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Madonna news - March 2016
← Feb. 2016 | April 2016 →
Madonna leads Hot Tours roundup with final Rebel Heart shows
Source: Billboard - 31 March 2016With the wrap of her Rebel Heart Tour, Madonna owns the No. 1 slot on the weekly tally of top-grossing Hot Tours, based on $62.4 million in sales from the final two legs of her four-continent jaunt. A swing through seven Asian markets in February and a final trek in Australia and New Zealand rounded out the world tour that kicked off last fall in North America.
Her highest-grossing venue during the Asian leg was a two-night stand in the Tokyo metropolitan area at the Saitama Super Arena on Feb. 13 & 14. With $9.6 million in ticket sales, the arena also ranked as the highest grossing venue throughout the entire six-month trek. The tour finale, a two-show stint at Sydney’s Allphones Arena on March 19 & 20, generated $6 million in revenue, the top sales among the venues during the final leg Down Under.
Final overall box office counts for the Rebel Heart Tour totaled $169,804,336 from 1,045,479 sold tickets at 82 sold out performances worldwide.
Check the full list here.
| Rank | City | Dates | Gross sales | Attend/ Capacity | Shows | Prices |
| 1 | Saitama, Japan | Feb. 13-14 | $9,609,418 | 37,706/ 37,706 | 2 / 2 | $440, $79 |
| 2 | Macau | Feb. 20-21 | $8,265,771 | 7,446/ 7,446 | 2 / 2 | $2,748, $323 |
| 3 | Taipei, Taiwan | Feb. 4, 6 | $6,578,042 | 22,554/ 22,554 | 2 / 2 | $900, $12 |
| 4 | Singapore | Feb. 28 | $6,093,229 | 19,123 / 19,123 | 1 / 1 | $914, $77 |
| 5 | Sydney, Australia | March 19-20 | $6,052,001 | 26,370/ 26,370 | 2 / 2 | $370, $68 |
| 6 | Melbourne, Australia | March 12-13 | $5,482,518 | 23,768/ 23,768 | 2 / 2 | $370, $70 |
| 7 | Manila, Philippines | Feb. 24-25 | $4,956,105 | 15,710/ 15,710 | 2 / 2 | $1,212, $66 |
| 8 | Hong Kong | Feb. 17-18 | $4,907,134 | 21,808/ 21,808 | 2 / 2 | $320, $88 |
| 9 | Bangkok, Thailand | Feb. 9-10 | $4,584,740 | 19,930/ 19,930 | 2 / 2 | $848, $56 |
| 10 | Auckland, New Zealand | March 5-6 | $3,593,978 | 17,386/ 17,386 | 2 / 2 | $334, $62 |
| 11 | Brisbane, Australia | March 16-17 | $2,332,579 | 13,886/ 13,886 | 2 / 2 | $373, $68 |
Madonna reacts to 'No Parking' controversy
Source: Daily Mail - 24 March 2016The trashy Daily Mail has found yet another reason to throw dirt at Madonna:
Madonna has angered her neighbors by hogging prime parking space outside her $40 million Upper East Side townhouse - arranging to install fake 'No parking' signs to scare other motorists away.
The fake signage includes a 'No parking' sign posted on the singer's security gate, and a 'Tenant parking only' sign mounted on a pole in a tree bed on the sidewalk. Both signs threaten that 'unauthorized vehicles will be towed away.'
Surprisingly, Madonna has reacted to the "news" on her Instagram:
Interview with Craig Smith, Madonna's personal trainer
Source: Women's Health - 24 March 2016You'd have to have been hiding under a rock to miss the scandalous headlines Madonna's generated since she began the Aussie leg of her tour, so it's no surprise that even her trainer calls her a, 'badass'!
In Australia with Madonna, the super busy Creative Director of Hard Candy Fitness and Madonna's personal trainer, Craig Smith, kindly sat down for a chat with us about just what it's like to train one of the world's most famous people.
What's the best nutritional tip you have?
My general tips: Everyone's goal should be to maintain adequate and optimal hydration. In order to achieve this, drink at least half of your bodyweight in ounces of water daily. Consume whole organic raw foods primarily (alternate vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, healthy fats, pseudo grains, etc ). Eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours between each meal to boost metabolism, regulate blood sugar, and to maintain energy. Make sure each meal consists of an organic protein, fiber, and healthy fat. Omit processed refined foods from your nutritional lifestyle. The goal should always be nutrient density, alkaline pH balanced meals as much as possible.
As a trainer, what do you wish people wouldn't do?
Entrust their health, wellness, and fitness lifestyle into the hands of just anyone referring to themselves as professional group fitness and personal trainers.
When did you start training Madonna and how did that come about?
I've been working with Madonna's international luxury Hard Candy Fitness brand since February of 2013. I've been her head personal trainer since the summer of 2014. That came about by her personally extending the invitation for me to train her over the course her summer holiday in France.
How many hours a day do you train her and how often?
We train 5 - 6 days a week depending on her schedule. Duration of our workout sessions are between 30 - 90 minutes depending on the focus of our session work.
What is she like as a client?
Badass.
What does a typical morning training with Madonna look like?
I will usually teach my group fitness classes across New York City, complete my first personal workout of the day, prep a rocking music playlist/mix for our session, design a workout for the day, arrive to her personal home gym, prep her personal gym studio, and await for her to arrive. Then it's game time.
What kind of exercises do you give her to keep her in top form?
We vary workouts daily and go through a variety of exercises like: cardio dance choreography (Rebel Heart Tour inspired dances), pilates mat work (100's, single leg stretch, double leg stretch, teaser), barre method (plie squats, attitude derriere leg lifts, standing hydrant), metabolic intervals, and SO much more.
Is there any parts that she struggles with?
She struggles with suitable & adequate rest and recovery primarily, but totally kills every workout I design for her.
What exercise or class does she enjoy the most?
Cardio Dance without a question.
What would you say would be the three top moves to score a body like Madonna?
There are band pushups, dumbbell pulsing kickbacks, side hydrants kick outs, abdominal jackknifes just to name a few.
Does she enjoy exercising?
Madonna is an athlete - period. She is addicted to sweat.
Quick fire round. How can I -
Perfect my running technique:
Get into an excellent running biomechanics class or course, or simply do workouts that have an excellent focus on this like track & field sports and conditioning workouts where you can perfect you running technique.
Hold a plank for a minute: Pilates & yoga are both excellent modalities I recommend that can definitely help one build up the strength to sustain a plank in proper form for extended periods of time.
Do a pull up: Start with assisted pull ups until you've built up enough strength over time to take it to the next level.
Do more burpees: Incorporate burpees into conditioning and various other workouts you choose to practice that will build strength, technique, and stamina to execute this exercise seamlessly.
Avoid injury: One of many ways to avoid overuse injuries could be for one to train 5 days a week with 2 days dedicated to rest & recovery.
Madonna extends record as Highest-Grossing Solo Touring Artist: $1.31 billion earned
Source: Billboard - 23 March 2016With the wrap of Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour on March 20 in Sydney, the pop superstar solidifies her status as the highest-grossing solo touring artist in Billboard Boxscore history. Based on Billboard's Boxscore archives that stretch back to 1990, her overall concert grosses reached $1.31 billion with the tour's final show.
The Rebel Heart trek grossed $169.8 million from 1,045,479 tickets sold at 82 performances. The tour launched on Sept. 9, 2015, in Montreal, spanned over seven months and visited four continents. It hit 20 arenas in the U.S. and Canada through the end of October. A European run through 16 cities in 11 countries followed in November and December, and a second North American stint began in January. Seven Asian cities were on tap in February, and the tour's final leg wrapped Down Under with a four-city sweep through Australia and New Zealand.
The Rebel Heart Tour's top-grossing venue was the Saitama Super Arena in the Tokyo market with $9.6 million earned at sold out shows on Feb. 13 and 14. Top box office counts among the North American markets came at New York City's Madison Square Garden with $5.2 million in sales on Sept. 16 and 17.
The diva first earned the top solo touring distinction in 2009 after the conclusion of her Sticky & Sweet tour. With the closing of that year-long run she became the highest-grossing solo artist and held that title until Bruce Springsteen surpassed her during his successful Wrecking Ball and High Hopes tours from 2012 through 2014. With the Rebel Heart Tour, however, she takes back the title.
Overall, Madonna ranks third on all-time top-grossing Billboard Boxscore list, with just The Rolling Stones ($1.84 billion) and U2 ($1.67 billion) ahead of her. Madonna is also one of only six artists -- and the only woman -- who have topped the $1 billion mark in overall concert grosses since 1990.
Top Grossing Billboard Boxscore Touring Acts*
* through March 23, 2016
Madonna's first tour reported to Billboard Boxscore was the Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990. She first joined the billion-dollar club in 2012 with the wrap of her MDNA Tour that brought her overall ticket sales total to $1.14 billion.
Also, Madonna has been the highest-grossing female touring artist for the past 12 years. She staked that claim in 2004 with the wrap of her Re-Invention World Tour and has remained the top solo female concert headliner ever since.
The Truth about Madonna's Heartbreaking "Meltdown"
Source: E! Online - 23 March 2016It's not often we see Madonna in tears. The Queen of Pop has a steel persona and is a beacon of unflappable girl power. Strong and resilient, every aspect of her public life carefully controlled for our viewing pleasure.
But over the past few months we've witnessed the most shocking transformation yet from a woman who has surprised us for decades. Now we are seeing a vulnerable, sensitive mom who is experiencing a pain so raw and deep that for the first time she's exposing herself in front of the whole world as she struggles to comprehend her new reality.
Over Christmas it was revealed the 57-year-old is involved in a tug of war with her ex-husband Guy Ritchie (they were married for eight years, but divorced in 2008) over their 15-year-old son, Rocco Ritchie. While Rocco has spent most of his time since the split living stateside with his mom, he has now decided he wants to be based with his dad in London.
"There is a stability that being with his dad can give him. He wants to be near his friends," a London source says. "Over the holidays he decided he didn't want to be on the road touring with his mum. He seems to really like London. It's a cool place to live and he feels at home there."
But that decision has been heartbreaking for Madonna. It's a hard thing for any mother to accept her child is choosing not to be with her. As one source explains to me, "She is doing how you would imagine she is doing. The best she can under the circumstances but it's been incredibly upsetting for her."
Another source echoes, "Her heart is broken over this whole situation, she loves her son so much."
When Rocco refused to fly back to New York to spend Christmas with his mother, Madonna and Guy took their disagreement to court (both in New York and London). Shortly thereafter, Madonna went back on the road. She had a world tour to finish and was forced to confess to her arenas full of fans the pain she was going through.
"It's true, there is no love stronger than a mother for her son," she admitted while singing "La Vie en Rose" during a New Zealand show. And then on stage in Mexico City she tearfully revealed, "I, too, go through challenging times in my life, and right now is one of them."
But Madonna's critics are translating her emotional low into a downfall that straddles all spheres in her life—both personal and professional. Three decades of hard work seemingly forgotten as observers try to find a deeper reason why Rocco wouldn't want to be with her anymore. Her vulnerability has been met with accusations of weakness. Headlines and rhetoric focusing on what a "mess" she is and how she's drinking too much (because she's been doing shots on stage—which a source clarifies is actually just water). Bashing Madonna has become a blood sport. At times it's been misogynistic and ageist.
And then there are the stories about her being late to the stage, and not being able to sell out her concerts.
While there is no denying Madonna can be outrageous and scandalous. And, yeah, I get it, starting a concert late so some people miss their train home is rude (although bear in mind she has completed 82 concert dates since September so in my book we can excuse her for the odd bit of tardiness). But somehow people are forgetting that losing a son is probably the hardest thing she has ever had to endure. It doesn't matter how much fame or money you have, that kind of loss is universal and debilitating on every level.
She has spent three decades at the top of her industry. She's managed it by adapting, by knowing what she wants and not being afraid to go for it. She's a trailblazer who has constantly pushed the boundaries and arguably given performers such as Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears the freedom they have today. Just because she's showing us her soft side, and admitting she's hurting like hell, does not make her a target.
One friend is keen to set the record straight: "I'm fed up with reading all the negative press about her. She barely drinks; so all those stories of her being drunk are not true. She only occasionally has alcohol. Her whole routine on stage is meticulously choreographed. She's an artist, there are times when she is doing the most complicated moves, there's no way she could do that if she was drunk."
"You have to remember, Madonna is the ultimate performer, and some of the outrageous things she says on stage are part of her act. But people are taking things literally, they are trying to see the negative in everything."
Another source says, "This is real life. This is the kind of situation that cuts hard. And yet despite it all she's doing her work for her fans, she's keeping it together. She's allowed to hurt. She's allowed to be emotional."
Meanwhile, Rocco's world in London is very different from life on the road with his mom. He's now been enrolled in school and has a good group of friends; he's even been hanging out with Victoria Beckham and David Beckham's son, Brooklyn Beckham. "He seems really happy," says a London-based source. "He enjoys being with his dad. That doesn't mean he doesn't love being with him mom too, but his life in London seems to suit him right now. He's been cycling around and really likes being in the city."
The next court hearing over where Rocco will be based is currently scheduled for June. And ultimately Madonna and Guy will have to accept whatever the court decides—no matter how tough it will be for either of them to swallow.
For Madonna, now that the tour is over, it's time to pick up the pieces, privately. While one source claimed Madonna was planning on traveling to London to spend time with Rocco during his Easter break, unfortunately that does not seem to have worked out. Guy and Rocco are now in the Maldives on holiday. When her world tour ended last weekend, Madonna instead flew back to New York. It may be a while until mother and son are reunited.
"She's heartbroken, but ultimately it will be OK," says an insider. "She's going through what any of us would feel faced with the same situation." Her child has grown and wants to be able to make his own decisions. She was admittedly a rebellious teenager herself, and knows what it feels like to want your own independence.
Madonna teases new project?
21 March 2016The tour is only just over but is Madonna already teasing a new project...? To be continued...
Girl exposed at Madonna concert defends singer
Source: News.com.au - 20 March 2016THE teenage girl whose breast was flashed to the world when Madonna pulled down her top at her concert in Brisbane says it was the best moment of her life.
Gold Coast barista and aspiring model Josephine Georgiou, 17, has defended Madonna for exposing her breast when she was invited on to the stage during Thursday night's concert at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
She mocked suggestions that she may sue the singer.
"Seriously, why would I sue Madonna for the best moment of my life?," she told The Courier Mail.
"It was the best night.
"She was calling me a Victoria's Secret model the whole time I was on stage, which is so flattering."
A video of Madonna yanking at the teenager's top to expose her breast has gone viral and made news around the globe.
Georgiou said she was wearing her mother's corset and it was too big, which meant she was adjusting it on stage while Madonna was talking to the crowd.
She added she was not offended by the incident.
"Only I get to decide if I'm humiliated or not, why would people assume I am humiliated by my own breast, nipple or body?," Georgiou said.
"It's hilarious to me how much of a big deal it is to everyone, people just need to understand I was on stage in front of Madonna, I was looking her in the eyes and most people would just melt into a pool on stage, so it was only because I was standing in front of her that I looked so surprised."
She also denied claims the incident was staged and insisted she was randomly plucked from the crowd.
The latest stunt by Madonna has not gone down well.
UK commentator Piers Morgan has called on the veteran pop star to cancel her Rebel Heart tour because she's having a "meltdown". "Madonna is in total meltdown. She needs to cancel this tour asap," he tweeted on Friday.
Madonna was two-and-a-half hours late on stage on Wednesday for her first Brisbane concert, and four hours late on stage for a Melbourne show last week.
The tour ends on Sunday at Sydney's Allphones Arena.
Why Madonna is not only relevant, but necessary
Source: BlastingNews - 17 March 2016The real agenda behind the most recent tabloid attack on the Queen of Pop
Yet again, the tabloids, the usual suspects, here in particular TMZ and Radar Online, lash out at Madonna. This time, the attack seems to be coordinated. Leaving aside for a moment the right wing ideological agenda behind these attacks, these writers invent a story out of nothing. Anyone who has taken the time to watch one of the many videos of Madonna's shows understands that she is not and cannot possibly be drunk on stage. I would like to see anyone defying gravity in her dance routines when drunk… I bet they would fly off into the crowd of fans, even if they were sober.
But these so-called journalists, who are paid to research and write, seem to be so busy that they do not have the time to watch a clip online. Maybe they would need a dictionary, so they can look up the meaning of the word "performance".
As to those who believe these papers, I feel sorry for them. If their concept of reality is what the tabloids say, and they confuse a performance with real life, I wonder what they thought when they watched Star Wars. What annoys me, though, is that they fill the comments with sexist and ageist comments, but they too, the 'readers' fail to read some of the articles and certainly do not look at the evidence.
This attack is symptomatic of a huge problem with the mainstream media; the tabloids, being the most 'transparent' of all the media, act as a veil between the reality and what people perceive; they distort and fabricate stories for their agenda, and people who do not take the time to go to the source nor bother to check the evidence buy into this agenda.
Many of the comments are by fake avatars, of course, I would not put it past tabloids that have been implicated in some of the most shameful misinformation in recent history, yet some may be real. This is the new level of opinion twisting. In the meantime, the real agenda is hidden from view. This creates a situation whereby our energies are wasted on correcting the facts of the attacks, rather than pointing out what the real reasons for the attacks are.
Now that the crime of being 57 is starting to look ridiculous, they have moved the battlefield to another invented crime: allegedly, Madonna had a whole minuscule sip from a cocktail on stage, enough to get a mosquito lightly tipsy. Hold on, though, aren't these the very same papers that keep reminding us that she is no longer under age? I could not care less if it was water, orange juice or alcoholic; it was a small sip, and while men can drink and be machos, women over 18 (and this is the only age that matters) don't. If you don't call this sexism, I wonder what it is.
What liberal, open minded people need to do now is stop playing on the defensive and look at the real agenda: the problem is not the sip from the cocktail; the problem is that Madonna has been fighting for Human Rights for more than 30 years. This is what the tabloids cannot swallow (pun intended). They are attacking her because she is an icon of freedom and equality, and one that just will not shut up. As to her 'relevance' which is often used, confusing relevance with its exact opposite, I would say that not only is she relevant, but necessary. Is it not relevant to show the ignorance of ageist and sexist people? Their very comments make her relevant. Had she not brought the huge problem our society has with the age of women to the front covers of the magazines, would we be talking about it now? Just look back a couple of years, and the virtual absence of this word in the papers will give you the answer.
Yet again, Madonna sets the agenda against a form of discrimination that such comments prove has become acceptable. If this is not being relevant, please suggest what is, yet another break-up song?
Contest to become the Final Unapologetic Bitch
16 March 2016During the past 7 months, Madonna saw a lot of amazing and funny Unapologetic Bitches joining her on stage. If you think you got what it takes to be the #FinalUnapologeticBitch, post a video of you dressed for the show and showing your best dance moves to your Instagram along with the #FinalUnapologeticBitch hashtag. You may be selected to join her on stage during her March 19 & March 20 shows in Sydney! Good luck!! (Photo: Joshua Brandao)
Posted by Madonna on Wednesday, 16 March 2016
Madonna to film final two shows of Rebel Heart Tour in Sydney
Source: Madonna.com - 15 March 2016Documenting her return to Australia for the first time in 23 years and saving the best for last, Madonna today announced that she will film her Sydney Australia concerts at the Sydney Olympic Park NSW on March 19th and 20th. These are the final shows of her seven-month Rebel Heart World Tour where Madonna has performed 80+ shows in over 20 countries.
Throughout the tour Madonna has pulled several actors, comedians, fans, fellow musicians and even a news anchor to the stage for a special dance as her "Unapologetic Bitch." This weekend in Sydney Madonna will choose a few fans as her "Unapologetic Bitches," all which will be documented by the taping this weekend.
Danny B. Tull and Nathan Rissman, both of whom have worked extensively with Madonna on her feature films and tour movies, will direct the live video which will be part of a larger project to be released at a later date.
Madonna responds to claims she was 'high or drunk' onstage, blames 'sexism'
Source: Billboard - 15 March 2016Madonna has responded to reports claiming she performed while under the influence of drugs and alcohol during a recent concert in Australia.
"Too bad people don't know the art or of acting and playing a character," she wrote on Instagram, adding, "I could never do any of my shows high or drunk."
The Australian leg of Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour has had an unusual start: a cabaret-style free warm-up show at Melbourne's Forum Theatre on March 10, which was billed as a fusion of music, art and comedy, though the concert was met with mixed reviews. Fans also complained about the show's late start -- a two-hour performance finished at 2.50am, well beyond the venue's curfew of 2am, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
As if to signal an imminent meltdown, TMZ posted a video from Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena two days later in which Madonna appeared to be "guzzling booze" and falling off a tricycle. The Daily Mail went further, describing her appearance as "chaotic" and claiming she'd "suffered another onstage meltdown." RadarOnline shared its own theory: her "bizarre behavior" may be due in part to prescription medication.
The queen of pop's retort blames "sexism" and "misogyny" for the worst of the criticism. "We are still treated like heretics if we step out of line and think outside the box," Madonna wrote.
Madonna and ex-husband Guy Ritchie are currently embroiled in a custody battle over their son Rocco. On March 5, Madonna dedicated a song to the 15-year-old during a concert in New Zealand.
The real story behind Madonna's 'meltdown'
Source: Daily Telegraph - 14 March 2016In the throes of a "boozy meltdown" on stage, Madonna has somehow managed to perform for six hours over four days in Melbourne.
Not bad for a reported (in the UK and US press anyway) drunk slurring her way through these concerts with "incoherent rambling" and making a "sad spectacle" of herself.
With no new Amy Winehouse, the latest narrative is that Madonna is so broken by the custody trial involving son Rocco that she's hit the bottle, dressed as a sad clown and is degrading herself.
Her age, 57, must also be mentioned, with the implied ageist value judgment that she should have settled into retirement by now. In reality, Madonna and Cher are forging new territory for pop stars still at the top of their game, just as the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney are doing the same thing for rock.
Problem is, out of context sound bites from Madonna's Australian shows have been twisted into nasty clickbait.
The headline 'The world's biggest pop star puts personal issues on hold to go on with the show' just isn't quite as exciting as "Madonna's on stage meltdown".
Firstly, you simply cannot be "drunk" at a precision pop concert like Madonna's.
The two hour event is choreographed to the millisecond. Any wrong move or wrong cue could result in a serious accident. Madonna needs to be physically the right spot on the right cue to magically drop under the stage or swing over the crowd or — because it's a Madonna concert — pole dance on a crucifix surrounded by nuns in lingerie.
Yes, she's very relaxed on this Australian leg of the tour. Maybe she's easing into our laid-back culture. Or maybe she's just unwinding as this is the final leg of the whole world tour and she knows what she's doing after six months and 70-something Rebel Heart shows. Not to mention, of course, after a few decades as the most successful female touring artist on the globe and the only woman to make over a billion dollars in concert ticket sales.
As a music reviewer I've seen many phoned-in concerts (non-singer Britney Spears was the weakest link in her Circus tour; the last One Direction tour was so half-hearted it was no surprise they split up rather than tour together again) but Rebel Heart demonstrates that Madonna remains the hardest working pop star on the planet. She didn't get to where she is by accident; she's not from the famous-for-being-famous generation.
A glimpse of the comments posted on my Madonna reviews? "Withered old hag", "Look at her face!", "Maybe act a little more her age instead of trying to be in her 20s again", "Is this tart still around" and the charming "Now you know why Rocco wants to live with his dad!!"
Comments on a review of the Tears of a Clown show said it was a "disgrace" she would make fans who'd paid good money wait four hours. One problem: it was a free show. But then reading a story — or going to a concert — is never a requirement to leave a comment.
That "I need someone to look after me" quote the press has seized on as though she's a lonely, single woman over 50? Maybe she does, although this comes from a woman travelling with a personal chef, a nutritionist, trainer, hair stylist, make-up artist, security team and two estheticians, whatever they are.
What she actually said was "I need someone to look after me'' at the end of one of the most emotional moments in recent concert history. Madonna's people contacted Molly Meldrum, her first champion in the media and, as she called him on stage, "the first man in Australia to fall in love with me", offering him tickets to the show.
After looking after him backstage, Meldrum was ushered to strategic front row seats, surrounded by diehard Madonna fans who travel to every show around the globe.
Last Saturday she went off the setlist backstage to perform Take a Bow for Meldrum, a song she's only done once before on the Rebel Heart tour.
"You're standing in the middle of my biggest fans, you're so lucky," Madonna told Meldrum, who she knew had had a recent fall. "You take care of him, right? And you take care of yourself, you hear me? And will somebody please take care of me?"
That was it, a jokey aside. As was her "Someone please f--- me" remark, one of many sexually-charged jokes during all her shows that follows moments where she gets 'married' on stage or comments on the phallic shape of her catwalk.
Madonna has referenced sex from the get-go, it's nothing new. But in an era of beige popstars (whatever you want to call Madonna, she's never been boring) it makes for easy, lazy headlines.
The hip flask she gave Meldrum? Here's a spoiler Madonna haters: Molly said it contained water.
Imagine that — a performer using a prop in a concert.
There are tequila shots on stage, shared with her dancers, which may or may not be the real thing. Jimmy Barnes became a hero for polishing a bottle of vodka off during concerts. Female musicians are "drunks" if they have one shot. But rather than being a new addition to the show as she apparently publicly showcases the suffering over her estranged son, she's done these shots in every show around the world, including when Rocco was on tour with her.
Sure, the clown stuff is odd. Seeing any A-list superstar doing something unexpected is strange. But as she told the Melbourne crowd on Saturday: "I had fun being a clown. I also had fun telling jokes."
Who can begrudge Madonna having fun, especially when her private pain is public fodder right now?
It's strange how Madonna's gift to her patient Australian fans, Melbourne's one-off Tears of a Clown show, has been used to crucify her as a hot mess.
Yes, she was four hours late on stage and fans queued in the rain. Not ideal, but those fans could also hear Madonna rehearsing until 11pm, before doors opened at midnight. It wasn't like she was getting a manicure or watching Better Call Saul.
Yes, Madonna is regularly late. That is her thing. Some artists have heroin addictions or don't show up to concerts at all. Her lateness is frustrating, but Madonna fans know she operates on Madonnatime.
On stage in Melbourne she revealed she goes to bed at 6am each morning, presumably staying on an international body clock to avoid jet lag. Or maybe she's too wound up after coming off stage to sleep. Or staying on overseas time to conduct business. Who knows?
While it's annoying her Sunday night show finished at 12.30am, when public transport had stopped, the ticketing company had emailed fans warning them this was a possibility. Axl Rose and Rihanna are also notoriously late.
At least Madonna hasn't short-changed anyone, still playing two hour shows. And one look at the production of Rebel Heart (and the dozens of trucks outside the venue transporting it around) shows fans where their money goes.
Back to that Tears of a Clown show. It was a free show, with tickets distributed through her fan club. For someone who's spent decades rehearsing everything she's done on stage to the tiniest detail, it was fascinating to see her mess up the start of songs and try something new — stand up comedy. The gags weren't always winners, but hearing her tell tales from her life, including visiting Sean Penn in jail, was something special.
She also played songs she's never performed live — essentially a two hour free concert as a thank you for waiting 23 years. She's never done anything like it anywhere in the world.
"Everyone said how touched they were, how moved they were, I just let it all hang out, I was vulnerable, not like my big shows where everything's perfect and choreographed, no mistakes and shit," Madonna said at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday. "I only had two days to rehearse."
Of course she spoke about Rocco at that Tears of a Clown show, she probably felt in safe company surrounded by diehard fans. It's obviously on her mind. She's cancelled previous Australian tours to spend more time with her children, now she's finally in Australia and her son is the pawn in a legal drama between herself and her ex husband.
At her show on Sunday, when she came on stage at 10.30pm, she admitted to the audience she wasn't having a great day and began the show in a bad mood — but performing soon cured that.
That's the thing. A real trainwreck or meltdown would simply cancel the tour and go home. Or really hit the bottle or meds. But we know enough about Madonna after all this time to know she's not that kind of person. The press aren't going to get a car crash out of Madonna, even at her most vulnerable, no matter how they twist her words and actions.
This week Madonna has reminded a country who after 23 years of waiting needed reminding of exactly why she is the most successful pop star on the planet. She created the blueprint for the modern pop concert.
Everyone from Kylie to Katy who is surrounded by a gaggle of dancers and dividing their concerts into themes is following her lead. It's just that Madonna does it better.
Why Madonna's career is at a crossroads during her Australian tour
Source: News.com.au - 14 March 2016IF you believe some of what you've heard in the past week, Madonna's first Australian tour in 23 years has been a trainwreck.
But reports of her wild and erratic behaviour have been greatly exaggerated. She's not been drunk on stage — she sipped a cocktail. Yes, she's kept fans waiting as she takes her time starting the show — but for better or worse, elastic concert times are as intrinsically Madonna at this stage as Like A Prayer and her conical bra.
And remember, those who waited for hours to see her Melbourne Forum show Tears Of A Clown last week were given their tickets for free — and rewarded with a two-hour show in an intimate setting.
Australians are notoriously hard to please concert-goers, particularly when it comes to the big touring acts who visit us infrequently - so expectations are high. Britney Spears has toured Australia just once, and attracted a fan backlash due to the fact she mimed her entire show. Whitney Houston's 2010 final Australian tour was touted as a triumphant comeback, but met with audience walk outs and bad reviews as the toll her lifestyle had taken on her voice was laid bare.
In contrast, reviews for Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour have been glowing, with fans agreeing it's been worth the 23-year wait to have the Queen of Pop back on our shores.
The tour leans heavily on Madonna's most recent album, Rebel Heart, which is in itself an odd beast. Weighing in at a bloated 20 tracks, it combines classic Madonna balladry (Ghost Town, Joan of Arc), with flimsy party jams (Unapologetic Bitch, Bitch, I'm Madonna). It has sold 650,000 copies worldwide, a fraction of the multi-million sales figures she commanded only a few years ago (2005's polished Confessions On A Dance Floor sold 12 million worldwide).
Those sales figures don't paint the whole picture, though: nowadays, Madonna makes music to tour it, with her worldwide jaunts raking in staggering box office figures (thanks in no small part to her eye-watering ticket prices). The real question is: What kind of music does Madonna want to make now?
Last week's Tears Of A Clown concert — a relatively spur-of-the-moment and remarkably intimate gig — was a fascinatingly uncharacteristic moment for Madonna. So much of her career — particularly on stage — has been built around discipline and control, delivering spectacle so intense she's at times seemed almost superhuman. From the groundbreaking Blonde Ambition tour onwards, Madonna has been locked in competition with herself, upping the stakes on each subsequent tour. This is a woman who, on her 2006 Confessions tour, emerged on stage from inside a giant disco ball and, a costume change later, rose above the audience strapped to a giant cross in crucifixion mode.
In stark contrast, last week Madonna arrived on stage at the Forum riding a children's tricycle, then settled on to a stool, often with a guitar in hand, to sing a selection of the sort of career-best hidden gems so often forgotten about in the current rush to denigrate her talents. Fan-favourite album tracks from artistic high points Ray of Light and American Life filled the evening — each of them a world away from the trend-chasing songs frontloaded onto her last few albums.
Much has been made of the fact that Madonna is currently locked in a painful custody battle with ex-husband Guy Ritchie over her teenage son Rocco, for whom she's clearly pining. The footage from her Forum show in which Madonna talks about her son is shocking, in that she's visibly upset, and comfortable sharing her emotions with fans. This isn't the confident, unassailable Madonna we're used to seeing on stage.
But perhaps there's more at play here. Madonna's infamously reticent to look back on her career — it's why her tours aren't crowd-pleasing greatest hits sets, but it's also why she continues to make new music some 33 years after the release of her debut album.
Madonna said she was devastated by the death of music icon David Bowie in January. Could his passing — and the subsequent rush to eulogise his incredible career - have something to do with her sudden urge to re-evaluate her musical output? Does Madonna have a new understanding that, at this point in her career, many have forgotten she's still first and foremost a pop cultural innovator with a musical back catalogue of fantastic, boundary-pushing songs?
Some of the songs she performed at last week's show — Paradise (Not For Me), Mer Girl — could stand alongside Bowie's most interesting and experimental work. Unlike, ahem, Bitch I'm Madonna, this was Madonna doing pop at its most daring. At 57, is Madonna finally starting to 'look back', to consider her legacy? Is she ready to remind people of her very best and most personal works?
On Sunday, Madonna finishes her 82-date Rebel Heart World Tour in Sydney. From there, she's at a crossroads: She can stay on the pop diva merry-go-round if she likes — hell, by now it's second nature. Or perhaps Tears Of A Clown could become the new normal: Maybe Madonna letting the imperious 'Queen of Pop' mantle slip could be the best thing to happen to her career right now. Whatever happens, it's an exciting time to be a fan.
Rebel Heart Tour Behind The Scenes - The Stage Build
13 March 2016Madonna's intimate Melbourne show Tears of A Clown a unique confessional
Source: Sydney Morning Herald - 12 March 2016 
Good things come to those who wait. For Madonna's Australian fans it's been a long time between drinks, with the global superstar setting foot Down Under for the first time in 23 years.
Her choice of venue – Melbourne's historic Forum – was inspired, and her crew lit up the grand old dame in a way that showcased all her delicate charms in a way I can't recall any other act having ever done.
After all that time, a few extra hours spent waiting around outside (and around the corner and down the side laneway) didn't seem to dull her loyalists' spirits. Quite the opposite: they used the time to sing medleys of their idol's tracks until the doors opened late on Thursday night.
In the end they got almost two hours up close and personal with Madonna. For the queen of self-control, it was an open, at times even vulnerable insight into her persona. She seemed relaxed, drinking Cosmopolitans as she spoke at length between songs.
She made her entrance on a tiny tricycle, dressed in a clown-like outfit of yellow swing tunic and pink and white striped stockings, topped with a pink wig and a white top hat perched askew, she launched into Stephen Sondheim's melancholy Send In The Clowns.
The Tears of a Clown show, a reward for fans who had waited more than two decades for her to return, was a combination of relaxed insight, frank reflection and some seriously daggy gags.
Her set was largely a roll call of her lesser known songs mixed with bona fide hits, some in an almost unrecognisable arrangement.
Substitute for Love was followed with a cover of Elliott Smith's Between The Bars and a few more recognisable tracks, including Don't Tell Me and Borderline, and a ukulele version of her 1980s smash hit Holiday for the encore.
She dedicated her song Intervention to her 15-year-old son Rocco, who is the subject of custody negotiations with her former husband Guy Ritchie. She also discussed her father at length and paid tribute to her late mother.
Performing with a fairly subdued backing band, Madonna fluffed a few songs, but warned the audience they were viewing a rehearsal, yet for what was not entirely clear.
"This is some brand spankin' new shit," she told the audience. "I hope you like it raw. It's rough as f---."
Inside Madonna's intimate 'Tears of a Clown' show in Melbourne
Source: FasterLouder - 12 March 2016Celebrating her long-overdue return to Australia after a 23-year absence, Madonna treated fans to an intimate show billed as Tears of a Clown at the Forum Theatre. RICHARD S HE was among the fans who witnessed the (very late) night of performance art, comedy, story telling and music.
Only hours before her hyper-exclusive fan show's scheduled to start, Madonna put this up on Instagram – "I am presently experiencing life at a rate of several WTF's per hour". It's good to know that one of the most famous women in the world still gets nervous.
The doors opened around midnight, three and a half hours late. A handful of fans had been camping out since the morning of the day before. It didn't matter. Like those elusive Prince afterparties, the later the show starts, the more rewarding it is. Tonight, we're all impressionable teenagers again, rediscovering feminism and queerness and sexuality and the sheer liberating joy of pop music.
From top to bottom, Tears of a Clown is surreal. It's hard to process the fact that Madonna's finally back in Australia, 23 years after The Girlie Show. It's bizarre, seeing her in the flesh. It's hilarious, seeing her ride onstage on a miniature girl's bike, clad in head-to-toe pink top hat, wig, and clown makeup. But as she opens with a trip-hop version of 'Send In The Clowns', we've never taken her more seriously. Later, she flashes us and throws peanuts at the front row, and hey, we came for that too.
It's been over a decade since we last saw Madonna in confessional singer-songwriter mode. Tonight, she's still a feminist/queer icon, but the larger-than-life popstar Madonna's on the shelf. She plays mostly album cuts from Ray of Light, Music, and most surprisingly, American Life – a deeply personal album largely ignored by radio, but beloved by fans. She even covers Elliott Smith's 'Between The Bars', and it sure as hell isn't for indie cred.
Tonight's all about storytelling and, fronting a six-piece band, her voice and lyrics are out front. Madonna's always been a deeply underrated vocalist; she instinctively knows how to mold her voice to a song's arrangement, emotion, words. Whether it's over acoustic guitars or electronic backings, complete with live auto-tune, she's in fine form.
Tears of a Clown is really a cabaret, as much about her banter as her songs. Madonna rarely gets credit for her perfectly dry comic timing, but it's on full display tonight. She flits between telling crass jokes – "What do you call the piece of skin at the end of a penis? A man!" – and telling offbeat, moving stories. She talks about her father, who's living his dream, devoted to tending his vineyard well into his eighties.
She recounts visiting her then-husband Sean Penn – "you know he's a badass!" – in a maximum-security prison. Sean's cell is next to Richard Ramirez, the infamous "Night Stalker" serial killer – and he has a line of young female groupies. Meanwhile, the most talked-about celebrity couple of the '80s is just… there, alone. She still doesn't know what to make of it.
Midway through the show, Madonna confesses what we've all been thinking, and dedicates 'Intervention' to her estranged teenage son Rocco. "There is no love stronger than a mother for her son"; Tears of a Clown really only exists for this moment. Madonna finds catharsis by singing her very saddest songs. And she finds redemption by playing them to 1500 of her most devoted, neglected fans. That's unconditional love.
By 'Joan of Arc', maybe the best song off last year's Rebel Heart, Madonna's come to terms with her own limitations. "Fame is a form of misunderstanding", she says, but she realises she has everything else to live for. Only then can she finally pull out the hits. 'Don't Tell Me' gets the first big singalong of the night. People remember that single for its kitschy cowboy-Americana video, an early predecessor to Kanye's uncanny 'Bound 2'. Fewer remember it for its poetic, existential lyrics. Tonight, it's commiseration and celebration.
Madonna's reputation as some ice-queen businesswoman couldn't be further from the truth. She's always been an artist first and foremost. What she's doing tonight could melt even the hardest cynic. Tears of a Clown is about comedy, about the unexpected. It's about laughing through our tears. This Madonna's more vulnerable because she's dressed in a ridiculous clown costume.
"People always ask me – why do you keep making records? Going on tour? Haven't you done everything?… There's no time limit on creation. When Pablo Picasso was painting, did they tell him to stop?" Madonna's notorious, and beloved, for never looking back. Virtually all her musical peers are nostalgia acts, but she reinvents herself for every tour, every album. Tonight, she revisits a handful of mostly 13, 15-year-old songs – around the age of her son – and rediscovers the soul they always had. Tonight's intimate affair only deepens the giant arena tour we'll see in a few days' time.
Just before 3 a.m., Madonna finally closes with 'Take a Bow', and a ukulele encore of Holiday. Everyone's exhausted, but it feels like she could go on forever. Maybe in another 23 years?
Madonna clowns around and sheds tears for Rocco at Melbourne show
Source: BBC - 12 March 2016Pop star Madonna has spoken emotionally about her estranged son, Rocco, at her first Australian show in 23 years.
The singer wiped away tears as she discussed her custody battle with ex-husband Guy Ritchie, and dedicated the song Intervention to Rocco.
Pictures of the 15-year-old were projected behind the star as she sang.
The performance was part of an intimate one-off show at The Forum in Melbourne; which was only open to 1,500 competition winners.
Called Tears Of A Clown, it presented the star as a confessional singer-songwriter (albeit one dressed in a circus outfit), as she ditched her dancers and dissected her most personal songs.
They included Mer Girl, from the album Ray of Light, which Madonna said was inspired by visiting her mother's grave and finding it covered in weeds.
The show started three hours late after rehearsals over-ran, leaving fans - some of whom had been queuing since Monday - waiting outside in the pouring rain.
But when she finally took to the stage, shortly after midnight, Madonna received an enthusiastic response from the audience, who shouted "we love you" and "you're the queen" as she trundled around the stage on a tricycle.
The star repeatedly insisted Tears Of A Clown was "brand spankin' new" and a "work in progress".
"I want to make a disclaimer," she said. "If anyone thinks they came here to see a finished final show, there's the door."
'Mistakes'
Her tribute to Rocco came seven songs into the set.
"There's no end to the mistakes I've made," she said. "Everybody knows the saga of me and my son Rocco. It's not a fun story to tell or think about.
"I probably could have enjoyed myself a little bit more on this tour if he hadn't disappeared so suddenly, and also if I knew when I would see him again. I want to dedicate this next song to him, to Rocco."
The song, from the American Life album, opens with the lyrics: "I've got to save my baby / Because he makes me cry / I got to make him happy / I got to teach him how to fly."
The setlist included covers of Stephen Sondheim's Send In The Clowns and Elliot Smith's Between The Bars; alongside fan-favourite tracks like Take A Bow, Don't Tell Me and I'm So Stupid, the latter of which had never been performed live before.
Between the songs, Madonna exchanged banter with the crowd, reflected on her past relationships and told jokes - both lewd and hackneyed. "Do you guys know how you kill a clown?" went one. "You go for the juggler".
But, aside from a ukulele version of Holiday, which closed the show, the music was sombre and melancholy.
Madonna explained she had chosen a clown theme for the show because "to me they symbolise heartbreak. There's something tragic about clowns because they try so hard to make you laugh, to make you smile."
"They are obviously covering up something, there is something going on inside. What do you think is going on inside of me?"
The show, at Melbourne's Forum Theatre, took place hours after a hearing took place in London's High Court to resolve a custody dispute between Madonna and her former husband, film director Guy Ritchie.
The couple, who divorced in 2008, are negotiating over the future of their son, who left Madonna's world tour and moved in with his father late last year.
The hearing continues on Friday.
Madonna plays intimate concert for fans at the Forum in Melbourne
Source: News.com.au - 10 March 2016MADONNA wept over her estranged son Rocco during a secret show in Melbourne overnight.
Taking to the stage in a pink top hat and clown make-up, the emotional star dedicated her song Intervention to the 15-year-old, who refuses to move back to New York to live with her.
Madonna is embroiled in a bitter legal battle with her ex-husband, Guy Ritchie, who is fighting her in court for custody of Rocco.
The Queen of Pop poured much off her sadness into her intimate two-hour Tears of a Clown show at the The Forum Theatre overnight, peppering emotional renditions of her hits with cheeky jokes and banter.
The 57-year-old opened the show with her comedy skits before performing Drowned World/Substitute for Love from her 1998 album Ray of Light.
Wearing an extravagant clown outfit with a billowing yellow top and pink and white striped socks, the mum-of-four rode a tiny tricycle around the stage to the delight of superfans.
She also stunned by belting out Borderline and Take a Bow — songs she has rarely performed live.
Fans were left waiting in the rain for several hours to see the star perform, with the queue stretching up Hosier Lane into Flinders Lane.
The doors were meant to open at 8.30pm but Guy Oseary then told the soaking fans, many who had camped overnight since Monday, that they not be open before 10.30pm and the pop singer would most likely not be on stage before 11.30pm. The curfew for the venue is 2am.
Fans said online the delay was because Madonna was rehearsing the show up until the last minute.
Superfans, wearing Madonna T-shirts, passed the time performing singalongs in the street before the doors finally opened around midnight.
Concertgoers flew in from around Australia and the world — including a couple from Germany — to see Madge.
The fans at the intimate Forum could only win tickets via Madonna's fan club or through Rebel Heart tour sponsor Telstra.
Names have been printed on tickets to stop the money-can't-buy tickets being scalped.
Earlier last night, Madonna announced that her Tears of a Clown show would be filmed and included on the Rebel Heart Tour DVD.
She was reportedly spotted dining at Il Solito Posto.
At a rehearsal overnight in the Hisense Arena she performed the following songs: I'm So Stupid, Nobody's Perfect, Don't Tell Me, Borderline, Love Spent, Joan of Arc, Take a Bow and Holiday.
Madonna has posted photos of her dressed as a clown on her social media, as well as a video of her riding a tiny bicycle in clown shoes. Sources say the video was shot in New Zealand not Melbourne.
Madonna will perform at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday and Sunday before moving to Brisbane and Sydney next week, where the Rebel Heart world tour will end.
Tears of a Clown: the videos & details
10 March 2016Madonna started with a disclaimer, saying people shouldn't expect a fully prepared show. It's all work in progress. She said she had the idea for this kind of show for a long time.
Madonna arrived on stage on a small tricycle.
She then sang Send In The Clowns, a cover of Stephen Sondheim.
This was followed by Drowned World.
After two clowns served her a Cosmopolitan, Madonna revisited an album that she largely ignored on her tours: American Life. She gave a beautiful rendition of X-Static Process. After a few bars she fucked up the lyrics so she started over again. "I told you it's a fucking work in progress."
She followed it up with Between The Bars, the cover of Elliot Smith. This might have been a first of many references to her son Rocco, who danced when Madonna performed this song during the Secret Project Revolution in 2013.
Nobody's Perfect made a comeback after 15 years. She taught the crowd to accept that nobody's perfect, and that you need to learn two words, especially in a relationship: "sorry" and "you're right".
Easy Ride was performed for the first time ever (this one too had to be started over again). She referred to her dad, who was a workaholic ("I might have inherited that from him") and who taught her the importance of hard work.
She spoke about her son Rocco before dedicating the song Intervention to him. In the background the screen showed pictures of him.
A final American Life song was I'm So Stupid, to which Madonna added some tap dancing, followed by Paradise (Not For Me), which she started off whispering.
The only recent song was Joan of Arc. Though she spoke of her admiration for Joan of Arc, it was yet another song about her vulnerability, especially in these emotional times for her.
Madonna talked about the many times when people ask her why she keeps doing it, why keep making records and going on tour. They ask "Haven't you done everything already?" and she replies "That seems like the weirdest question to ask. Which human being ever did everything?" More than fitting, she sang Don't Tell Me, to say noone should ever tell her to stop. She also laughed that a Vegas residency is not on her mind "I'll die before I do Vegas!"
She told another story of her dad and how she bought him a vineyard after his retirement. Once she visited and went for a run. She ended up visitng the graveyard where her mother is buried. To the surprise of the audience, she continued with Mer Girl.
Revisiting her first album, Madonna then sang a beautiful version of Borderline, so much better than the rock versions we heard on Re-Invention and Sticky.
<3 Borderline <3 - Tears of a Clown Special, Melbourne [Thur March 10th 2016] FULL SONG HD
Posted by Madonna Minute on Friday, 11 March 2016
As the show was nearing its end (by the, it was close to 3am), it was time to Take A Bow and say good-bye. The performance was close to the Rebel Heart Tour and about the only reference to her current tour.
After leaving the stage, she came back for an encore: naturally it was Holiday.
There were several celebrities spotted in the audience, including Dawn French.
There were also signs at the entrance saying the performance was being recorded for future broadcast, which is great news for the many fans who couldn't attend this exclusive fan show.
Tears of a Clown: the setlist
10 March 2016 
Madonna performed her special "Tears of a Clown" fan show in the Forum Theatre in Melbourne. She come up past midnight and performed a very unconventional setlist of gems that had a special meaning to her.
The most striking is the inclusion of 4 songs from American Life, an album that has been ignored since the Re-Invention Tour. Another 5 songs came from Ray Of Light and Music, albums that were hardly represented on the Rebel Heart Tour.
- 1. Send In The Clowns (Stephen Sondheim cover)
- 2. Drowned World/Substitute For Love
- 3. X-Static Process
- 4. Between The Bars (Elliot Smith cover)
- 5. Nobody's Perfect
- 6. Easy Ride
- 7. Intervention
- 8. I'm So Stupid
- 9. Paradise (Not For Me)
- 10. Joan of Arc
- 11. Don't Tell Me
- 12. Mer Girl
- 13. Borderline
- 14. Take A Bow
- 15. Holiday (encore)
Behind the Scenes with Madonna’s dresser Tony Villanueva
9 March 2016Telstra Thanks takes you behind the scenes of Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour with her dresser Tony Villanueva. Find out how many costumes go on tour with the material girl.
Rumoured tracklist for 'Tears of a Clown'
Source: MadonnaOnline - 9 March 2016 
As Madonna is rehearsing for her exclusive 'Tears of a Clown' show tomorrow in Melbourne, rumours are spreading that these songs were rehearsed:
Nobody's Perfect (original version with less vocoder)
Intervention (dedicated to Rocco - other sources say this song has been cut)
I'm So Stupid (mostly acoustic)
Love Spent (acoustic)
Don't Tell Me
Borderline (acoustic)
Take A Bow (Rebel Heart Tour version)
Holiday (similar to Rebel Heart Tour, but slower and acoustic)
Joan of Arc
"Insane clown Posse.....................🍾🍾‼️🏻❌🐿🏻🏻🦄" -Madonna
Posted by Madonna on Wednesday, 9 March 2016
Madonna lands Down Under for her first Australian visit in 23 years
Source: News.com.au - 7 March 2016MADONNA has landed in Australia for the first time in 23 years.
The superstar flew into Melbourne on Monday night in a private jet after playing her first ever shows in New Zealand on Saturday and Sunday.
The arrival will thrill fans who thought they'd never see her down under again after cancelling three tours in a row.
While both Auckland shows were hailed by the press, some fans vented their anger online at Madonna hitting the stage at 10.30pm, up to 90 minutes late.
The singer has a reputation for operating on Madonnatime, risking costly curfews from venues.
Madonna's Melbourne venue, Rod Laver Arena, has a curfew that sees any show that does not finish before 11pm potentially hit with a hefty fine.
Another serially tardy performer, Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses, received fines at the venue when his late arrival saw the concert run until after midnight, keeping staff working after hours and punters potentially missing public transport or losing babysitters.
Madonna's long-term manager Guy Oseary arrived in Melbourne ahead of his superstar client.
Oseary, who also manages U2, posted a photo on Instagram from a recognisable inner city hotel on Monday.
Fans bombarded Oseary's feed with tourist and restaurant tips as well as requests to get Kylie Minogue on stage during Madonna's extended Melbourne visit.
Minogue is thought to still be in Australia seeing family after a corporate show in Sydney last Thursday.
Madonna chooses either local celebrities or fans to spank or kiss on stage during her song Unapologetic Bitch. Her friend Molly Meldrum is also another on the spank wishlist.
Madonna fans are hoping the singer will again choose Australia to film one of her Rebel Heart shows for DVD release.
Madonna filmed her Sydney Girlie Show tour in 1993.
Australia is the final leg of the Rebel Heart world tour, and diehard fans report no show has been filmed as yet.
Sources suggest the final two shows, in Sydney on March 19 and 20, could be a filming possibility.
On Monday Madonna posted a video of her daughter Mercy in New Zealand, calling the country "a beautiful magical place."
The singer added her iconic hit Like a Prayer to the setlist for the second Auckland show.
Madonna will perform her first Tears of a Clown show in Melbourne on Thursday.
The event, which promises to showcase Madonna's comedy skills as well as her music, will take place at the intimate Forum Theatre.
Free tickets to the show were distributed through her fan club, with some tickets available to customers of tour sponsor Telstra.
Fans believe Madonna has headed to Melbourne early to rehearse the Tears of a Clown one-off performance.
During her last visit to Australia when it looked like bad weather might see an outdoor show being postponed the perfectionist refused to plan a night off and instead demanded a hall be found for her dancers to rehearse in if the show didn't happen.
Madonna said in a statement last week:
"I wanted to do something special for Australia because you have been so patient and waited so long — the Tears of a Clown show will make its debut on March 10th. Performance art, comedy, story telling and music of course! Especially for you my Rebel Heart fans down under!"
After her two Melbourne Rod Laver Arena shows this Saturday and Sunday, Madonna then plays Brisbane Entertainment Centre on March 16 and 17 before the Rebel Heart tour ends in Sydney with performances at Allphones Arena on March 19 and 20.
ICON competition to attend 'Madonna: Tears of a Clown'
Source: Madonna.com - 4 March 2016Iconers! Madonna cannot wait to finally party again with her Australian fans, her Rebel Heart Tour visiting Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney this month! To celebrate her return down under, our girl is throwing a special private show in Melbourne on March 10th and wants to invite as many of you as she can!!
For a chance at an unforgettable night, just take a picture of you showing how excited you are about Madonna's return to Australia and post it to your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram page, along with your Icon Display Name, as well as the #BitchImMadonnasGuest and #RebelHeartTour hashtags before 12pm AEST on March 6th, 2016. We'll pick winners on a random basis and will e-mail them the information they will need to redeem their ticket to the show.
RULES:
- You must be a Lifetime Legacy ICON member, Live Pass member or a Free member who registered BEFORE March 1st, 2016.
- You must be at least 18-years-old to enter.
- Entrants must take a photo of themselves.
- Photos must be posted to your own Facebook, Twitter or Instagram page.
- One entry per member.
- Your social post also must contain: your Icon DISPLAY NAME (verify on your profile page!), and the hashtags: #BitchImMadonnasGuest and #RebelHeartTour.
- Finalists will be selected on a random basis.
- Each qualified winner will receive 1 (one) ticket to Madonna's March 10 special show in Melbourne.
- Qualified winners will be provided details to redeem their ticket.
- This is a tickets-only promotion. Travel, parking and accommodations are not included and are the responsibility of each winner.
- DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: SUNDAY., MAR. 6, 2016 @ 12:00PM AEST.
Good luck to you all!
The Icon team
Madonna announces exclusive fan show: Tears of a Clown
Source: Madonna.com - 4 March 2016As Madonna's Australian fans breathlessly await the return of the Material Girl to their country after a 23 year absence, the occasion will be further celebrated by the newly announced intimate club show – MADONNA: TEARS OF A CLOWN – an exclusive fan show that will fuse music, art and comedy at Melbourne's historic Forum Theatre on March 10. Tickets for this intimate show will be available to Madonna's Icon fan club winners, and fans should stay tuned to Madonna.com for details on how to enter. DJ Mary Mac will be on hand to start off the party.
Madonna said, "I wanted to do something special for Australia because you have been so patient and waited so long - the "Tears of a Clown" show will make its debut on March 10th. Performance art, comedy, story telling and music of course! Especially for you my Rebel Heart fans down under!!"
Telstra Thanks is also giving customers a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Madonna like never before, up close and personal in this exclusive event. For more information on how, visit: telstra.com/music
Madonna's total reported touring grosses surpasses $1 billion
Source: Billboard - 4 March 2016Madonna takes the No. 2 slot on the latest Hot Tours roundup based on January ticket sales reported from her ongoing Rebel Heart Tour that covered North American and European markets during a 15-week span in the fall. The trek resumed on Jan. 6 following a two-and-a-half week break at the end of the year, opening with a two-show engagement at Mexico City's Sports Palace arena. Sold out shows in seven U.S. cities followed in January along with a two-night stint in San Juan, Puerto Rico at the end of the month.
Altogether during the first month of the year, the pop diva performed for just over 150,000 fans at 12 concerts, adding $19.3 million to her tour's overall gross that has now topped the $100 million mark. Since the Sept. 9 opening performance in Montreal, the Rebel Heart tour has reached $107.3 million in ticket sales at 61 concerts. A total of 819,792 fans have seen the tour in 14 countries through the end of January.
Above the Queen of Pop at No. 1 on the new Hot Tours list is the Rolling Stones, with $36.9 million in grosses reported from the América Latina Olé tour, the band's first tour to visit Latin America in a decade. [...] Bruce Springsteen follows with the No. 3 ranking based on $16.3 million in sales at eight North American arenas on his River tour that kicked off in mid-January. [...]
These three legendary acts are part of a small group of six artists who have topped the $1 billion mark in reported ticket sales since Billboard began tracking concert grosses in the early 1990s. Only six acts have crossed that threshold, based on sales data reported to Boxscore. The Rolling Stones top the list with $1.8 billion in reported revenue since Jan. 1, 1990. Madonna, the only female artist in the mix, lands at No. 3 with $1.24 billion and The Boss is next at $1.23.
Rounding out the billion-dollar group are U2, second with $1.6 billion, Elton John at No. 5 with $1.05 billion and Bon Jovi following with $1.03 billion.
Final Sydney show to be broadcast live?
Source: Jiemian - 4 March 2016According to this Chinese website, the final Rebel Heart Tour show in Sydney on March 20th will be broadcast live on Chinese video platform Iqiyi, in collaboration with Universal Music.
There's no official confirmation of this news.
For the DVD/Blu Ray of the tour this could be good or bad news. It could mean this recording is going to be used for the DVD release, or it could be INSTEAD of a DVD release.
To be continued...
Boxscore update: Another $19 million and 150K tickets added
Source: Billboard Boxscore - 1 March 2016Billboard Boxscore has announced the tour grosses for Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour.
In January, Madonna performed 12 shows in Mexico City, Puerto Rico and the Southern states of the US. These shows gathered a total gross of $19,379,283 and sold 150,477 tickets.
With the numbers from the American and European tour legs of 2015, this brings the total so far to a tour gross of $107,348,821 and 819,792 tickets.
NORTH AMERICA (2)
Mexico City, Mexico: $4,537,609 - 2 shows - 31,696 attendance
San Antonio, TX: $1,915,670 - 1 show - 14,543 attendance
Houston, TX: $1,671,630 - 1 show - 11,604 attendance
Tulsa, OK: $1,559,410 - 1 show - 10,891 attendance
Louisville, KY: $1,856,200 - 1 show - 14,558 attendance
Nashville, TN: $1,430,485 - 1 show - 11,569 attendance
Atlanta, GA: $1,500,635 - 1 show - 10,609 attendance
Miami, FL: $2,555,425 - 2 shows - 26,468 attendance
San Juan, Puerto Rico: $2,352,219 - 2 shows - 18,539 attendance
Totals for 2nd North American leg: $19,379,283 - 12 shows reported to Billboard - 150,477 tickets
See the total gross of the Rebel Heart Tour here.
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