Madonna’s run still sweet

Sun., April 27, 2008

Edna Gundersen USA Today

Madonna pushes Malawi documentary

Madonna's harrowing new documentary on Malawi, "I Am Because We Are," is clearly designed to draw attention to the poverty-stricken nation's plight and help to its people.

But she doesn't think much about enlisting aid from the U.S. government.

"I don't know what our government does, period, instead of getting us in more debt and blowing up countries," Madonna told the audience at New York City's Tribeca Film Festival after premiering the film Thursday night.

She produced and narrated the movie after she traveled to Malawi and met the toddler David Banda, whom she is in the process of adopting.

Madonna said she is looking for a distribution deal so the film can be seen in more theaters, and hopes to get it on DVD soon.

– Nekesa Mumbi Moody, Associated Press

You might expect sober plaints from a singer devoted to motherhood, Kabbalah studies and activism for African AIDS orphans.

But the frenzied blast of hard beats and candy-coated grooves in her new album, “Hard Candy,” verifies that Madonna is still expressing herself on the dance floor.

“People love to dance, even if they only rock back and forth,” she says. “It’s a primal force people are drawn to.”

“Candy,” arriving Tuesday, earned a four-star rave in Rolling Stone. A B-plus review in Entertainment Weekly dubs it “an unpretentious, nonstop dance party.”

The first single, “4 Minutes,” featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, is the top-selling digital track (847,000 downloads) and a YouTube video sensation that has spawned endless fan spoofs and remakes – prompting Madonna’s amusing “Message to YouTube” response.

The superstar’s 11th and final studio album for Warner Bros. marks a transition to her monster deal with Live Nation.

Announced last fall, the 10-year partnership, worth an estimated $120 million, includes recordings, touring, merchandise, online and fan club endeavors, DVDs, TV/film projects and sponsorships.

As CD sales plummet and the industry struggles for footing in the digital age, Madonna says she has stepped into the future.

“It’s a natural evolution, and you can’t fight it or feel sorry for yourself,” she says. “Thank God, I don’t have to rely only on record sales. I know how to put on a show.”

While she plans to bring “Hard Candy’s” sweet and edgy grooves to the stage this fall, at 49, can she still cause a commotion?

“Madonna may have made a deal with Live Nation, but that does not mean she’s the ubiquitous cultural icon she once was,” writes music industry blogger Bob Lefsetz.

“If (young fans) go to the show at all, it will be with their parents, as nostalgia.”

But Geoff Mayfield, director of charts for Billboard magazine, says Madonna still has legs.

“She still has the ability to debut at No. 1,” he says. “She’ll tour longer than a lot of other pop artists might.

“She has a huge fan base. There are people that age I wouldn’t bet on, but I’d never bet against Madonna.”