VARIOUS: Live in Lisbon, Madonna to headline MTV Europe Music Awards

Madonna will give the first global live television performance from her new album on Thursday (November 3, 2005) when she appears at the MTV Europe Music Awards, a key showcase for the music industry outside the United States. The 47-year-old American superstar will sing "Hung Up", the first single from her disco-inspired "Confessions on a Dancefloor", which she hopes will reverse a recent slump in form when it hits stores on Nov. 14 after weeks of media buildup. Sales of her last three albums totalled an estimated 10-11 million copies, a disappointing return for one of the world's most successful artists with global sales of more than 160 million albums. Joining Madonna on stage in Lisbon will be British acts Coldplay, whose 2005 album "X&Y" stormed the charts, and Robbie Williams, who has recently released "Intensive Care". Rock quartet Foo Fighters, hip hopsters Black Eyed Peas and punk-pop icons Green Day also feature on a night that MTV hopes will combine the strength of traditional live rock performance with cutting-edge technology. "This show, you've got to remember, is made for purely international audiences, it's not made for any individual markets, so therefore you have to aim for the kind of artists that have resonance for the majority of markets," Brent Hansen, creative president at MTV Networks International, said on Tuesday (November 1). "And the last few years of course, the R&B, the American R&B crowd has really been, and the Hip Hop, has been quite dominant, they know this is a hinterland, an extra market for them, just like A:xus movie releases are becoming more and more important. And this year we've got more rock, he added. Leading the way at the 2005 awards are Coldplay and virtual band Gorillaz with five nominations each, Gwen Stefani with four and 50 Cent, Green Day, James Blunt, Snoop Dogg and U2 with three nominations apiece. Although it is a European ceremony, American artists tend to do well at the awards which are decided by MTV's European viewers voting online. For the first time this year there is also a special category for African acts. Hansen singled out Madonna and Gorillaz as likely highlights on Thursday night. "She knows the show, Madonna. She's been on the show twice before. She knows what to expect from it. She's always put on a stellar performance and she's got a big album just kicking in now so it's a good platform for her so I don't think it was as much us convincing her as it fitting into her promotional plan. And we've not let her down before so I think she feels confident about that," he said. Gorillaz will use hologram-style technology to beam three-dimensional performing cartoon characters on stage. Billed as the world's most successful "virtual band", the human artists behind Gorillaz traditionally appear at live gigs as silhouettes on a giant screen combined with images of their cartoon alter egos. "The Gorillaz is a very interesting one because it's a 3D television performance without anyone wearing any special glasses. But also has to work physically in front of a live audience, who are seeing some of the biggest stars, live stars, who are all out there performing. So, it's gotta be pretty convincing. And I think that's the issue, it's what subtlety can you put into the animation that can not only suffer from being flat, from 2D kind of animation style to a 3D presence in the room, but also work in the confines of a television show so that it doesn't look odd and out of context and that's really the hard and subtle thing. What you'll see of course will be 'wow, it's the Gorillaz' and they're performing," Hansen said. Hosting the event will be spoof Kazakh television presenter Borat, one of the guises adopted by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen who is renowned for his risque, politically incorrect humour. "I am very excited to be hosting the music television awards. I look forward to meeting the greatest popular music stars in the world, including Cameo, Rui Luis and CNC music manufacturing plant. I am also very excited to meet the most beautiful woman in the world, Liza Minelli. Wowowweawow. I would very much like to make romance inside her. Sexy time," the presenter said in a pre-recorded broadcast. The MTV Europe Music Awards will take place at Lisbon's Atlantic Pavilion on Thursday, November 3, 2005.

ITN Source | November 5, 2005

Tags:. .reverse. .platform. .confessions. .humour. .gotta