Madonna kicked off her Celebration Tour in London last night (October 14, 2023) and said she “didn’t think I would make it” after being admitted to intensive care with a severe bacterial infection over the summer.
The Queen of Pop performed over 40 songs from her back catalog, including her most famous hits and several deep cuts.
During a rendition of “Mother And Father” – a song about the death of her own mother – midway through the show, the star addressed her recent illness before she covered Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”
She told the crowd: “I didn’t think I would make it, and neither did my doctors. That’s why I woke up with all of my children sitting around me.”
Madonna continued: “I forgot five days of my life or my death. I don’t really know where I was. But the angels were protecting me. And my children were there. And my children always save me, every time.
“If you want to know how I pulled through and how I survived, I thought, I have got to be there for my children. I have to survive for them.”
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty ImagesMadonna’s set was also hit by technical problems for 10 minutes early on after she performed “Burning Up.”
“This is exactly what you don’t want to happen on your opening night,” she told the crowd before she went on to tell stories about her youth in New York, recalling how she lived in her “rehearsal space” with her band and she dated men who had “showers and bathrooms.”
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty ImagesAt one point, she also addressed the conflict in Israel and Gaza. “It’s so painful to witness. It breaks my heart to see children suffering, teenagers suffering, elderly people suffering. I’m sure you agree,” Madonna said.
Throughout the set, which marked her first time appearing on stage without a band, she performed a host of classic hit singles, including “Like A Virgin,” “Into The Groove,” “Like A Prayer,” “Vogue,” “Ray Of Light,” and “Hung Up.”
She wrapped up her set with “Bitch I’m Madonna,” “Celebration” and “Music.”
The Celebration tour is currently scheduled to run through April 24, 2024.
Full Celebration Tour Set List (Not Including Some Snippets):
(1) “Nothing Really Matters”
(2) “Everybody”
(3) “Into the Hollywood Groove”
(4) “Burning Up”
(5) “Open Your Heart”
(6) “Holiday”
(7) “In This Life”/”Live to Tell”
(8) “Like a Prayer”
(9) “Erotica”
(11) “Justify My Love”
(13) “Hung Up on Tokischa”/”Hung Up”
(14) “Bad Girl”
(15) “Break My Soul” (Beyoncé)/”Vogue”
(16) “Human Nature”
(17) “Crazy for You”
(18) “The Beast Within”
(19) “Die Another Day”
(20) “Don't Tell Me”
(21) “Mother and Father”
(22) “Little Star” (a cappella)
(23) “I Will Survive” (Gloria Gaynor)
(24) “La Isla Bonita”
(25) “Don't Cry for Me Argentina”
(26) “Bedtime Story”
(27) “Ray of Light”
(28) “Rain”
(29) “Billie Jean” (Michael Jackson)/”Like a Virgin”
(30) “Give Me All Your Luvin'”/”Bitch I'm Madonna”
(31) “Celebration”/”Music”
Madonna is currently among the rumored headliners for Glastonbury 2024.
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