Madonna, her Royal Madgesty, celebrated the end of her almost year-long Sticky & Sweet World Tour in São Paulo, Brazil last night at a private soiree held in her honor by art director Giovanni Bianco. According to reports, Maddy — who is photographed below on the arm of her friend and manager Guy Oseary — was spied canoodling with Brazilian model Jesus Luz whom, it was previously reported, she met on the set of a photoshoot she did with Steven Klein for W magazine last week. While the couple were not photographed leaving the tour wrap party together, Jesus was spied leaving in a car that followed Madonna to her hotel. HMMMMMMM:

Madonna celebrated her last Sticky & Sweet Tour concert last night in São Paulo at a private party thrown by art director Giovanni Bianco at a club in Pinheiros. She went to the party not only accessorized by her Chanel resort heels, but by 21-year-old Brazilian model Jesus Luz, who she met during her W magazine photo shoot in Rio last week. According to national tabloids, Madonna made out and danced with Jesus during the three hours she spent at the party. She left the club at 5:30 am, and he left in the car right behind her.

Both cars pulled over at the Hyatt where she is staying. Madonna is now officially a Brazilianizer.

LOL. You know, Madonna really does have a type of guy she lurves, don’t she? Except for her soon-to-be ex-husband, most of her romantic involvements have been with Latin-lookin’ dudes (including A-Rod). If these reports are true, it’s not hard to believe that Maddy would be all in this guy’s biz. He is, after all, supermegahawt. After the jump, check out one of Jesus’s modeling pics for reference … (more…)

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails updated the official NIN website earlier this week and posted a thank you letter of sorts to all the fans who came out in support of the Lights in the Sky Over North America Tour (and beyond) this year. Speaking directly to the fans themselves, Trent talks a bit about touring plans for 2009 and even mentions the possibility that a “small holiday gift” may be on the way. Here is the full text of Trent’s latest message:

The LIGHTS IN THE SKY era has come to a close, and I’d like to once again thank you for your support. I am very proud of what we pulled off - it was an immense amount of work and worth it all. I’d like to thank Josh and Alessandro for being an integral part of this for the last few years and I wish them all the best. No rest for the wicked here, though. We start rehearsing the new band/format first thing next year and as I mentioned, we’ll be announcing some final waves of dates. North America, UK/Europe, Pacific Rim and elsewhere. Oh yeah - we may have a small holiday gift for you soon. Check back.

As excited as I STILL am over being fortunate enough to have a one-on-one backstage conversation with TR in Las Vegas, NV last weekend I am REALLY excited at the prospect of a “holiday gift” from the man himself. With Trent Reznor you never know what you’re gonna get … it could be a new song, it could be a new album — it could be a You Tube clip of the band doing the dance routine from Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) … er, but it most likely will not be the latter (I think). I will make sure to update news of this “holiday gift” as soon as it is announced.

Additionally, TR and NIN keyboardist Alessandro Cortini are featured in a new Apple promo video for their software program called MainStage:

As far as I can tell, the program was used extensively on the Lights in the Sky Tour and comes highly recommended by the NIN men themselves. After the jump, watch the video clip in full … (more…)

Okay … so there’s no way I can feasibly write a calm post about my day yesterday … but I’m gonna try. First off, Darion and I spent some time in the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Casino doing a bit of shopping before he, David and I had dinner at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at the Paris Hotel and Casino. Then we had to make our way to the Planet Hollywood Theater of Performing Arts before the Nine Inch Nails show started because I was allowed to have a short interview with Trent Reznor himself. As you may recall, I was allowed to photograph the NIN LA show a few months ago but because of time constraints was not able to meet up with and thank TR in person afterward. This time, TR made sure that I got some alonetime with him so we set up the interview for before the show. Honestly, I didn’t want to even mention this interview until I actually happened … I was afraid my heart wouldn’t be able to handle the disappointment if something else went wrong. BUT, I’ll get to the interview in a bit.

Here are a few pics that Darion and I snapped of the show last night. NIN ended their Lights in the Sky Over North America Tour here in LV last night and they put on a show that was, as usual, pretty effing unbelievable. Additionally, I’m posting the setlist, courtesy of the Echoing the Sound messageboard:

01. 999,999 [Intro]
02. 1,000,000
03. Letting You
04. Discipline
05. March Of The Pigs
06. Head Down
07. The Frail
08. Closer [The Only Time Breakdown]
09. Gave Up
10. Corona Radiata [Interlude]
11. The Warning
12. The Great Destroyer
13. Ghosts 21
14. Ghosts 28
15. Ghosts 19
16. Piggy [Ghosts]
17. The Greater Good
18. Pinion [Interlude]
19. Wish
20. Terrible Lie
21. Survivalism
22. The Big Come Down
23. Ghosts 31
24. Only
25. The Hand That Feeds
26. Head Like A Hole
—
27. Echoplex
28. Reptile
29. The Good Soldier
30. Hurt
31. In This Twilight [Zero-Sum Outro]

David tends to hate concerts as he usually is never impressed with live productions but he was very impressed with last night’s show. He kept oohing and ahhing and was so taken with the LCD lightshow that he jumped online to find out how the whole thing came together in the first place. Needless to say, I loved every minute of this show. Drummer Josh Freese and keyboardist Alessandro Cortini played their last show as members of NIN and Trent Reznor revealed to me in my interview and to the audience from the stage that NIN will carry on as a paired down 4-piece in the coming year — this is awesome news. TR also announced that NIN will RETURN to the US to do more dates starting in April (he mentioned amphitheaters). It was just a fun night, I can’t even begin to describe. I have to give a shout-out to Pink readers Roxanne and Vivianne who I got to run into at the show last night, it was so nice meeting you both. After the jump, check out video of Trent Reznor saying his goodbyes from the stage on the last night of the tour … (more…)

So … I know that I just hosted a Britney Spears-themed contest here on Pink is the new Blog but a new opportunity has come up to host another contest that I just couldn’t pass up. On Tuesday December 2, Britney Spears announced that she is hittin’ the road next Spring on a new tour called The Circus starring Britney Spears and that very same day tickets for some shows went on presale. Later in the week, those concert dates went on sale to the general public and sold out so quickly that new concert dates had to be added to keep up with the demand. Among the new cities added to the tour is Oakland, CA which goes on sale tomorrow via Ticketmaster but only for those folks who use the password: funambulist. You can click HERE to buy tickets for that show … or, if you’re feelin’ lucky, you can enter for a chance to win tickets to see Britney Spears for free right here on Pink is the new Blog:

Britney Spears is taking center ring for one of the most highly anticipated and in-demand tours of 2009, as six shows have been immediately added to her “The Circus Starring Britney Spears” 2009 North American Tour. In the days following her tour announcement on Good Morning America – on December 2, 2008, the singer’s 27th birthday - Britney’s fans have purchased more than 400,000 concert tickets in North America alone. In order to meet the overwhelming rush for tickets, tour promoter AEG Live immediately added six shows in Los Angeles, Toronto, New Jersey, Chicago, Long Island, NY and Anaheim, CA, expanding Spears’ tour to now include 41 concerts. Across the pond, Spears’ Circus-mania has also reached a feverish pitch, as six additional dates were just added at London’s O2 Arena, with more than 100,000 tickets sold for eight total shows over the 1st weekend of sales. “The Circus Starring Britney Spears,” her first arena tour in five years, features special guests The Pussycat Dolls. “The company that was the foundation for AEG Live was jump-started by Britney Spears’ 2001-02 ‘The Dream Within A Dream’ sold-out arena tour, so it is with poignant satisfaction that we are Brit’s promoter again,” said Randy Phillips, CEO of AEG Live. “We’re honored to have been entrusted with the live career of one of contemporary music’s greatest performers. ‘The Circus Starring Britney Spears’ is on target to be one of 2009’s great success stories, based on early box office reaction, and it’s a wildly imaginative production.” “Britney and I are both thrilled to see how excited her fans are for the Circus tour,” said Larry Rudolph, Britney Spears’ manager. “This show will blow people’s minds, and promises to show Britney’s fans something they will never forget!”

So here’s the deal … 1 lucky Pink reader will win a pair of tickets for the Anaheim, CA show at the Honda Center on April 20, 2009 and another lucky Pink reader will win a pair of tickets for the Oakland, CA show at the ORACLE Arena on April 22, 2009. If YOU are interested in entering for a pair of tickets for either of these two shows all you have to do is send me a picture of a handmade sign that YOU CREATE that reads Pink is the new ____________. Signs that are Britney Spears-themed will most likely get my attention (hint: do try to incorporate Britney in some way and do try to make the signs as elaborately cool as possible). You have to be able to get yourself to the venues either in Anaheim or Oakland, CA but the tickets will be waiting for you at the box office. Email photos of you and your amazing signs to pinkisthenewblog@gmail.com with the subject line: Britney Concert Tickets Contest and make sure you let me know which show you’d like to attend. Remember, you can still buy tickets for these or any of the shows on her tour at BritneySpears.com/tour but I think this is a fun way to get to see The Circus starring Britney Spears for free!!! Get to work on those signs, y’all … you have until Friday December 19 to submit your entries!!!

About 3 weeks ago, the official No Doubt website was updated with a new band photo and a curious iChat session that plainly alluded to the fact that the band was getting ready to announce a set of tour dates for the coming year. This weekend, NoDoubt.com was updated again with a direct message to fans from the band confirming that the band is planning to tour next year … but, have yet to announce any concrete dates. We’re getting closer tho:

Hey Everyone,

- No Doubt

This is amazing news. I was pretty confident that the last message we got from the back a few weeks ago meant that the announcement of tour dates was imminent … now we know that to be the case. I am really excited for the band to get back on the road … and I’m *dying* to hear new music. Hopefully when next we hear from the band we’ll have concrete dates to plan for. 2009 is already lookin’ like it’s gonna be a great year for live music!

[Source]

Here are a few really cute pics of Britney Spears and her sons Sean Preston and Jayden James (along with mama Lynne Spears and various members of her security detail) doing a bit of pre-Xmas toy shopping at FAO Schwartz in NYC yesterday. Even tho Britney is scheduled to appear in some fashion on The Ellen DeGeneres Show this week(end?) and has been all but confirmed to appear at the Xmas tree lighting at the LA Live! complex in downtown LA tonight, she managed to find the time to spend a bit more time in Manhattan yesterday afternoon before bidding farewell to the Big Apple:

Late yesterday evening the music video for her new single Circus leaked onto the Internets days before it was to make its world premiere on Entertainment Tonight. As a result, ET has announced that a Director’s Cut version of the video will be premiering on their show TONIGHT in HD one day earlier than was originally planned. I can’t wait to see how much better that vid is than the one we’ve already been able to see. After the jump, check out a small portion of the seating chart for The Circus starring Britney Spears Tour that kicks off next year to see how the VIP seating will be handled and to get a peek at what the 3-Ring Circus stageplan will look like … (more…)