Madonna's family has just gotten bigger, now that the pop star has legally won the right to adopt a daughter from Malawi.
'I am extremely grateful for the Supreme Court's ruling on my application to adopt Mercy James. I am ecstatic....My family and I look forward to sharing our lives with her,' Madonna said in a statement through her spokesperson Friday.

Preparations are already underway to bring Chifundo 'Mercy' James, 3, from the African country to America private jet, after the singer stayed up throughout the night hoping for a courtroom victory.

'It's the early hours in New York now but my client has been awake all night waiting for this,' Madonna's Malawi lawyer, Alan Chinula, tells PEOPLE. The attorney spoke to his client as soon as the ruling was made official, at around 2 a.m. her time Friday. 'She was ecstatic when I broke the news to her. She said, 'Thank heavens.''

If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to work with Madonna, the Queen of Pop and undeniable music legend, keep reading.DJ Enferno, who collaborated with Madonna on her tour, told OK! all about the Materia Girl. Her music director just happened to catch one of his live shows, and sent him a text.“I always tell people, you never know when you’re going to get a break or your shot in life so you have to keep doing what you’re doing,” he tells OK!.So what’s she like to work with?“She’s amazing. I was a little intimidated going in to work with her,” he reveals. “She’s a very clever and witty person. She’ll have a joke or something or one of us will have to tell a joke. She makes it very loose.”She’s not all fun and games though, completely the opposite, dishes Enferno.“She is so on the go. She would go from our rehearsal to the dancing rehearsal. She’s like a machine. That’s one of the things about her that’s very fascinating. After our rehearsals, she’s got to go across the street and workout physically with the dancers and then I don’t know what she does in her off days,” he admits. “It’s like clockwork. She just goes hard. There’s no slacking.”Somehow we’re not surprised that Madge is no slacker.

Following the critical success of Madonna: Confessions, the powerHouse team, Madonna, and Guy Oseary return with a knockout punch: Sticky & Sweet, a dynamic look at Madonna’s celebrated Sticky & Sweet Tour, which broke all previous records and became the number-one highest grossing tour of any solo artist ever—with Madonna playing before 2,350,282 fans and selling over 280 million dollars’ worth of tickets.

The tour has been extended through the summer of 2009 and will have passed the mark of 400 million dollars in ticket sales by the time it’s complete.In over 500 full-color photographs taken on, and backstage, during the course of this historic 58-show tour, Oseary documents the four acts of the rock-driven, pop journey that is the Sticky & Sweet show—Pimp: A mashed-up homage to 1920s deco and modern-day gangsta pimp, with Madonna making a grand entrance dressed in Givenchy; Old School: Madonna tips her hat to her early-80s, downtown, New York City dance roots, with flashes of Keith Haring and the dance culture vibe of the time, including the birth of Hip Hop; Gypsy: A VIP trip to La Isla Bonita, infused with the spirit of Romanian folk music and dance—a tour de force; and Rave: Far-eastern influences emerge all sparkly and sporty.Guy Oseary is the CEO of Maverick and Madonna’s manager. He has worked closely with Madonna for almost two decades, and was the only individual permitted to take photographs both on and backstage on the landmark Sticky & Sweet Tour. Oseary’s first book, Madonna Confessions, was published by powerHouse in 2008.

• Photography / Music / Performance
  Hardcover, 9 x 12 inches, 280 pages, over 400 four-color photographs
  ISBN: 978-1-57687-532-2
  Price: $45.00
• http://www.powerhousebooks.com/book/1008

Italian leading newspaper la Repubblica had a nice chat with Madonna on the phone from New York City to talk about the release of "Sacro e Profano" which hits Italian cinemas today.

When Madonna answered the phone she had just finished rehearsing for the 2009 leg of her Sticky & Sweet Tour and asked someone to bring her a towel. She apologised for the time lap - it was not morning yet in Italy at the time journalist Giuseppe Videtti was asked to call her - and said she had "an exausting day, but now let's talk about cinema".

"Filth and Wisdom" is distributed in Italy by Sacher Films, a production and distribution company focusing on quality cinema, led and founded by celebrated director Nanni Moretti. Moretti's name did not ring any bell in Madonna's head, though. "Nanni who?" she asked, and had the journalist spell the director's surname. But she admits she has never heard of him. "I understand that I should be flattered by his interest," she said cautiously. "For me it is already a success that "Filth and Wisdom" was theatrically released in several European countries. It means that according to the public who knew Fellini and the nouvelle vague my movie is not really garbage bin material."

Videtti also asked Madonna about her relationship with the art of Federico Fellini. "In 1993 I was looking for a director for the "Rain" videoclip and immediately thought of him and wrote him a letter," Madonna recalls.

"Well, it was a song from the "Erotica" album, maybe this embarassed the maestro a little bit", Videtti points out.
"Quite the contrary," Madonna reckons. "He answered with a nice letter which was a very courteous refusal. Later on I learnt that he was ill at the time and in fact it would have died a few months later. His message written with his unmistakable handwriting is framed here in the living room of my New York house, side-by-side with the Tamara De Lempicka paintings.

"Did the fact of having been for many years maried with a director somehow trigger your decision to direct a movie yourself?"

"Guy Ritchie is not the only cinema-man in my life," Madonna, who was married to Sean Penn and had a relationship with Warren Beatty, answers. "Directors are visionary artists. I always felt envy and attraction for them. To write and produce a film is an extraordinary challenge. In order to succeed you need to unleash your creativity. For someone like me who for a quarter of a century was on and off with the world of cinema, it was sort of a natural progression. Guy gave me an invaluable tip: trust your intuition."

"Someone said that, as an actress, you were a thorn in the side of the directors you worked with. It was claimed that you has the entire "Desperately Seeking Susan" screenplay re-written to match your pop star iconic image."

"Now I understand that it is not pleasant when someone interferes with your work. If you envision a specific project you want to achieve it in your own way. The story in "Filth and Wisdom" was buzzing in my head for a while. It reflects some of my experiences, but there's more in it. Originally it was meant to be a short film, born from the ideas I had for the H&M commercial. There is the music business in it, that I know very well, but the characters were also inspired by people I actually met along the way, like the lap -ancer or the pharmacist who dreams of doing volunteer in Africa, the two girls who share the apartment with AK."

"Someone said that it was easy for you to become a director with no actual knowledge of what it really is about, but taking advantage of your pop idol status."

"I'm not a film trainee. I have made documentaries about life on the road and more recently "I Am Because We Are. My passion for cinema is old but not remote. As a child I was not attracted by the images on the big screen, but when I went to University in Michigan, I discovered Fellini, Pasolini, Visconti, René Clair and the nouvelle vague of Godard. For me it was as the second coming of Jesus Christ. Do you know what present I gave to my friends for Christmas? A private viewing of "Rocco and His Brothers" in my house. If I were to direct the remake of a classic, I'd choose Visconti's masterpiece. And I'd ask Dolce and Gabbana to design the costumes."

"Your next priority is the Summer tour. When should we expect your second experience as a director?"

"I've got a top secret script ready. We'll do casting this coming Fall and if all goes well - which is, if I manage to find the money to produce it - I'll start shooting in January".

"Pop icon, actress, art collector, now film maker. Isn't it a risk for an artist like you to venture into new territories?"

"Risk is like amniotic fluid for an artist. I doesn't scare me, it stimulates me. At 50 years I don't want to stay closed in a cage. Neither to remain bottled like mineral water. The label that you put on me no longer matches the product? It's your business not mine".

From an article published today by Il Corriere Della Sera, it seems there might be a problem with forthcoming concerts scheduled at the Stadio Meazza in Milan, Madonna's "Sticky & Sweet part two" included.

Roberto De Luca, manager of Live Nation Italy, revealed that from last night at 18.00 the whole list of Live Nation events for this summer in Milan has been put "on hold" until the results of the meeting held by local authorities (about the protests about the huge stadium noises coming from people living nearby) are made public. In the meeting, that is going on this morning in Milan, authorities will reportedly deliberate that live music cannot be played louder than 78 decibel and that everything should terminate at 23:30. Officers will be placed at the mixing board to check the music levels and will be ready to turn the power off when the clock strikes 23:30 (supposedly even if a show isn't over). De Luca told Il Corriere that he prefers to "stop it all" instead of following such rules. If ultimately Madonna will not play in Milan, after paying months in advance for show tickets with pre-booking fees, hotel reservations, trains and planes, the fans will be very angry and disappointed!

Madonna graces the cover of Dutch magazine Primo out this week.

Due to huge demand for tickets, pop diva decides to give second performance in Israel on September 2.

Madonna, who is scheduled to perform in Tel Aviv on September 1, will give an additional concert on the following evening in light of the huge demand for tickets in Israel.

Ynet has learned that tens of thousands of tickets have already been sold since going on sale about a week ago. Many of the buyers are fans of the pop diva from abroad, who wish t attend the last concert of her current tour. The show's production has therefore approved the second concert.

Ticket sale for the additional show will open Friday, and there are still tickets available for the first performance. Ticket prices range from NIS 490 ($120) to NIS 2,500 ($620).

Over a 100,000 people are expected to attend the two shows.

The diva has been traveling the world for some time now with her international "Sticky and Sweet" tour, which was launched following the release of her latest album "Hard Candy."

The tour began in August 2008 and was scheduled to conclude in Bulgaria on August 28. But then Madonna received - and accepted - the proposal to play in the Holy Land.

This will be the icon's second performance in Israel. In 1993 she rocked the park with her concert, "The Girlie Show."
In 2004 the singer was also here, and even gave a speech at a Kabbalah center conference.Madonna will perform an additional concert in Israel this summer, the day after her September 1st show. Both concerts will be held in Tel Aviv's Hayarkon park.

The decision to hold an additional concert was made due to the high demand for tickets for the pop icon's Sticky & Sweet Tour, which start at NIS 490.

The September 1st concert will be Madonna's second performance in Israel. She first appeared at Hayarkon Park 16 years ago as part of her Girlie Tour, and also visited Israel in 2006 during the Jewish High Holidays along with 2,000 other students of Kabbalah.

Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour, which has been underway since 2008 to promote her latest album Hard Candy, was last year's highest-grossing tour for an individual artist. The tour brought in about $280 million as of December 2008.

The European leg of the tour kicks off with two shows in London, and continues to Paris, Milan, Hamburg, Oslo, Prague and Munich.
The tour is divided into four parts: Pimp, a homage to 1920s fashion and to contemporary gangster style; Old School, which is inspired by New York clubs and hip-hop in the 1980s; Gypsy, which draws from world music and flamenco; and Rave, the show's dazzling Asian-inspired closing segment.

The show generated controversy last year because of one segment during which images of Hitler and former U.S. presidential candidate John McCain were shown on a giant screen.

Australian Tv program "Wekend Sunrise" aired an interesting interview with Seymour Stein (The Man behind Madonna) who talks about how he meet her and some interesting facts.

Live Nation Finland have launched a website to provide lots of helpful information for fans who are attending the Helsinki show on Thursday 06 August.

Included on the website at www.madonnahelsinki.fi is a map of the venue, travel information, concert tips and some interesting facts including: The production period is 17 days including construction, concert day and load out. The Jätkäsaari concert area will be fenced off during the period between Monday 27 July and Wednesday 12 August. Madonna’s concert is the first ever event organized in Jätkäsaari and the biggest show by one artist ever organized in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). It will in many ways be a unique experience, as after Madonna’s concert Jätkäsaari will be developed into a residential area.

Several Catholic organizations throughout Poland are calling for cancellation of the Madonna concert on 15 August due to the fact that it is the religious feast day of the Assumption of Mary.“Madonna cannot sing on the day of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” claims member of the Mazowiecki regional assembly, Marian Brudzinski.

“We are calling for a moral stand in Warsaw. A protest committee is being formed to organize parishes,” added the regional representative.“It harms our religious sentiment. Besides that, Madonna’s performances are anti-Christian,” states Krzysztof Zagozda from the Unum Principum Catholic Society, who initiated the protest. Zagozda added that the fact that the concert is organized on the Catholic feast day is a distinct attempt to stir controversy.Former Warsaw Solidarity chaplain, Father Stanislaw Malkowski, shares Zagozda’s opinion: “It must be revealed who is responsible for this. The Church and nation should protest loudly.”“We will do everything so as not to allow this scandal to take place,” added Brudzynski, a former member of League of Polish Families. The protest committee is scheduled to meet next week and will gather signatures throughout parishes and send formal declaration of protest to the concert’s organizers as well as the main sponsor, Allegro.pl, an internet auction portal.The committee is appealing to the Minister of Interior and Administration, Grzegorz Schetyna, and concert organizers to cancel the event.“If that does not work out, there will be a massive picket at the concert. We want to stifle Madonna,” warns Brudzynski.

Madonna’s adoption lawyer in Malawi, Alan Chinula, tells Access Hollywood that online rumors of Malawi’s high court changing their tune and allowing Madonna to adopt a young girl named Mercy are, “not true at all.”

Chinula said that the judges in Malawi are not happy about this report out there on the Web. Specifically he said that, “The Chief Justice is not very amused,” and that, “We’re very unhappy about it.”
Chinula’s colleagues are having a meeting with the Chief Justice later today to explain that it is a misunderstanding and nothing more than a rumor circulating in the press.

Chinula also says they are anxiously waiting for the courts to deliver the judgment, and that it could be any day. He told Access he checks in with the court clerk every day to find out if they have made a decision on the adoption.

He added that he has not spoken to Madonna about this latest report yet.

Chinula is very dismayed at this false report. He goes on to say that his staff are professionals and that they would never tell the press something like this before a decision had come down.

Chinula also handled Madonna’s first adoption with David Banda, now 3.

Candy Store
Candy Shop
Beat Goes On
Human Nature
Vogue mix 4 minutes
Die Another Day
Into The Groove
Everybody Celebrate to Holiday
Dress You Up Rock mix
She´s Not Me
Music
Rain
Devil
Spanish Lesson
Miles Away
La Isla Bonita
You Must Love Me
Get Stupid
Like a Prayer
4 Minutes mix Revolver
Ray Of Light
Hung Up
Give It 2 me

Madonna has persuaded three appeal judges to allow her to adopt Malawian orphan Mercy James, The Sun can reveal. Two have already submitted reports recommending it go ahead and the third is said to be “in complete unison with them”.

Madonna, 50, whose two-year application to adopt the three-year-old was blocked by a court in March, has been told the news by her lawyer Alan Chinula. The ruling is set to be announced next Sunday at Malawi’s Supreme Court of Appeal.
A source there said yesterday: “The paperwork is being typed up now. “All recommendations are in favour of the adoption taking place. Mercy should start packing her bags. She’s off to America.” A close friend of Madonna said: “She’s ecstatic. “She made a promise that she wouldn’t give up on Mercy and, believe me, she could move mountains when she’s this determined.” Madonna’s adoption application was originally rejected because she had not lived in the east African state for 18 months, as required. But one of the three appeal judges has said that rule was out of date. The pal added: “No stone has been left unturned to prove that ruling was wrong.” Mum-of-three Madonna has longed to adopt a sister for her adopted Malawian son David Banda, three.

Guy Oseary (Madonnas mannager) posted on Twitter the following...

Madonna is not doing Who´s That Girl for the new tour.

Madonna is telling Guy every day that "she wants to come back to LatinAmerica for more shows", and she´s plannig to take her "Sticky & Sweet tour to Stambul...

Madonna is in the process of appealing a court ruling that she cannot adopt four-year-old Mercy James from Malawai.

Now, according to a source of Britain's Daily Mail, she is said to be considering adopting another baby, even from another African country. The source explained "She (Madonna) has said she won't give up on Mercy but if she's blocked from adopting her legally then she will think about trying to adopt another baby. She has already started looking into other African countries. If a miracle happens and she gets to adopt Mercy, I see no reason why she wouldn't go ahead and adopt another child from a different African country as well. She has done some research on Lesotho and because it's a place that is ravaged by AIDS and has a high number of orphans, it could be the perfect second choice."

According to the Daily Mail, it's rumored that Madonna has already spoken also to officials at a Nigerian orphanage about adopting a child. Gossip says that she wants to involve Jesus Luz, claiming he would be the child's father figure. A source said: "Madonna thinks her attempt to adopt Mercy failed because her relationship with Jesus made her look like she was going through some midlife crisis. She's determined not to make the same mistakes and wants Jesus involved from the off. She's considering visiting an orphanage in Nigeria, perhaps with Jesus, as soon as possible."

WINNER OF THE CONTEST WILL POST PHOTOS, VIDEO AND WORDS RIGHT HERE ON THIS PAGE. UNTIL THE SHOW, CHECK OUT MORE VIDEOS, MORE PHOTOS, MORE MUSIC FROM ACROSS THE WORLD ONLY ON SPINEARTH.TV. 

TO ENTER, VISIT: HTTP://MADONNA.SPECIALCONTEST.COM/ABOUT THE CONTEST: 
Madonna's Sticky & Sweet 2009 Tour is bound for Brussels, Belgium on July 11th. Iconers (members of Madonna's official fan club) are looking for a Madonna fan to be their on-site Madonna.com reporter at the Icon Soundcheck Party and Madonna's concert in Belgium.One grand prize winner will receive the following, courtesy of Madonna.com and SPINearth.tv:

• Access to ICON exclusive soundcheck 
  Tickets to Madonna's Sticky & Sweet concert in Brussels, Belgium, on July 11th 
  Roundtrip airfare to Brussels, Belgium 
  4 days // 3 nights hotel accommodations in Brussels 
  Roundtrip ground transportation to the July 11th concert

Once you get to Brussels, you will be filing reports for all the Madonna fans around the globe through SPINearth.tv. The Icon correspondent at the Brussels show will report back here to this very page, where all their experiences will be broadcast to the world.Not to worry, you will still have plenty of time to enjoy being a true Iconer for the weekend, not to mention exploring the sights and sounds Brussels. But don't forget, people are relying on your reporting to help set the scene for the fans around the world! Good luck!Before you enter: 
You must be at least 18 years of age. 
You must have a valid U.S. passport. 
You must be able to travel from July 9-12, 2009.

CHECK OUT MORE ON SPINEARTH.TV

Here are some of the images of the new stage and some changes on the screens.

Handbags belonging to Madonna, Eva Longoria and Dita Von Teese are being auctioned on eBay.

According to Icon Madonna decided to make the show in Werchter (Belgium) very special.

She is planning on a Iconers-only soundcheck party! Some lucky members will get to watch Madonna, her dancers and band rehears for the July 11th Show! More details on this special contest will be revealed soon on Icon.

Be a part of the last show of the Sticky & Sweet Tour in Israel, buy your tikets now at Madonna.com.

Madonna announced that they were working head to add a final and very special date to her 2009 Sticky & Sweet itinerary.

The date, of course, turns out to be the concert that will take place at Tel Aviv's Yehoshua Gardens at HaYarkon Park on September 1st.

In a mailout to the fan club members, they are informed that the Madonna concert is "a very important and significant show for her", and that she asked her tour management and fan club to make it the best for Iconers.

The general ticket sale for the show will start on June 3rd, as announced last week, but Icon Platinum members will be given access to an exclusive pre-sale starting tomorrow, Tuesday, June 2 at 10am local Tel Aviv time.

The pre-sale will include tickets in two categories: limited quantity in the Gold Circle General Admission section, and limited quantity in the standard General Admission section. To check out more, please visit Madonna.com.

The queen of pop is coming to Israel, and this time not to attend a Kabbalah conference.

Madonna will give one concert at Hayarkon Park on September 1, 2009, 16 years after her last performance in the country.Incidentally, on the same day rock band Faith No More is scheduled to play at the neighboring Tel Aviv Trade Fair center.The diva has been traveling the world for some time now with her international “Sticky and Sweet” tour, which was launched following the release of her latest album “Hard Candy.”The tour began in August 2008 and was scheduled to conclude in Bulgaria on August 28. But then Madonna received – and accepted - the proposal to play in the Holy Land.This will be the icon’s second performance in Israel. In 1993 she rocked the park with her concert, “The Girlie Show.”