Hot Tours: Madonna #1

From Billboard.com:

Madonna claims the top ranking on the latest Hot Tours ranking with box office stats reported from the final month of her MDNA tour's European leg. With more than 307,000 fans in attendance at the last 11 Euro performances, ticket revenue totaled more than $36 million. Included in the mix was a rare club performance by the legendary pop artist at L'Olympia Bruno Coquatrix in Paris on July 26 with a packed house of 2,576. The largest crowd on the European swing was in Finland with 42,760 in attendance at Helsinki's Olympic Stadium on August 12.

Since kicking off in late May, the MDNA Tour has played 33 concerts in 21 countries before wrapping its European leg on August 21 at the Stade Charles-Ehrmann in Nice, France. Overall gross revenue from the tour climbed to $115.7 million from the May 31 launch through the end of the European schedule. The tour's North American leg began just one week later with a performance in Philadelphia on August 28. Dates are scheduled in North and South America until late December.

Chart News: Week Of 9/8/2012

As reported on Monday, Madonna claimed her 43rd #1 hit on the Dance / Club Play chart this week as "Turn Up The Radio" moves in to the top spot from last week's #2 position! "Turn Up The Radio" is still bulleted this week, but may have a hard time spending more than one week at #1 as she has 2 strong contenders hot on her heels (Usher's "Scream" and the Scissor Sisters' "Let's Have A Kiki"). Elsewhere, the track slides down both the Singles Sales and Dance Singles sales charts as digital sales continue to fall. "Turn Up The Radio" is scheduled to hit radio on September 25th. It will be interesting to see if radio shows any interest in the song, and if this results in a digital sales resurgence.

TURN UP THE RADIO
HOT DANCE / CLUB PLAY: #1 (Up from #2)
HOT SINGLES SALES: #20 (Down from #10)
DANCE / ELECTRONIC SINGLES SALES: #10 (Down from #6)

MDNA

DANCE / ELECTRONIC ALBUMS: #18 (Holds at #18)

Also, here's a look at the Dance / Club Play chart from this week:

More European MDNA Box Scores

Another string of sell-out shows! While the MDNA tour has finally landed in the USA, here are the latest box scores released by Billboard for more of Madonna's European dates:

Billboard Comments On Madonna's 43rd Club Play #1

The Queen of Pop reigns again with 'Turn Up the Radio,' extending her mark for the most leaders in the chart's archives. She also closes in on even bigger Billboard chart history.

Madonna earns her record-extending 43rd No. 1 on Billboard's Dance/Club Play Songs chart, as "Turn Up the Radio" lifts 2-1. (The ranking will refresh on Billboard.com Thursday, Aug. 30.)

"Radio" is Madonna's third Dance/Club Play Songs No. 1 from "MDNA," which bowed atop the Billboard 200 the week of April 14. "Give Me All Your Luvin'," featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., led the week of March 31, while "Girl Gone Wild" reached No. 1 just three weeks later.

"Radio" is headed for radio, too: Interscope Records begins seeking airplay for the song at mainstream top 40 stations on Sept. 25.

With her 43rd leading title on Dance/Club Play Songs, Madonna pulls further away from runner-up Janet Jackson, who has 19. Beyonce and Rihanna follow with 18 No. 1s each, trailed by Kristine W (16) and Mariah Carey (15).

Looking forward, with one more No. 1 on Dance/Club Play Songs, the Material Girl would claim even more historic honors:

Madonna Scores 43rd Club Play #1 Hit!

It's official! In next week's issue (9/8/2012), Madonna extends her record of #1 hits on the Dance Club Play chart to 43 with "Turn Up The Radio"! The track reaches the pole position in its sixth week on the tally. Madonna leads the pack among all artists with Janet Jackson in second place (19 #1's) and Beyonce and Rihanna tied in third (18 #1's each).

There's no stopping the Queen of The Clubs! This is Madonna's 3rd #1 dance hit from her MDNA album. How about we go for a fourth with "Gang Bang", "I'm Addicted" or "Love Spent"?

"Turn Up The Radio" Radio Add Date: 9/25

Some interesting news today as All Access is showing a September 25th radio add date for "Turn Up The Radio". First of all, what the f**k! The video has been out since mid July and the digital single has been out since early this month, and they chose September 25th for the add date??

Obviously, they were waiting for the tour to hit the USA, but this is yet again more of Interscope's all-around bad timing strategies. Some might wonder why they are even bothering with an add date at this point, but I suppose it's worth a shot! Let's see what happens...

Chart News: Week of 9/1/2012

TURN UP THE RADIO
HOT DANCE / CLUB PLAY: #2 (Up from #3)
HOT SINGLES SALES: #10 (Down from #3)
DANCE / ELECTRONIC SINGLES SALES: #6 (Down from #2)

MDNA

DANCE / ELECTRONIC ALBUMS: #18 (Up from #20)

"Turn Up The Radio" On The Club Play Chart, Week 5

Here's the early scoop on next week's Club Play chart (Issue date 9/1/2012): "Turn Up The Radio" inches its way to the #2 spot! Can she make it to #1 the following week? Cross your fingers!
Here's the full chart:

Flashback: The Year In Music 1987 (Billboard Magazine Clippings)

Here's one more batch of year-end clippings from the '80's, this time from 1987. Thanks again to Wee from Singapore for sharing these.

Chart News: Week Of 8/25/2012

I was really hoping that "Turn Up The Radio" would appear on the Bubbling Under chart this week, especially since the digital EP hovered around the #30's, #40's and #50's portion of the iTunes album sales chart for a big part of the week. No such luck, though. "Turn Up The Radio" debuts on 2 charts this week: Hot Singles Sales at #3, and Dance / Electronic Singles Sales at #2. Hopefully she can get the Club Play #1 in the next 2 weeks!

TURN UP THE RADIO
HOT DANCE / CLUB PLAY: #3 (Up from #8)
HOT SINGLES SALES: #3 (Debut)
DANCE / ELECTRONIC SINGLES SALES: #2 (Debut)

MDNA

DANCE / ELECTRONIC ALBUMS: #20 (Down from #14)

Billboard.com's 10 Best Madonna Videos Poll: The Results

As promised, Billboard.com have revealed the results of their week-long poll to find out which ten videos are Madonna's best. Here is the Top 10 ranking:

10. Ray Of Light

9. Bad Girl

8. Justify My Love

7. Hung Up

6. Girl Gone Wild

5. Bedtime Story

4. Express Yourself

3. Frozen

2. Like A Prayer

1. Vogue

Overall, I'd say this is a pretty strong list. It's not really a surprise that "Vogue" took top honors, and I'm glad to see that "Bad Girl" made an appearance!

Read the full article with commentary on Billboard.com

Elvis Presley & Madonna: The Day The Music Died, and Was Born

Today, Aug. 16, marks the date that we welcomed the Queen of Pop (happy 54th birthday!) and lost the King of Rock & Roll.

Madonna was born Aug. 16, 1958. As we celebrate the Material Girl's 54th birthday, we likewise note the 35th anniversary of the passing of Elvis Presley, who died on the same date in 1977 at age 42.

In honor of two of the most prolific hitmakers in Billboard history, here is a look at some of the chart records that the icons claim.

And The Beat Goes On

"Light my candles, gotta make a wish

Wrap up the present and seal it with a kiss

Gimme a spanking, start the day off right

'Cause it's my day, you gonna sing my song tonight."

Happy Birthday, Madonna!

Flashback: The Year In Music 1986 (Billboard Magazine Clippings)

Here are a few more clippings from one of Billboard's Year End issues, this time from 1986.

Thanks again to Wee from Singapore for sharing these.

Flashback: The Year In Music 1985 (Billboard Magazine Clippings)

Here are seven clippings that feature Madonna from Billboard's 1985 year-end issue. Interesting to see who Madonna's competition was back in the day! Click to enlarge.

Thanks to Wee from Singapore for sharing these. More to come!

Flashback: A Little Backstory On "Like A Prayer"

-Taken from 'The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits' by Fred Bronson.

Madonna had been absent from the Hot 100 for a year and a half when she released the first single from her album Like A Prayer. The title track debuted at 38 the week of March 18, 1989, and shot to number one 5 weeks later, making it the fastest-rising number one hit since Michael Jackson's "Bad" in 1987.

Madonna wrote and produced "Like A Prayer" with Patrick Leonard, who had collaborated on two of her previous chart-toppers, "Live To Tell", and "Who's That Girl". Leonard remembers "Like A Prayer"  being the first tune written for the album. "Originally it had bongos and Latin percussion, and we decided to eliminate that quickly", he says. "It was written and the lead vocal was recorded within about three hours. Most of the songs on that record were written just like that, in a few hours...Once she came up with 'Like A Prayer', we decided, 'We'll do this with the church organ and we'll add a choir to it, we'll add Andrae Crouch's choir later on.' It was that simple. It wasn't something that took weeks; this is something that took hours."

Billboard.com Comments On Madonna's 57th Top 10 Dance / Club Play Hit

"Madonna extends her lead as the act with the most top 10s on the Dance Club/Play Songs chart as "Turn Up the Radio" zooms 19-8 in its third chart week -- marking the diva's 57th top 10.

It's her 28th top 10 in a row -- a streak that began with 1999's "Beautiful Stranger" (No. 1 for two weeks)*. "Turn Up the Radio" bowed at No. 39, and then moved to No. 19 before sailing to No. 8 this week.

Further, "Turn Up the Radio's" swift rise to the top 10 is especially notable. Since 2010, only six songs have jumped into the region in three weeks or less -- and three of them are by Madonna. Aside from "Turn Up the Radio," she also sped into the top 10 earlier this year in three weeks time with "Girl Gone Wild" (46-20-7 on April 7) and "Give Me All Your Luvin" (in only two weeks: 24-9 on March 10)."

Source: Billboard.com

*Note: the streak actually began with "Nothing Really Matters" in 1999.

Vote For Madonna's Best Video on Billboard.com

Billboard.com is currently hosting a poll in honor of Madonna's upcoming 54th Birthday to find out which is her best music video. You can vote here.  The results will be announced next Thursday, August 16th.

"Turn Up The Radio" On The Club Play Chart, Week 4

"Turn Up The Radio" moves into the Top 5 of the Dance / Club Play chart next week (Issue dated August 25, 2012) as it jumps from #8 to the #3 spot! So Close! Both of the songs above it are still bulleted, however, and Usher's "Scream" is coming up right behind her! Will Madonna make it to #1 the following week? Stay tuned!

Here's a look at the full chart:

"Turn Up The Radio" Remix Bundle On Beatport

Heads up for remix fanatics: Music download site Beatport is currently offering a slightly different version of the "Turn Up The Radio" digital maxi. In addition to the fact that you can purchase all tracks in WAV lossless format (CD quality), this version also features different cover art, the Album Version and Instrumental Version, AND the full, extended 6:03 version of the Laidback Luke Remix. The tracklist is as follows:

1. Turn Up The Radio (Offer Nissim Remix)
2. Turn Up The Radio (Martin Solveig Club Mix)
3. Turn Up The Radio (R3hab Remix)
4. Turn Up The Radio (Madonna Vs. Laidback Luke feat. Far East Movement) (Extended)
5. Turn Up The Radio (Album Version)
6. Turn Up The Radio (Instrumental)

Chart News: Week Of 8/18/2012

As previously reported, "Turn Up The Radio" made a big jump to #8 on the Dance / Club Play chart this week, becoming Madonna's 57th Top Ten dance hit! Elsewhere, MDNA moves up one spot to #14 on the Dance / Electronic Albums chart. This is its 19th consecutive week on the chart.

TURN UP THE RADIO
HOT DANCE / CLUB PLAY: #8 (Up from #19)

MDNA

DANCE / ELECTRONIC ALBUMS: #14 (Up from #15)

Flashback: "Music" Advertisement In Billboard Magazine, September 2000

Billboard Issue Date: September 16, 2000. Warner Bros. 4-page advertisement celebrating Madonna's #1 hit single, "Music", and her forthcoming album. Click to enlarge.

"Turn Up The Radio" Digital Remixes Now Available!

The "Turn Up The Radio" digital bundle is now available to purchase in the USA on iTunes! As previously reported, 4 brand new remixes of the track are included. "Turn Up The Radio" is currently climbing the Dance / Club Play chart, and will most likely debut on the Hot Singles Sales and Dance / Electronic Singles Sales charts next week due to the release of this digital maxi-single.

Archive Update

4 Minutes's final weekly position on the Dance Singles Sales chart has now been added, which was previously missing.

"Turn Up The Radio" On The Club Play Chart, Week 3

Number-one, here she comes! In its third week on the Club Play tally, "Turn Up The Radio" vaults eleven spots into the Top 10 and lands at #8 on next week's chart! (Issue dated 8/18/2012) It also takes Greatest Gainer honors once again.

Here's the full chart:

Chart News: Week Of 8/11/2012

As we all know, the highlight of this week's Billboard charts is "Turn Up The Radio"'s climb to #19 on the Club Play chart. It's been moving up at a fast pace so hopefully it can make another huge leap into the Top 10 next week! Also, don't forget that the digital remix EP will be released next Tuesday. At this point, I think a Hot 100 placing most likely won't happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a Bubbling Under appearance after the digital bundle is released. No word yet on a USA radio add date, and I now think that it's likely that it won't happen at all. Seems the release of "Turn Up The Radio" was specifically geared for the clubs.

Elsewhere, there's not much going on. MDNA falls down to #15 on the Dance / Electronic Albums chart this week from #7 last week. The USA leg of the MDNA Tour starts up later this month, hopefully that will start to help boost up sales a little bit.

TURN UP THE RADIO
HOT DANCE / CLUB PLAY: #19 (Up From #39)

MDNA

DANCE / ELECTRONIC ALBUMS: #15 (Down from #7)