music album, a commercial release was cancelled due to a disagreement between Madonna and her recording company.

Potentially fearing the track as being too experimental to garner significant airplay, Warner had instead showed interest in releasing Amazing as the fourth single. If hopes were that it would replicate the airplay success of her similar-sounding summertime hit Beautiful Stranger several years prior, Madonna was reportedly less enthusiastic about repeating herself. Promotional copies of Amazing were issued in Germany, Spain, Columbia and Israel before Warner seemingly pulled the plug on pushing the song – perhaps at Madonna’s insistence. In the end, the rift reportedly resulted in neither track being released commercially, making Music her first studio album (excluding I’m Breathless) to spawn only three commercial singles.

Remixes that had been commissioned for Impressive Instant by the late Peter Rauhofer were finally released to clubs as a promotional single at the tail end of her successful Drowned World Tour.

Official Peter Rauhofer promotional remixes of Impressive Instant :

Peter Rauhofer’s Universal Club Mix (aka Remix #1)

Peter Rauhofer’s Universal Dub

Peter Rauhofer’s Universal Radio Mixshow Mix

Peter Rauhofer’s Drowned World Dub

Peter Rauhofer’s Drowned World Dub Part 2

Remix #2

https://soundcloud.com/sonicboy19/impressive-instant-peter-rauhofers-universal-club-mix

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* (27) Madonna wins Best Online Live Music Event for Brixton Academy webcast at the 1st annual UK Online Music Awards at the Ocean Music Venue, London, England.
* (28) In Malta, Madonna begins filming Love, Sex, Drugs And Money (a remake of 1975 Italian film Swept Away), co-starring Adriano Giannini, Bruce Greenwood and Jeanne Tripplehorn, directed by Guy Ritchie.

OCTOBER 2001
* Oct (5) Warner Bros Records announces that Madonna will release GHV2, a new greatest hits album of 15 songs from 1991-2001 and will also release "Drowned World Tour 2001" concert video and DVD on Nov 13. On October 5 2001, Warner Bros Records announced that Madonna would release GHV2 – a new greatest hits album of 15 songs from 1991-2001.

Designed as a follow-up to her massively successful 1990 hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection, it featured no new songs – reportedly due to Madonna’s hectic schedule – although residual tensions between Madonna and her label at the time may have also played into the decision. Instead, various remix artists were commissioned to create a series of promotional mega-mixes to promote the release.

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* (10) Microsoft announces it has licensed "Ray Of Light" for $15 million as the official theme song in their advertising campaign for the new operating system Microsoft Windows XP.
* (11) The Immaculate Collection is certified 10x platinum (10 million units) - the best-selling greatest hits album by a female artist. On October 11 2001, Madonna’s The Immaculate Collection was certified 10x platinum (10 million units) in the USA – the best-selling greatest hits album by a female artist.
* (15) Microsoft Windows XP commercial with "Ray Of Light" premieres on TV.
* (20) Madonna arrives in Sardinia, Italy to continue film production on Love, Sex, Drugs And Money.
* (21) Evolution: Madonna TV special premieres on VH1.
* (30) Madonna launches Maverick Musica, a new Latin record label by Maverick Records.

NOVEMBER 2001
* Nov (2) "GHV2 Megamix" video world premieres on MTV.
* (4) Madonna is named Britain's highest-earning woman with an annual income of 30 million pounds ($43.8 million).

On November 4 2001, Madonna was named Britain’s highest-earning woman with an annual income of 30 million pounds ($43.8 million).  The Sunday Times newspaper placed Madonna above J.K. Rowling, creator of the Harry Potter books.  Rowling earned 24.8 million pounds ($36.2 million) in the year ending October 1 2001.  

* (5) "GHV2 Megamix" video premieres on VH1.
* (6) The books Madonna by Andrew Morton and Goddess: Inside Madonna by Barbara Victor are released.

* (12) Madonna is honored by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) with a Diamond Award for sales of more than 10 million units of The Immaculate Collection.

* (13) GHV2: Greatest Hits Volume 2 CD is released. "Drowned World Tour 2001" is released on home video and DVD.

The DVD/VHS release included the concert that was broadcast live on HBO from The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan on August 26, 2001.

A photo gallery was included as a bonus feature. Like the original airing of the show, the DVD received very good reviews. The photographs used on the DVD packaging were taken by Rosie O’Donnell.

On November 17 2001, the promo-only remixes for Impressive Instant by Peter Rauhofer climbed to number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US. It remained in the top spot for the week of November 24th.

https://soundcloud.com/sonicboy19/impressive-instant-peter-rauhofers-universal-club-mix

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* (15) Madonna completes filming Love, Sex, Drugs And Money in Sardinia, Italy.
* (17) "Impressive Instant" hits #1 on US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. A real estate group from Ohio purchases Madonna's childhood home in Rochester Hills, MI for $331,000 in a 12-minute property auction.

On November 17 2001, the promo-only remixes for Impressive Instant by Peter Rauhofer climbed to number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US. It remained in the top spot for the week of November 24th.

* (20) "GHV2 Megamix" single is released only to club DJs in US to promote GHV2: Greatest Hits Volume 2 CD.
* (24) "GHV2 Megamix" video hits #11 on VH1.
* (28) Madonna is #3, #4, #5 and #8 on Top 10 Grossing Concert Events Of 2001 by Amusement Business.

DECEMBER 2001

Dec (1) GHV2: Greatest Hits Volume 2 hits US #7 and "Drowned World Tour 2001" hits US #1 on Top Music Videos chart. Madonna wins Outstanding Creative Achievement, Record Production/Single for "Music" at the 17th annual Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Awards at the Marriott Marquis, New York, NY.
* (3) Madonna is voted the #2 Greatest Female Rock And Pop Artist Of All Time by readers of Q magazine.
* (9) Madonna presents the Turner Prize of $28,600 to artist Martin Creed for his controversial work "The Lights Going On And Off" at a ceremony at the Tate Britain Gallery in London, England. During the live telecast, Madonna causes a controversy when she says: "At a time when political correctness is valued over honesty, I would like to say, right on motherfuckers, everyone is a winner!" Her strong language prompts Channel 4 TV network to issue an immediate apology to its viewers.
On December 9 2001, Madonna presented the Turner Prize to artist Martin Creed at London’s Tate Britain gallery.

Madonna half-seriously plugged her greatest hits album, GHV2, before explaining her feelings of ambivalence towards the merit of awards in relation to the artistic process.

“Art is always at its best when there is no money, because art has nothing to do with money and everything to do with love. Like love, it can be inspiring, inexplicable, provocative and sometimes infuriating. Nevertheless, we can not live without it, so that is why I’m here – not because I think one artist is better than another, but because I want to support any artist who not only has something to say, but has the balls to say it. In a time when political correctness is valued over honesty, I would also like to say – right on motherfuckers! – everyone is a winner.”

Channel 4 unsuccessfully attempted to censor the speech during the live broadcast, and later issued an apology for Madonna’s choice of words, which aired prior to the 9pm watershed. Madonna later explained that she had not intended to use profanity until the producers asked to review the content of her speech prior to the broadcast, sparking her defiance.

https://youtu.be/X_GbCdSVG_w

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* (11) GHV2 (Limited Edition) CD is released in US.
* (12) Madonna participates in a live webchat on MSN. GHV2: Greatest Hits Volume 2 is certified 1x platinum (1 million units).

December 12: Madonna participated in a MSN Live Chat, to promote GHV2(Greatest Hits Volume 2), which was released on November 12.

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonnas-msn-live-chat-dec-12-2001-12noon-est

On December 18 2001, the first of a two-part interview with Matt Lauer to promote GHV2 aired on the Today show in North America. The second part aired the following day.

Coming off a busy year for Madonna, her involvement in promoting the retrospective was limited, with this being her only television interview that tied in with its release.

On December 23 2001, a report by Amusement Business reported that Madonna’s Drowned World Tour generated $74 million worldwide from only 47 shows, landing her at #4 for top grossing tour in 2001. U2’s Elevation Tour took the top spot, selling $143 million in tickets from 113 arena shows worldwide.

On December 29 2001, megamixes issued to promote Madonna’s second greatest hits collection, GHV2, made their debut on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the U.S. at #29.

Several promo-only singles were issued by Maverick/Warner featuring megamixes by Thunderpuss, Tracy Young and Johnny Rocks with Mac Quayle and charted collectively under the title Madonna Megamix.

An additional marketing push to club DJ’s came in the form of GHV2 Remixed: The Best of 1991-2001 – a promo-only companion collection issued on CD and vinyl that compiled full-length remixed versions of songs featured on GHV2.

https://youtu.be/ZrRv5zuTJW4

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 (18) Madonna and Guy attend the premiere of film Mean Machine at the Odeon in London, England.
* (18,19) Madonna is featured in a 2-part interview on NBC-TV's Today.
* (20) Madonna is named the Most Influential Person In The World by Euro RSCO Worldwide, an advertising agency network.
* (21) Madonna is #4 on Top 10 List Of Biggest Concert Grossers Of 2001 with $74 million (47 dates).
* (22) Madonna is honored with her own plaid tartan by the Scottish Highland Tourist Board in recognition of her contribution to Scottish tourism and as a first wedding anniversary present.
* (27) In UK, Madonna is #5 on Top 10 Pop Idols Of All Time poll conducted by Vizzavi. Madonna is #6 on the list of Top 40 North American Concert Tours Of 2001 by Pollstar ($54.7 million US for 28 concerts).
* (28) "Don't Tell Me" is #6 in USA Today newspaper's list of the "Best Singles Of 2001".
* (29) Madonna wins Top Hot Dance Club Play Artist in Billboard magazine's The Year In Music annual survey.
* (31) Madonna is named one of the "25 Most Intriguing People Of 2001" by People magazine.

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2002

January 2002

January 2002: “Madonna’s Drowned World Tour” : Keyboard Article

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews/madonnas-drowned-world-tour-keyboard-january-2002

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* Jan (9) In Singapore, Madonna: Drowned World Tour 2001 concert DVD is banned from release because it is deemed too explicit.
* (19) Madonna attends Donatella Versaces haute couture fashion show at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France.
* (21) Madonna is named the second best-selling artist in Europe with 17 Platinum Europe Awards for 5 albums by the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry (IFPI) at the 36th annual MIDEM Music Conference in Cannes, France.
* (29) Madonna attends the opening of photographer Mario Testinos exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England.

February 2002
* Feb (9) GHV2 Megamix hits #5 on Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in US.

On February 9 2002, the GHV2 Megamixes peaked at #5 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Club Play chart in the U.S.

While the Thunderpuss GHV2 Megamix was promoted to mainstream channels, alternate megamixes produced by Tracy Young and Johnny Rocks & Mac Quayle targeted club DJ’s.

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* (12) Madonna: Drowned World Tour 2001 is named Best Music DVD at the 1st annual UK DVD Awards in England.
* (20) Madonna attends a Michelle Branch concert at Irving Plaza, New York, NY.
* (21) Madonna: Drowned World Tour 2001 video is certified 1x platinum (100,000 units).
* (28) Madonna announces she will make her West End stage debut in David Williamsons play Up For Grabs which will open on May 23, 2002 at Wyndhams Theatre in London, England and will have a 10-week run: it is her first stage role in 14 years since Speed-The-Plow (1988).

March 2002
* Mar (1) Blond Ambition World Tour 1990 is featured in Q magazines list of The 10 Tours That Changed Music.
* (13) Madonna and Guy attend the opening night of play Jesus Hopped The A-Train at the Donmar Theatre in London, England.
* (15) Madonna is signed to record the theme song for 20th James Bond film Die Another Day.
* (20) Madonna announces she has cancelled all matinee performances of Up For Grabs due to unforeseen daytime recording commitments.
* (25) Madonna wins Best Dance Artist - Solo at the 17th annual International Dance Music Awards in Miami Beach, FL.

April 2002
* Apr (1) Madonna is #6 on the list of Top 100 Rock & Rollers Of All Time in LIFE magazines Rock And Roll At 50 special edition issue.
* (2) Dick Tracy (1990) is released on DVD.
* (7) Madonna and Guy Ritchie are #4 on The UK Sunday Times list of Britains richest people of the year 2002.
* (8) Madonna begins rehearsals for David Williamsons play Up For Grabs at Sadlers Wells in London, England, co-starring Megan Dodds, Tom Irwin, Michael Lerner, Daniel Pino, Sian Thomas and Debora Weston, directed by Laurence Boswell.
* (11) Rolling Stone: 50 Coolest Albums Of All Time includes You Can Dance at #50.
* (13) A controversial nude portrait of Madonna by contemporary artist Peter Howson is unveiled at the MacLaurin Art Gallery in Ayr, Scotland.

May 2002
* May (8) Like A Prayer is #5 in UKs Favorite Single Of All Time survey by Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles.
* (13) Madonna begins 10-day preview performances of David Williamsons play Up For Grabs at Wyndhams Theatre, London, England.
* (14) Dont Tell Me and Music are honored as two of the Most Performed Pop Songs Of 2001 at the 50th annual BMI Pop Awards at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA.
* (17) Marcus Sessions, a 28-year-old obsessive Madonna fan, is suspended from his job as an ice cream seller at Wyndhams Theatre, London, England; her spokeswoman says she will speak to the theatre to discuss the way staff are hired.
* (20) Dont Tell Me and Music are honored as two of the Most Performed Songs Of 2001 at the 19th annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA.
* (23) Madonna opens in David Williamsons West End play Up For Grabs at Wyndhams Theatre, London, England.

June 2002
* Jun (2) In a telephone interview with The British Sunday People, Tony Ciccone (Madonnas father) announces that she is pregnant; a statement by publicist Liz Rosenberg is released denying the rumors and confirms it is completely untrue.
* (11) Madonnas Liquid Assets premieres on A&E-TVs Biography.
* (17) Dont Tell Me is honored as one of the Most Performed Dance Songs Of 2001 at the 15th annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA.
* (20) Madonna is #4 with an income of $43 million in Forbes magazines list of top 100 highest paid entertainers of 2002.

July 2002
* Jul (8) Madonna begins filming a cameo appearance as a fencing instructor for James Bond movie Die Another Day (starring Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry, directed by Lee Tamahori) at Pinewood Studios, London, England.
* (13) Madonna plays her final performance in David Williamsons West End play Up For Grabs at Wyndhams Theatre, London, England.
* (16) Madonna is honored as Most Popular Fitness Role Model in SHAPE magazines Readers Choice Awards 2002.

August 2002

August: Madonna Interview : Q Magazine

https://allaboutmadonna.com/madonna-interviews#year=.2002&type=*

https://allaboutmadonna.com/images/madonna-library/2002-madonna-q.jpg

* Aug (5) Mad houses remake of Like A Prayer (1989) is released as a UK single.
* (17) Madonna and Guy celebrate her 44th birthday with a Japanese-theme party for 50 invited guests at their estate in Beverly Hills, CA.
* (22) Madonna begins filming Die Another Day video at Hollywood Center Studios, Hollywood, CA, directed by Traktor.
* (24) Swept Away official website is launched by Sony Pictures.
* (27) Madonna is listed in Guinness World Records 2003 for Best-Selling DVD Single (What It Feels Like For A Girl).

September 2002
* Sep (4) In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, Madonna causes a controversy among the residents of a rundown housing estate in London, England when she says: I love the way the city looks, minus all the council estates randomly and profusely built up everywhere; the citizens are outraged by her comments and complain that her attitude is rude, arrogant and ridiculous.
* (9) Kelly Osbournes remake of Papa Dont Preach (1986) is released as a single.
* (17) Madonna Live! Drowned World Tour 2001 wins Best TV Concert Of The Year on the online 2nd annual AOL TV Viewer Awards.
* (19) Swept Away is screened at AMC Movie Theatre for the Condé Nast Traveler All-Star International Film Forum, New York, NY. Madonna is named VH1s Sexiest Artist Of Rock & Roll on its list of 100 Sexiest Artists.
* (26) Madonna is voted The Greatest Woman In Music History in a viewers poll on VH1-UK music channel: she is officially the most successful female recording artist of all time with worldwide sales of over 140 million records.
* (27) Die Another Day single (theme from James Bond film Die Another Day) premieres on Z100 radio station in New York, NY.
* (30) Madonna tapes an interview with Larry King at the Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA.

October 2002
* Oct (2) Swept Away Movie Special premieres on MTV.
* (3,4) Madonna is interviewed on CBS-TVs Entertainment Tonight, NBC-TVs Today, Extra, Access Hollywood and E!-TVs E! News Live.
* (7) Madonna attends a press conference in Beverly Hills, CA to promote Swept Away.
* (8) Madonna and Guy attend the world premiere of Swept Away at the Vista Theatre, Los Angeles, CA.
* (10) Die Another Day video premieres on MTV. Madonna is interviewed by Larry King on CNN-TVs Larry King Live.* (11) Swept Away is released in US by Sony Pictures. Madonna appears via telephone call to MTVs Total Request Live (TRL) at 3:30 pm ET and speaks with host Carson Daly about the release of Swept Away and Die Another Day video.
* (13) Swept Away hits #24 at the US box-office with $354,052 on its opening weekend.
* (14) Madonna and Lourdes attend the opening of Gianni Versace Exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England.
* (17) Rolling Stone: Top 100 Albums Of All Time includes Ray Of Light at #29, Music at #52, Like A Prayer at #62 and The Immaculate Collection at #99: Madonna has more albums on the list than any other female solo artist.
* (18) Swept Away is released in Canada by Sony Pictures.
* (19) Die Another Day debuts at #41 on Hot 100 Singles chart in US and is the highest-debuting song of the year 2002.
* (22) Die Another Day single is released in US.
* (24) Swept Away is removed from all US movie theatres by Sony Pictures after only 2 weeks of release.
* (26) Die Another Day climbs up to #28 on Hot 100 Singles chart in US: it is her 44th Top 40 single and she surpasses Aretha Franklin to become the top female solo artist with the most Top 40 hit singles in music history.
* (27) Swept Away grosses a total of $598,645 US at the box-office.
* (28) Die Another Day single is released in Europe.
* (31) Rolling Stone: Women In Rock - The 50 Essential Albums includes Like A Prayer at #16.

November 2002
* Nov (1) Madonna is named Britains highest earning music star of the year 2002 with $56 million on Sunday Times newspapers annu

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