Madonna, Justin Timberlake Talk About 'Hotbox' NYC Show: 'I Think She Killed It,' Justin Says -- MTV News Exclusive!

A short and sweet, nonstop high-energy dance party — that was the half hour-plus set Madonna turned in Wednesday night at New York's Roseland Ballroom, in a special "secret" club show promoting her new LP, Hard Candy.

And after that, we got the rare — as in almost unheard of— opportunity to talk to Madonna and her special guest for the night, a certain talented dynamo named Justin Timberlake. I hate those tired "pop royalty" cliches, but what the hell: We had a 20-minute audience with the Queen of Pop and her Crown Prince.
So how was the show for them? "I think she killed it" was JT's assessment. As for Madge, "Yeah, it was very good. It was a bit airless — a bit of a hotbox in there." Well, it was plenty hot out in the audience, so I can imagine what it was like for them on stage.
Of course, during the Confessions Tour, Madonna had a habit of shutting off all air conditioning in the venues, reducing arenas to 20,000-strong steamrooms. "It's true — I generally don't like a.c.," she admitted, "but I could have appreciated it in this instance!"
These record-release club shows of Madonna's have become something of a tradition over for her last few albums, and they tend to be tightly paced affairs. This was no exception — 35-or-so minutes, or as I put it to her, "no fat."
"Are you saying that my big shows have fat on them?" she shot back. Yikes, here she comes! Madonna likes to come after me: John as punching bag. It's cool. "No, of course not", I replied, "but there's just not a lot of chit-chat in these shows."
Justin chimed in, telling Madonna, "I think you just had a woman moment!"
However, she explained, short-and-sweet is the point of these shows. "It's more like, the record's out — you know, it's a sampler? Like with those chocolate boxes, you just get all the best stuff — and no chocolate-covered cherries, 'cause everyone throws that sh-- out!"
Ah, the inevitable candy reference: perfect for the sex-and-lollipops vibe of Hard Candy. Even Justin admitted that at first, he was a bit surprised to learn the show would be so short, but then he added, "After watching it in rehearsal I was like, 'That's perfect,' 'cause like she says, you get enough of a taste of it to want some more."
(Madonna also weighed in on the recent criticism surrounding Miley Cyrus.)
The show was yet another how-to in pop showmanship, and Madonna spared nothing. The band was tight, the six dancers were tighter. The visuals included retro NYC subways and graffiti, a crew decked out in Kangols and dayglo during "Music," lasers on the disco-fied "Give It to Me" — the production values were as high as any you'll find in a 3,000-capacity venue.
So how long does it take to put something like this together? "Well, this time the rehearsal period was a bit short and mad," Madonna said. "I felt like we got thrown into a juggernaut. I like just a tiny bit more preparation — I would have liked two weeks but only got 10 days. Of course, Justin doesn't like to work as much as I do."
"I do!" JT demurred.
Madge relented. "Well, I don't know — you're a fast learner, I'm not. And also, I get a little obsessive about details."
No matter — JT is one guy who seems like he rolls out of bed ready to perform. And when black-booted Madge was joined by white-jacketed Justin for "4 Minutes" — to a deafening roar from the crowd — it was unquestionably the high point of the night. They jammed, bumped, grinded, worked the stage and made the already urgent, driving song drive even harder.
While that was the only appearance from Justin — who not only inducted Madge into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, but also worked extensively with Timbaland on Hard Candy — during the show, he told us that there could have been another. "She pretty much had the set list done and everything how she wanted it," he recalled, "and we talked on the phone about 'Miles Away' [a wistful, acoustic tune that's one of the album's standout tracks), and originally I said, 'Yeah, I wanna come on and play the guitar riff that I came up with for the song.' But she was like, 'Well yeah, but that's comes before '4 Minutes,' and I was like, 'Oh. OK.' " Yep, the lady calls the shots.
Madonna ended up playing that guitar part on 'Miles Away' herself — and later strapped on an electric for a rocking "Hung Up" that ended with a Joan Jett moment: a feedback-filled amplifier grind. I wished she would have gone further back in time for at least one old chestnut ("Borderline" was rumored but it didn't happen), but who's complaining? There's plenty of time for all that on Madonna's Hard Candy tour later this year.
But on Wednesday night, it was a candy sampler — and a chance to see Madge and JT, the pop superhero tag team, together. If they're not saving the world, at least they're making our corner of it a pretty fun place.

Cannes Winner Likely A Dark Film

The Cannes Film Festival jury will have a roster of mostly mercilessly gloomy films from which to select this year's Palme d'Or winner this weekend. Film buyers looked at them at screenings during the past week and passed. "With the dollar riding so low, a number of film companies going out of business, and the fact that the films haven't been all that terrific here, it really impacted film sales," Eamonn Bowles, head of distribution at Magnolia Pictures, told USA Today. But Daily Variety commented that the obits over the film market at Cannes "may have been premature," noting that many of the buyers were non-American. Nevertheless, some of the most high-profile U.S. films screened at the festival have found no takers, including Steven Soderbergh's Che, James Gray's Two Lovers, Barry Levinson's What Just Happened? and Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York.


See Also

• ‘Lindsay Lohan Draped All Over Samantha Ronson’
• Victoria Beckham: ‘David Is My Fashion Inspiration’
• Madonna opens heart about her “painful” struggle to adopt
• Cannes critics cool as film competition nears end

Lost actress released from jail early

Lost actress released from jail early

'Lost' actress Michelle Rodriguez has been released from pokey later portion 17 years of a six-month sentence for probation infringement.
The 29-year-old actress was freed from prison on Wednesday night, according to a argument released by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Section yseterday.
Last October a estimate sentenced Rodriguez for violating her probation on previous drunken-driving and hit-and-run offences, saying that she should non be granted work furlough, betimes sacking or home lying-in.
Yet, a Sheriff's functionary claimed that her early release was non unusual, locution that factors such as overcrowding and the severeness of the crime are taken into thoughtfulness.
Rodriguez was antecedently sentenced to 60 years in gaol for a probation irreverence in May 2006, only was released from prison afterward merely four hours and 20 proceedings.

Mumba voted out of Dancing on Ice

Mumba voted out of Dancing on Ice

Isaac M. Singer Samantha Mumba has been voted off the reality usher 'Dancing on Ice'.
She left hand the establish

Gothic Beauty Magazine Expands Goth Coverage

Gothic Beauty Magazine Expands Goth Coverage

PORTLAND, Ore., April 17 -- Beginning with issue 25,
currently on newsstands, Gothic Beauty magazine is expanding its coverage
of gothic fashion and music to keep up with the subculture gaining
mainstream relevance. In addition to features on Elizabethan fashion and
makeup, this issue also exposes other facets of pop culture's dark side
with articles on the haunting images of Tim Turner's Ghoulish Gallery, the
2008 Dark Cities Survey, ranking the top 25 goth scenes in America, and a
full color feature with Kynt & Vyxsin, the Amazing Racers who have become
the voice of "goth" in mainstream media. This issue also introduces the
highly anticipated book reviews section, as well as music reviews and
interviews.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080417/AQTH092)

Continuing the trend with issue 26, the magazine will be the lens
through which the kaleidoscopic world that has become the goth culture can
be viewed. And with the recent promotion of senior writers Jonathan
Williams and Athena Schaffer to the newly created positions of
Entertainment Editor and Assistant Music Editor, respectively, the next few
issues promise to further explore the many ways goth aesthetics continue to
influence various forms of entertainment.

Since the Fall of 2000, Gothic Beauty has been the premiere source of
fashion and lifestyle information for the goth scene. But as that scene has
become relevant to many aspects of mainstream society, Gothic Beauty is
following that trend by expanding its coverage of music, pop culture and
entertainment while retaining its roots in cutting edge fashion and
aesthetics. Published four times a year, Gothic Beauty is America's largest
gothic publication, distributed nationally at Hot Topic, Borders Books,
Barnes & Noble, Hastings, Waldenbooks, and F.Y.E. stores. For more
information, contact Jonathan Williams jonathan@gothicbeauty.com (404)
627-7825.







Papa Wemba