List of Madonna concerts

American singer Madonna has performed on twelve concert tours, nineteen one-off concerts, nine benefit concerts, and three music festivals. Madonna has been nicknamed by some publications as the "Queen of Concerts" or "Queen of Touring", recognizing her "years-deep involvement in the touring game" and stage shows.[1][2] Once the highest-grossing female touring artist according to Billboard Boxscore and Pollstar,[3][4] Madonna remains one of the highest-grossing live touring acts.

Madonna concerts
Collage of Madonna's concert tours
Collage depicting Madonna's eleven concert tours, beginning with 1985's The Virgin Tour and ending with the Madame X Tour (2019–2020)
Concert tours12
One-off concerts19
Benefit concerts9
Music festivals7

Her 1985 debut concert tour, The Virgin Tour, was held in North America only and went on to collect more than US $5 million.[5] In 1987 she performed on the worldwide Who's That Girl World Tour, which visited Europe, North America and Japan, and earned $25 million.[6][7] One of the tour's shows in Paris in front of 130,000 fans was the largest paying concert audience by a female artist at the time and remains the largest crowd of any concert in French history.[8][9] In 1990, she embarked on the Blond Ambition World Tour, which was dubbed the "Greatest Concert of the 1990s" by Rolling Stone.[10] BBC credited the tour with "invent[ing] the modern, multi-media pop spectacle".[11] In 1993, Madonna visited Israel and Turkey for the first time, followed by Latin America and Australia, with The Girlie Show.[7] A review in Time by Sam Buckley said: "Madonna, once the Harlow harlot and now a perky harlequin, is the greatest show-off on earth."[12]

Madonna did not tour again until the Drowned World Tour in 2001. She played the guitar and her costumes included a punkish tartan kilt and a geisha kimono. Some critics complained that the show concentrated on material from her most recent albums, but generally, the response was favorable.[7] She grossed more than US $75 million with summer sold-out shows and eventually played in front of 730,000 people throughout North America and Europe.[13][14] The Drowned World Tour was followed by the 2004 Re-Invention World Tour. Madonna was inspired to create the tour after taking part in an art installation called X-STaTIC PRo=CeSS, directed by photographer Steven Klein.[15] Billboard awarded Madonna the "Backstage Pass Award" in recognition of having the top-grossing tour of the year, with ticket sales of nearly US $125 million.[16]

Madonna's next tours broke world records, with the 2006 Confessions Tour grossing over US $194.7 million,[17] becoming the highest-grossing tour ever for a female artist at that time.[18] This feat was surpassed in 2008 with the Sticky & Sweet Tour, which at the time, became the highest-grossing tour ever by a solo artist, and the second highest-grossing tour of all time, with approximately US $411 million in ticket sales.[19] In 2012, The MDNA Tour was completed as the tenth highest-grossing tour of all time with US $305 million, the second highest among female artists at the time, only behind the Sticky & Sweet Tour.[20] Her 2015–16 Rebel Heart Tour was an all-arena tour which grossed $169.8 million from 1.045 million attendance.[21]

Madonna has embarked on several promotional concerts to promote her studio albums, as well as performing award shows and benefit concerts like Live Aid (1985), Live 8 (2005) and Live Earth (2007). In 2012, she headlined the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, which at that time was the most-watched halftime show in history. According to Billboard Boxscore, Madonna grossed over $1.31 billion in concert ticket sales between 1990 and 2016; she first crossed a billion gross with The MDNA Tour. Overall, Madonna ranks third, with just The Rolling Stones ($1.84 billion) and U2 ($1.67 billion) ahead of her.[21] During the London stop of her 2006 Confessions Tour, Madonna became the first performer to be inducted into the Wembley Arena Square of Fame.[22]

Concert tours

TitleDateAssociated album(s)Continent(s)ShowsGrossGross adj.
in 2023[23]
AttendanceRef.
The Virgin TourApril 10, 1985 – June 11, 1985Madonna
Like a Virgin
North America40$5,000,000$14,164,604400,000[a][5]
[24][25]
Who's That Girl World TourJune 14, 1987 – September 6, 1987True Blue
Who's That Girl
Asia
North America
Europe
38$25,000,000$67,047,4521,317,663[26]
[27]
Blond Ambition World TourApril 13, 1990 – August 5, 1990Like a Prayer
I'm Breathless
Asia
North America
Europe
57$62,700,000$146,225,4712,000,000[a][28]
[29]
[30]
The Girlie ShowSeptember 25, 1993 – December 19, 1993Erotica Europe
North America
South America
Asia
Oceania
39$70,000,000$147,643,4001,279,123[31]
[32]
Drowned World TourJune 9, 2001 – September 15, 2001Ray of Light
Music
Europe
North America
47$75,000,000$129,054,689732,606[33]
[34]
Re-Invention World TourMay 24, 2004 – September 14, 2004American Life Europe
North America
56$124,790,787$201,300,995897,207[35]
[36]
Confessions TourMay 21, 2006 – September 21, 2006Confessions on a Dance Floor Europe
North America
Asia
60$194,754,447$294,349,9041,209,593[37]
[38]
Sticky & Sweet TourAugust 23, 2008 – September 2, 2009Hard Candy Europe
North America
South America
Asia
85$411,000,000$583,700,3263,545,899[19]
[39]
The MDNA TourMay 31, 2012 – December 22, 2012MDNA Asia
Europe
North America
South America
88$305,158,362$404,990,5732,212,345[40]
[41]
Rebel Heart TourSeptember 9, 2015 – March 20, 2016Rebel Heart North America
Europe
Asia
Oceania
82$169,804,336$215,575,2221,045,479[21]
Madame X TourSeptember 17, 2019 – March 8, 2020Madame X North America
Europe
75$51,361,008$61,208,042179,289[42]
[43]
The Celebration TourOctober 14, 2023 – May 4, 2024Various Europe
North America
South America
81TBDTBDTBD

[3]

One-off concerts

DateEventCityVenuePerformed song(s)Ref.
October 13, 1983Madonna promotional showLondonCamden Palace[44]
February 14, 1998Ray of Light promotional showNew York CityRoxy NYC
[45]
November 5, 2000Music promotional showRoseland Ballroom[46]
November 29, 2000Music promotional showLondonBrixton Academy
  • "Impressive Instant"
  • "Runaway Lover"
  • "Don't Tell Me"
  • "What It Feels Like for a Girl"
  • "Holiday"
  • "Music"
[47]
April 22, 2003Madonna: On Stage and on the RecordNew York CityMTV Studios[48]
April 23, 2003American Life promotional showTower Records
  • "American Life"
  • "X-Static Process"
  • "Mother and Father"
  • "Hollywood"
  • "Like a Virgin"
  • "American Life"
[49]
April 30, 2003Absolut MadonnaCologneRTL Studio
  • "American Life"
  • "Hollywood"
  • "Music"
[50]
May 9, 2003American Life promotional showLondonHMV Oxford Circus
  • "American Life"
  • "Hollywood"
  • "Nothing Fails"
  • "X-Static Process"
  • "Mother and Father"
  • "Like a Prayer"
  • "Don't Tell Me"
[51]
November 15, 2005Confessions on a Dance Floor promotional showKOKO
[52]
November 19, 2005Confessions on a Dance Floor promotional showG-A-Y
  • "Hung Up"
  • "Get Together"
  • "I Love New York"
  • "Let It Will Be"
  • "Everybody"
  • "Jump"
[53]
December 7, 2005Confessions on a Dance Floor promotional showTokyoStudio Coast
  • "Hung Up"
  • "Get Together"
  • "I Love New York"
  • "Let It Will Be"
  • "Everybody"
[54]
April 30, 2008Hard Candy promotional showNew York CityRoseland Ballroom[55]
May 6, 2008Hard Candy promotional showParisOlympia
  • "Candy Shop"
  • "Miles Away"
  • "4 Minutes"
  • "Hung Up"
  • "Give It 2 Me"
  • "Music"
[56]
May 10, 2008Hard Candy promotional showMaidstoneMote Park[57]
February 2, 2012Super Bowl XLVI halftime showIndianapolisLucas Oil Stadium
[58]
March 10, 2016Madonna: Tears of a ClownMelbourneForum Theatre
[59]
November 7, 2016Hillary Clinton campaign concertNew York CityWashington Square Park
[60]
May 7, 2018Met GalaMetropolitan Museum of Art
[61]
June 30, 2019Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYCPier 97, Hudson River Park
[62]
April 30, 2022Medallo en el Mapa (Maluma hometown concert)MedellínEstadio Atanasio Girardot
[63]
June 24, 2022NYC Pride MarchNew York CityTerminal 5[64]

Benefit concerts

DateEventCityPerformed song(s)Ref.
July 13, 1985Live AidPhiladelphia
[65]
April 27, 1998Rock for the RainforestNew York City
[66]
January 16, 2005Tsunami Aid"Imagine"[67]
July 2, 2005Live 8London[68]
November 18, 2005Children in Need 2005[69]
July 7, 2007Live Earth
[70]
January 22, 2010Hope for Haiti NowNew York City"Like a Prayer"[71]
December 2, 2016Madonna: Tears of a Clown
(Raising Malawi Gala)
Miami
[72]
July 26, 2017Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation GalaSaint-Tropez
[73]

Music festivals

DateEventCityPerformed song(s)Ref.
February 22, 1995Sanremo Music FestivalSanremo"Take a Bow" (with Babyface)[74]
February 24, 1998Sanremo Music FestivalSanremo"Frozen"[75]
April 30, 2006Coachella Valley Music and Arts FestivalIndio
[76]
May 10, 2008BBC Radio 1's Big WeekendMaidstone[77]
March 25, 2012Ultra Music FestivalMiami"Girl Gone Wild" (as a guest during Avicii's act)[78]
April 12, 2015Coachella Valley Music and Arts FestivalIndio
[79]
May 18, 2019Eurovision Song ContestTel Aviv

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Book sources

External links