LONDON () - Madonna won't have much time to fret about turning 50.
While many people qualifying the milestone may choose to pause and reflect, the "queen of pop" is in the thick of last preparations for her globe tour which kicks off in Cardiff, Wales, on August 23, a calendar week after her birthday.
If previous shows are anything to go by, the 40-plus "Sticky & Sweet" dates around the globe volition put Madonna under the kind of physical and mental strain that would test a woman half her age.
But the world's most successful female recording artist has never countenance age, sex or background get in her way, and has remained in the ascendency with an uncanny power to reinvent herself just when the old Madonna was nearing her sell-by date.
Her latest reincarnation is a calculating businesswoman, after she severed ties with long-term record label Warner Brothers to sign up with Live Nation, a company that until latterly specialized in music tours.
As well as earning a reported $120 million over the sprightliness of the agreement, Madonna appeared to be among the first base to recognize which way the music industry was heading.
Recorded music, many artists now believe, is making them less money than live playing, meaning they are looking for to spend less clock time in the recording studio and more than on the stage.
The last few eld have not all been easy for Madonna, however.�
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