In her ongoing tour, the Queen of Pop is at last embracing her enduring legacy while revealing her vulnerability to the world. Respected author and lifelong devotee, Matt Cain, reflects on the profound impact of this iconic star.
Madonna, the highest-selling female recording artist in history, has left an indelible imprint on our culture and played a pivotal role in driving lasting social transformation. For an extended period, Madonna maintained public intrigue by steadfastly refusing to dwell on her past, focusing solely on ongoing and forthcoming endeavors. However, the moment has now arrived—she is prepared to honor her cultural heritage. More significantly, she is ready to expose her vulnerabilities.
One particular moment that left me captivated was Madonna’s rendition of “Open Your Heart.” Adorned in a bustier and fishnet stockings, she gracefully moved around a chair, revisiting her iconic role as a dancer from the renowned 1986 video. In that video, she danced for an audience primarily composed of gay men and a lesbian drag king. On stage, she danced alongside gender-nonconforming performers, cementing her status as a true trailblazer.
Writer Matt Cain first saw Madonna live in 1987 when he was aged 12 – it was a formative experience (Credit: Getty Images)
The Celebration tour marks a pivotal moment in Madonna’s career, presenting a lavish, emotionally charged, and self-referential performance. This show not only pays homage to Madonna’s enduring cultural impact but also reaffirms that her passion continues to burn brightly, her determination remains unwavering, and her rebellious spirit endures.
I had the privilege of witnessing this remarkable show at London’s O2 Arena on a Sunday night, and it transported me back to a significant moment in Roundhay Park, Leeds. It was in 1987 during Madonna’s very first world tour, and I was a twelve-year-old in the audience, a young, bullied gay kid struggling to find his place in the world. Madonna’s invincible presence on stage filled me with a newfound confidence. This feeling only intensified when I experienced the Blond Ambition tour in 1990. Madonna’s costumes were akin to armor, and her iconic look of unwavering determination reached its zenith.
Madonna played a life-changing role for me. She encouraged me to pursue my creative aspirations, drawing from my personal experiences in crafting my debut novel, “The Madonna of Bolton.” The novel centers around a boy growing up in the 1980s who clings to Madonna as a lifeline to navigate the challenges of being a gay adolescent. However, he eventually realizes the need to relinquish this obsession to discover his unique voice as a writer.
Yet, the past decade has posed challenges for Madonna’s admirers. It became apparent that my guiding star was grappling with her evolving role in the cultural landscape. When she announced her new show, I—like countless fans—invested my hopes and emotions. Madonna, with her dazzling performance, has managed to succeed in delivering a show that excels in spectacle, stagecraft, introspection, and sociopolitical impact.
With the 1990 tour Blond Ambition, Madonna reinvented the traditional notion of the concert tour (Credit: Getty Images)
The Celebration tour commences with “Nothing Really Matters,” a song that emphasizes the significance of love and motherhood over fame. This performance is devoid of elaborate theatrics, focusing solely on Madonna, her image, and her voice, which has arguably never sounded more sublime. Bathed in exquisite lighting, she is elevated on an altar, adorned with a crown, and presented to the audience like a goddess. However, as the show progresses, the crown comes off, revealing a more human and vulnerable Madonna than ever before.
In previous tours, Madonna moved with robotic precision, showcasing her unparalleled stamina and athleticism, never deviating from the rehearsed routine. However, in this show, her vulnerability takes center stage. In June, the North American leg of the Celebration tour had to be postponed due to her hospitalization from a severe bacterial infection—an encounter with mortality that appears to have left a profound mark on her. On the opening night, she remarked that “the angels were protecting me.” During an acoustic rendition of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” she paused after the line “Did you think I’d lay down and die?” to ask the audience, “Well, did you?”
Who could forget her memorable fall on stage at the Brit Awards in 2015? While she managed to pick herself up, complete the performance, and conclude with a triumphant fist in the air, that incident shattered the perception of her invincibility forever.
On the new Celebration tour, Madonna opens with a heartfelt rendition of Nothing Really Matters (Credit: Getty Images)
At 65 years old, Madonna continues to display remarkable mobility, often surpassing artists half her age. During the show I attended, she had a bandage on her knee and even had to pause her performance due to a coughing fit. However, what we might have lost in intricate choreography, we gained in pure enjoyment. Madonna’s iconic steely defiance gave way to smiles and even laughter. Between songs, she engaged in casual and reflective conversations, discussing her artistic struggles as well as her deep love for her children, some of whom joined her on stage. It was heartening to witness this warm and affectionate side of a star who has frequently had to adopt a warrior-like persona in the face of press scrutiny and patriarchal challenges. After enduring harsh experiences documented in this show, she had built protective barriers. Now, she seemed to bask in the adoration of her audience.
This show offers a more coherent narrative than her previous performances. It begins with her relocation to New York in 1978 and traces the story of her life and career through music, dance, visual design, and social activism.
Madonna’s costumes pay tribute to her past triumphs, and dancers portraying her younger self wear replicas of her iconic outfits. These imitators sometimes engage with Madonna herself, including a memorable scene where one of them joins her on a red velvet bed, reenacting the infamous masturbation scene from the Blond Ambition tour.
The current tour references past glories, with dancers performing as Madonna’s younger self (Credit: Getty Images)
Madonna’s show placed a strong emphasis on her social activism, particularly her support for gay men in the 1980s. She performed “Live to Tell” in memory of all the men lost to AIDS, including her close friends, the dance teacher who inspired her artistic journey, and many of her collaborators.
One of Madonna’s most significant contributions to society has been challenging the double standard that permitted men to express their sexual desires while suppressing women from doing the same. It was a special moment to hear songs like “Erotica,” “Justify My Love,” and “Bad Girl” and witness her reclaiming that period of her career from the early 90s when she became one of the most vilified women in the world.
The boxers from her 1993 Girlie Show tour made a return, reminding the audience why she became a fighter. Perhaps her most powerful political statement now revolves around ageism. Her message on this issue hasn’t always been crystal clear, but it was unmistakable here. An interlude revisited a speech she delivered in 2016, declaring, “The most controversial thing I have ever done is to stick around.”
Madonna has, it seems, reached the point where she is unafraid to show her vulnerability (Credit: Getty Images)
In the end, the most crucial element of the show was undoubtedly the music. For the first time in a Madonna tour, there was no live band, a decision attributed to musical director Stuart Price, allowing the original recordings to take center stage. However, Madonna has never been one to strictly adhere to conventions. After the collapse of her self-directed biopic just before the conception of the Celebration tour, it was evident that she was determined to tell her own story, in her own way. Nevertheless, perhaps everyone has their own Madonna, representing something unique to each person based on what they sought or needed when first encountering her work.
That 12-year-old boy in the audience could never have foreseen the journey Madonna’s career would take in the following decades. As an adult, it’s impossible to predict where her path will lead next. But now that she’s exhibited the courage to reveal her vulnerability, there’s excitement in discovering what comes next.