Hitting an over 4-decade mark on the entertainment scene is applaudable, but showing up with superstar charm like it never left, that in itself is exquisite. Madonna Louise Ciccone has once again proven a longstanding fact – no one does it better than the Queen of Pop! Since “Everybody” made it out in 1982, the drag queen sprung into an eventful, exhilarating entertainment career, one that has earned her several record-breaking titles, including being the industry’s best-selling female recording artist worldwide, with over 300 million. It is therefore exciting and noble that the 65-year-old veteran brought the old days back with a blast through her iconic and anticipated “The Celebration Tour.” Considering that the tour dates had earlier been postponed due to a serious bacterial infection which had her hospitalized, the iconic pop star actually shut down London’s 02 arena that Saturday of the tour’s opening night.
Fans might have experienced that scare from her unprecedented health scare, but since the music icon took the stage on October 14, it’s been worth the wait. Her first, since Madame X in 2019, the Celebration Tour is number 12 among the singer’s concert tours. Announced on January 17, to be staged as 78 shows across Europe and North America, this tour is the biggest comeback as it is in celebration of her legendary life, over 40 years of existence as a trailblazing songster. According to the United States Billboard estimate, the Celebration Tour is speculated to earn the singer a whopping $100 million, adding to her already-bulky net worth of over $580 million.
Fearless, provocative and daunting do so little to describe the entirety of Madonna’s influential career, one which has proven itself over again at the ongoing tour with thousands of attendees present to watch the queen perform. It’s no surprise, as Madonna is one artist with a history of artistic dynamism, popping up with the most unusual creations for her music and performances. Therefore, everyone was definitely out for the Madonna experience.
The Celebration Tour: An Intercontinental Show-Stopper
For a tour that sold out 600,000 tickets in just one day, the number of people on the first day was quite impressive. On the night of October 14, with a crowd of 20,000 onlookers in attendance, and Honey Dijon as the opening act, the megastar delivered quite a show, continually exciting viewers with dynamic costumes, and superb choreography. For the next few days and into the coming month, more cities in Europe are set to experience Madonna’s acts at different arenas. From Copenhagen to Stockholm this October, cities including Barcelona, Lisbon, Paris, Cologne, Milan, Berlin, and Amsterdam will take all dates from November through the first week of December. Then, from 13th December, the Michigan-born musician will show up at Barclay’s Centre in New York City to open up her rounds in her homeland in North America. Followed by Washington D.C, other cities that will host the performer include Boston, Toronto, Detroit, Montreal, Philadelphia, Chicago, Saint Paul, Cleveland, Seattle, Houston, Vancouver, Las Vegas, Sacramento, and Inglewood, among others. Then, in the final days of the tour in April 2024, the world would watch Madonna move around Atlanta, Tampa, Austin, and Miami and pull up to a stop in Mexico City on April 24, 2024.
The Celebration Tour Set List
In anticipation of a show-stopping delivery from the brilliant former, fans and music organisations and excited to put out their preferred list of songs for the tours. However, there are just too many hits over a four-decade period to choose from, given the calibre of the entertainer in question. Opening the show with the 1998 UK Singles Top 10, “Nothing Really Matters” the air was filled with melodies of her all-time greatest hits. Here are some of the songs that have been played at the 2023/2024 Celebration Tour:
-
“Nothing Really Matters.”
-
“Open Your Heart.”
-
“Live to Tell.”
-
“Burning Up.”
-
“Ray of Light.”
-
“Little Star”
-
“La Isla Bonita.”
-
“Bedtime Story.”
-
“Rain.”
-
“Gimme All Your Luvin’
-
“Mother and Father.”
-
“The Beast Within.”
-
“Die Another Day.”
-
“Don’t Tell Me.”
-
“Human Nature.”
-
“Crazy For You.”
-
“Vogue.”
-
“Bad Girl.”
-
“Justify My Love.”
-
“Intermission – In This Life.”
-
“Holiday.”
-
“Into the Groove.”
-
“I Don’t Search I Find.”
The Undefeatable Queen of Pop
Rising from almost nothing to become one of the most sought-after entertainers and maintaining mouth-gaping relevance, Madonna has had quite the time! In her words, “I’m pretty damn surprised I made it this far .. on many levels” and indeed, considering that she’s only one of the few pop starts from the pioneer 80s still standing impressively, you’ll agree with her. Beyond talent, it takes resilience and courage, and isn’t that what she’s always showed up to be, and much more? As the undefeatable superstar continues to break ground and cover more dates for her record-breaking tour, we are expectant of more surprises from the Queen of Pop.