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Confessions Tour

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For the live album of the tour, see The Confessions Tour (album).
Confessions Tour
Tour by Madonna
File:Confessionstourlogo.jpg
Start dateMay 21 2006
End dateSeptember 21 2006
Legs3
No. of shows34 in North America
22 in Europe
4 in Japan
60 in Total
Madonna concert chronology

The Confessions Tour was the sixth world concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna to support her album Confessions on a Dance Floor. According to Billboard Madonna's tour grossed $260.1 million[1] with a total of 60 shows and 1.2 million people in paid attendance through North America, Europe, and Japan, making it highest grossing tour ever for a female artist.

The show

Madonna mentioned in an interview UK newspaper The Guardian on November 20, 2005 that she may tour the following year; she was going to call it the Confessions Tour or Confess Your Sins Tour. A further rumoured name for the tour was the Dance and Sing World Tour although Madonna soon denied this.[2]

Madonna described the tour as "turning the world into a giant dancefloor." The show is divided into four separate acts with different themes: equestrian, urban bedouin, glam punk and disco fever. Each show in each city is almost the same except some very few differences.

Scenes in the opening number, "Future Lovers" and "I Feel Love", were taken from Madonna's 2006 photo shoot with Steven Klein for W magazine. Madonna's actual x-rays from her horse riding accident were used as backdrops during the "Like a Virgin" performance.

The tour generated international controversy due to its use of Christian religious iconography. While singing "Live to Tell", Madonna hung from a mirrored cross, wearing a crown of thorns around her head. Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups in North America and Europe came together to criticize what they saw as Madonna's exploitation of "sacred" Christian symbols. In response, Madonna personally and publicly invited Pope Benedict XVI to see the show while in Rome - insisting that she was doing the controversial act to raise awareness and money for orphans abandoned in Africa (particularly Malawi) due to HIV/AIDS and that "Jesus wouldn't mind." (While she sings "Live to Tell," in the background run haunting images of the devastation wreaking havoc in Africa right now. On top, a count begins from 0 until it reaches 12 million - the number of orphans created by HIV/AIDS in Africa alone [2006 UN estimate]).

File:Madonnact.JPG
Madonna performing in Los Angeles during the first show of Confessions Tour

The version of "Erotica" performed in this show includes lyrics from an early demo version of the song, commonly known by fans as "You Thrill Me". Towards the end of the song, musical elements of "Everybody" are woven in, as when Stuart Price was remixing songs for performance in the tour, the song was due to be performed after "Erotica/You Thrill Me". However, when the song was cut (it was instead performed on the promotional tour for the Confessions on a Dancefloor album), Price and Madonna liked the added elements so much they left them in.

Yitzhak Sinwani (who is featured on the album track "Isaac") sings alongside Madonna for the same song and joins her on renditions of "Paradise (Not For Me)", "Drowned World/Substitute For Love", and "La Isla Bonita".

Initially, Madonna was to perform the songs "Deeper and Deeper" and "Everybody" but replaced them in favor of "Erotica" and "La Isla Bonita". She rehearsed these and even performed "Everybody" during her Confessions promo tour throughout various nightclubs. "Nothing Fails" was also rehearsed as a mix in with Drowned World/Substitute For Love but it didn't make the final cut.

After Madonna demanded for the air-conditioning to be turned off at the Phoenix stop, rumors started that she had requested for the air-conditioning to be turned off during the remainder of the tour. These rumors were confirmed when Madonna announced that she had requested for the air-conditioning to be turned off at the Chicago stop on June 18th.

Madonna sang Give Peace a Chance during her stop in Moscow during her "diva speech". She brought out her whole stage crew, even Isaac and Stuart, and had them lift their hands up and sway.

Musician Lenny Kravitz, who also appeared in the audience during numerous shows, joined Madonna live on stage for the song I Love New York at one of the Paris gigs.

The multi-million dollar stage and props took 24 semi-trailer trucks to transport.[3] The setup had a main stage with multiple elevators, a central runway with LED lights and strobes lining it, a central stage with an 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 of the construction. There were two projection screens raised above the audience so those who couldn't get a clear view of the stage could still see the performance.

There were also 7 LED screens that moved around during the performance, including one semicircular transparent screen lowered onto the stage during "Future Lovers", "Live to Tell", "Like It or Not", the "Sorry" interlude video, "I Love New York", "Music Inferno", and "Hung Up".

Among the various props were a $2-million disco ball embellished in $2 million worth of Swarovski Crystals, bringing it to a weight of two tons. During the opening number the ball was lowered onto the stage at the end of the runway. Madonna was raised up into it via the elevator and the ball opened, revealing her. Inside the ball was 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 metal bars, and the controversial crucifix.

Message to Australian fans

Madonna.com posted this message to fans in Australia on the 13th of July, 2006.

To my fans in Australia

Please forgive me. I really did hope and expect to come to Australia during the Confessions Tour and asked my managers to try to include some shows there. I have fond memories from previous tours. Unfortunately, the logistics just didn't work out this time around. We looked into going from Japan to Australia and ending the show there but I have to get my kids back into school in England and they are, as you can understand, my most important priority. The important thing to remember is that I'm not retiring anytime soon and I am gonna get to Australia as soon as I can. You remain in my heart and Thank you for your continued love & support.

Love,

Madonna[4]

Live Nation also looked into doing shows in Latin America and South Africa, but these were unfortunately scrapped due to either time constraints or endorsement hitches. However, Madonna's manager, Guy Oseary, has said she may hit these markets on her next tour.

Crucifix controversy

NBC made headlines when it censored the concert and refused to broadcast controversial footage of the pop star hanging from a crucifix during one of her songs. This controversial footage was also removed from the MuchMoreMusic broadcast of the show in Canada. However, the crucifixion scene was broadcast in full on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom and VARA in the Netherlands. The segment in question wasn't shown with Madonna appearing on the cross, but instead NBC aired pictures of African Orphans that appeared upon the screens during the live performance with a counter that ran from 0 to 12 million (representing the 12 million children orphaned by AIDS in Africa).

At least one NBC affiliate, Gannett-owned WXIA-TV Atlanta, opted not to carry the concert, airing it on its co-owned sister station, WATL, instead. Also News Channel 6 WVVA-TV out of Bluefield WV, chose not to show the concert either. They said it was inappropriate and felt that the viewers did not need to see the show. They showed the Nutcracker instead.

NBC, TVR 1 and Channel 4 also did not air the "Sorry Interlude", "Drowned World/Substitute For Love", "Paradise (Not For Me)" and "Lucky Star".

WCNC-TV, an NBC affiliate in Charlotte, NC, pre-empted the concert and aired in place a local Christmas tree lighting. The concert was shown in full at 2:05am EST.

After airing on NBC the concert special aired on Bravo, mun2, and in high definition on Universal HD on December 29. The three above listed cable networks are all owned by NBC Universal Cable.

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.[5]


Ticket sales

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 Aug. 1, notching the highest Billboard Boxscore gross of 2006 in the process. [3] 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. Madonna's Tour:Spent 5 months on tour. Preformed 60 dates. Average ticket prices were between $55 and $350.

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. [4] On April 8, 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. Fans began waiting in line and calling ticket brokers well in advance of the first day sale date. In order to meet high demand, an additional date was added, September 21, 2006, at the Tokyo Dome. 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.[5]

The most expensive ticket sold was $3883 for front row at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

Income from 3 shows was donated the victims of Hurricane Katrina. [6]

Setlist

The official tracklisting is confirmed by madonna.com, the official tour programme[6] and the CD/DVD release of The Confessions Tour.

  1. Future Lovers/I Feel Love
  2. Get Together
  3. Like a Virgin
  4. Jump
  5. Dancers Interlude: Confessions
  6. Live to Tell
  7. Forbidden Love
  8. Isaac
  9. Sorry
  10. Like It Or Not
  11. Video-Dancers Interlude: Sorry (Remix)
  12. I Love New York
  13. Ray of Light
  14. Let It Will Be (Paper Faces Mix)
  15. Drowned World/Substitute For Love
  16. Paradise (Not For Me)
  17. Video Interlude: The Duck Mixes The Hits
  18. Music Inferno
  19. Erotica
  20. La Isla Bonita
  21. Lucky Star
  22. Hung Up

Personnel

  • Tour director: Jamie King
  • Video Director: Dago Gonzalez for Veneno, Inc.
  • Musical Direction, Keyboards & Programming: Stuart Price
  • Keyboards: Marcus Brown
  • Drums: Steve Sidelnyk
  • Guitar: Monte Pittman, Madonna
  • Backing Vocals: Donna De Lory, Niki Richards
  • Costume design: Arianne Phillips, Jean Paul Gaultier, Roman Diaz
  • Special Guest: Yitzhak Sinwani
  • Worldwide promoter: The Next Adventure

Dancers

  • Jason Young
  • Daniel "Cloud" Campos
  • Leroy "Hypnosis " Barnes
  • Mihran Kirakosian
  • Williams "Normann" Charlemoine
  • Steve Nester
  • Addie Yungmee
  • Sofia Boutella
  • Charmaine "Charm" Jordan
  • Reshma Gajjar
  • Tamara Levinson [7]
  • Sebastien Foucan
  • Levi Meeuwenberg
  • Victor Lopez
  • Oleg Vorslavs

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue
North America
May 21 2006 Los Angeles United States The Forum
May 23 2006 Los Angeles United States The Forum
May 24 2006 Los Angeles United States The Forum
May 27 2006 Las Vegas United States MGM Grand Garden Arena
May 28 2006 Las Vegas United States MGM Grand Garden Arena
May 30 2006 San Jose United States HP Pavilion
May 31 2006 San Jose United States HP Pavilion
June 3 2006 Los Angeles United States Staples Center
June 5 2006 Fresno United States Save Mart Center
June 6 2006 Fresno United States Save Mart Center
June 8 2006 Phoenix United States Glendale Arena
June 10 2006 Phoenix United States Glendale Arena
June 14 2006 Chicago United States United Center
June 15 2006 Chicago United States United Center
June 18 2006 Chicago United States United Center
June 19 2006 Chicago United States United Center
June 21 2006 Montreal Canada Bell Centre
June 22 2006 Montreal Canada Bell Centre
June 25 2006 Hartford United States Hartford Civic Center
June 26 2006 Hartford United States Hartford Civic Center
June 28 2006 New York City United States Madison Square Garden
June 29 2006 New York City United States Madison Square Garden
July 2 2006 New York City United States Madison Square Garden
July 3 2006 New York City United States Madison Square Garden
July 6 2006 Boston United States TD Banknorth Garden
July 9 2006 Boston United States TD Banknorth Garden
July 10 2006 Boston United States TD Banknorth Garden
July 12 2006 Philadelphia United States Wachovia Center
July 13 2006 Philadelphia United States Wachovia Center
July 16 2006 Atlantic City United States Boardwalk Hall
July 18 2006 New York City United States Madison Square Garden
July 19 2006 New York City United States Madison Square Garden
July 22 2006 Miami United States American Airlines Arena
July 23 2006 Miami United States American Airlines Arena
Europe
Date City Country Venue
July 30 2006 Cardiff Wales Millennium Stadium
August 1 2006 London England Wembley Arena
August 3 2006 London England Wembley Arena
August 6 2006 Rome Italy Olympic Stadium
August 9 2006 London England Wembley Arena
August 10 2006 London England Wembley Arena
August 12 2006 London England Wembley Arena
August 13 2006 London England Wembley Arena
August 15 2006 London England Wembley Arena
August 16 2006 London England Wembley Arena
August 20 2006 Düsseldorf Germany LTU Arena
August 22 2006 Hannover Germany AWD Arena
August 24 2006 Horsens Denmark Forum Horsens Outdoor
August 27 2006 Paris France Bercy
August 28 2006 Paris France Bercy
August 30 2006 Paris France Bercy
August 31 2006 Paris France Bercy
September 3 2006 Amsterdam The Netherlands Amsterdam Arena
September 4 2006 Amsterdam The Netherlands Amsterdam Arena
September 6 2006 Prague Czech Republic Sazka Arena
September 7 2006 Prague Czech Republic Sazka Arena
September 12 2006 Moscow Russia Luzhniki Stadium
Japan
September 16 2006 Osaka Japan Kyocera Dome Osaka
September 17 2006 Osaka Japan Kyocera Dome Osaka
September 20 2006 Tokyo Japan Tokyo Dome
September 21 2006 Tokyo Japan Tokyo Dome
Boxscore Data
The Forum Los Angeles 40,044 / 40,044 (sellout) $7,686,380
MGM Grand Garden Las Vegas 27,528 / 27,528 (sellout) $7,257,750
HP Pavilion San Jose 27,024 / 27,024 (sellout) $4,761,555
Staples Center Los Angeles 14,158 / 14,158 (sellout) $2,804,583
Save Mart Center Fresno 20,154 / 20,154 (sellout) $3,749,800
Glendale Arena Phoenix 28,820 / 28,820 (sellout) $4,890,090
United Center Chicago 52,000 / 52,000 (sellout) $9,271,790
Bell Centre Montreal 34,940 / 34,940 (sellout) $5,670,150
Hartford Civic Center Hartford 21,558 / 21,558 (sellout) $6,451,235
Madison Square Garden New York 91,841 / 91,841 (sellout) $16,507,855
TD Banknorth Garden Boston 36,741 / 36,741 (sellout) $6,337,115
Wachovia Center Philadelphia 29,749 / 29,749 (sellout) $4,639,775
Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City 12,322 / 12,322 (sellout) $3,246,100
American Airlines Arena Miami 30,410 / 30,410 (sellout) $5,568,485
Millennium Stadium Cardiff 55,795 / 55,795 (sellout) $7,788,845
Wembley Arena London 86,061 / 86,061 (sellout) $22,090,582
Stadio Olimpico Rome 63,054 / 63,054 (sellout) $5,268,886
LTU Arena Dusseldorf 44,744 / 44,744 (sellout) $5,926,105
AWD Arena Hannover 39,871 / 39,871 (sellout) $5,218,985
Horsens Forum Outdoor Horsens 85,232 / 85,232 (sellout) $11,435,199
Bercy Paris 67,758 / 67,758 (sellout) $9,145,832
Amsterdam Arena Amsterdam 102,330 / 102,330 (sellout) $11,783,254
Sazka Arena Prague 37,666 / 38,342 (99%) $5,861,668
Luzhniki Stadium Moscow 37,939 / 37,939 (sellout) $5,548,998
Kyocera Dome Osaka Osaka 50,623 / 50,623 (sellout) $7,379,553
Tokyo Dome Tokyo 71,231 / 71,231 (sellout) $11,463,877
TOTAL 1,210,294 $194,754,447

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/wjn8/
  2. ^ [1] The Guardian, November 20, 2005
  3. ^ [2] Rolling Stone, June 1, 2006
  4. ^ Apology to her Australian fans on July 13, 2006. Retrieved January 24, 2007.
  5. ^ Market Wire. Retrieved September 22, 2006.
  6. ^ http://www.madonnacatalog.com/confessionstour/tourbook/index.htm
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