Madonna Homeward Bound After Triumphant and Record Breaking 17-City European Stadium Tour

MADONNA'S STICKY & SWEET U.S. TOUR STARTS WITH FIVE SOLD OUT NEW YORK AREA DATES BEGINNING THIS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4TH - IZOD ARENA; MADISON SQUARE GARDEN OCTOBER 6TH, 7TH, 11TH & 12TH.

GIANT SELLOUTS THROUGHOUT CONTINENT: 72,000 - ZURICH - LARGEST SWISS AUDIENCE EVER; 73,000 - LONDON'S WEMBLEY STADIUM; 75,000 - LISBON; 130,000 - PARIS; 72,000 - ATHENS

NEW YORK, Oct. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Following one of the most successful runs in European concert history, Madonna returns to the U.S. for the start of her mammoth Sticky & Sweet Tour with five sold out shows
in the New York area. The Sticky & Sweet Tour is scheduled to open October 4th at New Jersey's Izod Arena with four Madison Square Garden dates to follow on October 6, 7, 11 and 12, it was confirmed today by Live Nation, the tour's international promoter.

"Now that I've warmed up in Europe, I'm ready to come home and do the show for my U.S. fans," remarked Madonna about her tour that includes 3500 wardrobe elements, 36 clothing designers, 100 pairs of kneepads, 12 trampolines, 69 guitars, a traveling personnel of 250, five keyboards for Kevin Antunes the musical director, three members of the Russian Romani (Gypsy) group the Kolpakov Trio, 18 dancers, one set of Swavorski crystal encrusted ear phones and one Material Girl.

Some of the rave reviews thus far: "In the premiere league of song-and-dance spectaculars, the queen of pop remains unrivalled and undefeated" raved the London Times. "Those who took in this spectacular
opening to Madonna's world tour have seen anything as slick, innovative and energetic in recent months, then please point it out. The choreography, visuals and live talent were world class and mind-blowingly well executed, intelligent and witty" glowed The Independent (UK).

Following the NY area performances, The Sticky & Sweet Tour is scheduled to play multiple dates in North America including Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Oakland and Denver before wrapping up in Miami
on November 26th.

The tour then travels to Mexico City where the scheduled November 29th and 30th shows sold 100,000 tickets in just three hours. The South American leg of the Sticky & Sweet Tour has had a phenomenal response as well. With three shows and over 210,000 tickets already sold, a fourth performance was just added on December 3rd in Buenos Aires, followed by sold out performances in Santiago December 10 and 11, Rio De Janeiro on December 14 and 15 and Sao Paulo December 18, 20 and 21 due to unprecedented demand.

Madonna's current CD "HARD CANDY" debuted at No. 1 in over 33 countries.

Billboard Boxscore has published the official concert stats (grosses, attendance) for the 17 European concerts of Madonna's Sticky and Sweet Tour. They are quite impressive.

Rank / Artist / Event / Venue / City/State / Event Dates / Gross Sales / Attend/Capacity / Shows/Sellouts / Prices / Promoters

1 Madonna, Bob Sinclar
Stade De France
Paris, France
Sept. 20-21, 2008
$17,583,211
138,163 / 138,163
2 / 2
$216.23, $27.10
Live Nation Global Touring


2 Madonna, Paul Oakenfold
Wembley Stadium
London, England
Sept. 11, 2008
$11,796,540
73,349 / 73,349
1 / 1
$281.05, $114.18
Live Nation Global Touring


3 Madonna, Robyn
Dubendorf Airfield
Zürich, Switzerland
Aug. 30, 2008
$11,093,631
70,314 / 70,314
1 / 1
$272.37, $122.57
Live Nation Global Touring/Good News


4 Madonna, Robyn
Olympic Stadium
Athens, Greece
Sept. 27, 2008
$9,030,440
75,637 / 75,637
1 / 1
$332.02, $79.69
Live Nation Global Touring


5 Madonna, Robyn
Danube Island
Vienna, Austria
Sept. 23, 2008
$8,140,858
57,002 / 57,002
1 / 1
$367.97, $114.81
Live Nation Global Touring


6 Madonna, Robyn
Amsterdam Arena
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Sept. 2, 2008
$6,717,734
50,588 / 50,588
1 / 1
$156.79, $85.65
Live Nation Global Touring


8 Madonna, Robyn
Parque da Bela Vista
Lisbon, Portugal
Sept. 14, 2008
$6,295,068
75,000 / 75,000
1 / 1
$85.03
Live Nation Global Touring


9 Madonna, Robyn
Olympiastadion
Berlin, Germany
Aug. 28, 2008
$6,048,086
47,368 / 47,368
1 / 1
$242.34, $88.12
Live Nation Global Touring


10 Madonna, Robyn
Commerzbank-Arena
Frankfurt, Germany
Sept. 9, 2008
$6,020,706
39,543 / 39,543
1 / 1
$311.48, $84.95
Live Nation Global Touring


11 Madonna, Benny Benassi
Stadio Olimpico
Rome, Italy
Sept. 6, 2008
$5,713,196
57,690 / 57,690
1 / 1
$178.33, $85.60
Live Nation Global Touring


13 Madonna
Millennium Stadium
Cardiff, Wales
Aug. 23, 2008
$5,279,107
33,460 / 33,460
1 / 1
$280.14, $102.72
Live Nation Global Touring


14 Madonna, Robyn
Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo
Valencia, Spain
Sept. 18, 2008
$4,941,980
50,143 / 50,143
1 / 1
$330.55, $89.25
Live Nation Global Touring


15 Madonna, Robyn
Estadio Olimpico
Sevilla, Spain
Sept. 16, 2008
$4,874,380
47,712 / 59,258
1 / 0
$212.89, $102.19
Live Nation Global Touring


16 Madonna, Robyn
LTU Arena
Düsseldorf, Germany
Sept. 4, 2008
$4,650,327
35,014 / 35,014
1 / 1
$238.59, $93.99
Live Nation Global Touring


18 Madonna, Robyn
Stade Charles-Ehrmann
Nice, France
Aug. 26, 2008
$4,381,242
41,483 / 41,483
1 / 1
$249.09, $80.59
Live Nation Global Touring


21 Madonna, Robyn
Jez Beach
Budva, Montenegro
Sept. 25, 2008
$3,463,063
47,524 / 47,524
1 / 1
$291.84, $51.07
Live Nation Global Touring


The 17 European concerts have contributed an astonishing $116,029,569 in grosses and attracted an attendance of 939,990 people. There are still at least 41 shows remaining to be reported to Billboard Boxscore over the next few months. When the tour is over, the cumulative gross and attendance of the entire tour shall be colossal. This tour is on track to easily SMASH the grosses and attendance figures for each tour Madonna has previously done, including Madonna's record-breaking 2006 Confessions Tour which was the highest grossing and most successful tour ever for a female artist.

I'm glad to see that she's no longer "miles away" from us She's back home in America,ready to kick ass again! I'm seeing her twice next month.

SoulAlive said:

i see her election night.

ehuffnsd said:

money , money,,,,,
all about money,,,,,

ehuffnsd said:

I wonder if she will announce the election results during that show?

Madonna is shit!

Marrk said:

don´t agree... not shit.... maybe .....material girl.....

myloveis4ever said:

Nope. Shit.

SoulAlive said:

Only if its the right one Obama!

-
[Edited 10/4/08 8:29am]

themusicthatcounts said:

themusicthatcounts said:

more interested in prop 8

Wow! Those pics are awesome!

I heard that she sang "Open Your Heart" (briefly) during last night's show

SoulAlive said:

Indeed!

Madonna's music ages gracefully as tour hits USA



By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — 50 is the new 25. Or at least, that's what Madonna seemed intent on proving at her first U.S. concert since reaching that half-century milestone.
Kicking off the U.S. leg of her Sticky & Sweet tour at the Izod Center, the pop icon exhibited the energy, not to mention the muscle tone, of a woman half her age during a 23-song set that chronicled her storied career, from '80s hits to songs from this year's release Hard Candy.

Intent to give herself and her fans a musical workout, as well, Madonna put a slightly different spin on familiar tunes. As she has on recent tours, the singer played guitar on several numbers, lending a garage-rock edge to Borderline and Hung Up.

Into the Groove was presented as a pumping club mix, with Madonna jumping rope to emphasize its aerobic intensity. By that point, she had changed from a black-bustier-and-boots ensemble to a sportier but similarly revealing number set off by red gym shorts and black socks that stretched up to her gravity-defying thighs.

Audience members were impressed, and titillated. "If I were a lesbian, I would go for her," said Mary Beth Murdza, 45, a resident of Wall Township who added, "I don't think I've missed one of Madonna's tours."

Manhattan newcomer Barry Sherman, 29, came dressed in fishnet and spandex in homage to his idol. In his old house in Vermont, he added, "One of the bedrooms is a shrine to Madonna."

Madonna herself paid tribute to world music and different cultures throughout the evening. Devil Wouldn't Recognize Me had an Asian flavor, underscored by Japanese dancers, and was followed by a segment that drew on Latin influences and included Rumanian gypsy musicians, including the songs La Isla Bonita, Miles Away and, from Evita, the ballad You Must Love Me.

The visuals were similarly exotic and often stunning, from an anime-inspired montage to footage of various foreign landscapes and people. Ray of Light and Like A Prayer were accompanied by spiritual imagery, with quotations from the Bible floating across the screen.

Madonna's recent collaborators Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Justin Timberlake popped up on video, as did Britney Spears, who filmed a special black-and-white clip as a backdrop for a frenzied Human Nature.

An already controversial segment showed famous and infamous figures ranging from Adolf Hitler and Kim Jong Il to Martin Luther King Jr., the Dalai Lama and John Lennon. Current presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama were also included, McCain in closer proximity to some more patently villainous types and Obama nearer to those viewed more favorably, who also included Mother Teresa and Bono.

Madonna did not patently link McCain to any of the ogres, or verbally attack the Republican contender. She did, however, have a few choice words for his running mate. "Sarah Palin can't come to this party," she declared, after leading the audience in a festive a cappella version of Open Your Heart. "She is not in my show. She will never be in my show."

She reinforced that message, humorously, by imitating "the sound of Sarah Palin's husband's snowmobile when it won't start" with a loud, purposefully irritating burst of guitar.

Set list (in order):

Candy Shop

Beat Goes On

Human Nature

Vogue

Die Another Day

Into the Groove

Heartbeat

Borderline

She's Not Me

Music

Rain (segue)

Devil Wouldn't Recognize Me

Spanish Lesson

Miles Away

La Isla Bonita

Doli DoliYou Must Love Me

Get Stupid (segue)

Four Minutes

Like A Prayer

Ray Of Light

Hung Up

Give It To Me


http://www.usatoday.com/l...line_N.htm

Are there opening acts on the North American leg?

Go Madonna, Go!

looking at those pictures...man, she busted her face up with some bad work. that's a shame.

LiveToTell86 said:

What song do they wear the DirtyChris goggles for?

^^^^Give it to me... last part of the song!

PatrickS77 said:

Thanks yo

LiveToTell86 said:

Damn, what little voice she did once have has well and truly gone. Even before she buckled on the chorus, it was already sounding terrible.

LiveToTell86 said:

The tour is reaching Chicago tonight.

Some cool pix from Toronto (Madonna Tribe):

hot!

I'M SEEING THE SHOW TONIGHT! I just spoke to Heartbeatocean,she finally found a ticket so she will be there too.

Sticky and Sweet has officially invaded the West Coast!!