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The true Queen of All Media has had a busy
twelve months: books, videos, live performances all over
the world, endorsements, and more TV appearances than Milton
Berle in his prime. Even though She debuted only one new
song this year (the groovy B-side History), Madonna managed
to stay in the headlines for a myriad of projects and newsworthy
events.
With so much going on - many undeniable hits (the Grammys!
Confessions Tour!) and some debatable misses (sorry, H&M!,
Boo, English Roses 2!) - it's difficult
to catalog this year's highlights. But we'll sure try. Herewith,
a rundown of Madge's finest moments of 2006:
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10.
Madonna attends Vanity Fair's Academy Awards after-party.
March 5, 2006.
Hollywood's A-list regularly turns out for this
glitzy annual post-ceremony photo op. Turning heads and
wrenching the spotlight from, say, actual Oscar attendees,
Madonna made a random appearance that had fashion critics
divided: Was that hue of pink a good color on her? Wasn't
that hairdo already over last year? Should She lay off the
bodybuilding routine?
All could agree on one thing, however: Every single film
actor in the room had been overshadowed by a major music
icon.
Sublimated revenge for that Evita snub
is, apparently, a dish best served ice cold.
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9.
Madonna wins Best International Female Solo Artist at the
2006 Brit Awards.
February 16, 2006.
Up against formidable powerhouses Missy Elliott, Kelly Clarkson,
Bjork, and reputed rival Mariah Carey, Madge took top female
honors but bowed out of performing on England's major music
awards show.
She was recuperating from hernia surgery (see: the Grammys,
below) and enduring another round of Guy break-up gossip,
yet gracefully accepted Her trophy, acknowledging Her British
inspirations, and later presented an honorary award to buddy
and Live 8 organizer Bob Geldof.
Class act.
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8.
Madonna accepts a TRL Lifetime Achievement Award.
February 25, 2006.
She had already long been considered elder stateswoman of
the VMAs (for which She won the Video Vanguard Award ...
in 1986), but her staying power in the Totally Request Live
era had been generally untested. When Hung Up
was "retired" by MTV - the first and only video
of Hers to reach the landmark rotation quota, and one of
only two videos in history to finish in the top spot - Madonna
became the oldest artist to receive the honor. So, yeah,
MTV acknowledged its debt to Her for all the Christinas,
Britneys, and *NSYNCers dotting the retired video list by
bestowing its "biggest award" to Her.
In a pre-taped segment that was shot backstage at the Grammys
weeks earlier, Madonna accepted the award and expressed
thanks for MTV's devotion over the years and reminded us
all that She "paved the way for other female singers
to push the envelope, think outside the box."
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7.
The Jump wig goes public.
September 19, 2006.
During the Japanese leg of the Confessions Tour,
Madonna decided to have some fun with the media. Instead
of simply taking off the wig She had been wearing on the
set of the Jump video (concurrently being
shot in Tokyo), She wore it out to a few public appearances,
including collaborator Steven Klein's X-STaTIC PRO=CeSS
exhibition.
The international press had a field day. Her "hair"
had become a sensation, triggering countless stories about
Her chameleonic looks over the years and reams of opinion
pieces discussing whether the platinum bob was the new chic
look. Oops - not real! Was it a colossal joke or an innocent
night out for Madonna? Either way, tongues across the globe
were wagging over a wig.
P.S., world media: Her hair has been even shorter in previous
incarnations.
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6.
I'm Going To Tell You a Secret is released on DVD.
June 6, 2006.
A coup for fans, the DVD/CD combo pack of the documentary
chronicling Madonna's life during the Re-Invention
Tour and Her metamorphosis in the fourteen years
since Truth or Dare hit shelves at a time
when prospects for a Re-Invention DVD looked
bleakest.
Although a straight concert film of the 2004 extravaganza
might go the way of Blond Ambition and
Virgin Tour before it (unavailable in predominant
home video format), Madonnaphiles can make due with the
sumptuously shot concert tidbits nestled amid this two-hour
film. Bundled with the DVD was Madonna's first-ever live
CD, an audio collection of selected pieces from the tour.
What's that aphorism about beggars and choosers?
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5.
The Get Together video premieres on VH1.
June 14, 2006.
It shouldn't have worked: No new Madonna footage. Ketamine-inspired
graphics. And, wait, are those Twin Towers an homage to
9/11?
Somehow, it gelled: a summertime clip for the favorite off
2005's Confessions on a Dance Floor.
Sagging under the weight of subpar Hung Up
and Sorry clips, with their high-gloss
emphasis on Madonna as just one of the kids, the album demanded
a video to put the focus on the music and, just perhaps,
Madonna Herself.
Though the single never took off, in keeping with the so-called
"Confessions curse," perhaps
not a few Grammy voters saw this funky video and helped
get the song its deserved nomination for Best Dance Recording.
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4.
Madonna appears on The Oprah Winfrey Show to set the record
straight regarding Her adoption of David Banda.
October 25, 2006.
So much had been said and written about Her journey to the
impoverished African nation of Malawi and Her trip-defining
adoption of a 13-month old boy. The story would prove to
be one of the most covered entertainment industry news items
of the year.
Barely back home in London and adjusting to life with a
new baby, Madonna brought Her case to Oprah to debunk inaccurate
reporting, explain the adoption process and Her other charitable
efforts, and describe David's acclimation to his new custodians.
Oprah was egregiously supportive of Madonna and, with her
softball questions, may not have conduced an unequivocally
balanced perspective on the issue.
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Still,
the grand arbiter of all things media circus, the audience,
got to hear Madonna sincerely - or "sincerely,"
depending on your view of the proceedings - make Her plea
for understanding. And despite a few lingering bumps in
the road, the Queen of Pop's sit-down with the Queen of
Talk (Her most earnest of the four such interviews this
decade) pretty much swayed public opinion back into Her
favor with respect to the case at hand.
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3.
Madonna performs at Coachella.
April 30, 2006.
Diehards who bought tickets and then waited in the desert
heat amid mobs of sweaty, inebriated hipsters for Madge's
mini-set at this otherwise alternative arts and music festival
deserve utmost Madonna fan cred as rightful targets of envy.
From the opening strains of Hung Up to
the final chords of enduring classic Everybody,
the tent in which Madonna performed was a constant rumble
of screams and bass. Though someone of Her magnitude need
not put on such an intimate showcase at the expense of many
of the high-tech luxuries afforded to music megastars, Madonna's
Coachella gig demonstrated that she didn't need her usual
over-the-top theatrics to blow the speakers.
Because of an unparalleled proximity to the star and a strong
run-through of
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six songs (also including Get Together,
Ray of Light, Let It Will Be,
and I Love New York) one scant month before
the launch of the Confessions Tour, those lucky enough to
make it were definitely part of something extremely special.
Anyone who says otherwise sucks, plain and simple.
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2.
Madonna opens the 48th Annual Grammy Awards with the Gorillaz.
February 8, 2006.
Watching this performance gave us a hernia. Disregarding
the need for a nomination (Confessions
missed this year's eligibility cutoff), Madonna crashed
music's biggest night and went for the largest number of
eyeballs in an exuberant, crowd-rousing show warm-up. Those
age-defying few minutes will surely go down in history as
one of Madge's greatest live performances.
The joyful, computer-enhanced mash-up of the Gorillaz's
"Feel Good, Inc." and Hung Up
inspired a gasping, fawning review that still stands up,
over ten months later. Riding high on the worldwide success
of Confessions and looking the part, Madonna
stole the show - hell, She deserved a trophy for the opening
alone - and then just as quickly disappeared from the limelight
to work on the Confessions Tour. Ask anyone
who opened the Grammys this past year and they will say,
"Madonna." (The Gorillaz who?)
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Right before the telecast began, an announcer asked, "Which
moment from tonight's Grammy Awards will everyone be talking
about tomorrow?" No contest. The real question: Did
you pinpoint the exact second Madge's intestinal wall burst?
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1. The Confessions Tour rocks on
Madonna's birthday in London.
August 16, 2006.
How to best summarize the most successful female-headlined
tour of all-time after sixty performances in front of 1.2
million fans on three continents? As much as we'd like to
claim shows at Los Angeles, New York, or Philadelphia should
be the prime example, clearly Her birthday performance three-quarters
into the tour was the sterling show.
Nearly three months had passed since the first performance
of the tour, so dance moves were fluid, costume changes
were seamless, banter was provided down to a science. Undaunted
by the religious protests in England and elsewhere, Madonna
barrelled through the entire show, including Her controversial
and woefully misinterpreted Live To Tell
piece on the faux crucifix.
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Cameras rolling for the ill-received NBC special meant few,
if any, technical glitches and a pitch-perfect performance.
Madge got a huge (48th) birthday shout-out from Her crew
and the crowd, including Her closest friends and family
in attendance, lightening the mood and elevating this particular
show from the rest of the pack. Taken broadly together or
in parts, the Confessions Tour was an unrivaled success
by any measure and was the crowning achievement of yet another
banner year.
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