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Madonna debuts updated cone bra on 'MDNA' tour



Madonna brings back the cone bra
Madonna performs on stage during her first MDNA world tour concert in the Ramat Gan Stadium, near Tel Aviv, on May 31. (Getty Images / May 31, 2012)

Madonna's going back to her roots -- or cones -- on her current world tour in support of her record "MDNA."
The singer, 53, kicked off her musical romp in Israel this week where she rocked an updated version of her iconic cone bra.
Jean Paul Gaultier, who designed the original, offers a new version of the garment in black wiring over a cabaret-style white collared shirt and suspenders (see the bra in the video below).
It's not just the bra that's got people buzzing about the tour -- Madge features a mash up of her classic "Express Yourself" with Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," a move that some aren't sure is well-intentioned.
When Gaga debuted the single, many compared it to "Express Yourself," Madonna herself evensaying that Gaga's track was "reductive" in the face of her own song.  
On the "MDNA" set list, fan reaction suggests that Madonna's pairing of the two songs was done purposely to point out their similarities. Can't we all just cone-bra in peace? 
 

Lady Gaga a target of Indonesia, Thailand and Madonna

Lady Gaga protests in Indonesia

The American pop export known as Lady Gaga keeps running into trouble as she tours Asia. First, she was pegged as a "devil" by Islamic hardliners in Indonesia, where protests and security concerns forced the cancellation of a June 3 concert. Now, the 26-year-old pop star is causing a ruckus for tweeting that she was going to use her time in Thailand to buy a "fake Rolex." 

In the never-ending soap opera that is the life of an international superstar -- one of the globe's few -- Lady Gaga is suddenly pop-culture's safest target. Even Madonna, whose once contentious "Like A Prayer" is today family-friendly halftime show entertainment, is piling it on.

Rehearsal footage surfaced online from Madonna's "MDNA" tour, and it sees Madge mashing up her self-empowerment anthem "Express Yourself" with Lady Gaga's kindred "Born This Way." A sly wink to their thematic and tuneful similarities? Perhaps, yet Madonna and subtlety don't always go hand in hand, and Madonna ends the live rendition with "Hard Candy's" bitter "She's Not Me." Madonna's tour starts Thursday in Tel Aviv, so watch the rehearsal clip on YouTube before it's removed. 

When "Born This Way" was released it was the subject of much back and forth between Team Madonna and Team Lady Gaga, a debate that was already tired last February when Lady Gaga was forced to address it on national television. Little on a tour the size of a Madonna or Lady Gaga is off the cuff, and Madonna has already slammed "Born This Way" as "reductive," so working it into "Express Yourself" seems rather petty, an admission that the song isn't harmless but rather an irritant. 

The only winner in all this is Lady Gaga. It's Gaga's whose Twitter will be stalked in hopes of a response, and it's Gaga whose U.S. tour in 2013 will have blogs like this one wondering if she'll retaliate. For Lady Gaga is in that magical/infuriating moment where all she has to do is write a harmless Tweet and she's inspiring wire stories.

"I just landed in Bangkok baby!" Gaga posted on May 23. "Ready for 50,000 screaming Thai monsters. I wanna get lost in a lady market and buy fake Rolex."

In less than 140 characters Lady Gaga has practically inspired an international incident. "Lady Gaga is a representative of the U.S. and the U.S. puts pressure on smaller countries to promote the protection of intellectual property," an anonymous member of Thailand's Intellectual Property Department told Reuters.

Yet Lady Gaga isn't likely to apologize. After all, she had no qualms with her album being sold for just 99 cents on Amazon so the issue of piracy doesn't seem like it's a big concern for her. In the end, all of this just distracts from the real reasons to avoid a Lady Gaga concert: most of the songs on "Born This Way." Yet religious fundamentalists likely weren't alluding to the torturous prom-like power ballad that is "You And I" when Lady Gaga was referred to as a messenger of the devil. 


Beyonce, Pitbull, Steven Tyler get animated for Fox film

Beyonce

Beyonce, Pitbull and Steven Tyler are set to get animated for a new Fox film, according to a Deadline report.

The music superstars will lend their voices to the 3-D computer animated film “Epic,” which is being produced by 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios.

“Epic” is helmed by “Ice Age” director Chris Wedge and is described as a battle between good and evil after a teenage girl finds herself transported into a magical secret universe. There she is tasked with saving the world, alongside a team of whimsical characters.

Beyoncé will voice -– big surprise -- a queen. The characters' names are known, though no other descriptions have been given. Tyler's character is named Nim Galuu and Pitbull voices Bufo. 

The music stars will be joined by actors Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Knoxville, Aziz Ansari, Jason Sudeikis and Judah Friedlander.

“Epic”  will be released May 24, 2013.

Mayweather, Tyson ... Bieber: He's been throwing punches lately



Justin Bieber on the cover of Complex magazine

For the April/May issue of Complex, Justin Bieber was presented as bloodied and bruised. The pop star has shown interest in boxing, hitting the bag with Mike Tyson and also appearing in the ring at a Floyd Mayweather boxing match. (Tony Kelly / Complex Music)


Justin Bieber allegedly struck a paparazzo over the weekend at an upscale Southern California shopping center.  Use of fists?  Coincidentally, that fits with Bieber's recent blood-and-boxing theme.

On May 5 in Las Vegas, the 18-year-old with one of the sweetest faces in pop music carried Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s title belts into the ring before the boxer's WBA super-welterweight title fight against Miguel Cotto.

On Sunday, Mike Tyson tweeted a picture of himself with Bieber: "Nice hanging out with @justinbieber & @alfredoflores."  As HuffPo reported, Bieber had a little training session last week with Tyson, working the heavy bag. Tyson posted video and tweeted about the session. 

For its April/May  10th anniversary "knock-out" special edition, Complex Music magazine presented Bieber on the cover as bloodied and bruised. A Complex video shows Biebs in the ring with heavily muscled competition.

Bieber told Complex he's not fond of paparazzi or their in-your-face techniques. And, he told the magazine, he doesn't like to be told to "get over it" or "suck it up" because he's rich and famous.

We definitely won't be telling him that.

The Times reported Tuesday about the police investigation into the incident between Bieber and a photographer over the weekend at a Calabasas shopping center. The investigation into possible misdemeanor battery could hinge on whether Bieber was acting in self-defense, a legal expert told L.A. Now.

Authorities are looking for witnesses, and, so far, Bieber's reps aren't talking.

Bieber himself may be in Europe.  He tweeted on Monday: "ok. going to board. OFF TO EUROPE. PHASE 1 of operation secret concerts! lol. OSLO first stop.  See u soon .... and ..."

Rihanna rumors link singer to NBA player J.R. Smith, rapper Drake


Rihanna

What's Rihanna's relationship status? (Photo by Mark Davis / May 23, 2012)


Depending on whom you believe, pop star Rihanna is either possibly seeing NBA player J.R. Smith, maybe rekindling a romance with rapper Drake or probably just staying single.

After a weekend in Miami, rumors surfaced that Rihanna had been cozying up to Smith, a New York Knicks guard known for his voluminous shooting as well as his questionable judgment on the court (leading to benchings and suspensions) and off it (e.g., Twitter drama, traffic violations).

According to the Miami Herald, “Spies report seeing the 24-year-old Barbadian with New York Knick J.R. Smith over the weekend at LIV. Last month she was spotted sitting on the 26-year-old player’s lap in a NYC club.”

Spies, really? Anyway, the plot thickens. Just hours later, Us Weekly reported that Rihanna and Drake were also spotted at the club in question “acting ‘hot and heavy.’”

An unnamed source told the magazine that “Rihanna was all over Drake this weekend,” and added, “They were holding hands and dancing all close on the dance floor.”

The magazine also notes that Drake and Rihanna dated briefly a few years back.

If there’s any truth to either rumor, it wouldn’t be the first time Rihanna has been linked to an athlete, having dated Dodger Matt Kemp for almost a year in 2010, or a musician, having gone through a tumultuous relationship with Chris Brown.

Then again, this might well be a case — or two cases, rather — of overactive imagination. Another source quoted by Us Weekly said of Rihanna, “She’s not ‘dating’ Drake or anybody," adding, “She’s single.”

'X-Factor's' Britney Spears, Demi Lovato: They're Paula-approved

LA Reid, Demi Lovato, Simon Cowell y Britney Spears


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