On October 5 2015, Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour stopped in Toronto for the first of two sold-out shows. Canadian singer, Nelly Furtado, was brought on stage during the show as Madonna’s Unapologetic Bitch.
Madonna had this to say on Twitter after the show:
“Thank you Nelly for being my b**ch tonight!! Hope you put that banana to good use!… #unapologeticbitch in Toronto! #rebelhearttour.”
On September 19 2015, Madonna performed Ghosttown for the first time on tour during a sold out Rebel Heart Tour stop in Brooklyn.
Madonna had never intended to perform the single from Rebel Heart during the tour and she had not rehearsed it with the band. Watch the performance:
Madonna opened her Rebel Heart Tour on September 9 2015, in Montreal, Canada.
Before the first show, Women’s Wear Daily shared some of the costume designs by Gucci, Prada, Moschino, Alexander Wang and Fausto Puglisi.
Alexander Wang commented on the process of selecting costumes:
“For her, the performance comes first. She has to be able to dance and move and feel comfortable in it”
Arianne Phillips also commented on the process:
“Madonna doesn’t really finalize any of the designs until 100 percent of the choreography is set. It’s a real back-and-forth conversation and it’s a brutal process for most fashion designers. You’re hanging in the balance while all the practical aspects are worked out, like the choreography and the quick-changes.”
On August 6 2015, Madonna.com revealed the first Rebel Heart Tour poster.
What is your favourite Madonna tour poster? What did you think of the poster for the Rebel Heart Tour?
On June 20 2017, the official press release for Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour release was sent out to fans through the Official Madonna Fan Club, Icon:
MADONNA has announced that her record-breaking MADONNA: REBEL HEART TOUR will be released by Eagle Vision on September 15 on digital download, DVD and Blu-ray complete with bonus content, and an audio CD of highlights from her much-heralded tour.
The Material Girl will also release a live album featuring 22 songs from the Rebel Heart Tour, available on double CD and digital download.
The MADONNA: REBEL HEART TOUR film was recorded around the world and features both live and behind the scenes material, as well as previously unreleased footage culminating with performances at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia in March of 2016. MADONNA: REBEL HEART TOUR is co-directed by Danny Tull and Nathan Rissman, both of whom have worked extensively with Madonna on her feature films and tour movies. A version of the film previously debuted on Showtime in December 2016.
The tracklist for MADONNA: REBEL HEART TOUR film and live concert album span all decades of the iconic superstar’s illustrious career, including songs from her chart-topping Rebel Heart album to classic fan favorites. Of particular note to longtime fans will be the new interpretations of some of Madonna’s timeless hits.
Praise includes: Madonna is Unstoppable (New York Times); Doesn’t Miss a Beat (Washington Post); the Queen of Pop…an inspirational figure (LA Weekly); the ultimate professional (Entertainment Weekly); on fire (Rolling Stone); an authoritative diva far from the end of her reign (Time Out New York); the genre’s greatest icon (Boston Herald); immeasurable (Detroit News); Queen of the World (Willamette Week); bigger, if not better than ever (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Produced by Live Nation Global Touring, the Rebel Heart Tour kicked off on September 9, 2015 in Montreal and visited arenas in 55 cities on four continents over seven months. Madonna performed 82 shows, plus the special Tears Of A Clown fan club show in Melbourne. The tour grossed $169.8 Million with 1,045,479 in attendance, making her the top grossing touring female artist in the history of Billboard Boxscore with over $1.31 billion in ticket sales sold over the course of her career. Madonna is also the fourth top grossing touring act since tracking began in 1990.
The Rebel Heart Tour was directed by Jamie King with musical direction by Kevin Antunes (with band keyboardist Ric’key Pageot, drummer Brian Frasier-Moore, guitarist Monte Pittman, and background vocalists Kiley Dean and Nicki Richards), lead choreography by Megan Lawson, hair by Andy LeCompte, makeup by Aaron Henrikson, and costume design by Arianne Phillips.
Stay tuned for pre-order info coming soon!
On January 23 2016, Madonna’s daughter Mercy James was the ceremonial Unapologetic Bitch during the first of two sold-out Rebel Heart Tour shows in Miami. Ariana Grande was the Unapologetic Bitch at the second Miami show.
Madonna stopped the show to present Mercy with a birthday cupcake. The crowd of 13,234 joined Madonna in singing Mercy “Happy Birthday”.
On October 1 2015, Madonna shared a behind-the-scenes photo of her “quick-change” costume station in Detroit, during The Rebel Heart Tour.
Madonna’s caption for the photo:
“Quick Change in the Motor City! ………….Get Ready Detroit!”
Madonna performed for a sold-out crowd of 12,852 fans at the Joe Louis Arena.
Today In Madonna History 