Pop queen Madonna returned to the stage for her 78-show tour, proving that The Celebration Tour is more than worth the wait.
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Though she was forced to postpone her tour due to a serious health scare landing her in the ICU, Madonna is back on top (no, not on that wedding cake). The Celebration Tour kicked off at the O2 Arena in London this past Saturday, and despite a few glitches, the Pop legend showed herself in a new and fully encompassing light - which wasn’t always celebratory.
“It’s been a crazy year for me,” she said during the two-hour concert. “I didn’t think I was going to make it, neither did my doctors. That’s why I woke up with all of my children sitting around me.” It was her children, she told the audience, that convinced her to get better and continue to fight on, in the way it seems Madonna always has. “If you want to know my secret, and you want to know how I pulled through and how I survive, I thought, ‘I’ve got to be there for my children. I have to survive for them,’” she said, with the crowd cheering in response. She then launched into a triumphant version of Gloria Gaynor’s anthem “I Will Survive.”
Her tour surely captured Madonna’s fighting spirit, as it pictured her rockstar influence and her activism in tandem. As Madonna sang her ballad “In This Life,” the set displayed a photo tribute to victims of the AIDS epidemic, even focusing on her late friend and artist Keith Haring as she shifted into her song “Live to Tell.” Other tributes were brief flashes of songs and pictures, acknowledging Prince, Sinead O’Connor, and Michael Jackson with a “Billie Jean” and “Like a Virgin” mashup. She even addressed the conflict between Israel and Palestine, saying, “All of it is heartbreaking. Even though our hearts are broken, our spirits cannot be broken.”
With that in mind, The Celebration Tour was full of life, joy, and gratitude too. Throughout nearly 30 songs, Madonna thrilled the audience with her voice, costume changes, and a plethora of dancers. During her 1990 hit “Vogue,” dancers walked down a runaway while wearing masks and costumes of Madonna’s most famous pop culture moments. At the end of the runway, Madonna sang and judged with numbered cards, aided by daughters Lourdes Leon and twins Stella and Estere. Her daughter Mercy James made a cameo as well, playing piano for the opening of “Bad Girl,” as her mom sat on the bench next to her and sang.
“I’m pretty damned surprised that I made it this far and I mean that on so many levels,” Madonna reflected during a technical difficulty pause. “How did I make it this far? Because of you. I’m going to take a bit of credit too,” she joked.
Full Setlist:
Nothing Really Matters
Everybody
Into The Groove
Burning Up
Open Your Heart
Holiday
Live To Tell
Like A Prayer
Erotica
Justify My Love
Fever
Hung Up
Bad Girl
Vogue
Human Nature
Crazy For You
Die Another Day
Don’t Tell Me
Mother and Father
Little Star (Acapella)
I Will Survive (Cover)
La Isla Bonita
Don’t Cry For Me Argentina
Bedtime Story
Ray Of Light
Rain
B**** I’m Madonna
Celebration/ Music (Melody)