Madonna’s negotiations with Israeli television to perform as the Eurovision 2019 interval act reportedly reached a standstill last autumn over financial arrangements.
But this morning Eurovision fans who dared to dream it could work out are smiling big. That’s because Israeli media Y Net are reporting that Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams has stepped in with the cash to woo the Material Girl to Tel Aviv.
The newspaper quotes Danny Ben-Naim, one of Adams’ business partners, on the matter.
“We hope that in the next few days we will sign an agreement to bring Madonna to the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel,” he said.
The move fits with Adams’ ongoing efforts to fashion himself as a cultural emissary and broker for Israel. He previously brought the prestigious Giro d’Italia to country. The cycling event, which mostly takes place in Italy, had its starting leg in Israel last year. He’s currently establishing a cultural foundation to bring artists to Israel in order to promote its standing in the world.
Y Net reports that he green-lighted Madonna “after much deliberation”. Sources tell the paper that “the signing is expected in the coming days, there are small details to finish.”
Shortly after we published this story, Israel’s Mako reported that Madonna’s fee is actually $1.5 million. That’s reportedly for singing just two songs.
Madonna at Eurovision 2019?
Y Net first reported that KAN had been holding talks with gay icon and global superstar to be the main interval act for Eurovision 2019 in mid-January.
It’s not as ludicrous as you might think. Madonna has a strong connection with Israel, starting with her Israeli manager, Guy Oseray, her Hebrew name, Esther, which she adopted back in 2004, and her well-known connection to Kabbalah.
She has had a few concerts in Israel over the years and there have even been reports about a penthouse she bought in Tel Aviv. She says she’s not Jewish, but an Israelite. She’s looked at her lineage and into her soul and reached that important conclusion.
The 60-year-old global pop superstar has been “The Queen of Pop” since the 1980s, and she has a series of successful albums under her blinged-out belt, including the global bestsellers Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986), as well as the Grammy Award winners Ray of Light (1998) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). Last fall I jumped at the chance to present a radio documentary on her for the BBC.
Throughout her career, Madonna has written and produced most of her songs, with many of them reaching number one on the record charts, including “Like a Virgin”, “La Isla Bonita”, “Like a Prayer”, “Vogue”, “Take a Bow”, “Frozen”, “Music”, “Hung Up”, and “4 Minutes”.
Madonna’s popularity was further enhanced by her roles in films such as Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Dick Tracy (1990), A League of Their Own (1992), and Evita (1996). While Evita earned her the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, many of her other films received poor reviews.
As a businesswoman, Madonna founded her own entertainment company Maverick, including the label Maverick Records, in 1992. Her other ventures include fashion design, writing children’s books, opening of health clubs, and film-making. She has contributed to various charities and founded the Ray of Light Foundation in 1998 and Raising Malawi in 2006.
Are you excited that Madonna is a possible interval act for Eurovision? Let us know in the comments box below!
That’s a whole lot of money for someone whose career has been dead for a long time.
In this day and age of enormous inequality, asking one million dollars for a single performance seems excessive…even if you are a pop icon. #CantRelate
Mad Primadonna is so last century, we want Dua Lipa
It has been nearly 36 and a half years since I heard the late legendary DJ Frankie Crocker play her first hit “Everybody” on New York City’s WBLS 107.5FM. But her time in the spotlight ended a decade and a half ago. Quite frankly, I always thought she should have become a DJ when that spotlight faded… …It is her choice whether she wants to show up at the contest or not; but it is not worth the trouble to pay her $1 million. That is the sign of a celebrity who knows her time had come and gone, and… Read more »
Mafonna is welcome to israel. We will love to have her here. Don’t get the negativity about her. I don’t care how much she will get for her performance.
Need to say thanks for sylvan adams for his love to israel. Madoona – i want you to give us and a fabulous performance as you always do.
In short, they have a to pay a Has-been, who will in addition get a lot of exposure to sell whatever she has to sell. Seriously they could have used the money for the production of the show.
But this guy Sylvan Adams wants to give this money only to Madonna, because she is his childhood crush, and after the show he hopes they will c u m together.
Has-been? Madonna is the highest-grossing solo touring artist and her last tour (2016) was attended by an audience of over 1.05 million with all the shows being sold out. The fact that her last singles weren’t big hits is due to the media not playing singers/bands over 40, let alone 50 or 60. That’s called ageism and should be fought, not praised, accepted or spread (with words as “has-been”), cuz to get old is something that no one can control (we’ll get there too). And remember that art is ageless.
I absolutely hate this self righteous [insert whatever you want]. She came to Romania and lecture us about discrimination, and when people from the audience that knew she has no idea what she is talking about, booed her, she did all she could to expose her whole family to paparazzi to “raise awareness”??? What an ignorant…person! Israel, why would you want to do that, she is nothing. Just to please a rich man that has wet dreams about Madonna?
It’s never too much to talk about discrimination. If the crowds in your country cannot handle it then something is terrible wrong
She made accusations to the crowd. People knew they are not to blame for anything. She was wrong, what the hell does she know about Romania? Celebrities should stick to their skill. (I’m looking at you George Clooney).
By the way…I’d have preferred if they’d tried for Gaga first, she’s far more current and also has performed in Israel a few times.
How come you guys haven’t mentioned Nettas new single, Bassa Sababa yet? You went crazy when Eleni Fuerea brought out her single last year. Also Miklas Josef has a new single, Abu Dhabi, the clip isn’t much but the song is quite good.
They wrote articles for both of them lol.
Unrelated to this, there’s a news stating that Shalva Band was now being sure about withdrawing 🙁
Katerine Duska will represent Greece at ESC. Still no article about that…
It will appear shortly, I’m sure. The Wiwi elves are working day and night for us, and I for one appreciate it!
Maybe because nothing has been confirmed yet about the Greek delegation.
Besides, wiwibloggs already published an article addressing the rumours about Katerine Duska
Ironically what she will sing will have probably Portuguese influences https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs046jfh_sU/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1szk5nrur5y6c
And check this https://www.vogue.it/en/fashion/cover-fashion-stories/2018/08/01/exclusive-interview-with-madonna-a-love-letter-to-lisbon-vogue-italia-august/
QUEEN OF POP
What are bunch of losers are these commenters on wiwibloggs saying that Madonna is “irrelevant, random artist” lmao !
By the way i hope Madonna goes to the green room to have some fun with the contestants.
One day Celine Dion should return to the Eurovision stage, she deserves it and I am sure she’d love to do it. Not this year obviously but as soon as France or Switzerland wins, they should invite her.
Or any year ending in 8…not that they need a rationale. She’s welcome any time!
hi
in the news know they say that Madonna will be at the euro vision and sing 2 songs 7 minutes of show and its cost 1 million and 350 thousands of dollars
I don’t understand why they are so eager to get a random artist who’s clearly doing it only for the money. Madonna isn’t even relevant anymore under the youth so they gain nothing by getting her to perform.
Madonna is big name in Israel, we have a american influence, and in my generation she is the queen
Sorry, i didn’t mean to post that comment under your reaction.
ok
I WANT CHEERR!!
I just wonder, was the b*tching that hard when Russia (the huge country Russia), presented as an interval act a group of acrobats from Argentina? No Russian connection, no Eurovision connection. Nothing. Just an expensive show. At least Madonna is a musician that everybody knows and a known supporter of Israel (there are not that many among the celebrities).
“Madonna is a musician that everybody knows”
This sums up the littlest of problems.
The problems are in your head. I can not solve them
Madonna is a musician, the Argentinian acts are not. The former would have both good and bad effects for the show, while the other one’s not so much. You’re usually objective, especially about your venue & staging analysis and opinions, but b*tching real hard just to justify fans’ hypocrisy, so I can’t see you getting over it. Let’s just end this here before it gets pointless.
That was a fun burn Kudos! 😛
Honest to goodness: the interval act should be either about the host country culture, or the history of the contest. That why people liked more Love, Love, Peace, Peace than JT, because it showcased some of the most recognisable elements of the contest on a funny way.
will be also that
You can have both.
For me, Eurovision is a song contest where people of different countries share their cultural values and music. They share the same love for music and they exchange ideas and even make new friends. As a viewer, I see Eurovision as a celebration of music, where I get to know the music each part of Europe listens to and very talented artists I haven’t heard of. So I believe Eurovision should focus on showcasing the music and the culture of each country rather than make it more global fearing that we may forget how this contest was before. I’d love… Read more »
But isn’t Madonna music too? If the whole point is to celebrate music then why no Madonna? Isn’t that part of celebrating music?
Angie p, Eurovision is pop music festival, it is formed as such kind of festival, you have plenty of ethno music festivals if you want to listen that kind of music.
Who cares? Madonna doesn’t excite me at all. You want a star? Give me Verka Serduchka.
No, we’ve had enough of that joke, it’s getting tiring now
This is very controversial but I do not understand why. Madonna has always been pro-LBGT rights. Also this will help Eurovision gain more international attention especially in the U.S, Canada, New Zealand.
What would be good about gaining more attention from US/Canada? Why should that be a goal? The contest has survived 63 years without them.
I’m from Canada, and almost everyone has no clue what Eurovision is or even cares…they’re too concerned about the latest on Netflix or the hockey scores, etc, etc. So, whether Madonna sings or not will be a blip on the radar screen.
Justin Timberlake didn’t make the contest more popular in those places, and he is a popular artist, so why Madonna who had her peak 20 years ago would have a positive impact for the contest?
I think it’s soooo pathetic to bring her. Yeah, I know it’s a trial to make a positive aspect on Israel and bring more tourists but she is irrelevant and not related to the contest. If she was singing something which made by an Israeli production, I would be okay with it. But as it seems, she is not gonna do it. In briefly, unnecessary. But if the production insists on something international, they should bring Eleni – not just she will sing Fuego, but also Caramella, Tikitas and Golden boy (If it will be with Nadav Guedj, it will… Read more »
Eh. Whatever puts butts in seats.
Also, speaking of Israel: Shiri Maimon singing from Chicago on HaKokhav HaBa makes me that much sadder as a New Yorker that I couldn’t make it to see her on Broadway. Her American accent is perfect!
I think it’s a horrible idea. Just as horrible as Sweden did with JT. Does this mean Israel has no worthy Israeli artist to perform as interval act?…
Some additional reporting from Israeli outlets today on interval acts. First, Israel Hayon is confirming that Ilan Peled (better known as his cross dressing alter ego Miri Paskal) will be part of the show. According to some reports he is likely to pull a Lynda Woodruff (Sarah Dawn Finer) and star the comedic acts during the commercial breaks. Also will grace the stage with their presence, beyond Madonna, is the Balkan Bear Box. The Israeli gypsy punk musical group is known for incorporating Jewish, southeastern European, and middle eastern sounds in their reggae and electronica. What a great show this… Read more »
Those intervals are blessings.
So people here didn’t have a problem if Israel invested about 15m dollars of PUBLIC money to cover a freaking stadium so the ESC looks big and thick like they like it. But suddenly Madonna gets 1m by a PRIVATE investor for her performance and everybody remembers the starving children of Africa? Such freaking hypocrites.
What stadium?
And what starving children? We mostly discussed about Madonna and not Mr. Adams.
When the discussion about hosting city was on, people all over were b*tching about the size of the suggested arenas. While everybody LOVED the idea to cover a football stadium, just for Eurovision, that would double the hosting costs. Only few people felt it’s a huge waste of money that doesn’t really worth it. Now when the discussion is about Madonna, suddenly people are counting money. How dare she demand such payment for a performance? She’s irrelevant, old, blah blah blah. Why now money is important suddenly? Just tell that you hate her because she’s rich. She didn’t steal this… Read more »
Yes, fans are compaining about the Expo’s size but barely anyone put the stadium-covering issue into the main event, quite a big portion of the fandom are already okay with the Expo’s size.
“Just tell that you hate her because she’s rich” shows how unsubjective this is. I don’t care about Madonna getting her fee paid by Mr. Adams, but inviting Madonna has barely any context asides that she loves Israel. And yes, money is quite important when superstars gets paid easily while some Euroacts can earn close to nothing and still have to flow the cash for their performances.
Inviting Madonna has the context of entertainment and bringing one of the biggest pop icons to the biggest music event of the year. Plenty of European artists performed in the Superbowl. Did they get hate because they are not USA relatrled and don’t care about american football? Why every time an American star comes to Eurovision starts this almost racist sh*t storm? Huh? I don’t want any non American artist comming near the Superbowl. How does this sound to you? Sounds nice?
Superbowl is a football tournament for football teams and Eurovision SC is a song contest for the European musician–two different competitions, two different fields. Bringing European artists to perform in Superbowl doesn’t affect anything about the football game, teams, or their victory whatsoever, but bringing (especially famous) American artist to Eurovision would have an effect or two to the performers, because they’re also performing there putting their best performances to stand out. Unrelated to this, I do like the idea of having Madonna in Tel Aviv, don’t get me wrong, but it would also be pretty awkward when the winning… Read more »
All we’re talking about is just 3-5 minutes long interval act. Those who like Madonna will enjoy the performance, those who don’t may have a toilet break then. I don’t think it’s a good idea, but it’s not the end of the world. And billionaires can spend their money however they want.
Yeah, it’s not the end of the world, and it probably can be ignored, though we can question what are Team Zivit’s preference of show direction as of now. Inviting Madonna to the stage must have taken much guts and deliberation.
i think that most eurovision fan and people at home would prefer seeing an interval act which is related to eurovision… such as showing songs from the past, categories etc… my country wants to make an unforgotten contest but here they miss the point…they can pay a decent price to invite many winners from the past and not bring a singer which is not related to the contest and demand an astronomic price. anyway, i hope that, beside Madona’s act the rest will be enjoyable… it seems that there will be a good set of songs from the participant countries… Read more »
Wiwibloggers are such dramaqueens, Conchita aint got nothing on you!
If they want Madonna let they have her. Calm down and enjoy the party, or do something else! Personally I think its great. And if it’s only for exposure, so what? Americans would rather watch it knowing it’s one of their own rather than unknown talents from countries they can’t place on a map.
“…rather than unknown talents from countries they can’t place on a map.”, when one of the purposes of ESC is to discover new talents. There you go.
Yes, because I’m sure the average American out there is eager to check out and google the act from the country he doesn’t know exist.
And I’m sure we need more fans like you, Dennis, so go ahead, tell me another one.
The point of ESC is celebrating music , yes? And Madonna is music, yes?
So if it’s about celebrating music , why make a fuss about artists? Is that part of celebrating music? The point is that ESC shows there are no boundaries. Its irrelevant who is the interval act since it’s about music.
But please tell me about the point of ESC!
nobody cares what people from the usa think. eurovision isnt made for them. Bye.
The main point of ESC is uniting Europe through music after the horrible events from World War II. It was initiated by RAI based on the format of Sanremo Yes, we are celebrating music, but the center of attention was always European (or to an extent, Caucasian and Middle-Eastern) music. Yes, Madonna was a good act, but if she was there just to promote something without any relevance to ESC, it’s a wrong call.
How can anybody say that Baku was bad, when they had the brilliant idea to bring the last five years winners? Baku had great interval acts, now ESC is just for old hags to use and abuse.
She has nothing to do with ESC, and she is desperate. Please protect the young boys participants when she is around.
Seriously, you know she is just using ESC. I prefer ABBA reunion, especially now with Mamma Mia 2. Or Lara Fabian, or any other idea that brings in front of ESC fans their beloved legends. So many options.
Or Celine Dion. That would be awesome.
Agreed. How about an act directly related to the ESC, not some random American (Israelite she says??) artist who has nil connection to it. Kind of reeks of propaganda from that billionaire.
Baku was horrible from all aspects.
I can quite easily say that Baku was bad. That son-in-law of the President was awful, a vanity project aided and abetted by his corrupt family. Shameful.
Somebody tell her that Lake Malawi is not a baby.
Okay, this is just funny.
Madonna has nothing to do with Eurovision, and is sort of older and “yesterday”. Israel should show a modern and fresh face to the world, Madonna is not part of this.
Madonna loves Israel though
i really cant understand how anyone can see it as a bad thing…
I’ll explain why: She is irrelevant and not related to the contest. If she is coming to promote a song which has no touch with the contest or Israel itself, it’s unnecessary to spill money on her.
Would you say it on Michel jakson if he was alive? It’s a shame that people have no respect for such big artists just because they are little bit older…what a shame
It has nothing to do with her age. She just doesn’t have anything to do with Eurovision or Israel, so why her and not a different artist? I want to get to know new Israeli artists or to see some Eurovision icons as interval acts.
I dont like this at all. Its not about the interval act, its about OUR participants/participating countries that we love so much. I had hoped the Israeli would come up with something way more original and refreshing.
she’ll soon have a new album out so i can see why she needs promo
This is just the warm up. Next time we win (and no, not in 2038..) we’ll get Beyonce!
A non-european country invite american a artist to perform.. what a shock..
“Can’t stop the feeling” was wrotten by a swedish composer, If I remember well.
Well, yes, Max Martin and Shellback are Swedish.
Absolute idiotism! Show like ESC does NOT need antediluvian “stars” like her!
Also interesting: The 42 participants combined probably won’t get a million out of this.
Mh… I still don’t like the Israeli approach. They’re making all these famous people participate only for their status. Eurovision doesn’t need that. I don’t want this year to come out as cheap concept-wise… I’m not really against Madonna making an appearance, I’m against this approach. You can invite to Eurovision whoever you want, but doing it only to make your country look nice and even attract people that are outside of Eurovision doesn’t seem the best idea to me.
I didn’t like Justin’s appearance either, but that was different. He was the only superstar there, he was promoting the single of the film “Trolls” and the Swedes made a nice show. Ukraine and Portugal didn’t need international superstar to showcase the best of their country and make people want to visit. The reason why I don’t like Madonna there is because she has no reason to perform at Eurovision except attracting people. People will be attracted by her, though, not by Israel. The difference between what Sweden did in 2016 and what’s doing Israel this year is that they’re… Read more »
After you mentioned it, Joshua, I remembered the time when KAN and the government kept on pulling back and forth about the contest fundings. Mr. Adams has probably got Madonna at hand, but at this moment I’m kind of questioning how Zivit and friends would handle the budget now.
Well, Daniela Ruah was also there for Portugal, so Bar’s not really a big deal.
Please, read again what I wrote instead of misinterpreting my words to put me in a bad light. I’m responsible for what I say, not for what other people think I said.
I do find this interesting. Apparently, you have to be a billionaire to afford Madonna. With billions to spend, millions don’t matter, but I highly doubt her performance is worth that much. Is any performance worth that much? Personally, I do not care for her performing at Eurovision even for free as I don’t think it’s the right direction for Eurovision to go in, but in the end, nobody is forced to watch and I am looking forward to the awkward moment after her performance, when the hosts will be tasked with getting some kind words about Eurovision out of… Read more »
I really like Madonna, but this would definitely have a sour aftertaste. Being aware that she only performs there because she was given a huge amount of money instead of having a genuine connection to the country or the contest would feel a bit odd.
@ree – I guess you just wake up and go to work for free just for love and deep connection to your country and economy. STOP THE HYPROCITE
Damn, chill. I just said that it’d be weird for her to perform since she has no connection to the country or the contest, making it obvious that she just does it for the money.
Everyone works for money, how else are we supposed to live?
No one works for free. But if you want to feel free and tell us how it worked out.
Um, Dennis, some of the Euroacts had to pay for participation and performance themselves, most notably San Marino. Some intervals also didn’t get paid money to perform, as example Jamala (in Kiev 2017). I guess that’s how it worked out.
Plus she’s a material girl
I love Madonna, but no. I don’t want this to become a “thing” like the SuperBowl half-time show (which is on tonight!)…I don’t think the NFL pay the artists to perform there, considering it’s such a big promotional slot. If Madonna really does have a new album out, why would she be the one to get paid? She should be paying the EBU!
Actually per league rules the NFL covers all production costs of the halftime show, which can exceed $10 million, just doesn’t pay the performers. Of the 1 million and 350 thousands of dollars, significant portions will go into travel and production, dancers, sound checks, special effects etc. So we don’t actually know how much money Madonna will actually make.
Fantastic, news, but what about this tribute to Netta and Israel from EBUs broadcast Lydia Woudrouf.
https://youtu.be/Bin0yv0n1qo
Personally I think it’s a bad idea, taking the focus away from the competing artists and the efforts they make to a) represent their countries in the first place and b) reach the semi final and finals. What is wrong with the tried and tested method of using the interval to promote local home grown talent and provide exposure to the host countries talented performers and culture. Paying a million to have her perform is an insult really when some countries struggle to come up with the participation fees etc.
Just my opinion. But please, stay away Madonna.
Why Madonna? Just because she is Madonna? I think it’s a waste of money, there were so many great interval acts in the past few years that are legend (love love peace peace ofc the prime example) that stick with our Eurovision culture and didn’t require a 7 digit budget… Now we are probably really gonna see the mayor play the flute as an interval act somewhere (not that I mind it, not at all, it’s hilarious. But just to make my point). Eurovision is not a contest of bigger and better, I think that they are forgetting that here.
If you liked “Love Love Peace Peace” you surely remember that on the same interval there was a performance by Justin Timberlake. So apparently there’s enough time for a local production as well as a performance of an American superstar.
I wasn’t a fan of JT at eurovision either, but I’m quite sure he didn’t cost as much as Madonna. Sweden 2016 cost
about 13 million euro, so it’s unlikely that JT cost 1 million.
Why does it matter to you how much she’s being paid? It’s not like you’re paying for it, and nor are KAN for that matter. Her fee isn’t coming off the contest budget.
ESC TLV 2019 WOULD PROBABLY BE THE BEST ESC IN HISTORY.
Amen!
Eurofans are so drama queens. YEARS after years people cry that ESC is becoming irrelevant. Last year wining by Netta finally made ESC worldwide covered and get the honor it deserves.
Israel proves time after time, THEY KNOW how to make things relevant and cool again. Trust their judgement; KAN know what they are doing.
In addition, shut up and thank this billionaire that he pay for fuc**** madonna!!! And the comments about poor people in the world? Really??!?! ESC is not a charity show, and everyone wants a huge show. stop the hyprocite.
With Netta, it’s a fair cause: she competes–she won, and with Eleni aside, they showed how worthy Eurovision exports are. With Madonna, it’s a different story. Yes, ESC will get exposure on TV, but it’s mostly because Madonna’s there, they’re not there for the acts. There’s a big difference.
So why is the exposure good then? If they only watch for Madonna, they will not watch the entire show or tune in next year, so that doesn’t make any difference. Watching online for 10 minutes maybe will not have benefits for the competition, so why is world wide knowledge of Eurovision so important? It’s the EBU countries/Europe and Australia that counts, not the world.
It matters, Charles II : Eurovision is a CONTEST or competition. Similar to the bigger, sport-related events–Olympics or World Cup : You don’t know who the participants are, yet you favor them, or their country, to win. Worldly exposure just because of Madonna or any superfamous acts doesn’t help, It’s not an award or a gala, or even something like Ultra.
Yes, it is a TV show for the masses–yet Eurovision already has their own almost 200 million of European, Caucasian, and Middle Eastern masses watching every year. It’s already a big thing for them, and indeed it is meant for them. Yes, American, African, and Asian masses (like I am) can discover Eurovision through the exposure, but we’re here just to watch and speculate, or to an extent travel and see it live–while the Europeans are there to also determine their country’s reps, watch the show, determine the qualifiers, and determine the winners. Yes, diehard wiwi fans don’t really count,… Read more »