Celebration will include 34 hits and 2 new tracks!

Source:  www.Madonna.com

Warner Brothers have decided to rush release it – probably because of the leak.   Check out your local iTunes store and BUY YOUR COPY TODAY!!

Follow this link and it should take you to the appropriate place in your local iTunes store:

http://tinyurl.com/celebratem

You can also purchase (not pre-order) the MP3 version of Celebration through Amazon!

Thanks Scott H.

A musician from Castledawson has told of his pride after a track he co-wrote and arranged was chosen by Madonna as her next single.

Ciaran Gribbin —who performs under the name Joe Echo —will have cause for ‘celebration’ next week when the world’s most famous female artist releases her latest single, taken from her new album.

The track, Celebration, is the first single to be taken from her new Greatest Hits album of the same name. It is expected to go to number one, as is the album, which is due for release on September 25.

And appearing on the credits – and raking in an expected fortune in royalties — will be 32-year-old Ciaran, who co-wrote the backing tracks along with Ian Green and Paul Oakenfold.

Speaking from his home on the outskirts of Castledawson, he explained how the collaboration came about.

“I’ve done a lot of work with the producer Paul Oakenfold who is a big buddy of Madonna’s,” he said.

“She approached him and asked him what he was working on and if he could send her some material that she could write lyrics to.

“Myself, Ian Green and Oakenfold had written some stuff for Oakenfold’s new album so he sent her off between 15 and 20 tracks.

“Of these, she chose two I was working on, Celebration and Broken.

“Basically me, Ian and Oakenfold arranged the backing track, we worked out the chord structure, put the guitars, keyboards and drums to the track and Madonna wrote on the lyrics and melody.”

The superstar — who is currently on tour — was delighted with the end result and decided to release Celebration as her next single. The album will be her last one for Warner Brothers, as she has recently parted company with them to work with Live Nation.

Ciaran said he was thrilled she had liked the track and was confident it would go to number one.

“The last six months have been pretty amazing for Joe Echo but writing this track for Madonna has to be the highlight,” he said.

“I’m so proud and excited that my name is on this track and I’m quietly confident it will go to number one. After all, it’s Madonna.”

The singer/songwriter, who also penned the soundtrack for the new Jim Sturgess movie Heartless, along with his former Leya bandmate Michael Keeney, said he was hoping to meet Madonna next month.

“I’m going over to the Munich gig to meet up with Oakenfold so I’m hoping to be introduced to her then,” he said.

Ciaran is also hopeful that Madonna may release his other track, Broken, as a single, when she releases new material with Live Nation.

He said the collaboration on Celebration would help “pay the rent for the next few years”.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Yedioth Ahronoth exclusive: Madonna writes about her journey into world of Kabbalah

I found an answer

There is an old cliché: When the student is ready the teacher appears.

I had traveled the world many times over, performed in soccer stadiums, appeared in films, dined with state leaders, collaborated with great artists and achieved what most people would view as a high level of success but I still felt something was missing in my life.

I was pregnant with my daughter, almost 14 years ago and I had just finished the film Evita and realized I had spent my whole life worrying but myself, and that I would soon be responsible for someone else’s life.

I was raised a catholic and my father was very religious but none of my questions ever really got answered when it came to trying to understand why people suffered in the world or what the meaning of life was all about.

And suddenly I thought, “What will I teach my child about the important things in life?”

I was practicing Yoga for years and studying Sanskrit. I had read many books by the great Yogi Masters and Indian Avatars. I studied Buddhism and the teachings of the Dali Lama. I studied Taoism and the Art of War.

I read about the Gnostics and the early Christians. I learned a lot and I was very inspired but I still could not connect the dots and find a way to take this knowledge and apply it to my daily life.

I was looking for an answer.

I went to a dinner party in L.A.

A woman sitting next to me was telling me about a class she was taking from a Rabbi.

She said it was so inspiring and that I should come along. I asked her what it was about.

She said “Life.”

I asked her what it was called.

She said “Kabbalah.”

I told her I wasn’t Jewish and she said: “What difference does it make what it’s called and what religious upbringing you have had if you are inspired?”

She had a point.

So I went to the class and sat in the back and I listened to a man named Eitan teach the class.

I heard what he had to say and I knew at this moment my life would never be the same.

I began to go to the classes regularly and sit in the class with my notebook. No one bothered me. I took notes.

I met with Eitan privately and asked a lot of questions. The thing that was encouraged the most was to enquire further.

All the questions I had about life began to be answered and I realized I had finally found a “belief system” or philosophy that incorporated Science and Spirituality.

I was learning about Physics, Astronomy, Nature and the laws of Cause and Effect.

All the puzzle pieces started falling into place.

Life no longer seemed like a series of Random events. I started to see patterns in life. I woke up. I began to be conscious of my words and my actions and to really see the results of them.

I also began to see that being Rich and Famous wasn’t going to bring me lasting fulfillment and that it was not the end of the journey; that it was the beginning of the journey.

I have been studying with Eitan consistently since that first class and it was only a matter of time before I met Michael Berg, whose father Rav Berg, comes from a long line of Kabbalists and was the teacher of Eitan.

Michael Berg is a very unique human being. He might be the smartest person I know.

At first he seemed quiet and shy, conservative and even perhaps a bit naïve. But ask him a question on any subject and you will find yourself swimming in an ocean of information.

It’s astounding what he knows and what he has accomplished at such a young age. The fact that he translated 22 volumes of the Zohar from Aramaic into Hebrew and English is remarkable.

The funny thing about Michael is that he is as comfortable and knowledgably about discussing the teachings of the Ari as he is of discussing his favorite Seinfeld episode.

He knows more about Pop Culture and what’s going on in the world than anyone I know and yet his desire to really affect change in the world and the compassion he feels for people who are suffering is unparalleled.

When Michael gets up to tell a story in front of a room full of people there is never a dry eye in the house including his own.

I am lucky to call him my friend.

He has a child with Down Syndrome and it is perhaps because of this that he feels the need to come to the rescue of children who are living in challenging situations or abject poverty.

We were both looking for a project to do with children and low and behold a Malawian woman appeared and told us about the plight of over 1 million children orphaned by AIDS in a small landlocked country in Africa.

Before we knew it we were visiting Malawi and that was the birth of our foundation: Raising Malawi.

Of course now that I know what I know, I realize that this did not happen by chance.

Once again the students were ready and the teacher appeared. In this case the children of Malawi are the teachers.

They have taught me so much. And they continue to teach me.

As do Michael and Eitan.

Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3755074,00.html

Note: This article has been translated.   The grammatical errors are not Madonna’s but those of the translator.

Under pouring rain Madonna performs during her Sticky and Sweet tour in Oslo (July 30 2009)

Frozen

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Xf0akAwW0&feature=player_embedded

Vogue

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zulYFu5ms9g&feature=player_embedded

Washington (ANI): Singer Madonna’s publicist has slammed recent “muscly” pictures of the Queen of Pop, insisting the photographs appear to be digitally edited. The ‘Material Girl’ hitmaker was said to have sparked health fears after she was snapped in an unflattering light that showed veinsmuscular arms. running along her sinewy

But a spokesperson for the superstar said the snaps were far from the real picture, saying the star “does not look like that in real life.” “Madonna’s arms in the most recent photos have absolutely been altered by Photoshop or some other means,” Contactmusic quoted the rep as telling GossipCop.com.

Madonna’s personal trainer, Tracy Anderson, also slammed the photos, insisting the musician was perfectly healthy. She added, “She’s strong, healthy, and gorgeous. She looks like she’s 18.”

Source: The Times

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft7YTC-IUn4

The artwork for Madonna’s single, Celebration, has been updated on Amazon!

You’ve seen the scary photo of Madonna’s arms.  Photoshopped? I think so .. see several photos from the same time and place and we’ll let you decide:

Thanks Scooter!