Could a momentous reunion of Madonna with two of her former backup singers be in the works? This week, the Queen of Pop will perform a trio of shows at New York's Madison Square Garden for The Celebration Tour (January 22, 23 and 29). And, perhaps not coincidentally, Donna De Lory and Niki Haris, who appeared in the Madonna documentary. Truth or Dare and in the iconic “Vogue” video – they will perform two of their own shows together just down the street from the Garden on January 27 and 28.
While the ladies haven't worked together in years, could there be any plans for Madonna to stop by one of De Lory and Haris' homes? concerts at The Green Room 42Or appear on stage with Madonna at The Garden?
Well, De Lory and Haris join the Billboard Pop Shop podcast this week (listen to their chat below) to discuss that possibility and more.
“I have no right to give any information that is not fully confirmed as of right now,” Haris thoughtfully tells the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast with a laugh. “That being said, we bring joy wherever we can find it, whether it's on our stage, at Madison Square Garden, wherever joy is. In [Madonna’s] living room. …The bottom line is that we are in the city. … Maybe we'll go have coffee together. Who knows?”
De Lory adds: “Whatever happens, we'll have a great time.”
For years, De Lory and Haris were behind Madonna: supporting the superstar on her tours, during television appearances at the Grammy Awards and MTV Video Music Awards, and singing on many of her albums and singles. The pair joined Madonna on four tours between 1987 and 2001, and De Lory continued to perform on two more Madonna tours in 2004-06. Her vocals can be heard on many Madonna recordings released between 1987 and 1998, including the As a prayer, I'm breathless and Erotica albums and singles such as “Vogue”, “Cherish”, “Deeper and Deeper” and “Nothing Really Matters”.
So, with so much recording history behind them, would De Lory and Haris be open to recording with Madonna, on record and in the studio for a song, if the opportunity presented itself?
“I'm sorry for myself,” says De Lory, “and I'm also sorry for Niki, we'd love to. We would love that. And I know that the magic that was always there would be there. …It would be nice if that happened. … We all have a great combination and a great energy, and that will always be there.”
“I'd love to just sit in a room,” says Haris, “have [Madonna] Grab your guitar, Donna goes to the keyboard and let's do what we love to do. …God, we just like to sing together. I would rather just sing without an agenda. Just sing.”
While De Lory and Haris are best known for supporting Madonna over the years, they have also had their own solo careers and also provided backing vocals individually on albums by artists such as Belinda Carlisle, Whitney Houston, Santana and Selena. In 2016, the pair came together to work on her first album, the Two friends EP, which was released in 2017. Since then, they have continued to release independent tracks and have hopes of releasing more new material, perhaps setting up camp in Nashville to work with a producer/songwriter to collaborate on new music.
During our chat with De Lory and Haris, we also asked the women why they think “Vogue” has endured throughout the year and influenced artists like Beyoncé (with the “Break My Soul”-infused Queens Remix Vogue”) and Ariana Grande (with her house-inspired “Vogue” cousin, “Yeah, So?”).
De Lory says, “I knew when we went to do those vocals on that session, it was a fresh sound…the music was so powerful.” Haris says we are in a “society that now celebrates voguing, celebrates being a drag queen, celebrates [drag] houses… you just have a bigger audience that's being more accepted,” adding that “'Vogue' is such an infectious kind of energy… it's a celebration.”
Also in the new edition of the Pop Shop Podcast, we have news about the debut of “Yes, And?” atop the Billboard Hot 100, and how 21 Savage and Kali Uchis make eye-catching debuts on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Plus, we're discussing the news that Billy Joel will soon release his first pop single in years, a new album from Justin Timberlake on the horizon and the music-related nominees at the 2024 Academy Awards.
He Billboard Pop Store Podcast is your one stop shop for everything pop on BillboardWeekly charts. You can always count on lively discussion of the latest pop news, fun chart statistics and stories, new music, and interviews with music stars and people from the pop world. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can listen to BillboardWest Coast Executive Digital Director Katie Atkinson and BillboardKeith Caulfield's CEO, Charts and Data Trading every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the program on Billboard.com.)
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