The stunning songstress is the cover star for July's American issue of Vogue magazine and to promote the prestigious honour, Perry has released a short video.

In the promo, Perry - who is famed for her ebony locks - revealed how trying to emulate Madonna's platinum style resulted in her signature look.

She explained: ''I've been dying my hair black since I was 15. The whole reason I dye it is that I was 15 and I chopped it all off. I had it bleached blonde like Madonna and it didn't look right so I bought a box of hair dye and dyed it all black and never looked back.''

Perry also admitted there are certain features on her face she plays up in order to feel more attractive.

She said: " My brows and my eyes, I think, are what frame my whole face. I have all right lips and all right cheekbones, but they're no showoffs. If I get my brows and my eyes right, that really sets the whole face.

Perry added: ''My skin used to be a lot worse than it is so I would use a lot more coverage as I was insecure about my skin.''

The British singer revealed the news on her Instagram as she posted a photo of herself and the Queen of Pop together.

She said: "Joining forces with Madonna & Lola! It's Official Ritabots – I'm the new face of @MaterialGirl. #thisisamoment for me#icon #mymuse #argghhhhh#yeeeeaaahhhhhhh #excited :) :) :)."

Ora will follow in the footsteps of previous 'faces' such as Taylor Momsen and Kelly Osbourne.

Material Girl is created by Madonna and her daughter Lourdes, and it is sold via US chain Macy's.

The line is named after her 1984 song of the same name.

The singer embarked on a world jaunt last year to promote her album of the same name and Billboard named it as the highest grossing tour of the year.

A full-length video from her concerts will be shown on US network EPIX on June 22 and they have released a preview clip ahead of its premiere.

It sees the Queen of Pop perform her track 'Give Me All Your Lovin'', which featured on the album 'MDNA'.

A DVD of the concert meanwhile is expected to be released later this year.

Madonna meanwhile picked up the Top Touring Artist gong at this year's Billboard Music Awards in May in honour of the MDNA tour's high sales.

The jaunt grossed a total of $350 million (£225m).

Chime For Change is a global initiative founded by Beyoncé, actress Salma Hayek, and Gucci's creative director Frida Giannini which seeks to promote education, health and justice for women.

Beyoncé headlined the concert and was joined by her husband Jay Z to perform 'Crazy In Love'.

Speaking to the audience Beyonce said: "Women's rights have always been close to my heart. Being a mother, it's really important that I do what I can and use my voice. There are many women around the world that don't have one. We have to use our voices and raise awareness and be part of something where we can leave our legacy and help improve this world."

Madonna also made an appearance to address the crowd saying: "I keep telling people I want to start a revolution, but my revolution doesn't involve bloodshed and violence. My revolution starts with education. My revolution is about achieving a higher level of consciousness, but this cannot start without education... Let tonight be the beginning of this revolution because education is not a luxury, it is a basic human right."

Other stars on the bill included Jennifer Lopez who was joined by Mary J Blige to cover The Beatles' 'Come Together', Florence + The Machine, Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora and Jessie J. 

Watch Beyoncé perform 'Grown Woman' live at Chime For Change below:

]]> London Newsdesk http://www.pressparty.com/pg/newsdesk/katyperry/view/78946/ Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:34:23 +0100 http://www.pressparty.com/pg/newsdesk/katyperry/view/78946/ Pop beauty Katy Perry says her signature raven locks are all thanks to her desire to look like Madonna.

The stunning songstress is the cover star for July's American issue of Vogue magazine and to promote the prestigious honour, Perry has released a short video.

In the promo, Perry - who is famed for her ebony locks - revealed how trying to emulate Madonna's platinum style resulted in her signature look.

She explained: ''I've been dying my hair black since I was 15. The whole reason I dye it is that I was 15 and I chopped it all off. I had it bleached blonde like Madonna and it didn't look right so I bought a box of hair dye and dyed it all black and never looked back.''

Perry also admitted there are certain features on her face she plays up in order to feel more attractive.

She said: " My brows and my eyes, I think, are what frame my whole face. I have all right lips and all right cheekbones, but they're no showoffs. If I get my brows and my eyes right, that really sets the whole face.

Perry added: ''My skin used to be a lot worse than it is so I would use a lot more coverage as I was insecure about my skin.''

The British singer revealed the news on her Instagram as she posted a photo of herself and the Queen of Pop together.

She said: "Joining forces with Madonna & Lola! It's Official Ritabots – I'm the new face of @MaterialGirl. #thisisamoment for me#icon #mymuse #argghhhhh#yeeeeaaahhhhhhh #excited :) :) :)."

Ora will follow in the footsteps of previous 'faces' such as Taylor Momsen and Kelly Osbourne.

Material Girl is created by Madonna and her daughter Lourdes, and it is sold via US chain Macy's.

The line is named after her 1984 song of the same name.

The singer embarked on a world jaunt last year to promote her album of the same name and Billboard named it as the highest grossing tour of the year.

A full-length video from her concerts will be shown on US network EPIX on June 22 and they have released a preview clip ahead of its premiere.

It sees the Queen of Pop perform her track 'Give Me All Your Lovin'', which featured on the album 'MDNA'.

A DVD of the concert meanwhile is expected to be released later this year.

Madonna meanwhile picked up the Top Touring Artist gong at this year's Billboard Music Awards in May in honour of the MDNA tour's high sales.

The jaunt grossed a total of $350 million (£225m).

A host of top name acts such as Beyoncé and Florence + The Machine performed at Twickenham Stadium in London on Saturday (June 1) to raise awareness of women's rights and issues.

Unlike many other countries, the BBC did not broadcast the event live and chose to show a highlights package - something which the event's promoter Goldsmith said was questionable. He told the Mail on Sunday:

"The idea behind the concert is to launch a charity which will help millions of women and young girls around the world."

Goldsmith added: "In a lot of countries it went out live. In fact in most of them. I am disappointed that the BBC did not broadcast the event live. I think all the BBC is interested is in Glastonbury. They have got about five million people working on it. It's their jolly and everything else gets short shrift."

Chime For Change is a global initiative founded by Beyoncé, actress Salma Hayek, and Gucci's creative director Frida Giannini which seeks to promote education, health and justice for women.

Beyoncé headlined the concert and was joined by her husband Jay Z to perform 'Crazy In Love'.

Speaking to the audience Beyonce said: "Women's rights have always been close to my heart. Being a mother, it's really important that I do what I can and use my voice. There are many women around the world that don't have one. We have to use our voices and raise awareness and be part of something where we can leave our legacy and help improve this world."

Madonna also made an appearance to address the crowd saying: "I keep telling people I want to start a revolution, but my revolution doesn't involve bloodshed and violence. My revolution starts with education. My revolution is about achieving a higher level of consciousness, but this cannot start without education... Let tonight be the beginning of this revolution because education is not a luxury, it is a basic human right."

Other stars on the bill included Jennifer Lopez who was joined by Mary J Blige to cover The Beatles' 'Come Together', Florence + The Machine, Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora and Jessie J. 

Watch Beyoncé perform 'Grown Woman' live at Chime For Change below:

]]> London Newsdesk http://www.pressparty.com/pg/newsdesk/beyonce/view/76493/ Wed, 22 May 2013 18:07:46 +0100 http://www.pressparty.com/pg/newsdesk/beyonce/view/76493/ The forthcoming musical event 'Sound of Change' is set to be broadcast live in the UK on BBC One next month.

The concert, which will be hosted by Madonna, is due to take place on June 1 in Twickenham at the stadium and the channel has confirmed plans to show it live at 10.50pm, but will rename the show 'Beyoncé & Friends Live at Twickenham,' for television purposes.

Beyoncé was announced as the 'Sound of Change' gig's headliner, but other acts will also perform including Jennifer Lopez, Florence + The Machine and Ellie Goulding. Haim, John Legend, Iggy Azalea, Timbaland, Rita Ora and Laura Pausini will also play live on the night.

The Sound of Change Live will aim to bring women's and girls' rights to the stage and the organisation (Chime For Change) fights for education, health and justice for women around the globe.

Speaking to 'Extra' about the encounter, Madonna explained that she met the reality television star years ago and was flattered after she told her how great her songs were so gifted her a few pieces of the jewellery she was wearing at the time:

"I met her years and years ago when she was a little girl, believe it or not. She told me she was a huge fan of mine, and it was during the time I was wearing all of the rubber bracelets on my arms."

"I took off all of the bracelets and gave them to her, and then I completely forgot about it. She reminded me when I saw her the other night. Now she's a pregnant lady!"

She also opened up about being a working mother to her four children, adding that finding a balance is the most important thing: "I try to find the right balance between being there for them and guiding them, and also being an artist. I'm trying to find enough time in the day to do those jobs well."

"I try to be very clear with them. This is my persona for work. What we aspire to do is to work and to be good people. If you don't have those two things, fame is nothing, so I try to drill that into their heads."

Watch Madonna give a brief interview at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards here:

The veteran singer's latest album 'MDNA' was released in March 2012 and she soon after embarked on a world tour.

Speaking to Billboard, the 'Vogue' star was asked if she has started work on the follow-up to 'MDNA', to which she replied:

"No, not yet. I just finished editing the DVD of my [MDNA] concert. So I haven't had any free time."

Madonna was speaking at the Billboard Music Awards, with the singer picking up the Top Touring Artist prize on the night.

As previously reported, the Queen of Pop has been confirmed to help host the Sound of Change concert at London's Twickenham Stadium on June 1.

The event is due to raise awareness of women's rights and issues and will see the likes of Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez hit the stage.

The Chime For Change event is taking place at London's Twickenham Stadium on June 1 and it will feature sets from the likes of Beyoncé and Florence + The Machine as stars raise awareness of women's rights and issues.

It was announced today (May 20) that a number of top names from entertainment and politics will help host the Gucci organised event, with Madonna leading the list.

Other names due to host include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Gordon and Sarah Brown, Jessica Chastain, Gloria Steinem and Freida Pinto.

Speaking about the issues surrounding the event, Madonna said:

"60 percent of the children in the world NOT in school are girls! 2/3 of the world's illiterate are WOMEN! I Do NOT accept this. We need to change this and we WILL CHANGE THIS!"

Beyonce meanwhile said in a statement: "I am really happy that so many amazing artists and presenters have come together to support CHIME FOR CHANGE on 1 June. Our goal is to have a great time together while we unite and strengthen the voices of girls and women around the world."

Tickets for the event, which will also see the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Ellie Goulding perform, are on sale now.

The event, which is due to take place on May 19 in Las Vegas, will be hosted by actor and comedian Tracy Morgan, but he will be joined by a string of well-loved musicians who will act as presenters for the night.

Singer Miley Cyrus, Ke$ha and Carly Rae Jepsen have all been announced for the exciting role, but a further 11 music stars will also present awards and segments at the extravaganza. Several Hollywood personalities will step in as presenters, including 'Nashville' beauty Hayden Panettiere, 'Dark Shadows' actress Chloe Moretz, and Alyssa Milano.

Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars are all set to perform live at the Billboard Music Awards, which will also see Madonna honoured with a special award for her touring achievements.