Confessions Tour
Encyclopedia
Confessions Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna
. It supported her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor
. Madonna confirmed the possibility of going out on a tour as early as November 2005. Jamie King
, Madonna's longtime collaborator, was then hired on to direct. The set list consisted of mainly songs from the supporting studio album and rehearsals started during 2006. As with many of her prior tours, the Confessions Tour did not go to Australia, prompting Madonna to release an apology statement on her website.
The concert was divided into four parts: Equestrian
, Bedouin
, Glam
-Punk
and Disco
. Equestrian had horse-themed, bondaged performances, Bedouin had performances accompanied by messages, Glam-Punk performances had Madonna playing guitars and the final Disco segment consisted of dancing in general. The tour garnered positive appreciation from contemporary critics and commercial success. Tickets were completely sold as soon as dates and venues for the tour were announced, prompting the organizers to add more dates. After its ending, the Confessions Tour was dubbed as the highest grossing tour ever for a female artist, grossing over US$194.7 million from 60 shows with 1.2 million spectators. It is also recognized as the highest-grossing music tour per concert in the 2007 edition of the Guinness World Records
. Confessions Tour received the "Most Creative Stage Production" at the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards as well as "Top Boxscore" from the Billboard Touring Awards
.
Madonna's performance of the song "Live to Tell
" while hanging on a giant mirrored cross wearing a crown of thorns
was met with strong negative reaction from religious groups
. The performance at Rome
's Olympic Stadium
was condemned as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church
by religious leaders. Madonna responded saying that her main intention with the performance was to bring attention to the millions of children dying in Africa from hunger and poverty. The tour was recorded and broadcast on such channels as NBC
in the United States and Channel 4
in the United Kingdom. A CD+DVD recording titled The Confessions Tour was also released.
, Madonna confirmed that she was going out on tour in 2006 and it would likely be named either the Confessions Tour or the Confess Your Sins Tour. Jamie King
was next hired on as the director of the tour. During an interview with MTV
in February 2006, Madonna explained that she wanted to play first at small venues like Roseland Ballroom
in New York or the Wiltern Theatre
in Los Angeles, then move out to perform at stadiums and arenas. That way she deduced that she would not feel bored during her performances. King clarified,
King also confirmed that the set list for the tour consisted mainly of songs from the supporting album, with few of Madonna's old hits making the cut. Some of the dancers from the music videos of "Hung Up
" and "Sorry
", both singles from Confessions on a Dance Floor, were signed to perform on the tour as well. In March 2006, Madonna, along with her then-husband Guy Ritchie
and with their kids, moved to Los Angeles, to begin rehearsing for the tour. In the summer of 2006, Madonna's manager Guy Oseary
announced that her Australian leg to the tour had been dropped. Her official website released the following statement:
The stage and associated props took twenty-four semi-trailer trucks to transport. The setup consisted of a main stage with three elevators and a turntable (which rose and lowered), a central runway with LED
and strobe
lights connected to a central stage with a LED view screen in the construction and an elevator. The two secondary runways were raised up into the stands and also had view screens inside the construction. Two projection screens were raised above the audience so those who couldn't get a clear view of the stage could still see the performance. There were also 3 LED screens that moved around during the performance, including one semicircular transparent screen lowered onto the stage during the video interludes.
Among the various props present was a $2 million disco ball embellished with a further of $2 million worth of Swarovski
crystals, bringing it to a weight of two tons. The ball was lowered onto the stage at the end of the runway during the opening number, and then opened to reveal Madonna. The ball contained hydraulic tubing to hold it open, two sets of stairs, and hundreds of LED lights. Other props include the turntable-pummel horse used during "Like a Virgin
", a set of jungle gym-like metal bars used during "Jump
", the steel cage used for "Isaac" and "Sorry", and the boom box used during "Hung Up". The promotional poster for the tour featured one of the photographs of Madonna taken by Steven Klein
during the performances at G-A-Y
club in London, as part of the promotional tour of the Confessions on a Dance Floor album.
, Bedouin
, Glam
-Punk
and Disco
. The Equestrian segment of the show began with images of Madonna, riding crop in hand, and horses cantering across windswept plains on the big screens. A giant disco ball was then lowered onstage, and opened like a flower bud to reveal Madonna inside. As she took her dancers' reins, she performed "Future Lovers/I Feel Love
". This was followed by "Get Together" backed by her dancers in horse reins. She rode a carousel horse
-like dancepole
during "Like a Virgin
". The backdrops displayed the X-Ray of Madonna's broken bones, which she had during a previous accident. "Jump
" followed this performance, where the dancers displayed the physical discipline parkour
. After Madonna disappeared backstage, three of her dancers then revealed personal tragedies during an interlude called "Confessions". The second segment titled Bedouin started with Madonna appearing on a mirrored crucifix to sing "Live to Tell
" as a death toll of African AIDS
victims counted down onscreen above her. She stepped down off the cross to perform "Forbidden Love" where two male dancers intertwined each other while displaying religious symbolism
on the screens like blood corpuscles connecting to form symbols of hope and unity. Madonna brought a guest vocalist from her Confessions on a Dance Floor album onstage for "Isaac", when a female dancer in an oversized Middle-Eastern burka
danced within a cage with the backdrops displaying sand dunes. Madonna then recreated the dance-off scene from her "Sorry
" music video live with her troupe for her performance of the song. The performance was followed by the song "Like It Or Not" where burlesque-style dancing was performed by Madonna with the help of a chair as a prop. After the performance, her dancers performed krump dancing for a remix interlude of "Sorry" as social, political, and ecological images flashed onscreens.
Madonna returned for the Glam-Punk segment of the show and strapped on a guitar for rocked-out versions of "I Love New York" and "Ray of Light
". The backdrop during the performances displayed the New York skyline sliding off and stars respectively. "Ray of Light" was accompanied by her dancers in New Wave
style dance, while wearing black clothes and white ties. An energetic rendition of "Let It Will Be" followed before she sat down for some minutes to talk with her audience. She later started singing "Drowned World/Substitute for Love
" without any choreography or backdrop video, only sitting on the floor, and then recalled co-singer Yitzhak Sinwani out for an acoustic version of "Paradise (Not for Me)
". The final segment Disco started after a brief radio-style mini-mix of old hits. Madonna emerged in a butterfly-collared suit influenced by John Travolta
in Saturday Night Fever
for a mash-up of "Music
" and The Trammps
' 1976 single "Disco Inferno
" This also included a sample of her song "Where's The Party" at the beginning of the song while dancers rollerskated circles around her. Stuart Price
's remixed dance version of "Erotica
", which sampled the song's original demo "You Thrill Me", is performed. The next song was a Tropical-Dance version of "La Isla Bonita
", where the screens displayed clips of different beautiful islands, the sea and its fauna. This is followed by "Lucky Star"; this dance re-invention of the song shared the same musical arrangement than the following and final song of the evening "Hung Up
", which is accompanied by a sing-along with the audience and confetti and golden balloons falling from above. The show ended as the phrase "Have you confessed?" appeared onscreen.
wrote: "Madonna had played many roles in the first night of her Confessions tour – but confessor was not one of them. Apparently, in all the pomp and circumstance, there was no room for warmth, or even the attitude that made her recent Coachella festival performance so memorable." Don Chareunsy of The San Diego Union-Tribune
commented that Madonna's previous tours, Drowned World Tour
(2001) and Re-Invention World Tour (2004), "were excellent concerts ... but she stepped it up a few notches" for the Confessions Tour. Ben Wener of The Orange County Register
reported that "No one – but no one – stages elaborate eye-candy productions like Madonna, whose highly impressive Confessions Tour opened Sunday night at a packed Forum so sweltering it seemed as though it were being prepped for the world’s largest Bikram yoga session." Lina Das from the Daily Mail
compliemented the show, saying that Madonna still had the ability to grab the headlines with her shock tactics. Thomas Inskeep from Stylus Magazine
complimented the finale of the tour saying, "There’s not a better way the Confessions Tour could’ve closed." Tom Young from the BBC
called the show "a big fat neon light of a pop-dance explosion. There’s a party going on, and unless you were there in the first place, you’re not invited. Whistles and whoops rarely cease and applause ripples throughout building into regular raptures for a consistently first-class performer. It’s almost enough to make those who weren’t there jealous. Almost."
Jim Harrington of the ANG Newspapers
commented that fans were "certainly happy" with the tour, though, Terry Armour of the Chicago Tribune
noted from a report from The Arizona Republic
that fans were "hot and bothered" over Madonna's alleged requests that the air conditioning be turned down in venues during her tour. It was reported that the result of this was due to Madonna wanting to preserve her voice. In one article, it was said that the air conditioning concerns "are nothing new in the entertainment business" in which voice problems "can cost performers millions in lost revenue." Another story said that Madonna does not like the air conditioning on during her performance because it dries out her throat. Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine
stated that the tour was a "reminder that Madonna's music need not be motivated by sex or politics to be good as long as it displays a smidgen of heart and soul. [...] Her Confessions Tour, though spotty and compromised but often breathtaking, is something of a coup after the fierce but icy theatrics of her Drowned World Tour and the shrill aggression of her Re-Invention Tour." Bill Lamb of About.com
noted that the "highest points of the Confessions Tour prove[d] that a combination of great songs, riveting staging, and accomplished choreography always amount to a brilliant concert experience." Christian John Wikane of PopMatters
commented that "even the most rabid anti-Madonna listener or cynical music lover would find elements of the Confessions Tour impressive."
gross of 2006 in the process. She grossed $80 million for the US shows alone throughout the summer, and it instantly became the highest grossing summer tour of the year 2006. In particular, NRJ reported that the two French dates sold out within 15 minutes of going on sale, resulting in two shows being added. The two original dates in London sold out almost instantly, and five new shows at Wembley Arena
were announced. On April 8, 2006, Madonna sold 30,000 tickets in under 40 minutes in Montreal, breaking a record previously held by U2
. On July 9, 2006, 50,000 tickets went on sale for Madonna's Osaka and Tokyo shows. The tickets were sold out in a record five minutes. It was Madonna's first time touring Japan in 13 years, and an additional date was added, September 21, 2006, at the Tokyo Dome
, to meet high demand. On August 8, 2006, more than 35,000 tickets for the first ever Madonna concert in Moscow went on sale and, as claimed by show organizers, all were sold out in four days, which could be a new record in that country as all other artists had taken more than 2 weeks to sell out the tickets in the region. However, after many troubles with the concert (venue uncertainty, date change, ticket exchange), and, obviously, huge amount of tickets in the hands of speculators, tickets were on sale at their nominal values until the last minute.
According to Billboard
and tour producer Arthur Fogel, the tour grossed over US$193.7 million from 60 shows and 1.2 million audience, becoming highest grossing tour ever for a female artist and breaking the record previously held by Cher
for her Living Proof: The Farewell Tour
(2002–2005). Madonna broke her own record in 2008, with her Sticky & Sweet Tour
, which became the highest grossing tour by a solo artist, earning $408 million. Confessions Tour is also recognized as the highest-grossing music tour per concert in the 2007 edition of the Guinness World Records
, with $3.2 million grossed per concert. It received the "Most Creative Stage Production" at the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards., as well as, "Top Boxscore" from the Billboard Touring Awards
.
Madonna's performance of "Live to Tell
" faced strong reaction from religious groups. The performance included Madonna being raised from the floor hanging on a mirrored cross wearing a red blouse and velvet pants, with a crown of thorns
on her head. During the performance, the number 12,000,000 flashed above her on the stage's backdrop screens, along with images of African children. This was intended to detail the estimated number of children who have been orphaned by the AIDS pandemic in Africa
.
German prosecutors in Düsseldorf
threatened to sue her for blasphemy, and Protestant bishop Margot Käßmann
said that "maybe the only way an aging superstar can attract attention is to offend people's religious sentiments." The Russian Orthodox Church
and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia
(FJCR) described Madonna's performance as amoral, and urged all members to boycott her upcoming concert in Moscow
. The performance at Rome
's Olympic Stadium
—located near the Vatican
—was condemned as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church
by religious leaders. Italian cardinal
Ersilio Tonini
called the concert "a blasphemous challenge to the faith" and a "profanation of the cross", also calling for Madonna to be excommunicated. Reverend Manfredo Leone described it as "disrespectful, in bad taste and provocative".
Muslim and Jewish leaders also criticized the performance. Mario Scialoja
, the head of Italy's Muslim League commented "I think her idea is in the worst taste and she'd do better to go home." Riccardo Pacifici, the spokesman for Rome's Jewish community said "It's a disrespectful act, and to do it in Rome is even worse." Madonna released a statement about the controversy:
, in London on August 15 and 16, 2006. After plans failed with HBO, The Confessions Tour – Live from London aired on November 22, 2006 on NBC
. The television version omitted the performances of the "Sorry
" video interlude, "Drowned World/Substitute for Love
", "Paradise (Not For Me)" and "Lucky Star". In the United States, the performance of "Live to Tell
" was censored, the broadcast displayed the video backdrop shown on the tour instead of Madonna performing on the mirrored cross. She does not appear until she has come down from it. Outside of the US, the performance was not censored. In the UK it was broadcast on Channel 4
and later on E4.
In January 2007, Warner Bros. Records
released The Confessions Tour CD+DVD package. After its release, the album reached the top of the official charts in a number of European nations while reaching the top ten in United Kingdom and Canada. It reached a peak of fifteen on the Billboard 200
albums chart in United States. At the 50th Grammy Awards
held on February 10, 2008 at Staples Center
in Los Angeles, California
, the album won a grammy in the Best Long Form Music Video category. A photography book by Guy Oseary
, titled Madonna: Confessions was released in October 2008 during Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour
. It contains over 250 never-before-seen images from the 2006 Confessions Tour with photographs from backstage and during the show. All author proceeds from the book will be donated to Raising Malawi
.
Source:
Source:
Personnel adapted as per the Confessions Tour booklet.
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
. It supported her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor
Confessions on a Dance Floor
Confessions on a Dance Floor is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released on November 15, 2005 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was a complete departure from her last studio album, American Life . It included influences of 70s and 80s disco as well as...
. Madonna confirmed the possibility of going out on a tour as early as November 2005. Jamie King
Jamie King
Jamie King is a creative director and choreographer whose work directing concert tours for pop stars has grossed over two billion dollars...
, Madonna's longtime collaborator, was then hired on to direct. The set list consisted of mainly songs from the supporting studio album and rehearsals started during 2006. As with many of her prior tours, the Confessions Tour did not go to Australia, prompting Madonna to release an apology statement on her website.
The concert was divided into four parts: Equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
, Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
, Glam
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
-Punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and Disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
. Equestrian had horse-themed, bondaged performances, Bedouin had performances accompanied by messages, Glam-Punk performances had Madonna playing guitars and the final Disco segment consisted of dancing in general. The tour garnered positive appreciation from contemporary critics and commercial success. Tickets were completely sold as soon as dates and venues for the tour were announced, prompting the organizers to add more dates. After its ending, the Confessions Tour was dubbed as the highest grossing tour ever for a female artist, grossing over US$194.7 million from 60 shows with 1.2 million spectators. It is also recognized as the highest-grossing music tour per concert in the 2007 edition of the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
. Confessions Tour received the "Most Creative Stage Production" at the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards as well as "Top Boxscore" from the Billboard Touring Awards
Billboard Touring Awards
Established in 2004, the Billboard Touring Conference and Awards is an annual meeting sponsored by Billboard Magazine which also honors the top international live entertainment industry artists and professionals...
.
Madonna's performance of the song "Live to Tell
Live to Tell
"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Originally written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of the film Fire with Fire, the song was shown to Madonna, who decided to use it for then-husband Sean Penn's film At Close Range...
" while hanging on a giant mirrored cross wearing a crown of thorns
Crown of Thorns
In Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus Christ before his crucifixion...
was met with strong negative reaction from religious groups
Religious denomination
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...
. The performance at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
's Olympic Stadium
Stadio Olimpico
The Stadio Olimpico is the main and largest sports facility of Rome, Italy. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex on the north of the city. An asset of the Italian National Olympic Committee, the structure is intended primarily for football...
was condemned as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
by religious leaders. Madonna responded saying that her main intention with the performance was to bring attention to the millions of children dying in Africa from hunger and poverty. The tour was recorded and broadcast on such channels as NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in the United States and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in the United Kingdom. A CD+DVD recording titled The Confessions Tour was also released.
Background
In November 2005, during an interview with The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Madonna confirmed that she was going out on tour in 2006 and it would likely be named either the Confessions Tour or the Confess Your Sins Tour. Jamie King
Jamie King
Jamie King is a creative director and choreographer whose work directing concert tours for pop stars has grossed over two billion dollars...
was next hired on as the director of the tour. During an interview with MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in February 2006, Madonna explained that she wanted to play first at small venues like Roseland Ballroom
Roseland Ballroom
The Roseland Ballroom is a multi-purpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theatre district, on West 52nd Street....
in New York or the Wiltern Theatre
Wiltern Theatre
The Wiltern Theatre and adjacent 12-story Pellissier Building are Art Deco architectural landmarks located on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center...
in Los Angeles, then move out to perform at stadiums and arenas. That way she deduced that she would not feel bored during her performances. King clarified,
"A typical Madonna show is quite produced, [...] She likes things large, she likes things theatrical, but this time, being that Confessions on a Dance FloorConfessions on a Dance FloorConfessions on a Dance Floor is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released on November 15, 2005 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was a complete departure from her last studio album, American Life . It included influences of 70s and 80s disco as well as...
is an intimate album, we want to try to make people have an intimate experience as well as a big produced theatrical experience. So look for us doing some small venues, some smaller venues. [...] I would like to put her as close to her people — her fans, her dancers, her fellow supporters — as possible,"
King also confirmed that the set list for the tour consisted mainly of songs from the supporting album, with few of Madonna's old hits making the cut. Some of the dancers from the music videos of "Hung Up
Hung Up
"Hung Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was written and produced in collaboration with Stuart Price, and released as the first single from her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was...
" and "Sorry
Sorry (Madonna song)
"Sorry" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor. It was written and produced by Madonna and Stuart Price and released as the second single from the album on February 28, 2006. It later appeared on Celebration, her 2009 greatest hits...
", both singles from Confessions on a Dance Floor, were signed to perform on the tour as well. In March 2006, Madonna, along with her then-husband Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
and with their kids, moved to Los Angeles, to begin rehearsing for the tour. In the summer of 2006, Madonna's manager Guy Oseary
Guy Oseary
Guy Oseary is an Israeli-American expert businessman who began his career in entertainment at 17 at what was to become Maverick Records. He is Madonna's manager.-Maverick:...
announced that her Australian leg to the tour had been dropped. Her official website released the following statement:
Development
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
and strobe
Strobe light
A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope...
lights connected to a central stage with a LED view screen in the construction and an elevator. The two secondary runways were raised up into the stands and also had view screens inside the construction. Two projection screens were raised above the audience so those who couldn't get a clear view of the stage could still see the performance. There were also 3 LED screens that moved around during the performance, including one semicircular transparent screen lowered onto the stage during the video interludes.
Among the various props present was a $2 million disco ball embellished with a further of $2 million worth of Swarovski
Swarovski
Swarovski is the brand name for a range of precisely-cut crystal and related luxury products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria...
crystals, bringing it to a weight of two tons. The ball was lowered onto the stage at the end of the runway during the opening number, and then opened to reveal Madonna. The ball contained hydraulic tubing to hold it open, two sets of stairs, and hundreds of LED lights. Other props include the turntable-pummel horse used during "Like a Virgin
Like a Virgin (song)
"Like a Virgin" is a song by American singer Madonna from her second album of the same name. It was released on November 6, 1984 by Sire Records, as the first single from the album. The song appears on the greatest hits compilation albums The Immaculate Collection and Celebration...
", a set of jungle gym-like metal bars used during "Jump
Jump (Madonna song)
"Jump" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor. Written by Madonna, Stuart Price and Joe Henry, the song was supposed to be released as the third single of the album...
", the steel cage used for "Isaac" and "Sorry", and the boom box used during "Hung Up". The promotional poster for the tour featured one of the photographs of Madonna taken by Steven Klein
Steven Klein
Steven Klein is an American photographer based in New York.-History:After studying painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, he moved into the field of photography...
during the performances at G-A-Y
G-A-Y
G-A-Y is a gay nightclub in London. It operated from the London Astoria music venue for 15 years until July 2008. The Boston Globe described it as "London's largest gay-themed club night", NME reported that it "attracts 6,000 clubbers each week", and The Independent described it as "the one London...
club in London, as part of the promotional tour of the Confessions on a Dance Floor album.
Concert synopsis
The concert was divided into four parts: EquestrianEquestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
, Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
, Glam
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
-Punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and Disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
. The Equestrian segment of the show began with images of Madonna, riding crop in hand, and horses cantering across windswept plains on the big screens. A giant disco ball was then lowered onstage, and opened like a flower bud to reveal Madonna inside. As she took her dancers' reins, she performed "Future Lovers/I Feel Love
I Feel Love
"I Feel Love" is a song by Donna Summer, taken from her 1977 concept album I Remember Yesterday.The song constituted the "future" segment of the album, which represented a stylistic progress through time...
". This was followed by "Get Together" backed by her dancers in horse reins. She rode a carousel horse
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
-like dancepole
Pole dance
Pole dance is a form of performing art, a combination of dance and gymnastics. It involves dancing and performing acrobatic tricks with a vertical pole and is an increasingly popular form of fitness and dance, practised by many enthusiasts in gyms or dedicated dance studios...
during "Like a Virgin
Like a Virgin (song)
"Like a Virgin" is a song by American singer Madonna from her second album of the same name. It was released on November 6, 1984 by Sire Records, as the first single from the album. The song appears on the greatest hits compilation albums The Immaculate Collection and Celebration...
". The backdrops displayed the X-Ray of Madonna's broken bones, which she had during a previous accident. "Jump
Jump (Madonna song)
"Jump" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor. Written by Madonna, Stuart Price and Joe Henry, the song was supposed to be released as the third single of the album...
" followed this performance, where the dancers displayed the physical discipline parkour
Parkour
Parkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...
. After Madonna disappeared backstage, three of her dancers then revealed personal tragedies during an interlude called "Confessions". The second segment titled Bedouin started with Madonna appearing on a mirrored crucifix to sing "Live to Tell
Live to Tell
"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Originally written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of the film Fire with Fire, the song was shown to Madonna, who decided to use it for then-husband Sean Penn's film At Close Range...
" as a death toll of African AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
victims counted down onscreen above her. She stepped down off the cross to perform "Forbidden Love" where two male dancers intertwined each other while displaying religious symbolism
Religious symbolism
Religious symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork, events, or natural phenomena, by a religion. Religions view religious texts, rituals, and works of art as symbols of compelling ideas or ideals...
on the screens like blood corpuscles connecting to form symbols of hope and unity. Madonna brought a guest vocalist from her Confessions on a Dance Floor album onstage for "Isaac", when a female dancer in an oversized Middle-Eastern burka
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
danced within a cage with the backdrops displaying sand dunes. Madonna then recreated the dance-off scene from her "Sorry
Sorry (Madonna song)
"Sorry" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor. It was written and produced by Madonna and Stuart Price and released as the second single from the album on February 28, 2006. It later appeared on Celebration, her 2009 greatest hits...
" music video live with her troupe for her performance of the song. The performance was followed by the song "Like It Or Not" where burlesque-style dancing was performed by Madonna with the help of a chair as a prop. After the performance, her dancers performed krump dancing for a remix interlude of "Sorry" as social, political, and ecological images flashed onscreens.
Madonna returned for the Glam-Punk segment of the show and strapped on a guitar for rocked-out versions of "I Love New York" and "Ray of Light
Ray of Light (song)
A high-speed electronic dance song, "Ray of Light" has received stylistic comparisons to rave, psychedelic and acid music. The track contains strong techno elements, as well as disco, trance and Eurodance influences, and it sees Madonna deepen her dance roots and go for a more electronic sound...
". The backdrop during the performances displayed the New York skyline sliding off and stars respectively. "Ray of Light" was accompanied by her dancers in New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
style dance, while wearing black clothes and white ties. An energetic rendition of "Let It Will Be" followed before she sat down for some minutes to talk with her audience. She later started singing "Drowned World/Substitute for Love
Drowned World/Substitute for Love
"Drowned World/Substitute for Love" is a pop song written by American singer Madonna, William Orbit, Rod McKuen, Anita Kerr and David Collins for Madonna's seventh album Ray of Light . It was produced by Madonna and William Orbit, and received a positive reception from music critics...
" without any choreography or backdrop video, only sitting on the floor, and then recalled co-singer Yitzhak Sinwani out for an acoustic version of "Paradise (Not for Me)
Music (Madonna album)
Music is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on September 19, 2000 by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records...
". The final segment Disco started after a brief radio-style mini-mix of old hits. Madonna emerged in a butterfly-collared suit influenced by John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
in Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
for a mash-up of "Music
Music (Madonna song)
"Music" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 8th studio album Music and was released on August 21, 2000, by Maverick Records. It was also released on DVD single, a debut in this format by Madonna. It earned two Grammy Award nominations in 2001, for Record of the Year...
" and The Trammps
The Trammps
The Trammps were an American disco band, who were based in Philadelphia and were one of the first disco bands. The band's first major success was with their 1972 cover version of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart". The first disco track they released was "Love Epidemic" in 1973...
' 1976 single "Disco Inferno
Disco Inferno (The Trammps song)
-Tina Turner version:Tina Turner covered the song in 1993 for the What's Love Got to Do with It soundtrack and it charted at number twelve in the UK Singles Chart, 4 places higher than The Trammps' version...
" This also included a sample of her song "Where's The Party" at the beginning of the song while dancers rollerskated circles around her. Stuart Price
Stuart Price
Stuart Price is a three time Grammy-winning British electronic musician, songwriter, and record producer whose remixing and production skills are in demand by artists including New Order, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Missy Elliott, Scissor Sisters, The Killers, Pet Shop Boys, Brandon...
's remixed dance version of "Erotica
Erotica (song)
"Erotica" is the lead single from American singer-songwriter Madonna's fifth studio album, Erotica . The single was released in October 1992 by Maverick Records, and later included on her greatest hits albums GHV2 and Celebration...
", which sampled the song's original demo "You Thrill Me", is performed. The next song was a Tropical-Dance version of "La Isla Bonita
La Isla Bonita
"La Isla Bonita" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the fifth and final single from her third studio album, True Blue, on February 25, 1987, by Sire Records. Originally written as a lament, the song was first offered to Michael Jackson before Madonna accepted it...
", where the screens displayed clips of different beautiful islands, the sea and its fauna. This is followed by "Lucky Star"; this dance re-invention of the song shared the same musical arrangement than the following and final song of the evening "Hung Up
Hung Up
"Hung Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was written and produced in collaboration with Stuart Price, and released as the first single from her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was...
", which is accompanied by a sing-along with the audience and confetti and golden balloons falling from above. The show ended as the phrase "Have you confessed?" appeared onscreen.
Critical response
The Confessions Tour received positive feedback from critics. Steve Baltin of Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
wrote: "Madonna had played many roles in the first night of her Confessions tour – but confessor was not one of them. Apparently, in all the pomp and circumstance, there was no room for warmth, or even the attitude that made her recent Coachella festival performance so memorable." Don Chareunsy of The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
-Predecessors:The predecessor newspapers of the Union-Tribune were:* San Diego Sun, founded 1861 and merged with the Evening Tribune in 1939.* San Diego Union, founded October 10, 1868.* Evening Tribune, founded December 2, 1895.-Ownership:...
commented that Madonna's previous tours, Drowned World Tour
Drowned World Tour
The Drowned World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna in support of her seventh and eighth studio albums Ray of Light and Music. It was also her first tour in eight years, following The Girlie Show World Tour in 1993...
(2001) and Re-Invention World Tour (2004), "were excellent concerts ... but she stepped it up a few notches" for the Confessions Tour. Ben Wener of The Orange County Register
The Orange County Register
The Orange County Register is a daily newspaper published in Santa Ana, California. The Register is the flagship publication of Freedom Communications, Inc., which publishes 28 daily newspapers, 23 weekly newspapers, Coast magazine, and several related Internet sites.The Register is notable for its...
reported that "No one – but no one – stages elaborate eye-candy productions like Madonna, whose highly impressive Confessions Tour opened Sunday night at a packed Forum so sweltering it seemed as though it were being prepped for the world’s largest Bikram yoga session." Lina Das from the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
compliemented the show, saying that Madonna still had the ability to grab the headlines with her shock tactics. Thomas Inskeep from Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
complimented the finale of the tour saying, "There’s not a better way the Confessions Tour could’ve closed." Tom Young from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
called the show "a big fat neon light of a pop-dance explosion. There’s a party going on, and unless you were there in the first place, you’re not invited. Whistles and whoops rarely cease and applause ripples throughout building into regular raptures for a consistently first-class performer. It’s almost enough to make those who weren’t there jealous. Almost."
Jim Harrington of the ANG Newspapers
ANG Newspapers
Bay Area News Group is the largest newspaper publisher in the San Francisco Bay Area and has corporate headquarters based in San Ramon, California with publications offices in San Jose and Walnut Creek, although the Walnut Creek location is scheduled to be closed under a 2011 restructuring.BANG...
commented that fans were "certainly happy" with the tour, though, Terry Armour of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
noted from a report from The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic is a daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. It was ranked tenth in US daily newspapers by circulation in 2007.-Early years:The newspaper was founded...
that fans were "hot and bothered" over Madonna's alleged requests that the air conditioning be turned down in venues during her tour. It was reported that the result of this was due to Madonna wanting to preserve her voice. In one article, it was said that the air conditioning concerns "are nothing new in the entertainment business" in which voice problems "can cost performers millions in lost revenue." Another story said that Madonna does not like the air conditioning on during her performance because it dries out her throat. Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
stated that the tour was a "reminder that Madonna's music need not be motivated by sex or politics to be good as long as it displays a smidgen of heart and soul. [...] Her Confessions Tour, though spotty and compromised but often breathtaking, is something of a coup after the fierce but icy theatrics of her Drowned World Tour and the shrill aggression of her Re-Invention Tour." Bill Lamb of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
noted that the "highest points of the Confessions Tour prove[d] that a combination of great songs, riveting staging, and accomplished choreography always amount to a brilliant concert experience." Christian John Wikane of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
commented that "even the most rabid anti-Madonna listener or cynical music lover would find elements of the Confessions Tour impressive."
Commercial reception
Tickets for the tour sold out within minutes of going on sale at many venues in North America and Europe, and new dates were immediately announced – included five new dates at Wembley Arena and new dates in New York, Chicago, Paris and Los Angeles. Madonna rang up eight sellouts at Wembley Arena beginning August 1, 2006, notching the highest Billboard BoxscoreBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
gross of 2006 in the process. She grossed $80 million for the US shows alone throughout the summer, and it instantly became the highest grossing summer tour of the year 2006. In particular, NRJ reported that the two French dates sold out within 15 minutes of going on sale, resulting in two shows being added. The two original dates in London sold out almost instantly, and five new shows at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
were announced. On April 8, 2006, Madonna sold 30,000 tickets in under 40 minutes in Montreal, breaking a record previously held by U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. On July 9, 2006, 50,000 tickets went on sale for Madonna's Osaka and Tokyo shows. The tickets were sold out in a record five minutes. It was Madonna's first time touring Japan in 13 years, and an additional date was added, September 21, 2006, at the Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium...
, to meet high demand. On August 8, 2006, more than 35,000 tickets for the first ever Madonna concert in Moscow went on sale and, as claimed by show organizers, all were sold out in four days, which could be a new record in that country as all other artists had taken more than 2 weeks to sell out the tickets in the region. However, after many troubles with the concert (venue uncertainty, date change, ticket exchange), and, obviously, huge amount of tickets in the hands of speculators, tickets were on sale at their nominal values until the last minute.
According to Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
and tour producer Arthur Fogel, the tour grossed over US$193.7 million from 60 shows and 1.2 million audience, becoming highest grossing tour ever for a female artist and breaking the record previously held by Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
for her Living Proof: The Farewell Tour
Living Proof: The Farewell Tour
Living Proof: The Farewell Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer, Cher. The tour supported her twenty-fourth studio album, Living Proof and eleventh compilation album, The Very Best of Cher...
(2002–2005). Madonna broke her own record in 2008, with her Sticky & Sweet Tour
Sticky & Sweet Tour
The Sticky & Sweet Tour was the eighth worldwide concert tour by American singer Madonna to promote her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy. It began in August 2008 and was Madonna's first tour from her new recording and business deal with Live Nation. The tour was announced in February 2008, with...
, which became the highest grossing tour by a solo artist, earning $408 million. Confessions Tour is also recognized as the highest-grossing music tour per concert in the 2007 edition of the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, with $3.2 million grossed per concert. It received the "Most Creative Stage Production" at the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards., as well as, "Top Boxscore" from the Billboard Touring Awards
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
.
Reaction to performance of "Live to Tell"
Live to Tell
"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Originally written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of the film Fire with Fire, the song was shown to Madonna, who decided to use it for then-husband Sean Penn's film At Close Range...
" faced strong reaction from religious groups. The performance included Madonna being raised from the floor hanging on a mirrored cross wearing a red blouse and velvet pants, with a crown of thorns
Crown of Thorns
In Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus Christ before his crucifixion...
on her head. During the performance, the number 12,000,000 flashed above her on the stage's backdrop screens, along with images of African children. This was intended to detail the estimated number of children who have been orphaned by the AIDS pandemic in Africa
HIV/AIDS in Africa
HIV/AIDS is a major public health concern and cause of death in Africa. Although Africa is home to about 14.5% of the world's population, it is estimated to be home to 67% of all people living with HIV and to 72% of all AIDS deaths in 2009.-Overview:...
.
German prosecutors in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
threatened to sue her for blasphemy, and Protestant bishop Margot Käßmann
Margot Käßmann
Margot Käßmann is a Lutheran theologian and was Landesbischöfin of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover in Germany. On 28 October 2009, she was elected to lead the Evangelical Church in Germany, a federation of Protestant church bodies in Germany...
said that "maybe the only way an aging superstar can attract attention is to offend people's religious sentiments." The Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia
Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia
Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia — Russian religious organization, unifying communities of «orthodox» Judaism, mostly of Chabad Hasidic movement...
(FJCR) described Madonna's performance as amoral, and urged all members to boycott her upcoming concert in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. The performance at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
's Olympic Stadium
Stadio Olimpico
The Stadio Olimpico is the main and largest sports facility of Rome, Italy. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex on the north of the city. An asset of the Italian National Olympic Committee, the structure is intended primarily for football...
—located near the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
—was condemned as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
by religious leaders. Italian cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Ersilio Tonini
Ersilio Tonini
Ersilio Tonini is an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Ravenna-Cervia from 1975 to 1990, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1994. When on 30 April 2010 Cardinal Paul Augustin Mayer died, Cardinal Tonini became the oldest living cardinal...
called the concert "a blasphemous challenge to the faith" and a "profanation of the cross", also calling for Madonna to be excommunicated. Reverend Manfredo Leone described it as "disrespectful, in bad taste and provocative".
Muslim and Jewish leaders also criticized the performance. Mario Scialoja
Mario Scialoja
Mario Scialoja, Retired Italian Diplomat, born in Rome on July 29, 1930. Last post Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 1996. He converted to Islam at the end of 1988, when he was Deputy Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations in New York, with the rank of Ambassador...
, the head of Italy's Muslim League commented "I think her idea is in the worst taste and she'd do better to go home." Riccardo Pacifici, the spokesman for Rome's Jewish community said "It's a disrespectful act, and to do it in Rome is even worse." Madonna released a statement about the controversy:
"I am very grateful that my show was so well received all over the world. But there seems to be many misinterpretations about my appearance on the cross and I wanted to explain it myself once and for all.
There is a segment in my show where three of my dancers 'confess' or share harrowing experiences from their childhood that they ultimately overcame. My 'confession' follows and takes place on a Crucifix that I ultimately come down from. This is not a mocking of the church. It is no different than a person wearing a Cross or 'Taking Up the Cross' as it says in the Bible. My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous. Rather, it is my plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole. I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing.
My specific intent is to bring attention to the millions of children in Africa who are dying every day, and are living without care, without medicine and without hope. I am asking people to open their hearts and minds to get involved in whatever way they can. The song ends with a quote from the Bible's Book of Matthew: 'For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you took care of me and God replied, 'Whatever you did for the least of my brothers... you did it to me.'
Please do not pass judgment without seeing my show."
Broadcasts and recordings
The show was filmed at the Wembley ArenaWembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
, in London on August 15 and 16, 2006. After plans failed with HBO, The Confessions Tour – Live from London aired on November 22, 2006 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. The television version omitted the performances of the "Sorry
Sorry (Madonna song)
"Sorry" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor. It was written and produced by Madonna and Stuart Price and released as the second single from the album on February 28, 2006. It later appeared on Celebration, her 2009 greatest hits...
" video interlude, "Drowned World/Substitute for Love
Drowned World/Substitute for Love
"Drowned World/Substitute for Love" is a pop song written by American singer Madonna, William Orbit, Rod McKuen, Anita Kerr and David Collins for Madonna's seventh album Ray of Light . It was produced by Madonna and William Orbit, and received a positive reception from music critics...
", "Paradise (Not For Me)" and "Lucky Star". In the United States, the performance of "Live to Tell
Live to Tell
"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Originally written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of the film Fire with Fire, the song was shown to Madonna, who decided to use it for then-husband Sean Penn's film At Close Range...
" was censored, the broadcast displayed the video backdrop shown on the tour instead of Madonna performing on the mirrored cross. She does not appear until she has come down from it. Outside of the US, the performance was not censored. In the UK it was broadcast on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and later on E4.
In January 2007, Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
released The Confessions Tour CD+DVD package. After its release, the album reached the top of the official charts in a number of European nations while reaching the top ten in United Kingdom and Canada. It reached a peak of fifteen on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
albums chart in United States. At the 50th Grammy Awards
50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
held on February 10, 2008 at Staples Center
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, the album won a grammy in the Best Long Form Music Video category. A photography book by Guy Oseary
Guy Oseary
Guy Oseary is an Israeli-American expert businessman who began his career in entertainment at 17 at what was to become Maverick Records. He is Madonna's manager.-Maverick:...
, titled Madonna: Confessions was released in October 2008 during Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour
Sticky & Sweet Tour
The Sticky & Sweet Tour was the eighth worldwide concert tour by American singer Madonna to promote her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy. It began in August 2008 and was Madonna's first tour from her new recording and business deal with Live Nation. The tour was announced in February 2008, with...
. It contains over 250 never-before-seen images from the 2006 Confessions Tour with photographs from backstage and during the show. All author proceeds from the book will be donated to Raising Malawi
Raising Malawi
Raising Malawi is a charity non-profit organization that was founded by Madonna and Michael Berg in 2006. It is dedicated to helping with the extreme poverty and hardship endured by Malawi's one million orphans.-Mission statement:-Charity fundraiser:...
.
Set list
- "Future Lovers"/"I Feel LoveI Feel Love"I Feel Love" is a song by Donna Summer, taken from her 1977 concept album I Remember Yesterday.The song constituted the "future" segment of the album, which represented a stylistic progress through time...
" - "Get Together"
- "Like a VirginLike a Virgin (song)"Like a Virgin" is a song by American singer Madonna from her second album of the same name. It was released on November 6, 1984 by Sire Records, as the first single from the album. The song appears on the greatest hits compilation albums The Immaculate Collection and Celebration...
" - "JumpJump (Madonna song)"Jump" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor. Written by Madonna, Stuart Price and Joe Henry, the song was supposed to be released as the third single of the album...
" - "Confessions" (Interlude) (contains elements from "Live to TellLive to Tell"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Originally written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of the film Fire with Fire, the song was shown to Madonna, who decided to use it for then-husband Sean Penn's film At Close Range...
") - "Live to TellLive to Tell"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Originally written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of the film Fire with Fire, the song was shown to Madonna, who decided to use it for then-husband Sean Penn's film At Close Range...
" - "Forbidden Love"
- "Isaac"
- "SorrySorry (Madonna song)"Sorry" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor. It was written and produced by Madonna and Stuart Price and released as the second single from the album on February 28, 2006. It later appeared on Celebration, her 2009 greatest hits...
" (Pet Shop Boys Remix) - "Like It or Not"
- "Sorry" (Remix Video Interlude)
- "I Love New York"
- "Ray of LightRay of Light (song)A high-speed electronic dance song, "Ray of Light" has received stylistic comparisons to rave, psychedelic and acid music. The track contains strong techno elements, as well as disco, trance and Eurodance influences, and it sees Madonna deepen her dance roots and go for a more electronic sound...
" - "Let It Will Be" (Paper Faces Remix)
- "Drowned World/Substitute for LoveDrowned World/Substitute for Love"Drowned World/Substitute for Love" is a pop song written by American singer Madonna, William Orbit, Rod McKuen, Anita Kerr and David Collins for Madonna's seventh album Ray of Light . It was produced by Madonna and William Orbit, and received a positive reception from music critics...
" - "Paradise (Not for Me)"
- "The Duke Mixes the Hits" (Video Interlude) (contains excerpts from "BorderlineBorderline (song)"Borderline" is a song by American pop singer Madonna from her self-titled debut album. It was released on February 15, 1984 as the fifth single from the album, by Sire Records. Written and composed by producer Reggie Lucas, the song received remix treatment from Madonna's then boyfriend John...
", "EroticaErotica (song)"Erotica" is the lead single from American singer-songwriter Madonna's fifth studio album, Erotica . The single was released in October 1992 by Maverick Records, and later included on her greatest hits albums GHV2 and Celebration...
", "Dress You UpDress You Up"Dress You Up" is a song by American singer Madonna. It was released as the final single from her second studio album, Like a Virgin, on July 24, 1985, by Sire Records. The song was the last track to be added to the album as it was submitted late by songwriters Andrea LaRusso and Peggy Stanziale...
", "HolidayHoliday (Madonna song)"Holiday" is a song by American singer Madonna from her self-titled debut album. Released on September 7, 1983 by Sire Records, it later appeared remixed on the 1987 remix compilation You Can Dance and the 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection, and in its original form on the...
" and "Disco InfernoDisco InfernoDisco Inferno is a song by The Trammps.Disco Inferno can also refer to:* Disco Inferno , a 1976 disco album recorded by The Trammps featuring the song* Disco Inferno , a band formed in the late 1980s...
") - "Music InfernoMusic (Madonna song)"Music" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 8th studio album Music and was released on August 21, 2000, by Maverick Records. It was also released on DVD single, a debut in this format by Madonna. It earned two Grammy Award nominations in 2001, for Record of the Year...
" (contains elements "Disco InfernoDisco InfernoDisco Inferno is a song by The Trammps.Disco Inferno can also refer to:* Disco Inferno , a 1976 disco album recorded by The Trammps featuring the song* Disco Inferno , a band formed in the late 1980s...
", with excerpts from "Where's the Party") - "EroticaErotica (song)"Erotica" is the lead single from American singer-songwriter Madonna's fifth studio album, Erotica . The single was released in October 1992 by Maverick Records, and later included on her greatest hits albums GHV2 and Celebration...
" (Remixed version based on 1992 unreleased demo, known as "You Thrill Me") - "La Isla BonitaLa Isla Bonita"La Isla Bonita" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the fifth and final single from her third studio album, True Blue, on February 25, 1987, by Sire Records. Originally written as a lament, the song was first offered to Michael Jackson before Madonna accepted it...
" - "Lucky Star" (contains elements from "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", originally titled "Been and Gone and Done It", is one of Swedish pop group ABBA's biggest disco hits. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol...
" along with excerpts from "Hung UpHung Up"Hung Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was written and produced in collaboration with Stuart Price, and released as the first single from her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was...
") - "Hung UpHung Up"Hung Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was written and produced in collaboration with Stuart Price, and released as the first single from her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was...
" (contains elements from "Lucky Star")
Source:
Tour dates
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America | |||
| May 21, 2006 | Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... |
United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
The Forum The Forum (Inglewood, California) The Forum is an indoor arena, in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. From 2000 to 2010, it was owned by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which occasionally used it for church services, while also leasing the building for sporting events, concerts and other events.Along with Madison... |
| May 23, 2006 | |||
| May 24, 2006 | |||
| May 27, 2006 | Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous... |
MGM Grand Garden Arena | |
| May 28, 2006 | |||
| May 30, 2006 | San Jose San Jose, California San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay... |
HP Pavilion at San Jose | |
| May 31, 2006 | |||
| June 3, 2006 | Los Angeles | Staples Center Staples Center Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles... |
|
| June 5, 2006 | Fresno Fresno, California Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation... |
Save Mart Center | |
| June 6, 2006 | |||
| June 8, 2006 | Phoenix Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data... |
Glendale Arena | |
| June 10, 2006 | |||
| June 14, 2006 | Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... |
United Center United Center The United Center is an indoor sports arena located in Chicago. It is named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League... |
|
| June 15, 2006 | |||
| June 18, 2006 | |||
| June 19, 2006 | |||
| June 21, 2006 | Montreal Montreal Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America... |
Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
Bell Centre Bell Centre The Bell Centre , formerly known as the Molson Centre , is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction... |
| June 22, 2006 | |||
| June 25, 2006 | Hartford | United States | Hartford Civic Center |
| June 26, 2006 | |||
| June 28, 2006 | New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... |
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the... |
|
| June 29, 2006 | |||
| July 2, 2006 | |||
| July 3, 2006 | |||
| July 6, 2006 | Boston Boston Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had... |
TD Banknorth Garden TD Banknorth Garden TD Garden is a multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts. It is named after its sponsor, TD Bank, N.A. and is often simply referred to by local Bostonians as, The Garden, The Fleet Center, or the traditional Boston Garden... |
|
| July 9, 2006 | |||
| July 10, 2006 | |||
| July 12, 2006 | Philadelphia | Wachovia Center Wachovia Center The Wells Fargo Center is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.... |
|
| July 13, 2006 | |||
| July 16, 2006 | Atlantic City | Boardwalk Hall Boardwalk Hall Boardwalk Hall, formally known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is an arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States... |
|
| July 18, 2006 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | |
| July 19, 2006 | |||
| July 22, 2006 | Miami | American Airlines Arena | |
| July 23, 2006 | |||
| Europe | |||
| July 30, 2006 | Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... |
Wales Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²... |
Millennium Stadium Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage... |
| August 1, 2006 | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:... |
| August 3, 2006 | |||
| August 6, 2006 | Rome Rome Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half... |
Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
Olympic Stadium Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico is the main and largest sports facility of Rome, Italy. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex on the north of the city. An asset of the Italian National Olympic Committee, the structure is intended primarily for football... |
| August 9, 2006 | London | England | Wembley Arena |
| August 10, 2006 | |||
| August 12, 2006 | |||
| August 13, 2006 | |||
| August 15, 2006 | |||
| August 16, 2006 | |||
| August 20, 2006 | Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the... |
Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
LTU Arena LTU Arena Esprit Arena is a multi-functional football stadium in Düsseldorf, Germany. The stadium holds 54,600 and has a closable roof. The special heating system allows comfortable events at the height of winter.- History :... |
| August 22, 2006 | Hannover | AWD-Arena AWD-Arena The AWD-Arena is a football stadium in the district Calenberger Neustadt in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany, and competition venue of the German Bundesliga football club Hannover 96.... |
|
| August 24, 2006 | Horsens Horsens Horsens is a Danish city in east Jutland. It is the site of the council of Horsens municipality. The city's population is 53,807 and the Horsens municipality's population is 82,835 .... |
Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
Forum Horsens |
| August 27, 2006 | Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... |
France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy Opened in 1984, Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, often abbreviated as POPB or Bercy, is an indoor sports arena on boulevard de Bercy located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris... |
| August 28, 2006 | |||
| August 30, 2006 | |||
| August 31, 2006 | |||
| September 3, 2006 | Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population... |
The Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
Amsterdam Arena Amsterdam ArenA Amsterdam Arena is a stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is the largest stadium in the nation and it was built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost of €140 million, and was officially opened on 14 August 1996. It has been used for association football, American football, concerts, and other events... |
| September 4, 2006 | |||
| September 6, 2006 | Prague Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million... |
Czech Republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest.... |
Sazka Arena |
| September 7, 2006 | |||
| September 12, 2006 | Moscow Moscow Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent... |
Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
Luzhniki Stadium Luzhniki Stadium The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow, or briefly Luzhniki Stadium , is the biggest sports stadium in Russia. Its total seating capacity is 78,360 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium... |
| Asia | |||
| September 16, 2006 | Osaka Osaka is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe... |
Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
Kyocera Dome Osaka Osaka Dome Osaka Dome is a baseball stadium located in Osaka, Japan. Beginning in 1997, the stadium was the home field of the Kintetsu Buffaloes. In 2005, the stadium became one of the homes of the Orix Buffaloes, a result of the merger between the Orix Blue Wave and Kintetsu Buffaloes. Prior to the Osaka... |
| September 17, 2006 | |||
| September 20, 2006 | Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Tokyo Dome Tokyo Dome Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium... |
|
| September 21, 2006 | |||
Source:
Box office score data
| Venue | City | Tickets sold / Available | Gross revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Forum | Los Angeles | 40,044 / 40,044 (100%) | $7,686,380 |
| MGM Grand Garden | Las Vegas | 27,528 / 27,528 (100%) | $7,257,750 |
| HP Pavilion at San Jose | San Jose | 27,024 / 27,024 (100%) | $4,761,555 |
| Staples Center | Los Angeles | 14,158 / 14,158 (100%) | $2,804,583 |
| Save Mart Center | Fresno | 20,154 / 20,154 (100%) | $3,749,800 |
| Glendale Arena | Phoenix | 28,820 / 28,820 (100%) | $4,890,090 |
| United Center | Chicago | 52,000 / 52,000 (100%) | $9,271,790 |
| Bell Centre | Montreal | 34,940 / 34,940 (100%) | $5,670,150 |
| Hartford Civic Center | Hartford | 21,558 / 21,558 (100%) | $3,451,235 |
| Madison Square Garden | New York | 91,841 / 91,841 (100%) | $16,507,855 |
| TD Banknorth Garden | Boston | 36,741 / 36,741 (100%) | $6,337,115 |
| Wachovia Center | Philadelphia | 29,749 / 29,749 (100%) | $4,639,775 |
| Boardwalk Hall | Atlantic City | 12,322 / 12,322 (100%) | $3,246,100 |
| American Airlines Arena | Miami | 30,410 / 30,410 (100%) | $5,568,485 |
| Millennium Stadium | Cardiff | 55,795 / 55,795 (100%) | $7,788,845 |
| Wembley Arena | London | 86,061 / 86,061 (100%) | $22,090,582 |
| Olympic Stadium | Rome | 63,054 / 63,054 (100%) | $5,268,886 |
| LTU Arena | Düsseldorf | 44,744 / 44,744 (100%) | $5,926,105 |
| AWD Arena | Hannover | 39,871 / 39,871 (100%) | $5,218,985 |
| Horsens Forum | Horsens | 85,232 / 85,232 (100%) | $11,435,199 |
| Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy | Paris | 67,758 / 67,758 (100%) | $9,145,832 |
| Amsterdam Arena | Amsterdam | 102,330 / 102,330 (100%) | $11,783,254 |
| Sazka Arena | Prague | 37,666 / 38,342 (99%) | $5,861,668 |
| Luzhniki Stadium | Moscow | 37,939 / 37,939 (100%) | $5,548,998 |
| Kyocera Dome Osaka | Osaka | 50,623 / 50,623 (100%) | $7,379,553 |
| Tokyo Dome | Tokyo | 71,231 / 71,231 (100%) | $11,463,877 |
| Total | 1,209,593 / 1,210,269 (~100%) | $194,754,447 | |
Personnel
- Tour director – Jamie KingJamie KingJamie King is a creative director and choreographer whose work directing concert tours for pop stars has grossed over two billion dollars...
- Video Director – Dago Gonzalez for Veneno, Inc.
- Musical Direction – Stuart PriceStuart PriceStuart Price is a three time Grammy-winning British electronic musician, songwriter, and record producer whose remixing and production skills are in demand by artists including New Order, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Missy Elliott, Scissor Sisters, The Killers, Pet Shop Boys, Brandon...
- Costume Design – Arianne Phillips, Jean Paul Gaultier and Roman Diaz
- Worldwide Promoter – The Next Adventure
- Keyboards – Marcus Brown and Stuart PriceStuart PriceStuart Price is a three time Grammy-winning British electronic musician, songwriter, and record producer whose remixing and production skills are in demand by artists including New Order, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Missy Elliott, Scissor Sisters, The Killers, Pet Shop Boys, Brandon...
- Drums – Steve Sidelnyk
- Guitar – Monte PittmanMonte PittmanMonte Pittman is an American musician, songwriter and studio musician, based out of Los Angeles, known largely as Madonna's long-time guitarist but has quite a diverse professional resume, including stints that range from glam-pop star Adam Lambert to metal legends Prong.-Career:Pittman started...
and Madonna - Bass – Monte PittmanMonte PittmanMonte Pittman is an American musician, songwriter and studio musician, based out of Los Angeles, known largely as Madonna's long-time guitarist but has quite a diverse professional resume, including stints that range from glam-pop star Adam Lambert to metal legends Prong.-Career:Pittman started...
and Stuart PriceStuart PriceStuart Price is a three time Grammy-winning British electronic musician, songwriter, and record producer whose remixing and production skills are in demand by artists including New Order, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Missy Elliott, Scissor Sisters, The Killers, Pet Shop Boys, Brandon... - Backing Vocals – Donna De Lory and Nicki RichardsNicki RichardsNicki Richards is an American singer, songwriter, producer, actor based in Manhattan, New York City. She is also known as a backing singer for a number of renowned artists and on a big number of studio recordings. Her father was a high ranking African-American naval officer and her mother, Donna...
- Guest Vocalist – Yitzhak Sinwani
- Dancers – Jason Young, Daniel "Cloud" Campos, Leroy "Hypnosis" Barnes, Mihran Kirakosian, Williams "Normann" Charlemoine, Steve Nester, Addie Yungmee, Sofia BoutellaSofia BoutellaSofia Boutella, is an Algerian born French dancer, mainly hip-hop and street dance, known as the Nile Girl from Nike Women advertising.-Biography:...
, Charmaine "Charm" Jordan, Reshma Gajjar, Tamara Levinson, Sébastien FoucanSebastien FoucanSébastien Foucan is a French actor of Guadeloupean descent. Along with David Belle he is considered one of the founders of parkour and is the creator of free running. He is known as a representative of, and ambassador for parkour and free running to many countries...
, Oleg Vorslav, Levi Meeuwenberg and Victor Lopez.
Personnel adapted as per the Confessions Tour booklet.
External links
- Madonna.com > Tours > Confessions Tour
- Official TV website NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...