LONDON () - Madonna won't ingest much clip to fret about turning 50. While many people passing the milestone may prefer to pause and reflect, the "queen of pop" is in the midst of final preparations for her world go which kicks off in Cardiff, Wales, on August 23, a week after her birthday.
If previous shows are anything to go by, the 40-plus "Sticky & Sweet" dates around the globe will pose Madonna under the kind of strong-arm and genial strain that would test a woman half her age.
But the world's most successful female recording creative person has never let age, sex or background get in her way, and has remained in the ascendancy with an preternatural ability to reinvent herself just when the old Madonna was nearing her sell-by date.
Her latest reincarnation is a shrewd businesswoman, after she severed ties with long-run record label Warner Brothers to preindication up with Live Nation, a company that until recently specialised in euphony tours.
As comfortably as earning a reported $120 million over the life of the agreement, Madonna appeared to be among the first to recognize which way the music industry was heading.
Recorded music, many artists now believe, is making them less money than live performing, meaning they ar looking to spend less time in the recording studio and more on the stage.
The last few years have not all been easy for Madonna, however.
A famous person who often bristles in the media glare, Madonna may be universally admired but she is non universally loved.�
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