Stories & Lifestyle: Madonna tours Germany

Madonna is touring again! On August 20 she will her first concert in Germany in Duesseldorf, two days later in Hanover. Madonna is the most successful singer of our time with 275 million sold records. Her more than 20-year long career made her an icon of pop music with hits like "Like A Virgin," "Holiday," and "Music." She continued her success story in 2005/2006 with her new album "Confessions on a Dance Floor" that became number 1 in 39 countries. Just a few days before Madonna's first German concert in Duesseldorf, also Germans start criticizing the 47-year old singers stage shows. "If anyone would portrait Mohammed in this from, there would be a riot," says the spokesman of the archbishopric Cologne of the Catholic church, Manfred Becker-Huberti. On her new tour, the singer presents herself, like Jesus, on a great cross. Madonna's career has been marked by quick turns and sudden stops, never quite predictable but always successful. Madonna, born on August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan, knows the rules of pop unlike anybody else. She is a chameleon, diva, synthesis of the arts, icon, narcissist, wife and mother. In an interview, Madonna summarized herself saying, she knew there was no "too late." She could do whatever she wanted, always. Transformation is her innermost principle, her backbone an imperturbable consciousness of herself and the music business.

She started her career as a waitress In 1978, Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone comes to New York, works as a waitress, a shop assistant, as a model, acts in sex films. She dances a lot, sometimes starts a band and looks for her chance. Her breakthrough happens in 1983: "Holiday" brings her to the top of the charts. After that, millions of her records are being sold worldwide. Until 1989 five of her songs get into the top five of the US charts, among them "Like A Virgin" and "You Can Dance." Because only Elvis and the Beatles had ever made that before, she was now officially a pop star. And whenever her current concept seemed to stop working and the critics started to emerge, Madonna was suddenly someone else entirely. Blonde pigtails, red hair, black-haired geisha and Monroe duplicate - wouldn't it be boring if I always looked the same, she asks in the late 90s. Pointy breasted metal bras, suggestive gestures and - bluntly - rather permissive videos evoked harsh criticism by the church, after all, Madonna, rather airily dressed, kissed a black Jesus back to life in a church. And when Madonna named her first child Lourdes Maria in 1997 the church was really mad. As soon as the young mother (who had also been divorced from actor Sean Penn in1989) found out about the accusations of godlessness and other things, she started talking about the life with her daughter she was longing for and the high value of family - and disappeared. She explains, she had wanted to be everything but not part of the boring middle-class she came from.

No luck in Hollywood Madonna's music career was never adversely affected by her rather mixed successes for her attempts at acting in Hollywood. No success for her movie "Body of Evidence" - two Golden Raspberries for the worst actress of the year, on the other hand, a Golden Globe in 1997 for the musical "Evita." After that, mediocre success for the film The Next Best Thing - but at the same time a great cover version of "American Pie." All of this always with the great success in the pop charts in the background. Her wealth is estimated to be more than $200 million. Madonna lived with the pop music and she survived it too, because she never stayed true to herself. Other than disappearing mega stars, she changed because she wanted to stay. And the media are still immensely interested in her - just remember the C-section for her son Rocco in Los Angeles in August 2000, her wedding to director Guy Ritchie in December 2000 in Scotland or her "Drowned World" world tour in the spring and summer of 2001.

Madonna combines tackiness and commerce, staging and stylization in a perfect way. Her romantic movie "Swept Away," directed by her husband Guy Ritchie, however, wasn't well received even before it came out. The love story of a seaman and a millionaire became a total flop. Four years Madonna was married to actor Sean Penn, then the two got divorced. Her daughter Lourdes Maria was born in 1996, the father is Madonna's former fitness trainer Carlos Leon. She has been with Guy Ritchie since 2000, he is the father of her son Rocco. But only the fact that she has two children doesn't mean the Queen of Pop means to quit. In 2001, she publishes not only her second Greatest Hits album, but also her album "Music," and decides to start the "Drowned World" tour which brings her to Germany for the first time. In 2002 she sings "Die Another Day," the title song for the new Bond movie. The following album, or more precisely the first single "American Life" causes quite a stir - due to the Iraq war that is just starting her anti-war video meets with a lot of criticism and has to be shot again. But Madonna wouldn't be Madonna if she couldn't use this for PR purposes as well, and it isn't surprising when "American Life" goes from 0 immediately to 1 in the charts and becomes number 1 in 15 countries worldwide. At the beginning of November she receives another award at the American Music Awards - she becomes "International Artist of the Year." The album "Remixed and Revisited" comes out in 2003. Especially her spectacular show at the MTV Music Awards attracts attention - when herself and Britney Spears shock the international audience by kissing on stage.

Official website: www.madonna.com
German fansite: www.madonnafanclub.de