On April 8 2006, tickets for Madonna’s UK Confessions Tour shows sold out in 10 minutes!
Fans snapped up every ticket for the first two Wembley Arena gigs as soon as the box office opened at 9am. A further four Wembley dates were swiftly added – and all had sold out by lunchtime. Finally, a seventh gig was added for August 15, and also sold out!
On January 26, 2007, Madonna’s second live album, The Confessions Tour was released by Warner Bros. Records. It was recorded at Wembley Arena in London, and was released in both CD and DVD formats. The DVD was directed by Jonas Åkerlund.
On January 11 2007, Warner Bros. Records announced the release of The Confessions Tour live CD+DVD on January 30, 2007 in North America with the following press statement:
Madonna’s record-breaking Confessions Tour filmed at London’s Wembley Arena during her worldwide sold-out 25-City run in 2006 is scheduled to be released as a DVD/CD on sale January 30th, it was announced today by Warner Bros. Records. The highest-grossing tour ever by a female artist, ‘The Confessions Tour – Live from London’ DVD, first broadcast on NBC last November, includes songs that span the course of Madonna’s extraordinary career. ‘Like A Virgin,’ ‘Hung Up,’ ‘Erotica’ and ‘Music’ are just a few of the hits that can be seen on the DVD and heard on the bonus CD included in the package as well as several songs from her ‘Confessions On A Dance Floor’ CD which debuted at No. 1 in 29 countries. In addition, ‘The Confessions Tour’ DVD includes bonus footage, which did not appear on the broadcast, including Madonna’s early classic hit ‘Lucky Star’ as well as the full unedited version of the controversial performance of ‘Live To Tell.’ The ‘Confessions’ DVD will have never before seen rehearsal footage and a unique photo gallery. The DVD was directed by Jonas Åkerlund. The show was directed for the stage by Jamie King. Musical Director was Stuart Price. ‘The pop spectacle of the year – a politically charged combination of Cirque du Soleil, performance-art commentary and dance party explosion that more or less sums up everything she has been striving to say and show this decade….it’s quite possibly the best production she’s ever concocted,’ raved the Orange County Register in their review of Madonna’s show. Madonna is scheduled to appear on tomorrow’s (January 11th) airing of ‘The Late Show with David Letterman,’ make a live appearance on the ‘Today’ Show and ‘Live with Regis and Kelly’ – to promote the film, ‘Arthur and The Invisibles’ – and will also host a screening of the film in Tribecca. ‘I want to turn the world into one big dance floor,’ claimed the Material Girl when The Confessions Tour began. Now, the singer, songwriter, video visionary, designer, producer, children’s book author and artist, who has enthralled millions of fans all over the world and has sold 200 million plus CDs, is extending that commitment to the living rooms of the world.
The CD+DVD edition was packaged as a double-disc digipak. The show was also issued as a stand-alone DVD packaged in a keep case without the accompanying live CD in many countries outside North America.
The concert film was the first release associated with Madonna’s production company, Semtex Films. It went on to win a Grammy for Best Long Form Music Video in 2008.
On September 3 2009, Madonna’s Sticky And Sweet world tour was named the highest-grossing for a solo artist ever.
The tour, which finished in Tel Aviv on September 2 2009, made $408 million (£250m), according to promoters Live Nation. During the tour, Madonna played 85 shows, drawing in more than 3.5 million fans from 32 countries.
The Sticky And Sweet tour broke Madonna’s previous record for the most successful outing by a solo artist with her 2006 Confessions Tour, which grossed $194 million.
On August 31 2006, Madonna played the fourth of four sold-out dates at the Palais Omnisports de Bercy-Paris during her Confessions Tour. The show played to nearly 68,000 fans at the venue during its tour run.
Madonna has become quite familiar with the Palais Omnisports over the years, having played a combined total of 19 sold-out concerts at the venue between 1990 and 2009 for roughly 320,000 fans.
The venue was also used to film two of her shows – 1990’s Blond Ambition Tour and 2004’s Re-Invention Tour. Ironically, both films were used as part of documentaries – Truth or Dare and I’m Going To Tell You A Secret respectively. Since both documentaries focused equally on behind-the-scenes and on-stage content, only select performances could be featured in each. The complete shows for both tours filmed at the venue remain unreleased, much to the bewilderment of fans.
On February 10 2008, Madonna won her 7th Grammy Award. The Confessions Tour film, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, took home the award for Best Long Form Music Video.
It marked Madonna’s fourth Grammy nomination for Best Long Form Music Video, and her second win in the category:
On February 9 2006, Ellen DeGeneres’ first interview with Madonna aired (the segment was filmed on February 8th). Madonna rushed from her performance at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, to sit down with Ellen where she talked about rehearsing for her performance of Hung Up, her children, The Office, marriage rumours, coffee, Red Bull, horseback riding, her horse Tom, ruffling feathers and to much applause, she announced her upcoming summer tour (The Confessions Tour).
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