Material Girl

Madonna "American Life" (Maverick/Warner Bros.) *** When Madonna says, in effect, that she doesn't believe in material girls in the title track of this ambitious new collection, the declaration doesn't hit with the emotional or artistic impact of John Lennon's "I don't believe in Beatles" from his first solo album three decades ago. But it does reflect much of the same deeply felt superstar self-inventory.

Madonna's “Like a Virgin” wedding dress and Jean Paul Gaultier cone-bra corset are two of the iconic costumes in rock 'n' roll history. And they will be on display to the public in L.A. on Thursday during a one-night-only pop-up fashion exhibit at Macy's in Century City. The event, titled “Madonna's Fashion Evolution,” marks the first time many of the star's costumes have been displayed together. Items have been brought in from all over the world. The pink satin cone-bra corset (worn during the "Blonde Ambition" tour)

Proving to be a chameleon to the core, the Material Girl once again pushes fashion boundaries with her latest North American "Drowned World" tour. From geisha girl kimonos to urban cowgirl chaps, concert-goers are being treated to a virtual trip around the world. During the themed two-hour show, Madonna explores her husband Guy Ritchie's Scottish roots, wearing a kilt-like creation. Audiences are fooled by the custom-made black-and-white tartan "bum flaps" designed by Phillip and Schmidt.

Madonna is known for speaking her mind, even if it means tongue-lashing her own fans on occasion. So when the Material Girl spotted a few people smoking during a sound check at Chile's National Stadium on Wednesday, she didn't hesitate to voice her displeasure. "There are people smoking here. No smoking!" Madonna schooled her Santiago followers. "If you're going to smoke cigarettes, I'm not going to do my show. " If you love me, don't smoke, Madonna further pleaded. PHOTOS: Madonna's life in pictures But according to a video and an account in Santiago's El Mercurio newspaper , the encounter escalated as the fans continued puffing away.

Who's worth more to a giant entertainment conglomerate: Michael Jackson . . . or Madonna? That anyone could be worth as much to a company as Jackson was unthinkable a year ago when Sony Music and the Moonwalker signed a blockbuster deal that they proclaimed could mean $1 billion for the superstar over the next decade. Music industry sources quickly pointed out that the contract only guaranteed Jackson about $60 million, but it was still an unprecedented amount.

Madonna launched her "Girlie Show" world tour here Saturday night with a lusty performance that was part big-top circus, part Broadway musical and part soft-core porn. Her hair is short and blonde, like an urchin, and her work remains dominated by matters sexual. Despite the scanty costumes adorning the star and her troupe of singers and dancers, and the liberal doses of group groping and gender-bending, there wasn't anything that could be called shocking.

Be careful what you ask for, indeed: Increasingly sophisticated brain-scan technology has helped us figure out why teens take death-defying chances -- with drugs, with alcohol, with cars, with sex -- and the answer is as scary as what they're doing. They skate to the edge of safety because the part of their brains that exercises judgment doesn't develop as fast as the part that craves adventure. Loosely put, they don't understand that what they're doing can hurt them.

Madonna is hoping to go from fashion icon to fashion mogul with her latest endeavor. The pop star and her 13-year-old daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, are partnering on a junior fashion line called Material Girl, which will be sold exclusively at Macy's for back-to-school season, and although the clothes won't land in stores until Aug. 3, sketches were released Tuesday. The line is named after Madonna's 1984 hit song, and there are some similarities to the pop star's 1980s iteration — the (very)

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of 2011's cinematic flame-out "W.E.," Madonna has spent this year kicking up the kind of high-profile controversy that originally made her a star. The singer got into a spat with the dance-music heavyweight Deadmau5 after allegedly asking concertgoers at March's Ultra Music Festival if they'd taken Ecstasy. The hubbub only increased once Madonna kicked off her latest world tour, which this week stops at Staples Center for shows on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

If the late John Hughes is considered the filmmaker who captured the dreams and angst of 1980s teenagers, then it's director Susan Seidelman who best caught the punk, free-wheeling vibe of the decade. The Los Angeles Film Festival is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Seidelman's best-known film, the delightful 1985 romantic comedy "Desperately Seeking Susan," which marked Madonna's first starring role in a studio feature film, Saturday evening at a free screening at the Ernst & Young Plaza at 7+ Fig in downtown L.A. In a recent interview, Seidelman recalled that when she received Leora Barish's script for "Desperately Seeking Susan" from producers Sarah Pillsbury and Midge Sanford, actress Rosanna Arquette was already attached to the project.

Britney Spears did it. Google CEO Eric Schmidt did it. And Tuesday night, at Madison Square Garden, Madonna did it too.  The 54-year-old Material Girl invited Psy up on stage to perform his international hit "Gangnam Style" and showed the world her best horsey dance moves. Our verdict? Madonna can dance, but when it comes to that side-stepping, reign-holding, horse dance, she's got nothing on Psy. That guy is smooth. Evolution of the 'Gangnam Style' phenomenon [Video]

There goes Madonna, classing up the joint again. To show her support of Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot and critically wounded by the Taliban because of her advocacy for girls' education, the Material Girl (a.k.a. Madge, Esther, the Queen of Pop, the Hottest Bod in the AARP) took the opportunity during a recent concert at L.A.'s Staple Center to pull her pants down and reveal a (fake) tattoo of the girl's name inked across the small of her back. Take that, Taliban!

Madonna's MDNA tour has gotten plenty of ink for what the pop performer has done onstage. But while bared breasts, firearms, religion, Nazi imagery and odd presidential endorsements have dominated conversations about the tour, Pop & Hiss is more interested in what keeps the show together. Before her latest world tour stops at Staples Center on Wednesday and Thursday nights, we checked in with Team Madonna to gather some facts about what has gone into the show, which  reportedly could become one of the top 10 biggest tours of all time.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of 2011's cinematic flame-out "W.E.," Madonna has spent this year kicking up the kind of high-profile controversy that originally made her a star. The singer got into a spat with the dance-music heavyweight Deadmau5 after allegedly asking concertgoers at March's Ultra Music Festival if they'd taken Ecstasy. The hubbub only increased once Madonna kicked off her latest world tour, which this week stops at Staples Center for shows on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Elton John is taking aim once again at his favorite star target: fellow pop icon Madonna. Promoting a series of concerts in Australia, John sat down to discuss his career, longtime love David Furnish and more, and, naturally, took a few jabs at Madge. "She's such a nightmare. Her career's over," Elton told the Aussie magazine show "Sunday Night. "  "And she looks like a ... fairground stripper. She's been so horrible to Gaga,” he continued (video below), presumably blasting her provocative "MDNA" tour looks and referencing her tension with Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga was groggy, grateful and a little bit remiss on Tuesday - though we can't exactly interpret that last part for you.  The pop star, who's on tour Down Under, was bouncing back from a head injury suffered mid-concert on Sunday night in New Zealand. "Thank you so much for all the thoughtful messages," the singer tweeted. "I feel a bit woozy but a little better everyday. Very happy to be in beautiful Australia. " She's set to perform  half-dozen dates in that country, starting with a gig Wednesday in Brisbane.

Every new Madonna video is a major event, and the imagery in almost all of the dozen clips collected here has already entered the realm of popular fantasy as surely as Marilyn's billowing skirt. Madonna plumbs the depths of shallowness like no other boy toy (or girl toy) before her, and somehow manages to win the affection of feminists and misogynists alike in the process.

Macy's is betting on its lucky stars that young women will be hung up on its Material Girl collection. In time for back-to-school shopping, Macy's is pulling out all the stops for the launch on Tuesday of its Material Girl collaboration with music icon Madonna and her daughter, Lourdes "Lola" Ciccone Leon, in 200 select locations and online. On the East Coast, "Gossip Girl" actress and rocker Taylor Momsen, who's the face of Material Girl, will perform in an acoustic concert in the juniors department at Macy's Herald Square flagship in New York, where the store windows will be turned into a virtual "Material World."

On a fall afternoon in New York's Central Park, hundreds of curious onlookers and paparazzi watched as two comely young actresses, Abbie Cornish and Andrea Riseborough, performed a scene on a park bench. When a rock band sound check across the park disrupted the scene , the movie's director trotted off to ask the band for a reprieve. "The entirety of Central Park followed her," said Riseborough, "and left Abbie and I sitting on the bench, at which point we just looked at each other like, 'Well, this obviously isn't where it's happening.'" That filmmaker has held crowds in thrall every time she's left the house for the last 30 years.

Macy's is betting on its lucky stars that young women will be hung up on its Material Girl collection. In time for back-to-school shopping, Macy's is pulling out all the stops for the launch on Tuesday of its Material Girl collaboration with music icon Madonna and her daughter, Lourdes "Lola" Ciccone Leon, in 200 select locations and online. On the East Coast, "Gossip Girl" actress and rocker Taylor Momsen, who's the face of Material Girl, will perform in an acoustic concert in the juniors department at Macy's Herald Square flagship in New York, where the store windows will be turned into a virtual "Material World."