Madonna has long been gloried as "the only Queen of Pop". Even though her pop rivals from Lady Gaga, and sometimes Britney Spears to Katy Perry, have been trying to usurp her crown, the queen's current MDNA World Tour simply confirms her right to the throne.
In Paris on Bastille Day, Madonna performed to 80,000-strong followers at Le Stad de France, and treated 60 Thais there on invitation from True Move H and H Music application to an unforgettable two-hour performance.
The night would also prove unforgettable for Madonna as well as the leader of France's far-right Front National which is set to pursue legal action against her on the grounds of public insult.
During Nobody Knows Me, Marine Le Pen's picture, used as part of accompanying visuals, showed the politician's face with a swastika symbol embossed on her forehead. The said visuals also displayed faces of Hitler, Sarah Palin and Hu Jintoa among other public figures.
The same set of visuals was also shown during Madonna's concert in Turkey at the end of May, and Le Pen had already issued a warning as well as calling the pop diva an ageing celebrity who seeks public attention.
The legal outcome has yet to be decided, but when the problematic visual flared up, the French crowd in the stadium cheered and jeered loudly. Putting legal troubles aside, Madonna should still be sued for delivering a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle full of artistic acumen, strong political and social messages, apocalyptic foreboding, terrifyingly beautiful violence and a manifestation of an artist at the height of daring creativity.
An avid Madonna fan since the age of 12, Orakarn Rojtinnakorn, now 24, was elated when she first found out she was among the lucky winners of H Music's ''Fly Away with Madonna'', a campaign to signify the beginning of an exclusive collaboration between True Move H and Universal Music.
''Madonna has always been a leader. She's always ahead of her times. She's just not about flash. Madonna is the real deal. She also delivers positive messages like anti-bullying and gay rights. I find that very refreshing,'' said Orakarn.
Strong messages did spread around her entire show, except for a short speech on racial and gender diversity, they were shown through her musical expression, dramatic performances, dance choreography, massive video walls and an excellent troupe of dancers which also included her younger biological son with Guy Ritchie, Rocco.
Madonna allowed French superstar deejay Martin Solvieg to get the crowd going before the Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am officially opened the show.
When the sun finally set, Madonna graced the stage, and attacked all senses at once with her interlude performance that incorporated a religious, ritualistic undertone in terms of hooded figures and red velvet roped cult leaders who had been led astray by Miss MDNA herself.
Girl Gone Wild nicely set the pace of the show, and Madonna went shooting happy and gun crazy in Revolver and Gang Bang where she battled attackers with blazing guns, and nicely timed visual effects added further jaw dropping excitement. The brimming violence might seem overdone for some, but Madonna smartly fashioned bullets and bloodshed into a struggle to uphold one's true identity by whatever means.
The dark atmosphere quickly evaporated when Madonna switched to cheerleading/drum majorette manoeuvres with bright colours and lighting, and launched into Express Yourself with a cheeky infusion of Lady Gaga's Born This Way as well as repeatedly drumming the phrase ''she's not me, she's not me'' into our psyche.
Turn Up The Radio and Give Me All Your Luvin' fit the mood of the cheery drum troupes with dancers dressed as top drummers hoisted up above the stage.
Kalakan Trio, the Basque trad squad, whom Madonna stumbled upon during her family holiday in the Basque country, was introduced during You're Your Heart, and the trio's haunting musicality left a lasting impression of music being sung and played on a higher ground.
Vogue made it back to the queen's set list, and black and white old glamour appeared to hop out from pages of high fashion magazines with Madonna sporting her new take on the famous pointy bra.
As her boob flashing shenanigan during a performance went viral, and met with ridicule, none anticipated Madonna to repeat the same move, but she did so during Human Nature and Erotica with an addition of unzipping and lowering her pants. As she turned around the phrase ''No Fear'' boldly written on her back pretty much summed up her message to those who made light of her advanced years and not so perfect bosom. When taken in context, such action somehow made sense, confronting female body politics heads on.
Known for her keen sense of what's hot and what's not, Madonna decided to include slacklining and contortionist or bone breaking choreography in her MDNA tour. Her army of dancers also deserved a big round of applause for their commitment and perfection. Even when the queen left the stage for several changeovers, these professional dancers held their own without fail.
Like A Virgin became a melancholic ballad, accompanied solely by a piano and Madonna's startlingly emotional performance. Relying on her old tricks, Like A Prayer evoked gospel spirits, and Celebration ended the night with a loud bang.
Many have criticised the overwhelming numbers of new tracks from her latest album, MDNA. For an artist with such an extensive catalogue of global hits, Madonna has a large pool of resources to choose from, and it would be too much of a retreat to thrive solely on old favourites.
This tour is, after all, called MDNA, and artists should always be confident to showcase their new works.
''I was speechless for the entire show,'' said Orakarn. ''It was just so mesmerising. It was much more than I expected. The first minute Madonna came on the stage, my hairs stood up and stayed that way for the rest of the night.''
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About the author
- Writer: Onsiri Pravattiyagul
- Position: Entertainment Editor
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