Oh good heavens! As evidenced by the above footage, 51-year old Madonna fainted onto one of her backup dancers mid “Holiday” at a gig in Sofia, Bulgaria this past Saturday. A source recalled that the pop icon was “really worried backstage” and had to “sit down for a longer break than usual between songs.” However, Madonna got right back up and performed as schedulesd in Israel last night, just another stop in her appropriately named “Sticky & Sweet Tour.” What a trooper. (Via SPIN via Gigwise]

Madonna certainly is not one to refrain from courting controversy, but her latest scheduling move has Polish nationalists in a tizzy, claiming that she “sneers at Jesus Christ.” (While that may or may not be true, if Madonna’s life and career are any indication, we shall withold comment in regards to her potential status as the Antichrist.) Madonna inspired the wrath of the “Pro-Polonia” Polish nationalist group when she scheduled her Polish concert, part of her world tour, in Warsaw on August 15, the day that Christians commemorate the Virgin Mary’s ascension to heaven.

Marian Baranski, a representative for the group, said at a press conference that “Madonna specializes in offending religious feelings… It is possible to suspect her of being a crypto-Satanist.” Zygmut Wrzodak, a former member of the Polish parliament, added, “Madonna sneers at Jesus Christ, the symbol of the cross and all Christians.”

Former president Lech Walesa urged the superstar to move the date of the show, but she remained steadfast, according to Reuters.

Fact: Madonna performed on July 7th with drone metal specialists Sunn O))).  It is rumored that the reason the stage collaboration came about as the former hopes to snag a spot in Sunn O)))’s doom choir for their forthcoming Monoliths & Dimensions show. We will leave you to interpret the pairing as you will.

We’re willing to bet you’ve never heard Madonna quite like this. The Flaming Lips have managed to make a “Borderline” into a dreamy, otherworldly little opus, and Wayne Coyne sounds so earnest and desperate. Why do you keep on pushin’ his love over the borderline? Why?
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With all the recent buzz about a possible merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, we found Billboard Magazine’s annual listing of the top earners in music even more intriguing than usual. It seems the majority of those millions come directly from touring and ticket sales, leaving us wondering just what’s at stake for artists and fans in this possible merger?
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