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Madonna Delays Opening of “Madame X” Tour by Five Days, Addresses Fans in Third Person as Eye Patched Character

Roger Friedman
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Madonna Delays Opening of “Madame X” Tour by Five Days, Addresses Fans in Third Person as Eye Patched Character

Madonna’s Madame X tour will be delayed by five days. The first three performances are being moved to other dates on the schedule, which will now begin on September 17th instead of September 12th.

Madonna, addressing her fans in the third person as the character of Madame X, says in a statement:

“Madame ❌ Is a perfectionist and wants to give you the most unique, magical, and musical experience.  She underestimated the amount of time it would take to bring this kind of intimate theatrical experience to you and wants it to be perfect!!!

“Thank you so much for your understanding.”

The massive tour is being conducted in theaters, not arenas, with long sit down periods in each city. The opening is at the Howard Gilman Opera House as part of BAM in Brooklyn. One insider told me: “It’s going to be like an arena show in a theater. It’s amazing.”

Madonna’s “Madame X” hasn’t been a great sales success. Since its release in June, “Madame X” has sold about 100,000 copies. But that’s par for the course with “legacy artists.” Her fans want to hear the hits, not new songs, which makes even touring more difficult because the acts have to re-invent ways of presenting old material over and over. The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and Elton John have found innovative ways of doing just that. Madonna will, too.

Madonna’s tour covers New York, Paris, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, and Las Vegas. She’ll play her recent hometown, Lisbon, Portugal, but so far nothing in her real hometown, Detroit, or San Francisco. They’ll probably be in the next wave.

Where’d Ya Go, Burn-a-Debt? Annapurna Pictures Settles $200 Million in Red Ink as Another Film Flops

Roger Friedman
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Where’d Ya Go, Burn-a-Debt? Annapurna Pictures Settles $200 Million in Red Ink as Another Film Flops

Where’d ya go, Burn-a-debt?

Annapurna Films took in just $1.4 million this weekend on Richard Linklater’s ill-fated “Where’d Ya Go, Bernadette?” The company also settled $200 million in debt from a string of disastrous releases. They were bailed out by Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle software, the billionaire father of Annapurna’s creator, Meghan Ellison.

“Bernadette” is Annapurna’s fifth release in 2019. The five films have made a total $110 million domestically.

In 2018, they released 8 films through the whole year, with a domestic total of $105 million. Half of that came from “Vice,” the movie about Dick Cheney. Four of the films earned less than $3.2 million including a very good one, “Destroyer,” starring Nicole Kidman. Before that, Annapurna just made films and other distributors released and marketed them. But now Annapurna does everything, and it’s not working.

What’s next? Other than a deal to work on the new James Bond movie for MGM, hard to say. And even MGM should be having second thoughts about that deal.

VMA’s: Miley Cyrus Steals Show, Lil Nas X Wins Best Song for “Old Town Road,” Taylor Swift Best Video for “You Better Calm Down”

Roger Friedman
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VMA’s: Miley Cyrus Steals Show, Lil Nas X Wins Best Song for “Old Town Road,” Taylor Swift Best Video for “You Better Calm Down”

The MTV Video Music Awards were the usual circus tonight, but kind of tame. They were like a VR of the VMAs, artificial and harmless. The only tricky moment at the podium was John Travolta, looking like Barney the Purple Whale, dropping curse words. He’s so cool. (Oy.)

Lil Nas X won Best Song for his 19 week number 1 hit, “Old Town Road.” He picked up the award in an outfit so red he could go right into “Moulin Rouge” on Broadway. He’s pretty amusing, actually, unraveling a big scroll that he claimed would be his speech. But he just said, Thank you.

Taylor Swift, on a campaign to win over everyone, won Best Video for “You Better Calm Down.” The video won two awards, and Taylor brought her Rainbow Coalition to the stage. She hugged drag queens. She’s worked this demo beautifully. Taylor will be Governor of Pennsylvania in 15 years. Bet on it.

Best performance: Miley Cyrus appeared on the VMAs for the first time since her twerking scandal in 2013. This time, she showed a new maturity and sang the hell out of “Slide Away.” It was a stellar performance, showcasing her remarkable voice.

My personal fave: HER, aka Gabi Wilson. She couldn’t have been better. Expect big things from her in the coming year.

Much of the show still looks like it’s in a strip club. Most of the performances are lip synched. Nothing about the VMAs should be taken seriously. Just fun for an end of summer Monday night. Can’t hurt you.

 

WINNERS FOR THE 2019 MTV VMAS

 

 

 

MICHAEL JACKSON VIDEO VANGUARD AWARD

Missy Elliott

 

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Ariana Grande – Republic Records

SONG OF THE YEAR

Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records

 

BEST NEW ARTIST, presented by Taco Bell ®

Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records

BEST COLLABORATION

Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Island Records

PUSH ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records

BEST POP

Jonas Brothers – “Sucker” – Republic Records

BEST HIP HOP

Cardi B – “Money” – Atlantic Records

BEST R&B

Normani ft. 6lack – “Waves” – Keep Cool/RCA Records

BEST K-POP

BTS ft. Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Columbia Records

BEST LATIN

ROSALÍA & J Balvin ft. El Guincho – “Con Altura” – Columbia Records

BEST DANCE

The Chainsmokers, Bebe Rexha – “Call You Mine” – Disruptor/Columbia Records

 

BEST ROCK

Panic! At The Disco – “High Hopes” – Elektra Music Group

VIDEO FOR GOOD

Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records

BEST DIRECTION

Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records – Directed by Calmatic

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Republic Records – Visual Effects by Loris Paillier & Lucas Salton for BUF VFX

BEST EDITING

Billie Eilish – “bad guy” – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Editing by Billie Eilish

BEST ART DIRECTION

Ariana Grande – “7 Rings” – Republic Records – Art Direction by John Richoux

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

ROSALÍA & J Balvin ft. El Guincho – “Con Altura” – Columbia Records – Choreography by Charm La’Donna

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Island Records – Cinematography by Scott Cunningham

BEST GROUP

BTS

 

BEST POWER ANTHEM

Megan Thee Stallion ft. Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign “Hot Girl Summer”

SONG OF THE SUMMER, presented by Samsung

Ariana Grande & Social House – “boyfriend”

 

 

“SNL” Releases Some Hosts, Music Acts for Fall: Newcomer Billie Eilish, 17, Chosen Over Taylor Swift, 29, for Season Opener

Roger Friedman
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“SNL” Releases Some Hosts, Music Acts for Fall: Newcomer Billie Eilish, 17, Chosen Over Taylor Swift, 29, for Season Opener

Taylor Swift is going to have to wait until October 5th to appear on “Saturday Night Live.”

The new season begins on September 28th. But newcomer Billie Eilish got that spot as musical guest, with Woody Harrelson as host.

For Swift, that’s probably not the best news. Her “Lover” album is out now, and an appearance on “SNL” should be ASAP. Eilish as the opener is a bit of an insult. She’s only like 17, right? But the folks at Universal Music have put everything into Eilish. They postponed Lana del Rey’s new album, I’m told, so Eilish could soar. Lana’s album comes out this Friday.

Of the three music acts announced, they’re all poplets: Eilish, Swift, and then Camilla Cabello. No men, no rock. No black people. We won’t see a black host until Eddie Murphy returns to his alma mater on December 21st. The announced hosts so far are Harrelson, Phoebe Waller Bridge, David Harbour, and Kristen Stewart. I’m a little surprised that there’s no Lil Nas X singing “Old Town Road” with Billy Ray Cyrus. Hmmm…

A looming question for “SNL”: will we see Kate McKinnon? The superstar comedian/actress planted an item in the press earlier this summer suggesting she was done. Alec Baldwin did the same thing. We certainly hope they’re both back! It’s not “SNL” without them!

Happy Birthday “Timeless” Valerie Simpson! Famed Songwriter Takes Family and Friends on Joyous Midnight Music Cruise Around Manhattan

Roger Friedman
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Happy Birthday “Timeless” Valerie Simpson! Famed Songwriter Takes Family and Friends on Joyous Midnight Music Cruise Around Manhattan

What was I doing up, and cruising around the isle of Manhattan at 2am today? Why, celebrating the 73rd birthday of the eternally young and vibrant Valerie Simpson, co-writer with late husband Nik Ashford of some of the greatest songs of our lives.

Yes, the woman who helped birth “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Solid,” and “I’m Every Woman” treated her family and friends to a magnificent yacht cruise around Manhattan this morning — on a boat appropriately called “Timeless” that launched at midnight and returned at 4am! I was honored to be counted as a guest.

Among the other guests were Val’s daughters, Nicole and Aja, her brothers, her aide de camp Tee Austin, plus famed choreographer of “The Wiz,” George Faison, legendary rock and roll publicist Liz Rosenberg, great R&B singer Ryan Shaw, Earline Franklin (Aretha’s sister-in-law, and no, she’s not suing the estate), esteemed Berklee music professor Larry Watson, plus a couple dozen or more singers, musicians and friends from Ashford and Simpson’s gem of a hangout, the Sugar Bar, from West 72nd St.

There was dinner, dancing, and the very best music provided by DJ and the Yams (you can see them at the Sugar Bar). Plus Val surprised her guests with a hilariously talent performer named Shequida (aka Gary Hall) who is also a fine singer and really needs to be on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” ASAP.

Val told me, “I really wanted to invite everyone and not have them perform tonight. It was my gift to everyone else, all my friends!”

Well, I think you can see from the video below, a great time was had by all. We miss Nik a lot, but his family is keeping his memory alive. And Val, who can currently be seen in the Motown documentary on Showtime, is a spitfire and a delight. Her soul literally glows from within! And she can, as Rufus Thomas, liked to say, she can sainng! WHat a joyous experience1

Watch Trailer for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” Final Chapter, With Rey Battling Kylo Ren: “Your journey nears its end”

Roger Friedman
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Watch Trailer for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” Final Chapter, With Rey Battling Kylo Ren: “Your journey nears its end”

After 42 years, “Star Wars” as we know it will come to an end in December. “The Rise of Skywalker” wraps up the 11 film saga (not counting TV, books, animated films, “Clone Wars” and so on). In the trailer, Rey — who is probably Luke Skywalker’s daughter– battles her first cousin, Kylo Ren. It’s good vs. evil. Who will win? Answer: Disney! I miss Carrie Fisher, but at least she’ll get a great send off. JJ Abrams, as usual, looks like he’s done a great job. He knows how to give fans what they want. And we’re going to get it.

Miley Cyrus Will Perform on MTV VMAs Tonight For First Time Since 2013 Twerking Scandal with Robin Thicke

Roger Friedman
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Miley Cyrus Will Perform on MTV VMAs Tonight For First Time Since 2013 Twerking Scandal with Robin Thicke

It’s back to the future for Miley Cyrus. She’s got Twerk to Do!

Tonight she will take the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards for the first time since 2013 when she scandalously twerked with Robin Thicke.

That performance issued in the era of Miley’s “Wrecking Ball,” nude pictures, tongue sticking out, and so on. Miley went from G rated to X rated overnight and launched a new lascivious chapter of her career.

The twerking period ended her first run with Liam Hemsworth. But eventually Miley calmed down. She reunited with Hemsworth, married him, and now he’s divorcing her after eight months.

Miley will not be singing “Jolene” tonight. That chapter is over. She’ll perform her new single, “Slide Away,” about the end of the relatiosnhip with Hemsworth.

Will she Twerk, tongue hanging out? Will she be clothed? Well, this is pretty much the only reason I can think of to watch the VMAs.

Here’s a flashback to 2013:

Taylor Swift Album Sales Won’t Match Previous Four Releases, “Lover” Will Sell Far Less than 1 Million Copies for First Week

Roger Friedman
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Taylor Swift Album Sales Won’t Match Previous Four Releases, “Lover” Will Sell Far Less than 1 Million Copies for First Week

I told you last week this was happening:

Taylor Swift’s new “Lover” album will debut with significantly lower numbers than her four previous albums.

“Lover” sold 230,000 copies on Friday and Saturday per Buzz Angle Music. Of that number 175,000 represented paid downloads and CD sales. The rest was from streaming.

Swift is not a big streaming act, and the results are going to be lower  sales overall. Hitsdailydouble and Republic Records have scaled back expectations for first week US sales to around 750K. That’s not a small number, but a 25% drop for Swift if it bears out.

What’s going on? Swift’s record buying population is aging out now, sorry. She had a great run, but her teen girls are now in college or older. Plus, the new music doesn’t sound a lot different than the old music. There’s nothing innovative going on at this point. Does Swift even have a manager or anyone she listens to? It’s unclear.

Her performance on tonight’s MTV VMAs may drum up more business. But frankly, Swift’s appearance on “Good Morning America” on Friday should have sold more units. On Wednesday we’ll be able to see what the trend was for “Lover.”

Swift isn’t alone in having to face generational changes. Beyonce already saw that this summer with her “Lion King: The Gift” album. Adele may be next to feel the heat. Cultivating and keeping a record-buying audience can’t be taken for granted.

 

Breaking News for Breaking Bad: Sequel Movie Starring Aaron Paul Set by Netflix for October

Roger Friedman
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Breaking News for Breaking Bad: Sequel Movie Starring Aaron Paul Set by Netflix for October

“Breaking Bad” will never end, not if creator Vince Gilligan has anything to say about it.

He’s got a sequel movie set for Netflix on October 11th starring Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman. This will take place after Walter White has been killed and Jesse is on the run. Are we surprised? No. “Better Call Saul” is the prequel, now we have the sequel.

Will this be the end? Heck no. If “El Camino” is a hit– and it will be– we could see a raft of new installments with Aaron Paul who must be very very happy. It’s not like he’s had an easy time since “Breaking Bad” went off the air. Jesse is a potential career for him.

Watch Susan Lucci Steal the Show at “Celebrity Autobiography” with Her Comic Take On Ivana Trump (Plus Rob Reiner, Lewis Black Wow the Crowd)

Roger Friedman
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Watch Susan Lucci Steal the Show at “Celebrity Autobiography” with Her Comic Take On Ivana Trump (Plus Rob Reiner, Lewis Black Wow the Crowd)

We certainly know the great Susan Lucci from her four decade run as the conniving, self centered Erica Kane on “All My Children.” After 18 nominations, she finally won an Emmy for her good work in 1999. In real, we also know that she’s a doll, lots of fun, very petite, and ageless (her 72 is worthy of an award).

But did we know she was funny? Hilarious, actually. Lucci was part of the ensemble last night for the annual Hamptons performance of “Celebrity Autobiography,” the popular off Broadway (and Broadway) show in which famous actors read portions of unintentionally humorous memoirs by “stars.” The show was created and developed by talented actor/writers (and married couple) Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel. They alone are worth the price of admission.

But the creators aren’t alone on stage. Their rotating cast last night included the ingenious Lewis Black, famed humorist Alan Zweibel, actor Chris Bauer, Julia Macchio (very talented daughter of the Karate Kid, Ralph Macchio), and the founding couple.

The Hamptons audience in fabled Guild Hall ate it up, including, among others, CNN chief Jeff Zucker, who brought his eldest son.

And why not? “Celebrity Autobiography” provides 90 minutes of non stop laughs, real in the gut laughs, using material written by Vanna White, Ivana Trump, Tiger Woods, Mr. T., Tommy Lee of Motley Crue, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Diana Ross, Suzanne Somers, Ryan Seacrest, Neil Sedaka, Dolly Parton, and of course, the Kardashians.

It’s a little like shooting fish in a barrel. The writers of those memoirs didn’t author books so much as issue products. With mostly vapid stories to tell– and even those in short supply– a lot of their recollections involve food they’ve eaten or will eat, or diets they’re on or have abandoned. Last night, the actors’ delivery of this information was particularly poignant, particularly Seacrest’s observation that “I can really go for a plate of penna pasta.”

The piece de resistance, though, is a four way retelling– or “Rashomon and on on” — of the Eddie Fisher/Debbie Reynolds/ Elizabeth Taylor affair from the early 60s that also included Richard Burton and Mike Todd. How that soap opera holds up 60 years later! It’s worth just to hear Lucci as predatory Liz and Reyfel as innocent Reynolds. Chris Bauer’s bewildered, drunk Richard Burton would make Mike Nichols howl with laughter.

Some of this gang will be at the Triad Theater this Monday– day after tomorrow– for another performance. And here’s a scoop: Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly, stars of the cult hit movie “Bound,” will reunite to play Ivana and Ivanka Trump. We don’t want to miss that!

 

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