Sean Fox

1 day ago

Why Madonna Became the New Face of Grindr Speaking to WIRED, Madonna’s longtime manager Guy Oseary keeps circling back to one idea: the artist “wanted to get back to the basics.” Read that as dance music, the sound of the New York clubs where a young Madonna first turned heads in the ’80s. Read it, too, as the LGBTQ+ crowd that built those clubs — the community she has run with, and fought for, since the AIDS crisis was at its worst. “It felt authentic and organic,” Oseary tells the magazine. The whole thing started with a cold email last fall, sent straight to Grindr CEO George Arison. It came from a Gmail address, and Arison, reasonably enough, took it for a scam. Once he realized it wasn’t, Oseary made the trip to Grindr’s San Francisco offices to play the music and sketch out what a partnership might look like. “Madonna is part of the fabric and the culture,” Oseary says. He’ll tell you he once kicked around the idea of getting her to buy Grindr outright, back when it was on the market. “She’s been there from day one.” What happens after the album lands on July 3 is anyone’s guess; neither side seems to know yet whether this goes any further. Arison won’t say what it cost to stage the concert — only that it was “a lot.” Nor will he pretend it was painless. For the 80 people keeping the app’s backend upright, he admits, it’s been “stressful.” “We had to build a ton of technology from scratch,” he says. For Oseary, a move this unexpected is vintage Madonna: she has always been the first to try things, collaborations included — and he has the receipts. “We were the first to do lots of things with Madonna,” he says. “She helped launch the iTunes store with Steve Jobs. We did the first hologram performance of the Gorillaz. We’re always looking for interesting ways to do things. She’s an innovative artist.”

DrownedMadonna's tweet photo. Why Madonna Became the New Face of Grindr

Speaking to WIRED, Madonna’s longtime manager Guy Oseary keeps circling back to one idea: the artist “wanted to get back to the basics.” Read that as dance music, the sound of the New York clubs where a young Madonna first turned heads in the ’80s. Read it, too, as the LGBTQ+ crowd that built those clubs — the community she has run with, and fought for, since the AIDS crisis was at its worst.

“It felt authentic and organic,” Oseary tells the magazine.

The whole thing started with a cold email last fall, sent straight to Grindr CEO George Arison. It came from a Gmail address, and Arison, reasonably enough, took it for a scam. Once he realized it wasn’t, Oseary made the trip to Grindr’s San Francisco offices to play the music and sketch out what a partnership might look like.

“Madonna is part of the fabric and the culture,” Oseary says. He’ll tell you he once kicked around the idea of getting her to buy Grindr outright, back when it was on the market. “She’s been there from day one.”

What happens after the album lands on July 3 is anyone’s guess; neither side seems to know yet whether this goes any further.

Arison won’t say what it cost to stage the concert — only that it was “a lot.” Nor will he pretend it was painless. For the 80 people keeping the app’s backend upright, he admits, it’s been “stressful.” “We had to build a ton of technology from scratch,” he says.

For Oseary, a move this unexpected is vintage Madonna: she has always been the first to try things, collaborations included — and he has the receipts.

“We were the first to do lots of things with Madonna,” he says. “She helped launch the iTunes store with Steve Jobs. We did the first hologram performance of the Gorillaz. We’re always looking for interesting ways to do things. She’s an innovative artist.”

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SeanFoxReporter retweeted

Dolce&Gabbana

@dolcegabbana

1 day ago

At the heart of Times Square, @Madonna took the stage for @Grindr's exclusive live-streamed event, wearing a custom #DolceGabbana look as she unveiled Confessions II to audiences worldwide. Styling: Rita Melssen Photography: Alex Antonioni #DGFattoAMano

dolcegabbana's tweet photo. At the heart of Times Square, @Madonna took the stage for @Grindr's exclusive live-streamed event, wearing a custom #DolceGabbana look as she unveiled Confessions II to audiences worldwide.

Styling: Rita Melssen
Photography: Alex Antonioni

#DGFattoAMano https://t.co/3MaITTuygr

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1 day ago

@DrownedMadonna @GregvsMatt I love when M delivers vocals in a lower register xx

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SeanFoxReporter retweeted

1 day ago

More impressions are reaching us from inside the Beacon Theatre — a first-hand account from a friend who was in the room. Visually, Madonna looks incredible throughout. One sequence, set to “Good For My Soul”, places her in a field surrounded by women, lasers shooting from between their legs, before she’s carried on a floating table drifting through a series of rooms, striking dance poses straight out of the Confessions era. Her own history is woven all the way through. In the bathroom scene — the one set to “Danceteria” — she uses a hand dryer exactly as she did in Desperately Seeking Susan, with men at the stalls and Madonna in a blue shimmery dress and a beehive. Elsewhere, there are rooms that openly echo “Justify My Love”, this time with women in surveillance-camera masks glancing around.

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SeanFoxReporter retweeted

1 day ago

Is Sabrina Carpenter in the Confessions II film? Yes. When the official Confessions II film poster dropped without Sabrina Carpenter’s name on it, the speculation kicked off immediately. So let’s put it to rest: she’s in it. Carpenter appears in the Bring Your Love sequence — a euphoric, post-car-crash club scene that The Sun had reported on months before the film’s release. This shouldn’t be a surprise. The single artwork for Bring Your Love was shot during the same session as the film, and eagle-eyed fans had already spotted hints of her presence in the visualizer — the pieces were already there.

DrownedMadonna's tweet photo. Is Sabrina Carpenter in the Confessions II film? Yes.

When the official Confessions II film poster dropped without Sabrina Carpenter’s name on it, the speculation kicked off immediately. So let’s put it to rest: she’s in it.

Carpenter appears in the Bring Your Love sequence — a euphoric, post-car-crash club scene that The Sun had reported on months before the film’s release.

This shouldn’t be a surprise. The single artwork for Bring Your Love was shot during the same session as the film, and eagle-eyed fans had already spotted hints of her presence in the visualizer — the pieces were already there.

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SeanFoxReporter retweeted

1 day ago

Last night at the Beacon Theatre was one for the books. Our dear friend Matthew Rettenmund (@mattrett ) — the author of Encyclopedia Madonniaca and one of the most knowledgeable Madonna fans on the planet, was there — and he’s just shared with us a moment that every Madonna fan deserves to hear about. Madonna was seated directly behind him. After the film ended, Matthew told her it was amazing. She thanked him profusely and touched his hand. Then he asked her the question that was on his mind: what was the song in the bathroom scene? She told him straight away: that’s “Danceteria”. And Matthew’s response was immediate: that’s the one. That’s the song everyone’s going to want. Madonna’s reaction? “Oh, thank you, thank you for telling me that”; and by all accounts, she could not have been nicer.

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1 day ago

Hi @Grindr Are you planning to upload @Madonna’s awesome NYC Times Square performance on @YouTube? I hope to watch the broadcast again, it was perfection 🪩🪩

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Madonna Revolution Archives @madrevo1

1 day ago

@GregvsMatt @Grindr M’s performance was perfection! And the picture quality of the broadcast was amazing, I was so impressed 🥰

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SeanFoxReporter retweeted

2 days ago

Madonna didn't just change music — she changed culture. 👑✨ For more than 40 years, she has fought for freedom of expression, individuality, and the right to be yourself without apology. She's a true freedom fighter. #madonna @madonna .

madrevo1's tweet photo. Madonna didn't just change music — she changed culture. 👑✨
For more than 40 years, she has fought for freedom of expression, individuality, and the right to be yourself without apology.
She's a true freedom fighter.
#madonna @madonna . https://t.co/imAUNwGGRD

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SeanFoxReporter retweeted

Daphne du Maurier @D_DuMaurier

2 days ago

While carrying out some research, we have unearthed a fascinating and informative letter from Daphne du Maurier's American publisher, Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., which was sent to a bookseller along with a signed copy of Rebecca in September 1938. https://t.co/E3mFjf1kKl

D_DuMaurier's tweet photo. While carrying out some research, we have unearthed a fascinating and informative letter from Daphne du Maurier's American publisher, Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., which was sent to a bookseller along with a signed copy of Rebecca in September 1938. https://t.co/E3mFjf1kKl https://t.co/v6qKek7Hno

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