SoulAlive said:

asg said:

Lionel will out sell mdna in the long run plus i am just waiting how many free give awys were included i bet without the give aways they would come in pretty close and in the long run lionel will sell double what mdna will do.

Who cares about all that? Madonna certainly doesn't.If she did,she would be everywhere right now,promoting the album.She's smart enough to know that touring is where the real money is.Lionel may sell more but I doubt that he will have a major tour that grosses over $400 million this year.

Agreed. This tour is going to be MASSSSSIVE. Can't wait for my show

Anybody get the nightlife remix album? Is it any good?

http://www.billboard...006662752.story

Madonna Tops Billboard 200, Shinedown Has Its Best Week Ever
by Keith Caulfield, L.A.

As earlier reported, Madonna's "MDNA" and Lionel Richie's "Tuskegee" bow at Nos. 1 and 2 this week on the Billboard 200 albums chart, selling 359,000 and 199,000 copies, respectively (according to Nielsen SoundScan).

Madonna has now etched No. 1 albums in the '80s, '00s and '10s. She missed scoring a No. 1 in the 1990s, remarkably, but she did claim five No. 2 albums in that decade with "I'm Breathless," "The Immaculate Collection," "Erotica," the "Evita" soundtrack and "Ray of Light."

Adele's "21" slips one rung to No. 3 with 121,000 (down 7%) while rock band Shinedown has its best week ever at a career-high No. 4 with the arrival of "Amaryllis." The set starts with 106,000 -- the act's best sales week yet. Shinedown's previous high came in 2008, when "The Sound of Madness" debuted and peaked at No. 8 with 50,000.

Last week's No. 1 album, "The Hunger Games" soundtrack, slips to No. 5 with 64,000 (down 64%) while One Direction's "Up All Night" falls 4-6 with 46,000 (down 16%). The latter's erosion was eased by the act's performance on the Nickelodeon "Kids' Choice Awards" on March 31.

Katy Perry's deluxe reissue of her "Teenage Dream" album, dubbed "Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection," spurs the set 31-7 with 33,000 (up 190%). It's the album's highest rank since the Feb. 5, 2011 chart and its best sales frame since Christmas.

The Used's "Vulnerable" takes a bow at No. 8 with 32,000, marking the rock group's fourth top 10 album. It follows 2009's "Artwork," which debuted at peaked at No. 10 with 35,000.

Rounding out the top 10 on the albums chart are Bruce Springsteen's "Wrecking Ball" (6-9 with 28,000; down 26%) and the "Now 41" compilation (8-10 with 25,000; down 18%).

Over on the Digital Songs chart, Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend" storms in at No. 1, selling 521,000 downloads, while last week's leader, fun.'s "We Are Young" (featuring Janelle Monae), falls to No. 2 with 364,000 (down 6%).

Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" (featuring Kimbra) is pushed back 2-3 despite a gain (244,000; up 17%) while Nicki Minaj's "Starships" rises 5-4 with 204,000 (up 17%).

One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" jumps 7-5 (199,000; up 22%), Flo Rida's "Wild Ones" (featuring Sia) holds at No. 6 (184,000; up 9%) and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" steps 9-7 (182,000; up 32%).

The Wanted's "Glad You Came" descends 3-8 (169,000; down 8%), Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" slides 8-9 (137,000; down 9%) and Katy Perry's "Part of Me" rises 11-10 (122,000; up 6%).

Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending April 1) totaled 6.16 million units, up 13% compared to the sum last week (5.46 million) and down 7% compared to the comparable sales week of 2011 (6.63 million). Year to date album sales stand at 77.84 million, up less than 1% compared to the same total at this point last year (77.83 million).

Digital track sales this past week totaled 26.68 million downloads, up 4% compared to last week (25.62 million) and up 9% stacked next to the comparable week of 2011 (24.52 million). Year to date track sales are at 361.32 million, up 7% compared to the same total at this point last year (339.12 million).

Next week's Billboard 200 competes with the same week in 2011 when: Adele's "21" returned to No. 1 with 88,000 (down 6%) and the previous week's leader, Britney Spears' "Femme Fatale," fell to No. 2 with 75,000 (down 73%). The chart's highest debut was at No. 4, where Hollywood Undead's "American Tragedy" started with 66,000.

[img:$uid]http://app7.publicaster.com/ImageLibrary/Account1587/images/Creatives/0404_twtr2/twtr2_main01.jpg[/img:$uid][img:$uid]http://app7.publicaster.com/ImageLibrary/Account1587/images/Creatives/0404_twtr2/twtr2_main02.jpg[/img:$uid]

SoulAlive said:

Madonna has now etched No. 1 albums in the '80s, '00s and '10s. She missed scoring a No. 1 in the 1990s, remarkably, but she did claim five No. 2 albums in that decade with "I'm Breathless," "The Immaculate Collection," "Erotica," the "Evita" soundtrack and "Ray of Light."

Very surprising no #1 albums in the 90s, and 5 times at #2. But album sales were huge in the 90s, much more difficult to hit #1. Would be interesting to see what albums were #1 while these 5 albums peaked at #2, but i'm too lazy to do that research

RKJCNE said:

Anybody get the nightlife remix album? Is it any good?

There are alot of interesting arguments, but one question I have is if an artist works with different producers, doesnt that in of itself mean that the records will sound different from tune to another?

I say this, because if I think back to the Jam and Lewis productions, there was an underlying theme that you could tell a song that came from their hands, regardless of if it was Janet, or Herb Alpert, or the SOS Band...and that didnt have anything to do with whether the song was great or not...

And if so, where does the artists contribution end, and the producers begin?

So regardless of how great some of Madonna's music is, current or past, why is it unfair to say she is not using the skills of a good producer to make her music stay relevant since unless she produces the music herself whether she writes those tunes on her own or in a team effort, the music must take on some of the characteristics of the Producer?

MDNA is a global smash.....let's take a look at how it's doing in other countries.....

#1 in USA.first Week Sales 359.000 copies ...
#1 in UK..56,000 copies...
#1 in Australia ..35.000 copies....certified GOLD...
#1 in Spain..20.000 copies certified GOLD...
#1 in Turkey..30.000 copies...
#1 in Mexico...
#1 in Argentina ...
#1 in Portugal
#1 in Sweden...
#1 in Brazil...certified Platinum...
#1 in Scotland ...
#1 in the Netherlands...
#1 in Ireland...
#1 in Finland...
#1 in Hungarian...
#1 in Belgium...
#1 in Croatia...
#1 in Taiwanese...
#1 in Israel ...
#1 in Czech Republic...
#1 in India...
#1 in Slivakia...
#1 in Greece....
#1 in Korea...
#1 in Slovakia...
#1 in Italy
#2 in France..41.693 copies...
#2 in Norway...
#2 in Switzerland...
#2 in Singapore...
#3 in New Zealand...
#3 in Germany...certified GOLD...
#4 in Japan..31.000 copies

NoVideo said:

SoulAlive said:

Madonna has now etched No. 1 albums in the '80s, '00s and '10s. She missed scoring a No. 1 in the 1990s, remarkably, but she did claim five No. 2 albums in that decade with "I'm Breathless," "The Immaculate Collection," "Erotica," the "Evita" soundtrack and "Ray of Light."

Very surprising no #1 albums in the 90s, and 5 times at #2. But album sales were huge in the 90s, much more difficult to hit #1. Would be interesting to see what albums were #1 while these 5 albums peaked at #2, but i'm too lazy to do that research

'Ray Of Light' was kept out of the Number One spot by that damn 'Titanic' movie soundtrack That was frustrating to see because if there was any Madonna album that truly deserved to be Number One,it was ROL.It was kept at the Number Two position.

Madonna At #1 Again With MDNA

Madge's 12th studio album sells 359,000 copies, giving singer her fifth straight #1.

By Gil Kaufman (MTV News)

Madonna will retain her claim to the pop throne next week when her 12th studio album, MDNA, debuts at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. This will be the singer's fifth straight #1 album, and its sales of 359,000 were more than enough to outpace the #2 debut from fellow veteran Lionel Richie.

Richie marks a return to the upper reaches of the charts with his hook-up with country artists on Tuskegee, which sold 199,000 copies, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan.

With her latest chart-topper, Madonna, 53, joins Barbra Streisand as the only woman to top the Billboard albums chart at least eight times; Streisand holds the record with a total of nine #1 albums.

SoulAlive said:

imago said:

I don't see how this is anything new or fresh compared to her albums released since Ray of Light. It sounds....the same. Sure the beats are a bit different, and 'sound' is asthetically a slight bit different. But, overall it still sounds like paint-by-numbers pop, and pretty forgettable at that.

Don't get me wrong, I like several of the songs, but I'm still struggling to figure out why she bothered.g. Certainly better than 20Ten, but that's not saying much.

Some fans set their expectations too high.We have to realize that there is nothing being done in pop music that is totally "new" or "fresh" these days.In 2012,is it even possible for Madonna (or anyone else) to break new ground? I don't think there is any producer (or team of producers) who could give Madonna a totally new,revolutionary sound that hasn't been done before.MDNA is as good as it's gonna get.This isn't directed at you personally,but I feel that some fans need to ask themselves....could it be that they are just over Madonna?

They won't be tunes we'll be hearing in a decade's time or anything

And that's fine.In my opinion,nobody is really making music that will be considered "classic" in a decade from now.The days of groundbreaking,innovative,life-changing music are over.Even Prince can't seem to come up with a stunning,mindblowing album that compares to his 80s classics.But to be fair,we can't really expect these people to.The musical landscape is so much different these days.Fans who are waiting around for another Ray Of Light or Like A Prayer are going to be really disappointed.You can't repeat something like that.The same applies to Prince,Janet Jackson,Stevie Wonder and any other artist who's been around for many years.

Janet Jackson, in my opinion, has never made an album that I would consider even remotely 'classic'

But, I've always loathed her voice, and songs anyways, so it's hard for me to be objective about it.I remember one year all I heard on the radio was Janet and Creed. I almost slit my wrists.

Anyways, I think there's so much wonderful stuff being created and released now, and I think certainly some of it will be played 10 years from now. I also think Prince's 3121 and lotusflow3r will be looked at more favorably in the future.

However, I'm not looking for Madonna to invent her own sound like a polka-kabala-techno-country bluegrass hybrid or anything like that. It would just be nice if she had a great album--THAT would be fresh and new to me. MDNA is really just American Life 4.0 as far as I'm concerned. It's been the same old same old release after release now. I spun the album 3 times, and only remember 2 tunes off the top of my head.

The good news is that I don't hate the album after the third listen. Prince's more recent releases have had that affect on me.

http://www.hollywood...y-iovine-308040
Madonna's 'MDNA' is No. 1: Guy Oseary, Jimmy Iovine on the Art of the Album Roll-Out
2:30 AM PDT 4/4/2012 by Shirley Halperin

The pop queen's longtime manager and brand new label head reflect on the road taken straight to the top of the charts and answer a nagging question: three decades in, is Madonna still selling scandal?

When Madonna’s twelfth album, MDNA, debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 today with Nielsen SoundScan-certified sales of 359,000, she'll not only have the biggest first week of the year, but will instantly reinstate her place at the top of the pop heap.

That’s right, in this digital age of naysayers, haters, critics and cynics, Madonna is on her third decade of relevance. With MDNA, she trails only Barbra Streisand for the most chart-toppers ever by a female artist (Babs has nine, Madge is one shy) -- an extraordinary musical and cultural feat. Still, some will inevitably credit controversy for MDNA's out-the-gate success.

Have your pick of which one from recent months -- the album title, which is a letter away from MDMA, the common name for the drug ecstasy; the Super Bowl halftime performance during which guest M.I.A. gave some 150 million people the finger; a permanent ban by Piers Morgan and subsequent Twitter spat between the talk show host and Madonna’s manager Guy Oseary; or a surprise appearance at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival in March, where Madonna took the stage alongside Avicii and instantly riled up a crowd of 100,000 by asking if anyone had seen “Molly,” the street name for ecstasy, a comment that prompted superstar DJ Deadmau5 to take her to task publicly. All have kept Madonna’s name in the headlines just as new music hit the market.

“All those things didn’t start with us,” Oseary tells The Hollywood Reporter, shrugging off any insinuation that scandal is a step in the roll-out plan. “It's just part of the gig.” Indeed, Oseary and his client of 22 years can explain away each one -- the title has multiple meanings and came about like this, according to Oseary: “[Madonna] told me one day, ‘Here's what I'm calling my album.’ And I went, ‘Cool.’ She had a vision.” As for M.I.A.? She acted on her own accord; Piers Morgan’s people continue to reach out for a booking despite the ban; and Madonna was referring to a song by producer and DJ Cedric Gervais called “Have You Seen Molly,” not the staple drug of all-night dance parties. What may be harder to wrap the head around is the continued omnipotence of the eighties-bred pop star, who’s already topped the iTunes charts in 35 countries with MDNA presales alone.

"She gives me the forum to be honest and I give her the forum to yell at me." — Guy Oseary

Truth be told, Madonna did little in the way of traditional promotion for the album, her first for Interscope after some 30 years at Warner Bros. She skipped the club shows, the late night lead guest slot and the Diane Sawyer interview. Her only broadcast sit-down was with Jimmy Fallon on Facebook. She premiered her single at the Super Bowl and her video on American Idol (Interscope is the show’s music partner) rather than MTV or Vevo. If there’s a plan, says Oseary, it was for the music to speak for itself, and thanks to the current popularity of EDM (electronic dance music), it seems the former Danceteria regular is having her day yet again -- and at 53 years old.

“Anyone who can have a career as long and as healthy, strong and consistent as Madonna's, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime artist,” says Interscope Geffen A&M chairman Jimmy Iovine. “It's incredible what she's done. You can have an act earn money like her, but you can't have a career like that.”

Curiously, though her touring sets have featured many of her greatest hits, sometimes going deep into the catalog, like her first No. 1 dance smash, 1983’s “Burning Up,” Oseary says both he and Madonna rarely look back themselves. The decades spent at Warner Bros.? They hardly gave it a second thought when “friend” Jimmy Iovine came into the picture. “I have a lot of faith in him,” says the 39-year-old Israel-born Oseary. “I didn't shop a deal. I didn't go meet with every label and play the field. I was pretty confident with [Universal Music Group chairman and CEO] Lucian [Grainge] and Jimmy as partners.” (Iovine returns the admiration, telling THR, "Guy is honest, straight-headed and talented -- a great combination.") Besides, adds Oseary, “One of the things that I've learned working with Madonna is you just move forward. It's really rare that she ever brings up the past.”

On this album cycle, she really doesn't need to “go retro” as so many veteran artists do. Always one step ahead of the latest sounds and production trends (Martin Solveig, Benny Benassi and William Orbit were each enlisted for their studio skills on multiple MDNA tracks), her brand of dance music meets delectable pop comes at a perfect time, just as EDM has, to put it plainly, taken over. “Dance music is Madonna’s base,” says Oseary, who can’t recall exactly how many club hits she’s had but knows it’s more than 40. “It's what she likes, it's what she listens to. It's not anything other than that. She doesn't read what's on the charts. And if it's on time, great. This is who she is.”

Still, there are those pesky detractors who insist Madonna’s MDNA motif -- from the cheerleader costume she wears in the video for “Give Me All Your Luvin’” to the album’s title to her Ultra appearance just before midnight on March 24, are simply age-inappropriate, a slag Oseary doesn’t take to kindly. “Didn’t Lionel Richie just make a country album?” he barks. “God bless him, I love Lionel, but how come no one is yelling at him? The ageism criticism is getting old. It’s, like, let's just talk about the music. Do you like it?”

Clearly, people do, what with first week sales of MDNA beating her last studio effort, 2008's Hard Candy, by more than 50 percent -- her best showing in over a decade. Partly to thank: a U.S. promotion where customers who bought a concert ticket had the option to receive the album as part of their purchase. These opt-in sales counted towards the chart's tally, according to Billboard. And Oseary says she’s also engaging more with her fans. Although Madonna has been reluctant to hop on the Twitter bandwagon, she’s logged on for one-night events (a second is coming up on Wednesday at 10 p.m.; the handle: @MadonnaMDNAday) and fielded hundreds of questions from fans, no doubt convinced by active tweeter Oseary.

All the awareness when you add the Super Bowl audience to that of Facebook and Twitter users coupled with a Smirnoff-sponsored dance contest that provides key primetime television advertising and an international tour kicking off May 29 in Tel Aviv, and you’re looking at more than a billion potential impressions within four months time.

But while the numbers make for a nice security blanket, positive reception from critics, fans and peers is ultimately how Oseary quantifies success, and so far, he’s more than pleased. “People are really digging it,” he says. “We feel good about the album, I’m proud of the work she’s done, [the EDM community] is giving the love back. It's her 12th album and the same story she had 30 years ago. That’s an amazing accomplishment.”

SoulAlive said:

asg said:

Lionel will out sell mdna in the long run plus i am just waiting how many free give awys were included i bet without the give aways they would come in pretty close and in the long run lionel will sell double what mdna will do.

Who cares about all that? Madonna certainly doesn't.If she did,she would be everywhere right now,promoting the album.She's smart enough to know that touring is where the real money is.Lionel may sell more but I doubt that he will have a major tour that grosses over $400 million this year.

In other words, Lionel Richie should be #1, and her numbers are inflated. Got it.

MADGE’S TWO ON THE AISLE: Madonna’s Interscope album, MDNA, which debuted at #1, racking up a year-best 358k first-week sales, benefited from a Ticketmaster bundling with concert tour tickets that added up to almost half of the total, according to theN.Y. Post. Those additional “sales” were the difference in finishing ahead of Lionel Richie who scored his best first week of theSoundScan era with nearly 200k for his country collaboration, Tuskegee. While SoundScan had made an “opt-in” offer for an album when purchasing a concert ticket mandatory to count “sales” in the wake of a previous Prince promotion, insiders insist that the consumer choosing to use a supplied redemption code satisfied that requirement. Other sources claimed the consumer being offered the option of either a “digital” or “physical” copy was sufficient. An inside source told the Post: “While the public may view it as free, [the album is] actually bundled into the price of the ticket.” (4/4p)

mdna apparently only sold somewhere in the 180k range

contratulation to Lionel for a #1 album

Identity said:

SoulAlive said:

Who cares about all that? Madonna certainly doesn't.If she did,she would be everywhere right now,promoting the album.She's smart enough to know that touring is where the real money is.Lionel may sell more but I doubt that he will have a major tour that grosses over $400 million this year.

In other words, Lionel Richie should be #1, and her numbers are inflated. Got it.

I don't see Madonna and Lionel duking it out. Congrats to both of them. That's the first time both have been on the charts together since 1986.

errant said:

Identity said:

In other words, Lionel Richie should be #1, and her numbers are inflated. Got it.

Only if she sold 160,000 concert tickets in the US and every single person who ordered a ticket redeemed the voucher for the album for every ticket they bought.

And only if one believes that these folks (who are obviously big Madonna fans since they shelled out the money for concert tickets) wouldn't have bought the CD on their own. It's haters trying to reach and make her accomplishments look less than they are. Kinda sad that someone spends so much time with this, but whatever.

If pointing out the factual distortion of her album sales makes me a "hater", then I wear that title as a badge of honor.

[Edited 4/4/12 13:12pm]

http://www.billboard...006670752.story

Editor's Note: What Role Did Bundling and Exclusives Play in Madonna and Justin Bieber's Big Debuts?

April 04, 2012
By Bill Werde (@bwerde), New York

Madonna has the no. 1 album on this week's Billboard 200. She sold 359,000 copies of MDNA compared to Lionel Richie's Tuskegee, which opens with a really impressive 199k first week. But many of Madonna's sales came through a bundle option, in which fans who purchased tickets for her upcoming tour received a code that could be redeemed for either a physical CD or a digital download of the album.

There are plenty of people crying foul on both fronts. Those people should probably calm down. Both examples offer a glimpse into the complicated, largely experimental and ever-changing world of marketing, distributing and monetizing new releases in today's marketplace.

Of Madonna's 359,000 sold, trusted sources tell Billboard that somewhere in the area of 185,000 came from the bundle/redemption code. Sacre bleu, you say, doing math: 359 - 180 = 179. Mr. Richie's 199,000 is the true king-making total this week!

But that's completely ridiculous. With all respect deserved and paid to the beloved songs of Mr. Richie, think about two important points. One: Madonna fans who redeemed that code are not receiving the album for free. The price of Madonna's album was bundled into the ticket purchase. I can understand why there's confusion about this. Even the CEO of Ticketmaster tweeted that fans buying tickets got "a free copy of MDNA." (The March 30 tweet has since been taken down). Such is the less-than-fully-transparent nature of bundling.

But let's take a hypothetical for a second: the cost of MDNA wasn't bundled into the ticket price, or that Billboard doesn't count those sales. All 185,000 fans who used the Madonna redemption code were the first in line to buy tickets to her tour. These are her top fans, each of whom were eager to shell out anywhere from $50 to more than $350 for a seat. If no bundle existed, do you really think a large portion of these fans wouldn't have purchased the album? We'll never know for certain, of course. But I think it's a more than safe bet that Madonna has the no. 1 album in the U.S. under any circumstance - joining her deserved no. 1 debuts in at least 17 other countries, according to manager Guy Oseary's tweets.

For context, here are her recent albums' first-week sales, per Nielsen SoundScan:

2008 - Hard Candy - 280K
2005 - Confessions on a Dance Floor - 350K
2003 - American Life - 240K
2000 - Music - 420K
1998 - Ray of Light - 371K

So you can see, given that MDNA has a nice buzz and single going, it's pretty much beyond reason to think that suddenly this album would sell substantially less than any recent one Madonna has released.

That said, let's wait and see what the drop-off is next week on sales of MDNA. Second weeks tend to follow a fairly predictable curve. And while it's far from a perfect science, it's one of the best bullsh-- detectors out there for an inflated first week. Billboard's head of charts Silvio Pietroluongo says that an iconic pop star's album will generally drop anywhere from 65 to 80 percent second week. If MDNA drops a lot more than that, it'll be an indication of the degree of first week inflation caused by bundling.

NoVideo said:

errant said:

Only if she sold 160,000 concert tickets in the US and every single person who ordered a ticket redeemed the voucher for the album for every ticket they bought.

And only if one believes that these folks (who are obviously big Madonna fans since they shelled out the money for concert tickets) wouldn't have bought the CD on their own. It's haters trying to reach and make her accomplishments look less than they are. Kinda sad that someone spends so much time with this, but whatever.

Exactly.Any fan who bought a concert ticket would have bought the album anyway,without the "bundle deal".

MDNA across the globe

Madonna lands another Number One album worldwide as MDNA enters atop the Chart in Canada selling 32,000 units. Her previous album ranked from the 17,000 copies of the Celebration collection and the 18,000 units of American Life to the higher numbers of Music (50,300), Hard Candy (58,000) and Ray of Light (59,900) and the record 74,000 copies sold by Confessions on a Dance Floor.
MDNA also debuts at Number 1 in the charts of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Both the Slovak and the Czech Album charts have been mashed together this year by the IFPI branch of both countries, so there is one official chart but they still count the positions as separate countries. On the singles charts, they still have separate top 100 singles for each country.

In Croatia, MDNA debuts on the Top of both the foreign artists and the overall albums chart.

In Brazil MDNA has been certified both Gold and Platinum by the Associaçao Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos.

The new album enters at Number 2 in the Swiss Albums Chart behind local act Züri West - but outselling both Unheiling and Silbermond - two very strong competitors in the country.

In Argentina the Deluxe Edition of MDNA is on top of the chart after entering at #5 last week while the Standard edition debuts at #5 this week.

In Spain Madonna enters the Official Spanish Chart at Number 1... yet another #1 for MDNA - and a Gold certification for sales of 20,000 copies.

MDNA is also Number 1 in the Mexican unofficial Mix-Up chart, a good sign towards the Official album chart to be released later this week.

NoVideo said:

SoulAlive said:

Who cares about all that? Madonna certainly doesn't.If she did,she would be everywhere right now,promoting the album.She's smart enough to know that touring is where the real money is.Lionel may sell more but I doubt that he will have a major tour that grosses over $400 million this year.

Agreed. This tour is going to be MASSSSSIVE. Can't wait for my show

What show(s) are you going to? I'm going to both Bay Area shows I may even catch one of the Vegas shows,too.

Madonna's MDNA: Behind The 'Eclectic' #1 Album

Producer Martin Solveig opens up to MTV News about working with the Queen of Pop on her latest chart-topping opus.

By Jocelyn Vena (@jocelyn1212)

Madonna released her latest chart-topping album, MDNA, last week, and whatever special magic she cast in the studio seemed to work.

The dance-heavy album sits pretty at #1 this week, selling a whopping 359,000 units, proving that Madonna still is the Queen of Pop. The album is full of dirty and chugging production, with Madge lamenting about her broken heart on some songs and seeking vengeance against a former lover on others.

The album gets production assists from William Orbit, Benny Benassi and Martin Solveig, among others, but it's the contributions from those three that stand as the highlights. Both Solveig and Benassi had a hand in the album's first two singles, "Girl Gone Wild" (Benassi) and "Give Me All Your Luvin" (Solveig), while Orbit brings some emotional gravitas to the record, recalling their work on Ray of Light.

Solveig recently stopped by MTV News and opened up about creating the chart-topping album with Madonna. "We were working with no limits. I think the only thing that she said when we started was 'I just want people to be able to dance to my music and connect easily with my music,' and also probably to take some risks at some point," he explained. "Other than this, it was open to any kind of experimentation."

What Solveig wanted to focus on when it came to experimenting with her was rhythm. "This is why I explored mainly the BPM thing," he said, referring to the beats per minute of his tracks. "You have slow BPM, very fast BMP songs, twisty and more four to the floor, and I thought it was interesting to explore this, because she hasn't done that a lot on the past albums. And actually, William did a little of the same. It's very eclectic. Every song has a little story. It's a collection of songs that are very different, but you are excited to listen from beginning to end."

With a hit record on her hands, Madonna will have a moment to breathe before she kicks off her world tour later this year. The trek will begin May 29 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Madge will land Stateside August 28 in Philadelphia.

RKJCNE said:

Anybody get the nightlife remix album? Is it any good?

I heard a few of the remixes and didn't like 'em,so I passed on this.I think an excellent remix album could be made from this era but unfortunately,the Smirnoff Nightlife project isn't it.

Madonna MDNA Deluxe Gatefold Limited 180gran Vinyl 2LP Set
Limited UK quantity of 2000 copies.

Record 1
Side A
Girl Gone Wild
Gang Bang
I’m Addicted
Turn Up the Radio
Side B
Give Me All Your Luvin'
Some Girls
Superstar
I Don’t Give A

Record 2
Side A
I’m A Sinner
Love Spent
Masterpiece
Falling Free
Side B
Beautiful Killer
I Fucked Up
B-Day Song
Best Friend
Give Me All Your Luvin' (Party Rock Remix)

SoulAlive said:

NoVideo said:

Very surprising no #1 albums in the 90s, and 5 times at #2. But album sales were huge in the 90s, much more difficult to hit #1. Would be interesting to see what albums were #1 while these 5 albums peaked at #2, but i'm too lazy to do that research

'Ray Of Light' was kept out of the Number One spot by that damn 'Titanic' movie soundtrack That was frustrating to see because if there was any Madonna album that truly deserved to be Number One,it was ROL.It was kept at the Number Two position.

What I don't get is why was Celine's album at the time and the Titanic soundtrack both so successful? My Heart Will Go On was on both and the rest of the Titanic soundtrack was instrumentals no one cared about.

aardvark15 said:

SoulAlive said:

'Ray Of Light' was kept out of the Number One spot by that damn 'Titanic' movie soundtrack That was frustrating to see because if there was any Madonna album that truly deserved to be Number One,it was ROL.It was kept at the Number Two position.

What I don't get is why was Celine's album at the time and the Titanic soundtrack both so successful? My Heart Will Go On was on both and the rest of the Titanic soundtrack was instrumentals no one cared about.

Makes no sense to me,either.

She had 114 million people watching her at the same time. How much more promo do you need?

Don't forget to join Madonna's Live Twitter chat tonight and celebrate MDNA's 1st week success at 10 PM EDT (UK: 3 AM BST - Continental Europe: 4 AM CEST) via@MadonnaMDNAday.

Use #askmadonna in your tweet and watch www.madonna.com/askmadonna.