Confessions Tour

Confessions Tour
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Concert tour name	Confessions Tour
Artist	Madonna
Album	Confessions on a Dance Floor
Start date	May 21, 2006
End date	September 14, 2006
Number of shows	60

Confessions Tour The Confessions Tour was the 2006 concert tour by Madonna, supporting the album Confessions on a Dance Floor. The tour was produced amid contemporaneous releases and cultural events involving Warner Bros. Records, Live Nation Entertainment, Clear Channel Communications, and promoters such as AEG Live, drawing audiences from venues like Wembley Arena, Madison Square Garden, Staples Center, and Tokyo Dome. It involved collaborations with creatives associated with Jean-Paul Gaultier, Guy Ritchie, Lourdes León, Guy Oseary, and production teams previously engaged with VH1, MTV Networks, and BBC.

Background and development

Madonna announced the tour after finishing work with producers including Stuart Price, Mirwais Ahmadzaï, William Orbit, and events related to Brit Awards, Grammy Awards, NRJ Music Awards, and releases through Warner Music Group. Early development saw rehearsals at studios used by artists such as Michael Jackson, Prince, Beyoncé Knowles, and choreographers linked to Pina Bausch, Bob Fosse, Martha Graham, and collaborators from Cirque du Soleil. Funding and routing decisions involved talks with executives from Live Nation Entertainment, AEG Live, Ticketmaster, and venue managers at O2 Arena (London), Palau Sant Jordi, Barclays Center, and Air Canada Centre. Creative direction referenced theatrical precedents from productions like The Rocky Horror Show, Saturday Night Live, The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour, and visual artists including André Kertész, Cindy Sherman, and David LaChapelle.

Stage design and production

The stage design employed concepts drawn from visual work by Jean-Paul Gaultier, Hedi Slimane, Issey Miyake, and set designers who worked on productions for Mad Max: Fury Road, The Matrix, and Moulin Rouge!. Lighting and effects teams included technicians with credits on Britney Spears' tours, U2's Vertigo Tour, and Pink Floyd exhibitions; systems were supplied by vendors associated with PRG, Meyer Sound, Martin Professional, and Clay Paky. Costume production involved ateliers tied to Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Dolce & Gabbana, and wigmakers used by Cirque du Soleil and Wes Anderson film crews. Choreography drew on movement styles linked to Bob Fosse, Michael Peters, Twyla Tharp, and featured dancers who previously performed with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, and Janet Jackson. Video content for backdrops referenced footage comparable to work by Stanley Kubrick, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Guy Ritchie, and editors who collaborated with Spike Jonze and David Fincher.

Setlist and performances

Performances interwove tracks from Confessions on a Dance Floor with rearranged versions of hits that had been associated with albums like Ray of Light, Like a Virgin, Erotica, and Music. The choreography incorporated motifs familiar from productions featuring Michael Jackson, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Pina Bausch-inspired contemporary dance. Guest performers and opening acts across dates included artists connected to Pet Shop Boys, Basement Jaxx, Justin Timberlake, and DJs who had worked with Daft Punk and Fatboy Slim. Specific shows featured covers or interpolations tied to songs by Donna Summer, Kylie Minogue, ABBA, and David Bowie, staged in venues such as Bourse de Commerce, Olympia (Paris), Heineken Music Hall, Palau Sant Jordi, and Tokyo Dome.

Reception and critical response

Critical response ranged from praise in outlets comparable to Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and NME to controversy reported by publications like The Sunday Times, Le Monde, El País, and Corriere della Sera. Commentary engaged cultural figures and institutions such as Pope Benedict XVI, United Nations, Amnesty International, and commentators from CNN, BBC News, and Fox News. Reviews compared the tour’s spectacle to historical concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna's earlier tours, U2, and Michael Jackson, noting influences traceable to Jean-Paul Gaultier and choreography reminiscent of Bob Fosse. Public discussion involved legal and civic bodies including venues overseen by city councils in Buenos Aires, Rome, London, and Tel Aviv.

Recordings and broadcasts

Several performances were recorded for broadcast and home media releases handled by companies such as Warner Music Group, Eagle Rock Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and networks like HBO, ITV, Canal+, and NHK. Video production teams had prior credits on MTV Video Music Awards, Brit Awards, and concert films like Stop Making Sense and Madonna: Truth or Dare. Audio mixing referenced engineers who worked with Quincy Jones, Trevor Horn, Mark Ronson, and studios akin to Abbey Road Studios, Electric Lady Studios, and The Hit Factory.

Tour dates and box office/results

The routing crossed North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, playing arenas and stadiums managed by entities such as ASM Global, AEG Facilities, SMG, and municipal authorities in New York City, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, and São Paulo. Box office reporting used data sources comparable to Billboard Boxscore, Pollstar, and financial summaries published by Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg. Reported grosses and attendance figures put the tour among high-grossing concert events alongside tours by U2, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Madonna's previous tours.

Category:Madonna concert tours