Madame X Tour


The Madame X Tour was the eleventh concert tour by American singer Madonna, in support of her fourteenth studio album Madame X. Consisting of 75 dates, the all-theatre tour started on September 17, 2019, in New York City, and concluded on March 8, 2020, in Paris. The tour was managed by Maverick and Live Nation Entertainment.
This marked the first time the singer toured small venues since 1985's The Virgin Tour. Planned to only include theatres, the tour exclusively consisted of dates in the United States, England, France, and Portugal. Due to popular demand, new show dates were added in New York and Los Angeles, the same day the tour was officially announced. On May 20, 2019, the dates for the remaining US cities were officially announced, and on September 9, 2019, San Francisco was added to the itinerary. The day before the tour officially started, two more shows were added in Miami.
After several cancellations due to a recurring knee injury, the tour ended abruptly three days before its planned final date, after the French government announced the ban for gatherings of more than 1,000 people to curb the spread of COVID-19 disease. Although an advisement posted on Le Grand Rex's official Twitter account, on the following day after the ban, claimed that a further official announcement would still be made about the future of whether their next concerts would happen or not, this was done right after, through the singer's official website.

Background

Madonna first expressed interest in a smaller-scale show during an interview with BBC News while promoting the Rebel Heart Tour live album in September 2017. She said, "I've done so many shows—world tours, stadiums, sports arenas, you name it—that I feel like I have to reinvent that now too. I like doing intimate shows and being able to talk directly to the audience."
By early May 2019, some media outlets reported that Madonna would announce a tour to support Madame X album, where she would play 'super small venues' across the United States, along with a few other more details. Their info was confirmed soon by Madonna herself, who announced it through a comedy video, posted on her social networks, where she was having a hangout with longtime collaborator Diplo.
A few days prior to opening night, it was reported she would implement a no-phone policy in order to maximise the intimacy of the show and for people to concentrate on the art itself. For this policy, Madonna partnered with Yondr, which is a phone-sealing bag company. However, this has received mixed reactions from fans online. This no-phone policy has been kept for both Lisbon and London batches of gigs.
Madonna made the following statement regarding the people who violated the no-camera policy: "Three shows into Madame X and I've enjoyed every minute of this intimate experience! I love looking into the audience and not seeing iPhone's and cameras flashing but instead eyes, smiles and happy human faces. However I am mystified and confused by some people who insist on sneaking in second cameras and disregarding my request to not record the show. This request is common at all Broadway shows, dance concerts, stand up comedy and the opera. People who ignore my request are not allowing themselves to enjoy the show completely but also show a lack of respect and consideration for my wishes. If you can't live without your phone for two hours this experience is not for you."
In relation to merchandise, Madonna announced a pop-up shop a week before the first show in New York City. Additionally, she collaborated with Too Faced cosmetics to release two make-up kits that are inspired by the make-up Madonna will be using during the shows. A similar pop-up store has been open in Paris from March 4 to 14, 2020, during French batch of concerts.

Development

Madonna begun the tour rehearsals around late May 2019, by doing various workshops, where, among other stuff, the dancers, setlist and arrangements were chosen. By then, she documented her daily work through her Instagram social account, namely rehearsals.
After her performance at Stonewall 50 - WorldPride NYC 2019, the workshops also ended, and rehearsals went ahead with full choices made. This time, all daily work was being documented not only by Madonna herself, but also by her tour crew. Among the numerous videos and pictures that the singer posted, one of these included Madonna, joined by the Orquestra Batukadeiras, rehearsing her 1991 single, "Rescue Me", which had never been performed on a tour. This performance ended up being replaced for a video interlude instead. "Looking for Mercy" and "Rain" were also rehearsed but didn't make the final cut.
Additional songs chronicled by her Instagram account that were rehearsed, but ultimately axed, included "You Must Love Me", "What It Feels Like for a Girl", and "Easy Ride". "Falling Free" from MDNA was rehearsed as a dance interlude but has not yet been performed.
Around late August, Madonna and her crew moved tour rehearsals to the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, to complete the rehearsal process before the tour kicked off.

Critical reception

The first three nights of the show at the Brooklyn Academy of Music were met with universal acclaim from critics. Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly stated, " when the construct of Madame X disappeared, what remained was something simpler and somehow much more satisfying than the equestrian or the cha-cha instructor or the saint : Not just a pop star and perennial provocateur, but an artist in full." Jon Pareles from The New York Times wrote: "As both album and show, "Madame X" is Madonna's latest declaration of a defiant, self-assured, flexible identity that's entirely comfortable with dualities Yes, she is 61, but her music remains determinedly contemporary." Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone stated, "Madonna has never shied away from taking chances. Thirty years after she set fire to the Eighties with the disco basilica Like a Prayer, she's as gloriously weird as ever. Hence her excellent new Madame X tour, a testament to the genius in her madness. How gratifying that these two Eighties icons are not only still topping the charts, they're doing it with their wildest, most experimental work. We chose well when we picked these two as our heroes, right? As Madame X proves, Madonna will never be the kind of superstar who repeats her successes, sticks to her strengths, or plays it safe. Instead, she's getting weirder with age. Thank all the angels and saints for that." Amy Linden from Pollstar wrote, " But perhaps her most significant cultural impact is that while she might not always be the first one in the pool, over the course of close to four decades she's proven herself to be the performer who makes the biggest splash and whose artistic choices continue to matter."
Despite positive reception, Madonna has faced frequent criticism over the lateness of each show, often starting on average two hours later than announced. Ticket distributors did eventually send emails out announcing a later start time in an attempt to minimize the backlash. In her Las Vegas show, she clarified to the booing crowd that 'A queen is never late' and that she did not appreciate the hostility, heckling, and demand for refunds. One concertgoer announced that they were filing a lawsuit over the late start time of the show.
At the end of the year, Billboard added the Madame X Tour on its list of the best live shows of 2019.

Recording

Back at the beginning of 2019, the Lisbon-based production service company Krypton International worked on the mini-documentary The World of Madame X, filmed by Madonna longtime contributor Nuno Xico, that ended up being released in early July 2019 by Amazon Prime. On January 12, 2020, this company posted, via their official Instagram account, a picture of an 'All Stage Access Pass' for the Lisbon tour evening happening that day, followed by the information that they were shooting and recording that concert for a potential subsequent live album and Blu-Ray.

Set list

The following set list was obtained from the concert held on September 17, 2019, in New York City. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.
  1. "God Control"
  2. "Dark Ballet"
  3. "Human Nature"
  4. "Express Yourself"
  5. "Madame X Manifesto"
  6. "Vogue"
  7. "I Don't Search I Find"
  8. "Papa Don't Preach"
  9. "American Life"
  10. "Amor de Mãe"
  11. "Batuka"
  12. "Fado Pechincha"
  13. "Killers Who Are Partying"
  14. "Crazy"
  15. "La Isla Bonita"
  16. "Sodade"
  17. "Medellín"
  18. "Extreme Occident"
  19. "Rescue Me"
  20. "Frozen"
  21. "Come Alive"
  22. "Future"
  23. "Crave"
  24. "Like a Prayer"
Encore:
  2. "I Rise"
Notes
DateCityCountryVenueReason
September 15, 2019New York CityUnited StatesHoward Gilman Opera HouseProduction issues
October 7, 2019New York CityUnited StatesHoward Gilman Opera HouseInjury
November 12, 2019Los AngelesUnited StatesWiltern TheatreProduction issues
November 30, 2019BostonUnited StatesWang TheatreInjury
December 1, 2019BostonUnited StatesWang TheatreInjury
December 2, 2019BostonUnited StatesWang TheatreInjury
December 22, 2019Miami BeachUnited StatesThe Fillmore Miami BeachInjury
January 19, 2020LisbonPortugalColiseu dos RecreiosInjury
January 22, 2020LisbonPortugalColiseu dos RecreiosInjury
January 27, 2020LondonEnglandLondon PalladiumInjury
February 4, 2020LondonEnglandLondon PalladiumInjury
February 11, 2020LondonEnglandLondon PalladiumInjury
February 20, 2020ParisFranceLe Grand RexInjury
February 25, 2020ParisFranceLe Grand RexInjury
March 1, 2020ParisFranceLe Grand RexInjury
March 7, 2020ParisFranceLe Grand RexInjury
March 10, 2020ParisFranceLe Grand RexMeasure taken by the French government in face of COVID-19 advance
March 11, 2020ParisFranceLe Grand RexMeasure taken by the French government in face of COVID-19 advance

Personnel

Credits adapted from Madonna's Official Website.
;Show
Created and directed by Madonna
;Band
;Performers
;Batukadeiras
;Choreographers
;Assistant Choreographers
;Costume Departament
;Live Nation
;The Team
;Tour Crew
;Video Content
;Management
;Live Nation Merchandise
;Tour Book Design
;Tour Book Photography
;Participating Designers