I am decidedly depressed by the news that Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears are both slated to appear during tonight’s Los Angeles stop on Madonna’s "Sticky & Sweet" tour.
I know, I know…back in March, I blogged about how, for the first time in Madge’s career, I was unexcited about one of her album releases. After all, Madonna’s always been at her best when she’s latched on to a slightly underground trend, co-opted it as her own, and foisted it onto an unsuspecting mainstream audience (think: vogueing, electronica, Mirwais). Madonna’s sudden reliance on Timberlake, Timbaland, and Kanye West to make 2008′s Hard Candy a sales success was tantamount to her nervously carrying her lunch tray into the pop-culture cafeteria and trying to score a seat with the cool kids when, really, she should’ve been sitting down at an empty table and confidently forming her own damn posse. And sure enough, seven months after its release, Hard Candy is barely on my radar, except for those occasions when the admittedly excellent "Beat Goes On" pops up on my cardio playlist.
Which makes tonight’s recruitment of Spears even more distressing. Madonna and Britney’s previous collaborations — the faux-lesbian smooch on MTV, the abhorrent "Me Against the Music" — did little to boost either singer’s fortunes. And (hello!) why would you think that fans shelling out hundreds of bucks for a ticket would be excited to have a notorious lip-syncher added to the bill?
What think you, PopWatchers? Am I crazy for expecting Madge to still be setting trends at this stage of her career? And if she really has reached the "follow the leader" stage of her career, could it be time for her to (blasphemy alert) follow Celine Dion and Cher’s leads, and get herself a residency in Vegas? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
More on Madonna:
Is anyone else unexpectedly unexcited about the new Madonna CD?
EW.com’s "All About Madonna" page
Madonna’s politically charged tour video: Is it any good?
Music Review: Madonna’s ‘Hard Candy’
Madonna’s 10 Most Underrated Songs
Slezak, I could not agree with you more. As a lifelong Madonna fan, this Hard Candy phase has far from impressed me. Other than “She’s not Me” the songs are forgettable.
Now I think Britney may be the one slumming here as Blackout was a far better record than HC.
I agree with everything you said on the Madonna front, but I think to many the real story here to many people may be Britney + Justin = ? They are rumored to duet soon, which I think should be terrible. If Justin’s dynamic voice made Madonna’s sound dead on “4 Minutes,” what is it gonna do to Britney’s?
i wish i was there. i, for one, love hard candy and i dont see her wanting to work with known people and “share the wealth” to be a problem.
Wow, can your disdain for anythin Britney be any more promoted? First of all, if you check out other blogs, many, many, many people are interested in having Britney at the show tonight. I’ll give you a second to check that out…
Ok, and second of all, it’s obvious that Justin+Britney is the big deal here.
Your refusal to admit anything positive to Britney (while HEAPING on unconditional glory to Beyonce, sorry, Sasha Fierce) is getting a little bit grating.
i agree 100%. but, that doesn’t mean i won’t be looking for the youtube video tomorrow morning.
If the sole purpose of this is to get people interested/talking/gossiping about her then mission accomplished – actually since it’s Madonna ‘fait accompli” would be more accurate.
Madonna’s a legend, however, Justin and Britney are the here and now. Madonna’s a smart lady and she knows what she needs to do to keep herself in the spotlight. Love her or hate her, lets face it, anything Britney is a huge deal these days. She had the #1 single just a week or two ago, shes a ratings powerhouse… shes young. It’ll be great to have the Queen of pop along wiht the Prince and Princess on one stage. Just wish they’d air it on tv
I’ve always thought that Hard Candy was just a throwaway album. She wanted to do a very mainstream american album then get on with her career with Live Nation.
I completely disagree and by the way Michael I need you to give your Gay Card back or at least snip off the corners for talking trash about Madge and Brit.
I agree only when you said she went with Timbaland and Timberlake looking for radio success. But we are talking about the queen, the princess (say whatever you want, Blackout sold more copies than Hard Candy with only 1 performance that turned out to be a “failure” and even when she gets trashed she still has success on the charts because of her music, not her persona) and the prince… it’s pop royalty with the same audience, it’s pretty logic to me,
i’m confused: when bjork and MIA collaborate with timbaland or when Gwen works with Pharell its art… when Madonna does its desperate. Yes, agreed: she usually makes producers, producers don’t make her. But when she worked with Stuart Price media asked “why not work with the hitmakers of the US urban market”. Give her a freakin’ break. The album (and the tour) is top notch. She has done more for the music scene than most, she deserves the benefit of the doubt.
I am 31 years old. I have been a fan of Madonna since Like A Virgen days. I have seen all of her concerts around the world, from Blond ambition to Confessions. I have all of her albums and obviously admire the Pop Star. I am a professional dancer and work in the show bus industry. I completely agreet with this story. I am extremely disapointed to know that I will have to watch Britney Spears…??!!! AND Justin Timberlake!!!???!!! WTF? I thought I was going to see Madonna. I have 0 interest in Britney or Justin who are pop starts for little teenager girls and boys…PLEASE I could only wish this is a sad joke. Next time I will def have to think twice before spending my money on Madonna, as much as I admire her, this is not ok. If I knew these two were part of the deal I honestly would have passed this concert. Who will she bring on next? Christina Aguilera or New Kids on the Block…? No perhaps NSync… If she were to bring an artist on for the very least I would expect someone like Bono from U2 or else don’t waste my time.
I just noticed as I scrolled through the popwatch blog on Madonna how many times Michael Slezak and the rest ask the same question: “Does anyone care about Madoona, the director?, Madonna/Warner divorce?, new Madonna album?, Madonna tour video about McCain?
For people who don’t care, you guys really spend a lot o time talking about her.
Madonna does not need the additions because the show stands on its own just fine. Personally I love her trend to hard rock – even heavy metal style. She’s now like a video game heroine in Unreal Tournament.
Yikes.
I’ve loved Madonna since I was a little girl and consider her whole, historic career fascinating. I like ‘Hard Candy’- I consider it a good, fun dance album that she put out before she moved to Live Nation. Believe me, Britney and even Justin in no way compare to M, but I do like a lot of their music. It’s also fun pop. I’ll be seeing ‘Sticky & Sweet’ in Miami, but would kill for a chance to be at this show. I think it will be fun as hell! Just like how Pharrell showed up at the Garden. I think it just adds to the excitement of an already exhilarating Madonna concert. But you are right, M needs to tell Brit she better not lip-synch! She should at least try to keep up with Madonna, lol.