Angela

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupsPg5H6aE

United States trends · Change R.I.P Whitney Houston #IWillAlwaysLoveYou Bobby Brown The Bodyguard Wanna Dance With Somebody The Preacher's Wife CNN #Crackkills Clive Davis Larry King

Incredible voice before the problems.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14ivtcelIo0 RIP, Whitney.

CNN is saying it's true.

Adele on 60 Minutes. She sounds just the same after the surgery to repair her vocal cords. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O6q_SJWR3M

http://music.uk.msn....imed-her-throne Madonna v Lady Gaga: How the Queen of Pop reclaimed her throne Why Madonna's Super Bowl performance proves she's still light years ahead of Lady Gaga… For the last three years it has seemed as if The Queen of Pop was a title we only bestowed on Madonna as an affectionate courtesy for all the work she's put in, and that the real crown was actually now firmly on the head of Lady Gaga (when she isn't wearing a cup, some ham or a fascinator made out of beagles and moon rocks). At the half-time of a sporting event we can't begin to fathom, Madonna changed the game. Or more accurately, Madonna used the 2012 Super Bowl to remind everyone that the game is hers and that she is still the best pop star we've got, and any young pretender, no matter how ambitious/creative/deranged, is going to have to work a whole lot harder for a whole lot longer to even get near the ball. Long gone are the days when the pop world was ruled by giants. Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince once strode about the Earth performing vast, dazzling, theatrically thrilling, stadium-busting concerts other acts could only dream about (as their accountants pointed to the bank balance and shook their heads). Now, even our biggest stars seem to exist on a more manageable scale. Certainly pop concerts are still big, flashy, laser-filled, dancified affairs, packed to the popcorn-odoured rafters with costume changes, trap doors, daft props and glitter canons. But such fripperies are now commonplace, expected and done on the cheap. That was until Gaga decided it was a perfectly shrewd business move to lose money on a tour - such were her extravagant technical tastes. Madonna takes it to 'a whole other level' Yet while Gaga's gigs are a riot of high camp, gore and awe (recently revealed stage plans for the Born This Way tour suggest the action will take place in a castle), Madonna's Super Bowl show was on a whole other level. We'd go so far as to call it her most inventive and impressive display since 1990's Blond Ambition concerts and the best use of a video floor since the Beijing Olympics. Most importantly she made several million dollars worth of excessive, advertiser-attracting, attention-demanding spectacle look almost effortless and hugely entertaining. Did you clock that smile during Music? Madonna genuinely looked to be having the time of her life up there with the hyper-real Nicki Minaj, M.I.A. and her naughty finger, the frat-buffoons LMFAO, the Reverend Cee Lo Green, Roman centurions, cheerleaders, marching bands, and... oh my, we had forgotten what we were missing. Madonna makes pop fun; now we remember! Because no matter how fascinating The Haus of Gaga's work is (and we're not bored yet, despite the media saturation), their creative director sure goes a long way to make it seem like a thankless task. In her interviews she's always keen to stress just how much "hard work" goes into being this otherworldly superstar. And while we appreciate the extra effort, her job is simply to make some nice pop records, wear daft clothes and emerge from an egg from time to time. Gaga doesn't seem to enjoy herself And yet we don't get the sense Ms Germanotta is actually enjoying herself from the über-serious and often incomprehensible way she discusses her art. To borrow a phrase from an old editor of ours, we don't want to hear the labour pains; we just want to see the baby. The main difference between Madonna's approach to her work and Gaga's is that Ms Ciconne never makes it feel like a task. Being Madonna is always what Madonna has wanted to do, and it's what she does best. She positively revels in being Madonna. Or at least she used to before the marriage, religion and film directing made her boring. The first sign that the fun, solipsistic Madonna was back came when she was overheard expressing her disgust at the flowers presented to her by a fan. It was the Madonna of In Bed With Madonna - hilariously callous and particular. The second sign was when she responded to the media brouhaha about hydrangea-gate with a tongue-in-cheek video begging for absolution (once a Catholic...) The third indicator that the Queen of Pop was returning to her throne was a literal one: her arrival onto the Super Bowl stage on a colossal, man-pulled chariot - fit for a Cecil B. DeMille directed Cleopatra. These are good signs. "What are you looking at?" When Michael Jackson played the same show in 1993, he pulled off the illusion of darting from one side of the stadium to the other, as if to say, "You think you see me but you don't. I'm elusive. You can't pin me down". By contrast, Madonna's entrance was slow, stately and supremely confident. All eyes were on her as she drawled, "What are you looking at?" It was the entrance of someone at ease with her self, her stardom and her sense of humour. And no, we don't think Give Me All Your Luvin' (don't you just hate that spelling?) is going to trouble any 'best songs of all time' charts. Personally, we'd rank it as only our 59th favourite Madonna single, although we appreciate the Daphne & Celeste influence (we'll never forget you, girls). And judging by the titles on her upcoming album MDNA (that joke isn't funny anymore, is it?) we're not looking at classic songwriting (Gang Bang? Really?) But it doesn't matter if these new songs aren't the best songs of her career, because we've 11 previous albums to pick from. There's no shame in trading on past glories if no one else's current glory comes close. Lady Gaga has made two and a half albums so far, and while she's racked up a few cracking singles, at this point in her career Madonna had given us Holiday, Lucky Star, Borderline, Like A Virgin, Material Girl, Crazy For You and Into The Groove. There's no comparison. It seems ludicrous and unfair to Gaga that we even began to consider her worthy of pop royalty so soon. She's achieved an awful lot in a very short amount of time, but let's give it 30 years before we see if Madonna needs to abdicate. And no, as we're tired of reading in the comments sections of websites, Madonna didn't sing live for the majority of the performance, but then you can't be spun upside your head by impossibly elastic dancers and still hold a note immediately afterwards. It's one or the other. And if you think that singing live is more important than being spun upside your head by impossibly elastic dancers, on a night like that, then you don't understand pop at all. However, for those of you who still think singing is a competitive sport, her rendition of Like A Prayer was all her own live voice and it was faultless. Touchdown Madonna.

Material, material... This is taking me back to being a kid and waiting for the latest Madonna or Michael Jackson song/video to come out on MTV. Those used to be such huge events. That is another one I liked that never got much air-play,,, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvtx--dpjN4 A top 100 song list for "Her Madgesty" http://www.afterelto...ongs?page=0%2C4 1. “Vogue” from I’m Breathless Could there be any doubt? Vogueing is the perfect dance extension of Madonna as a pop culture entity: It’s self-presentational, winkingly narcissistic, actually narcissistic, a showcase of agility, funny, righteous, and fabulous. The song “Vogue,” meanwhile, is about Madonna’s two favorite things: self-expression and superstardom. Whether you’re Joe nobody or Joe DiMaggio, you should be demanding attention – mainly from yourself. “Vogue” is Madonna’s greatest moment, the definitive ‘90s dance anthem, and a towering gay phenomenon that couldn’t be more ferocious or fun. ETA: I'm googling the night away... http://entertainment...pular-songs.htm This fiery, petite Italian-American was born in 1958 in Bay City, Michigan. From the start, Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone had big dreams, and at 19 she moved to New York City where she began to make a name for herself as a singer and dancer. Selling more than 200 million albums in a career that has spanned more than two decades, "Madge" has stayed on top by constantly reinventing herself. Though many disagree with some of her artistic choices, the numbers don't lie: Billboard magazine reports that Madonna's 2006 Confessions tour was the most successful concert tour by a female artist in history. Here are 25 of the biggest hits that put her on top. 1. "Holiday" (1983) From her self-titled debut album, "Holiday" was the first of Madonna's songs to make Billboard's Hot 100, peaking at number 16. It is now one of her signature songs. 2. "Borderline" (1984) Madge's second single broke the top ten on U.S. charts, which was impressive for a newcomer. In this video, look for a very young John Leguizamo, who plays a friend of Madonna's boyfriend. 3. "Like a Virgin" (1984) This song was Madonna's first number one on Billboard's Hot 100, probably due to her legendary appearance at the first-ever MTV Video Music Awards. Rolling around in a wedding dress, Madonna sang this song and cemented a mutually beneficial relationship with music videos. 4. "Material Girl" (1985) This song, which earned Madonna the moniker "the Material Girl," painted the singer as a girl who would rather have a rich boyfriend than a love-struck one, although it was meant to parody the commercialism and greed of the 1980s. "Material Girl," the second single from Madonna's Like a Virgin album, reached number two on U.S. charts, with the video imitating Marilyn Monroe's famous musical number "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend." 5. "Crazy for You" (1985) From the soundtrack of the film VisionQuest, "Crazy for You" was Madonna's second number-one song. Madonna makes a cameo in the movie, belting out this tune in a nightclub scene. 6. "Into the Groove" (1985) Coinciding with her role in the film Desperately Seeking Susan, this popular tune was remixed for use in a 2003 Gap ad starring Madonna and rapper Missy Elliott. 7. "Live to Tell" (1986) Written and produced by Madonna and longtime collaborator Patrick Leonard, "Live to Tell" is the story of a woman facing a difficult decision. The song was written for the movie At Close Range, starring Sean Penn, Madonna's husband at the time. With this number-one ballad, Madonna emerged as more mature, abandoning the street urchin look for that of a grown-up. 8. "Papa Don't Preach" (1986) Another one of Madonna's more serious ballads, the song tells the story of a pregnant teen who has decided to have her child and raise it with her boyfriend. You'd think such a heavy topic wouldn't fly as a pop song, but this was another number one for Madonna in the summer of 1986. Groups that had once condemned Madge now commended her for the song's antiabortion theme, although some were concerned that it glorified teen pregnancy. 9. "Open Your Heart" (1986) In classic Madonna style, "Open Your Heart" was buoyed by a risqué video. In it, Madonna plays an exotic dancer who performs for a room that includes an underage boy. Plenty of people were outraged, but the song was another number-one hit. 10. "Who's That Girl" (1987) Nominated for a Grammy, "Who's That Girl" sped to number one in the summer of 1987 when it appeared in the movie of the same name, starring Madonna. The movie didn't do so well, but the soundtrack went platinum. Other artists are included on the soundtrack, but this song and another Madonna hit, "Causing a Commotion," were the reasons most people picked it up. 11. "Like a Prayer" (1989) "Like a Prayer," with its dramatic lyrics and gospel choir backup, is undoubtedly one of Madonna's biggest hits of all time. But the video, complete with burning crosses and Madonna making out with a black saint, was just a tad controversial. Pepsi had signed a deal to use Madonna and the song for a soda commercial, but they backed out when they saw the scandalous video. Still, the song topped the charts in every major music market in the world, and the video won an MTV Viewers Choice Award, sponsored by -- you guessed it -- Pepsi! 12. "Express Yourself" (1989) A call to women everywhere to stick up for what they want, "Express Yourself" was a top-five hit around the world, peaking at number two in the States. The notorious conical bra made its debut in the video. Designed by Jean-Paul Gautier, the pink corset with the pointy cups was worn under a black suit in the video and throughout Madonna's Blonde Ambition Tour as well. 13. "Cherish" (1989) The third hit single off the Like a Prayer juggernaut, "Cherish" is a song that finds Madonna in an innocent frame of mind, singing about the joys of true love. The song reached number two in the States, her seventeenth single to reach the top ten on U.S. charts. 14. "Vogue" (1990) There have been a few megahit dance crazes in American pop music history: The Twist, The Macarena, and Vogue to name a few. This song, from the Dick Tracy: I'm Breathless soundtrack, featured instructions on "vogue" dancing, an expressive style of dance popular in the underground gay clubs of New York City. Leave it to Madonna to make it a number-one song. 15. "Justify My Love" (1990) Madge teamed up with songwriters Ingrid Chavez and Lenny Kravitz to pen this steamy song, which became Madonna's ninth number one in the States. The video was so racy, MTV banned it! As a result, the "Justify My Love" video was the first video single ever released and it immediately sold out in stores everywhere. 16. "This Used to Be My Playground" (1992) Madonna's tenth single to reach number one, this ballad was featured in the movie A League of Their Own. Madonna's performance in the movie was also well received by critics. The song wasn't included on the soundtrack, but it appeared on Madonna's ballad compilation, Something to Remember, released in 1995. 17. "Take a Bow" (1994) Following the release of her controversial, best-selling book Sex (1992), Madonna experienced sagging chart positions. But "Take a Bow" changed all that. This farewell-to-love tune was a record breaker for Madonna, spending seven weeks at number one on U.S. charts. 18. "Frozen" (1998) This single, which featured dark themes, eastern instruments, and techno beats, was a huge hit for the recently reinvented Madonna. "Frozen" reached number one or two in most major music markets, foretelling the enormous success of Ray of Light, the album on which it was featured. 19. "Ray of Light" (1998) This techo-infused dance hit broke a record for Madonna, selling 73,000 singles in the first week of its release. The second track from her Grammy Award-winning album of the same name, "Ray of Light" was a massive club hit that received major remix attention from the most in-demand deejays. The single reached the top ten on charts the world over, peaking at number five in the States. 20. "Beautiful Stranger" (1999) Another song-from-a-movie hit for Madonna, this bouncy tune was penned by Madonna and Ray of Light album coproducer William Orbit for the second Austin Powers movie, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. The song reached number 19 in the United States -- even though it was never officially released -- and it garnered the singer another Grammy. 21. "American Pie" (2000) Don McLean's classic tune got the Madonna treatment for inclusion in the movie The Next Best Thing. The movie flopped, but the song did well -- reaching number one in the U.K., Canada, and Australia, among others. Oddly enough, although the song wasn't released in the States, it reached number 29 off airplay alone. 22. "Music" (2000) "Music," Madonna's twelfth single to top U.S. charts, was in the running for a Grammy for Record of the Year, but lost to "Beautiful Day" by U2. The video featured Madonna (five months pregnant at the time) and comedy star Sacha Baron Cohen. "Music" has been featured in all of Madonna's shows since its release. 23. "Don't Tell Me" (2000) When "Don't Tell Me" went gold, Madonna tied The Beatles for second place for the most gold, platinum, or multiplatinum singles -- a total of 24 -- trailing Elvis, who's way ahead of the pack with a whopping 52. "Don't Tell Me" made it to number four on U.S. charts, and the video shows Madge hanging out with cowboys and riding a mechanical bull. Yee-haw! 24. "American Life" (2003) The first single off her highly criticized album of the same name, "American Life" lambasted the materialistic culture of America and the lack of satisfaction in the face of so much abundance. But Americans weren't ready for a political statement from the woman who used to sing about the joys of sex. This single reached the top ten (and often number-one spot) in much of Europe, as well as Canada and Japan, but only made it to number 37 on U.S. charts. 25. "Hung Up" (2006) The first single off her album Confessions on a Dance Floor, "Hung Up" included an infectious sample from superstar dance group ABBA. A disco-fied Madonna emerged in this dance hit, signaling the return of the megastar after lukewarm album sales for American Life. "Hung Up" topped the charts in an unprecedented 41 countries, but peaked at number seven in the States.

Soapsuds, I absolutely love that song. Sean Penn and Madonna, I guess they were the Chris Brown and Rihanna of their time except with a marriage certificate. I feel old for remembering the news stories about the car incident 1988: PEOPLE Magazine, 1987 According to a close associate of Madonna's, the singer always had trouble with Sean's unpredictable outbursts and sought psychiatric help for herself soon after the wedding. Some of her friends urged her to persuade Penn to get professional help, but it's not known whether he did. Later he was forced into therapy by court order. Madonna's associate adds that many of the singer's closest friends disliked Sean. They saw him as spoiled and immature and were amazed by his drinking and temper tantrums. The world soon shared their amazement. As the months went by, Penn seemed increasingly out of control. A chronology of early, early major bouts: •June 1985: While in Nashville, he hurls a rock at a photographer, camera-whips him, then punches out a reporter. •April 1986: In an L.A. nightclub, Penn sees songwriter David Wolinski bussing Madonna, an old acquaintance, and savagely attacks with fists, feet and a chair. He's fined $1,000 and gets a year's probation. "The marriage had been undergoing stress all the time," says a friend of Madonna's, "but this was the first major stress, the first really traumatic episode for her. Wolinski was someone she knew, and it really shook her up." •August 1986: Sean and Madonna are accosted by paparazzi outside their Central Park West apartment. Penn baptizes one photog, Anthony Savignano, with saliva. Savignano shoves him. Penn socks him and a fellow photographer, Vinnie Zuffante. By now, Madonna was spending less and less time with Sean at close range. "It didn't seem like they got along," says Madonna's great-aunt, Elsie For-tin, of Bay City, Mich., a matriarch of the Ciccione clan. "If you can't get along, why prolong the agony?" What was the couple's main problem? "I'd say Penn was insanely jealous of her." Penn had displayed a strong possessive streak even before Madonna. "I saw him on the set of Racing With the Moon," says one source, of the 1984 film Sean made with then-girlfriend Elizabeth McGovern. "A male reporter was sitting with McGovern in her trailer. When Penn found out about it, he threw a tantrum. He went over to the trailer and started rocking it. I don't think it was because he was afraid of McGovern saying anything about him. I think he was upset because there was a man in her trailer." Marriage did nothing to change Penn. The David Wolinski incident bears this out. So does the Nick Ka-men episode. A singer-model, Kamen was recording "Each Time You Break My Heart" with Madonna, and the fact that they were working together, says one source, "made Sean wildly jealous." Despite some vigorous protests to the contrary from Madonna, Penn refused to believe that she and Kamen weren't having an affair. "Sean caused a lot of problems in the studio," says the source. "Sean has a lot of insecurities," says another source. But he isn't alone in that respect. "I have my insecure moments," Madonna admitted at one point during the relationship, "and that puts a lot of strain on people. You take things out on the person you love, and that causes fights, alienation, grief, shrink sessions and a lot of ca-ca." Penn's camp agrees. "The divorce is not all his fault," says one of his associates. "If that's the story you're getting, you're getting it wrong." Whoever was responsible, the marriage was coming apart bit by bit. A few more entries in the log: •April 1987: While making Colors, a movie in which he plays a cop, Penn assaults Jeffrie Klein, an extra who is trying to snap some candids of the star. The attack is a violation of Penn's probation for the Wolinski incident. •May 1987: The LAPD picks Penn up for speeding and running a red light. An alcohol content of .011, just above the legal limit, is found in his blood. The charge is reduced to reckless driving, but it's another probation violation. •June 1987: Because of the twin offenses, Sean is sentenced to 60 days in the pen. In a move that raises questions about preferential treatment, he eventually serves five, leaves to make a movie in West Germany, returns to serve another 28 and gets the rest of the time off for good behavior. Ironic, that, because more and more, Sean's well-deserved reputation for less-than-sterling behavior preceded him. "I understand what Sean has gone through," says his friend Judd (The Billionaire Boys Club) Nelson. "It's tough on him, and it's gotta be tough on his marriage. We've both had people follow us on the street and say, 'Hey, man, come on and hit me.' It's like this big snowballing effect." While Sean was serving his time, Madonna was putting on a hopeful face. "I think Sean will emerge from jail as a better person," she said, "and as an even greater actor." A fitting remark from the woman who sang True Blue. Apparently a total of 33 days in jail didn't do much in the way of character rehabilitation. Après prison, while the couple were spending time together in L.A. after his mid-September release, a friend of Madonna's suggested a separation might be good for her. "We're separated all the time," replied Madonna, "and that doesn't make it any better." Things came to a head Thanksgiving week. According to the first published report of the split, from gossip columnist Liz Smith, Madonna was steamed because Sean had gone four days without contacting her, then suddenly showed up in their New York apartment expecting Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of serving turkey, she served him divorce papers. But both Penn's and Madonna's publicists say that story isn't true. "The decision was mutual," says Penn's person, Lois Smith. "The thing about him disappearing for four days is nonsense." "There was no one direct incident leading up to this," says Madonna's Liz Rosenberg. "It was a series of cumulative pressures. There were many moments in their marriage when it was shaky, and Madonna was finally forced to face the reality of the situation—that they weren't happy together." The papers, adds Rosenberg, weren't served on Thanksgiving: Madonna didn't start divorce discussions with her attorney until the following week. Sean Penn discussing the marriage years later: "Promise to Try" didn't get much love or play but it's also a really beautiful ballad... Full studio version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc-VrTKDiSk This is the only Madonna song I currently have on my MP3.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XQeLJUK0Uk

Andy clearly troublemakes. I don't blame him, the more drama he helps create the better for his networks ratings. But he was clearly encouraging the trouble with Lisa, and then trying to do it with Camille. He needs to do it a little less obviously, like he used to.

It's a little off-topic but here's clips from the first ten minutes of WWHL with SMG. RH talk in first one (Brandi fan? Kind of), AMC talk as well. Buffy and Lucci talk in the second (nothing new, but it's always a bit of fun to see her react to Lucci). They also showed a clip of NeNe on Glee that I don't think I included. She was pretty great in it. They said it airs tonite. Sue is telling the "swim teacher" she's taking time off to have a baby which just gets an awesome, awesome reaction. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIUN0opNLu8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhZy5IeByvY

I was sure I hated the new song until I heard it at the Super Bowl. I really liked the sound of it during the Super Bowl. I've watched the half-time show four times already and I still like it. I'm looking forward to hearing it on the radio again. Until now, I've been changing the station when it comes on because of the self-importance in it ("Madonna, Madonna," lol). I was also shocked that my favorite part of the performance was when Madonna was singing without help (I'd put money on "Like a Prayer" being completely her doing it there and then without the lip sync or much backup track), she wasn't anywhere near as poor at it as I remember from old clips. She was pretty good. TV Line After 2011′s “Black-Eyed Peas in Christmas Lights” Extravaganza, this year’s Super Bowl halftime show had nowhere to go but up. Or did it? For Super Bowl XLVI, pop music’s longest-reigning provocateur, Madonna, took over as master of ceremonies, and if I’m being honest, the results were electrifying. I’m not sure how much of the singing was live, but the choreography and spectacle of it all were stellar, and yoga’s never had a better champion. Her Madgesty entered via gladiator-drawn chariot to the opening snaps of “Vogue,” wearing a gold sequined robe that she quickly shed in favor of a black gladiatrix miniskirt, thigh-high boots, and gold headdress. (Leave it to Madonna to break the nation’s football-fueled reverie with a ditty about a style of dance popularized in gay club culture.) After some energetic posing and a danceoff with a futuristic Cupid type, Madonna easily segued into one of her all-time greatest singles, “Music,” bouncing up and down a set of makeshift bleachers flanked by b-boys in Adidas tracksuits. There was a weird interlude where NBC’s camera crew threatened to upstage the main act by lingering on an Afro-sporting foolio doing a jig on a tightrope, but Madonna threw in a series of rapid-fire squats on a rising platform that returned the attention to where it belonged. The next 30 seconds or so went to a collaboration (and some awkward calisthenics) with LMFAO that had too much “Party Rock,” and not enough “Sexy and I Know It,” but was nevertheless entertaining. Yet it was all more or less a bridge to the Material Girl’s saucy new single “Give Me All Your Lovin’,” complete with cheerleading costumes, pom-poms, a drumline, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., and some mesmerizing leg-ography. The message seemed to be clear: Radio needs more fiftysomething fierceness. Respeck. Booyakasha. The set ended with the appearance of Cee Lo Green, tiny snippets of “Open Your Heart” and (swoon) “Express Yourself,” and then the sounds of a Gospel chorus leading into “Like a Prayer.” (Breathe easy, FCC hotline: No religious statues were used sacrilegiously in the making of this halftime show.) Madonna and the Voice mentor were lifted skyward on a platform as they delivered the rousing anthem while clad in black sequined choir robes, and suddenly a map of the world (or a Risk boardgame) lit up on the field below them. Madge took one last swing at the chorus — actually singing live (and well), I believe — and then was swallowed whole by Lost‘s Smoke Monster, while the phrase “World Peace” appeared on the ground of the stadium. All in all, I’d say this is the happiest and least self-important Madonna we’ve seen in a decade or two, and while there were definitely portions of this stadium performance that were lipsycned (or aided by a backing track), I’d still say the old gal delivered the kind of spectacular spectacular that could be studied by future generations in How to Rock a Halftime Show 101. Experience, 1; youth, 0. Then again, this could just be the rantings of a guy who still owns Madonna’s self-titled debut on casette tape.

MTV - RATINGS In the lead-up to Super Bowl XLVI, many worried that Madonna wasn't the ideal candidate to perform at halftime. After all, her audience, which is dominated by women and gay men, differs wildly from that of the NFL and some wondered if that would mean less eye balls would tune in for the Queen of Pop's 12-minute halftime spectacle. Well, it appears to have had the opposite effect, actually, pulling in viewers who might not otherwise have watched the game and averaging a higher rating than the Super Bowl itself. According to SB Nation, the game averaged an impressive 47.8 rating in the U.S. while Madonna's halftime performance nabbed a 48.3. The game fell only slightly behind last year's record setter, which generated a 47.9 rating, translating to about 111 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Super Bowl in history. Though this year's game was slightly off that mark, the Washington Post notes that "around the time M.I.A. was flipping off America during Madonna’s halftime show, about 48 percent of the country’s TV homes were tuned in." As an unabashed Madonna fan, I'm pleased that so many people gave the Queen of Pop a chance. Despite digs that she may have been lip-synching – which, yeah, there was a bit of that, but I think it was part of a backing track balancing act to compensate during moments of complicated choreography and elaborate production, as "Like a Prayer" seemed as live as could be – reviews of the performance have alternated from positive to all-out raves. "It's Madonna Louise Ciccone's world, we're just living in it," Billboard raved of the performance, which saw Madge joining forces with Cirque du Soleil, her longtime choreographer/creative director Jamie King and multimedia artists from Moment Factory to "imagine" the spectacular show. Entertainment Weekly was even more enthusiastic about the show, writing, "Madonna gave a joyous, unironic, openhearted [performance]. She deployed guest stars including Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj, and M.I.A., but they never stole her glowing spotlight. From her entrance hoisted aloft by Roman-soldier dancers to the massed choir that sent her off, she was both in full command and full of generosity toward her massive audience." ADAGE - SOCIAL MEDIA 4. Madonna's halftime show alone generated more than 862,000 social-media comments; by comparison, Bluefin recorded 966,000 social-media comments for the 2011 Academy Awards. "If the halftime show were its own standalone televised event," Thai said, "it would rank fourth in terms of all-time social-TV events for entertainment. It would trail only the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, the 2011 American Music Awards and the 2011 Academy Awards." NEW YORK TIMES Proving again the appeal of chatting online while watching TV, the tense end of Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday night set a new record for simultaneous Twitter messages. As the game ended, Twitter counted 12,233 posts per second, the most for any English language event in the six-year history of the social-networking service. Earlier in the evening, during the halftime performance by Madonna, the site counted 10,245 posts per second. It is widely recognized in the television industry that Twitter and sites like it act as online water coolers where viewers can comment — and read others’ comments — while they are watching. Accordingly, most of the Super Bowl ads on television had either a Twitter hashtag, a Facebook reference or a Web address. Previously, Twitter’s record for an English language event had been the Jan. 8 overtime playoff win by the Denver Broncos, led by the quarterback Tim Tebow, when there were 9,402 tweets per second, according to the company.... Last year’s Super Bowl had a peak of 4,064 posts per second — a record at the time. The data demonstrates the growth in Twitter use, and the increasing comfort people have in this sort of multitasking, even during a nail-biting football game...

Some of the media is trying to make a big deal about it, but the fact is not that many noticed it or cared about it. MIA is not Janet Jackson and it defintely wasn't a boob slip so hopefully there isn't that big of a deal made with it. Some sections of the media are trying to blow it up. I'm fine with some bitch sticking her middle finger up at me, lol. NBC did their best to cover the finger, they were just a little too late.

Entertainment Weekly on the Social Media response to the half time show (I agree. On Twitter, before the half-time show, it was like 1 nice comment for every 25 bad comments, after it nearly flipped): Madge killed it in her halftime show, even earning love from the hard-to-please and often overly critical social media madding crowd. She looked amazing and belted out classics “Vogue” and “Like a Prayer” alongside her new song “Give Me All Your Luvin’” and 2000′s “Music.” Okay, so she tripped on the bleachers (who wouldn’t in those sky-high boots?), and maybe M.I.A. gave her the finger mid-song (did she or didn’t she?) — and there is a dispute over whether she was lip syncing (was she or wasn’t she?). But Madonna certainly proved her prowess as a professional and a performer, with a clean, solid show featuring old favorites and a new song that has her classic, catchy persona written all over it. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY Madonna was careful, in interviews before the Super Bowl, to say how nervous she was, how no one had to worry about her plotting to incite controversy. But instead of resulting in a cautious, tedious performance, Madonna gave a joyous, unironic, open-hearted one. She deployed guest stars including Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj, and M.I.A., but they never stole her glowing spotlight. From her entrance hoisted aloft by Roman-soldier dancers to the massed choir that sent her off, she was both in full command and full of generosity toward her massive audience. Commencing with a rendition of “Vogue” that used the magazine’s logo as part of the stage set, Madonna offered full-throated vocals coupled with tight choreography. If the visual transitions didn’t have any flow (Roman togas to pulsating stadium-seating steps to space for a tight-rope walker), the songs did. After the cool warm-up of “Vogue,” Madonna moved smoothly into “Music.” There was certain mashing-up of music with LMFAO that didn’t add much to the proceedings. She led into her current single, “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” as a sweet piece of Katy Perry-style pop. It’s not among her best songs, but Madonna rendered the tune with a playful vigor, shaking gold pom-poms with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. Toward the end of the song, a marching band trooped onstage, led by Cee Lo Green as drum major. Aiming to end on a note of uplift, Madonna and Green donned choir robes and brought forth a large choir for “Like A Prayer.” Singing from a raised platform, Madonna and Green’s voices soared, and just when I thought she was going to ascend to the heavens, she instead descended into… well, not hell — that would have been out of keeping with the mood of this show — but she dropped away in a puff of smoke. Now the carping will begin in living rooms and throughout the internet: Was she lip-synching? Did she make a few wobbly moves? Was M.I.A. being a naughty girl? Me, I don’t care. I was happy to see Madonna smiling so much, giving it her all, plugging her product with such gleeful abandon. (Oh, and, right, I almost forgot: WORLD PEACE, people!!) It wasn’t a thrillingly innovative performance, but that’s not what the Super Bowl half-time show is about anyway: It’s a time to hear some hits well-played, with more imagination and energy than, say, the Black-Eyed Peas provided last year. By this measure, Madonna’s Super Bowl performance was a bright delight. NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Madonna sidelined sex in favor of spectacle at her Super Bowl half-time show. Her 12-minute set proved chaste and careful by her younger standards - no hint of nipple-gate, not a whiff of the calculated religious provocations of her live shows. But it made up for its lack of shock-queen stunts with sheer fun, dazzle and, most of all, wit. Surely no half-time act in the history of the Super Bowl has had the moxie , or cheek, to open with an army of dancers — dolled up like gladiators from some kitschy sword and sandal epic — parading around before a Romanesque queen (our Maddy) done up in gold. Not since Liz Taylor appeared in "Cleopatra" has pop culture seen so large-scale a spectacle of camp. That in itself gave Madonna's half time show a subtle underlay of subversion. She bold-faced it to those in the know it by opening with "Vogue," a song whose inspiration derives wholly from a once deeply closeted, gay black movement founded in Harlem. The zest and humor of the show only escalated with a re-mixed version of "Music," which featured the cartoon-worthy guys from LMFAO mugging through their usual mock-sexy moves. Madonna upped the animated quality of the event - and deepened her opportunistic connection to current youth culture - by featuring on her new single ("Give Me All Your Luvin'") the sight gag of the moment: Nicki Minaj. Her staccato rap, and bombshell figure, added to the sense of the surreal. While another guest rapper M.I.A. got lost in the mix — despite apparently flashing the finger — the song's bubble gum snap held center stage regardless. Like the song's video, the staging of it featured pom-pom pounding cheerleaders — , in the process swiftly reminding all those football fans who may have momentarily forgotten exactly where they were. For a third, zany guest, Madonna brought the physically improbable Cee Lo Green to shimmy through "Open Your Heart" (enlivened by a quote from "Express Yourself"). Several vibrant drum lines doubled-up the rhythm. To make sure no one mistook Madonna's accent on the ridiculous for a flip take on the event itself, the star ended the show, all lady-like, with her mock-gospel "Like A Prayer." It featured Cee-Lo hitting the high notes, the star in reverent black and a final, incoherent message promoting "World Peace." Madonna-phobes will no doubt carp that, in all likelihood, she lip-synched. Certainly it looked that way. But in a show that's about flash and winks, who cares? She most definitely delivered on the surprise and joy she promised. And so - most assuredly not for the first time in her life - Madonna scored. NEW YORK TIMES The bad girl is a grown-up now, like it or not. Madonna, 53, danced her way back toward worldwide visibility Sunday as the halftime attraction for the Super Bowl, with a giant supporting cast — gladiators, acrobats, cheerleaders, drummers, a gospel choir — and a downright benign stance. She sang about dancing, music, loving and praying, with a little star power on the side. It’s impossible to guess what the Madonna of decades past, fascinated with lust, power, religion and transgression, might have done with this platform. But it’s probably not something the Super Bowl would have booked in the first place. Madonna has a new album, “MDNA,” coming out next month, her first since “Hard Candy” in 2008. (In 2007, she signed a 10-year partnership with Live Nation reportedly worth $120 million.) A football-themed video clip for her new single, “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” came out Friday, and the song started blasting across the Clear Channel empire of radio stations and billboards worldwide. More than 14 million people were exposed to the song even before the Super Bowl. For the worldwide audience of her halftime show, Madonna went all out on spectacle; at the Super Bowl, anything less would be dwarfed. She arrived on the field to sing “Vogue” as a gold-robed queen with a platoon of gladiators, dancing on a giant throne and doing precise, right-angle moves amid acrobats from Cirque du Soleil. “Music” brought her to the top of a bleacher-like set surrounded by more acrobatics; soon, she was assisted in cartwheels that had her head-over-heels. The pop duo LMFAO joined her, interspersing their 2011 hit “Party Rock Anthem” and giving Madonna a chance to deliver the line “I’m sexy and I know it” from another LMFAO song. As a chorus line of cheerleaders filled the stage, Madonna grabbed golden pompoms for “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” which has a handclapping beat reminiscent of Toni Basil’s 1982 “Mickey.” It’s a heavy-handedly self-promoting song — “L-U-V Madonna, Y-O-U you wanna” — that’s second-tier Madonna at best. Guest raps by Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. didn’t make the song’s retro-rock any fresher. But M.I.A. offered the Super Bowl set’s glimmer of transgression: Her verse included half of a four-letter word while she raised her middle finger. The drum corps appeared, with the singer Cee Lo Green, to back Madonna and Green for snippets of her “Open Your Heart” and “Express Yourself.” Then came the reverence in “Like a Prayer,” a song that has shed any hint of double-entendre it might have had when it was released in 1989. A black-and-white-robed choir joined Green and Madonna, who had gotten herself into a long dress. The stadium flickered with white lights, Green belted like a soul-gospel singer and Madonna beamed, on and off her knees, until she disappeared in a blast of smoke, singing, “I hear you call my name and it feels like home.” Madonna wasn’t the indefatigable trouper of years past. Though she’s still lithe, she measured her moves, letting her supporting cast offer distractions. As she climbed into the bleachers during “Music,” she missed a step, though she recovered fast. At the Super Bowl, Madonna was the party girl turned regent: a queen on her throne, a homecoming queen strutting in the bleachers, a church singer fronting a choir. At the end, the words World Peace glowed from the field in giant letters. Madonna was proffering virtue. LA TIMES To label the selection of Madonna as a halftime performer at the Super Bowl as curious is to neglect the surreal history of what has become one of the year's most discussed 10 minutes of music on American television. From the high-water mark Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake nip slip to the weird nonsequitur Rolling Stones gig to a children's choir singing "Michael Row the Boat Ashore," the Super Bowl has never been short on ridiculousness. But all different kinds of musical craziness had nothing on this year's Bridgestone Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show performance. Madonna was defiantly unconcerned with the more conservative red state wing of the football fan base who'd never be caught dead singing along to one of her songs, and her halftime show was pure spectacle by the Cleopatra of the game. Think about it. In less than 10 minutes, America watched marching warriors pulling a massive chariot; faux trumpeters announcing the arrival of Madonna; a man name Redfoo with a ridiculously large afro fronting a duo called LMFAO; a polyglot British-Sri Lankan rapper slyly flipping the bird at the camera; a cartoonish multiple-personality Nicki Minaj; and a charismatic Buddha of a singer with a golden voice in one of the best bandleader outfits ever created, to say nothing of his stunning black choir robe. At the center of it all was Madonna in her element, vogueing with a break-dancing lyre player, riding a bejeweled human serpent, slipping into her best single of the '00s, "Music," dancing near a tightrope walker who did a back flip as she passed, and sitting on Redfoo's shoulders during a mash-up with LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem." We saw Madonna looking absolutely silly as a 53-year-old cheerleader with equally noncheerleaders M.I.A. and rapper Minaj, and, perhaps most improbable of all, Madonna in front of a church choir pretending to be chaste. In fact, if you break down the show, produced by Stuart Davis (known to dance fans under his moniker Les Rhythmes Digitales), the whole thing was arguably more outrageous than the notorious Jackson nipple shot. Madonna's new album, "MDNA," is a sly reference to the drug Ecstasy; M.I.A.'s father was part of a Sri Lankan rebel group called the Tamil Tigers (once listed as a terrorist group by the State Department); LMFAO is an acronym in text slang for "laughing my ... ass off;" and singer Cee Lo Green hit the big time with a song about a middle-finger kiss-off. In this company, Minaj looked positively PG. But despite its success AND extravagance, this whole halftime package most of all was little more than an ingeniously well planned — and shockingly transparent — advertisement for "MDNA," and not much more. The rollout for the album began with the announcement that she'd be performing at the Super Bowl and was teased by a music video released Friday for her new single, "Give Me All You're Luvin'," featuring Minaj and with a remix also featuring LMFAO, which, of course, she performed. Talk about marketing to a lot of eyeballs. But then Madonna is Madonna for a reason. And we saw it firsthand Sunday. REUTERS There was exactly one provocative moment during Madonna's Super Bowl halftime show -- and it didn't come courtesy of Madonna. Instead, it was from British rapper M.I.A., whose middle finger during a guest appearance prompted an apology from NBC. The musical provocateur flipped the bird before the network could catch it, the network said. M.I.A., like the early Madonna, seems fond of controversy. She has defended the Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka, where she grew up, though others have denounced them as terrorists. Her 2010 video for the single "Born Free" tried to raise awareness of genocide by imagining a world where redheads are captured and killed. The only people Madonna was likely to offend Sunday were those who heard her wrong. At one point during "Music," her second song, it sounded like might have said the word "cock." (At least, it sounded that way to those of us who used to think "Scuze me while I kiss this guy" was a line in "Purple Haze.") A fast rewind confirmed she didn't say the word -- or any others that might get anyone angry. She stuck to the lyrics of "Music," including the line: "Don't think of yesterday and I don't look at the clock." Yes, clock. She delivered the "ock" part of the word with her typically crisp elocuction. And that was as close as she got to doing anything nefarious during the halftime show. Her cartwheels briefly revealed the elaborate undergarment under her black skirt, but it was no more revealing than the cheerleading routines she was tweaking. Her tight top left zero risk of a Janet Jackson-like wardrobe malfunction -- and she promised last week that there wouldn't be one. The show would have gone according to her ambitious plans, without violating the delicate sensibilities of anyone at home. If not for M.I.A.'s gesture. Madonna was led to the stage by musclebound men dressed like Trojans, wore a Nordic-looking headdress, and also shared the stage with LMFAO, Nicki Minaj (pictured) and, in a nice promotional tie-in for NBC, Cee Lo Green. He's one of the judges on "The Voice," the season 2 premiere of which got the catseat slot right after the game. Twitter responses were fiercely split, but it's hard to imagine what she could have done differently to win over the non-fans. If you like Madonna, chances are you liked her wild, genre-twisting performance. If you don't, you probably didn't. There was no arguing with her song selection, including her new "Give Me All Your Luvin" and "Like a Prayer," which featured the obligatory marching band and choir.

I didn't know that, the Whitney part. Whatever the case, that was amazing. I don't have a problem with lip syncing either unless you do it all the time. I wouldn't blame anybody for lipping it during an event like the Super Bowl. Madonna was great tonight. Seemed like a mix of live and lip (mostly lip). Great performance. "Like a Prayer" ruled. I'm shocked that her new song was my second favorite sound of the night.

Poor live voice. Like Rihanna, Britney, etc. That is actually true, now that I think about it. Billboard rates Madonna's Top 5 Live (for TV) Performances (lip syncs included)... http://www.billboard...52.story?page=1

Some of the funniest tweets "dedicated to" Madonna's performance today: "I have never heard of the Giants or the Patriots before, they must be good if they are opening for Madonna today." "At her #SuperBowl halftime show, Madonna will give us a sneak preview of Lady Gaga's halftime show in 2032.' ' "My Super Bowl prediction: Giants win when Patriot offense more out of sync than Madonna’s lips at halftime! " "Of course Madonna is doing the Super Bowl. She'll do anything younger than her." "My idea of a Super Bowl is a toilet that cleans itself! Happy #Madonna Bowl!" - RuPaul

SB, I love Madonna, but... Dressing half naked at 53, leaning so much on co-stars on videos, putting her voice through a machine to try to have a new hit makes her seem desperate to become more relevant among younger music fans of today. The fans that adore Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Beyonce right now. Again, you're Madonna, you're already extremely relevant in pop culture and you will be forever (you have your place, you earned your place) - you don't need to try so hard to mark places. I think that's exactly what she does. I will agree that Madonna has always been out of the box and over the top in terms of selling her sexuality but I feel she knows better now. I feel she is just continuing to show it so much out of desperation.

Madonna has nothing left to prove but what makes her look insecure and desperate is that she, in my opinion, appears desperate to stay relevant - not only to us who grew up with her but to kids today. Despite criticisms, a bad live voice and bad choices, she will go down as one of the most original, innovative and biggest stars in the industry. She's had amazing longevity. She can chill. She's proven her sh!t. I'm not gonna hate on her for it though, out of her generation of singing superstars she remains one of the more well-adjusted. There's nothing wrong with never ending ambition either.<iframe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=994T2-3hnk8

I think this was their idea of a fun and less serious episode. I don't know if I liked or disliked how almost everybody's path led them to the same destiny or destination they have in reality.

Andy to Brandi and Camille: You both have really famous ex-husbands. Brandi: She definitely does. Me? Not really. Me: Bwahaha. Andy needs to stop teasing her, and sign her full-time already. Link to a Brandi and Lisa joint interview, http://stoopidhousewives.com/2012/01/26/lisa-vanderpump-and-brandi-glanville-brandi-and-lisa-talk-about-upcoming-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills-reunion-show-video/

In a new interview with LynnNChicago, 38-year-old Brandi Glanville revealed some juicy secrets about The Real Housewives of Beverly Hillsreunion — including allegations that the other ladies met beforehand and planned to attack Lisa Vanderpump during the show! Brandi told the website that all of the Housewives, minus Camille Grammer, Kim Richards, and herself (which leaves Kyle Richards, Taylor Armstrong, and Adrienne Maloof), gathered early and decided to gang up on Lisa during filming. “It was like Survivor; they meet up to go after one or the other, and so you’ll hear me say, ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t make the meeting.’ They planned it all beforehand,” Brandi said. ”They all decided to have a go at Lisa, and it’s all silly, petty stuff!” Adrienne does tell Lisa her “Maloof Hoof” comments were hurtful in one of the promos. In another, Kyle tells Lisa that it’s difficult to be her friend because she calculates every move like a chess game. As for Brandi, she was told to wait backstage for hours, and by the time she was finally invited into the fold, Lisa was already in tears, the reality star claims. While the network has been accused of manufacturing moments, Brandi doesn’t think the tirade against Lisa was Bravo’s idea at all. “No one at Bravo ever told me what to say; there was plenty of drama. There was no need for Bravo to create any,” she told the website. Following the publication of Brandi’s interview, Kyle Richards took to Twitter to defend herself, and slam Brand in the process: “I heard [what Brandi said]. Sad she would say that. But doesn't surprise me,” Kyletweeted. “I said I was asked to meet the day before,” Brandi reiterated on Twitter, followed by: “Let me know ur thoughts after u see the reunion shows.” Despite the drama between Brandi and the Housewives — she says the only one she sees anymore is Lisa — the leggy beauty would consider another season… if she gets a status upgrade. “I would come back but not as a ‘friend’ of the Housewives, it needs to be a full time kind of thing.” At this point, it sounds like Lisa might need an ally!

Why does Taylor think that revealing that Brandi sliced Eddie's tires would somehow make the peeps see her for who she really is? That's what scorned women (and sometimes men) do. And like Brandi said, she told him she cut the tires before letting him ride on it. Loved Brandi owning it. This weeks reunion was blah with the "lets bash Lisa and kiss Taylor's ass" theme, looks like thing will improve for Part 2.

Preview for RHOBH Reunion Part 2... Taylor blabbering about Brandi saying "I'll kill you" twice at the infamous party. Brandi: Is that book about your husband out yet? It hasn't even been a hot minute. Me: Score, Brandi! Score! lol