The 20,000 people at the O2 arena in London were treated to a two-hour concert in which Madonna looked back on her 40 years as an artist with such classic hits as “Like a prayer”, “Holiday”, “Vogue” and “Ray of light” as classic stage clothes.
“The Queen of Pop shows why she still owns her crown,” reads the headline The Rolling Stones review. And the evening was made extra solemn by an acoustic version of “I will survive” – and by Madonna’s story about how close she actually came to dying this summer.
It was in June that 65-year-old Madonna suffered a severe bacterial infection and was forced to postpone the start of the tour from July to October.
The children on stage
I didn’t think I would make it, and neither did the doctors. I woke up surrounded by all my children. I didn’t really know where I was, but angels were protecting me, she said, according to Rolling Stone.
Several of her children were also with her on stage. Daughter Mercy accompanied her mother on piano in “Bad girl”, son David played guitar in “Mother and father” and daughter Stella was among the dancers in “Don’t tell me”.
Also Variety praises the performance, deeming Madonna “still the reigning queen of pop music”, although the lack of a live band makes the concert lose a bit of power, especially when the pre-recorded music got stuck at some point.
“Hymns for protest”
Madonna’s activism also got a big place on stage. Among other things, she called for peace between Israelis and Palestinians and to stand up for the rights of LGBTQ people.
The BBC’s reviewer writes that Madonna’s old songs fit well with the political framing of the new show and that it says a lot about pop music’s ability to change meaning:
“When Madonna started, she made party music. Now the same songs can be anthems for protest, self-awareness, solidarity and freedom”.
On October 28, it comes to Tele2 Arena in Stockholm.