Lisbon-influenced music for Madonna
Madonna and son David Banda
Having lived in Portugal for the past year, it only made sense, Madonna said, that her upcoming album would be inspired by the country’s music scene.
“How could it not? I don’t see how I could have gone through that year without being informed by all this input of culture,” the pop icon said in an interview with Vogue Italia.
“I have met amazing musicians and ended up working with a lot of them on my new record,” added the American singer-songwriter, who plans to compile the new songs she has crafted “by the end of the year.” “Lisbon has influenced my music and my work.”
Madonna moved to the Portuguese capital in 2017 to support the football dreams of her 12-year-old son David Banda, who’s enrolled at the youth academy of top football club Benfica. Also with her are her other Malawi-born children, Mercy James, 12, and twins, Stella and Esther, 5.
“I want them to be good human beings who treat others with dignity and respect, regardless of skin color, religion or gender,” she stressed. “If they happen to be the next Picasso or Cristiano Ronaldo, then great, that’s just the cherry on the cake.”
Chris Colfer —INSTAGRAM
Chris Colfer reaps success as author of kids’ books
“There is nothing better than a profession you can do in pajamas,” actor-author Chris Colfer once said about writing books, in an Instagram post last year. More recently, the 28-year-old openly gay actor, who played struggling teen Kurt Hummel in the musical series “Glee,” invited fans of his successful children’s novels to submit fan art, for inclusion in a new compendium.
Colfer, whose first book “The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell” was published in 2012, also had a paperback release of his teen-aimed novel “Stranger Than Fan Fiction” last May.
The Emmy-nominated actor is now a New York Times bestselling writer, as his “Land of Stories” book series topped the list last year, with “Harry Potter” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” at second and fourth spots, respectively. His books have been translated in 20 languages.
What’s next for Colfer? More books, and a big-screen adaptation of his first “Land of Stories,” which will also be his directorial debut.—ALLAN POLICARPIO AND OLIVER PULUMBARIT
