Bruce Springsteen favorite Brendan O'Brien not producing Madonna

Madonna is not hooking up with Bruce Springsteen's favorite producer.  Odd mix anyway, no?

Credit: AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Internet rumors have been swirling about whom Madonna has pegged to produce her next album, the follow-up to 2008’s “Hard Candy.”  Among the more surprising--and exciting-- names bandied about over the past two weeks was Grammy Award-winning rock producer Brendan O’Brien, of Pearl Jam/Rage Against the Machine/Bruce Springsteen fame.

We reached out to O’Brien for another story, but couldn't resist asking him about Madonna. He goodnaturedly reminded us not to believe everything we read. “No one has contacted me about working with Madonna,” he says. “Someone actually showed me something today that said that Bruce Springsteen was going to fire me because I’d worked with Madonna. It was awesome. It’s really hilarious. I’m a huge fan of Madonna’s but no one has talked to me. The internet is bulls***. You can write that down.”

Duly noted.  Similarly, after reports also mentioned DJ A-Trak, he reached out to say his comments about working with Madge were taken out of context. Representatives for both David Guetta and Fernando Garibay told MTV that comments about their involvement with Madonna were also inaccurate.

So who is O'Brien working with? He's finished My Chemical Romance's new set and is now working with another female songbird: Faith Hill. We're very eager to hear what that collaboration yields.