A brief checklist of who Madonna has offended
Madonna's never far from outrage. Here's a short rundown of the offended
Madonna's much-hyped Rebel Heart concert at the National Stadium tomorrow night could be remembered as the hottest gig of the year, or as the most contentious, depending on how you see it.
The most recent flap: the statements from the Roman Catholic Church here and the National Council of Churches of Singapore, urging believers to reconsider attending the show and not to support those who "denigrate and insult religion".
We look back at all the times the 57-year-old US pop icon caused a commotion in her three-decade career.
WHEN MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) performance of Like A Virgin (1984); Like A Prayer music video (1989); Confessions concert tour performance of Live To Tell (2006)
WHAT She got down and dirty on the stage in a white wedding dress and crucifix accessories while singing Like A Virgin; her Like A Prayer music video had burning crosses and Madonna making out with a black saint; and she hung on a cross wearing a crown of thorns while delivering Live To Tell live.
WHO Catholic groups and leaders, the Vatican and Christian conservatives. Pepsi, which used the song Like A Prayer for its commercial, cancelled plans to broadcast and dropped its contract with Madonna.
WHEN MTV VMA performance of Ray Of Light (1998)
WHAT She sported Hindu holy markings on her forehead while performing sexually charged dance moves.
WHO Religious group World Vaishnava Association and some Hindus and yogis
WHEN MTV VMA medley (2003)
WHAT She kissed US pop princesses Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera suggestively on the lips during a medley of songs including Hollywood and Like A Virgin.
WHO Parents Television Council and media critics
WHEN Justify My Love music video (1990)
WHAT Guest-starring Madonna's then-boyfriend, model Tony Ward, it had nods to voyeurism, sadomasochism and bisexuality.
WHO Major US TV networks that banned it for being "near-pornographic" and "unfit for broadcast".
WHEN MDNA concert tour (2012)
WHAT During a video collage for the song Nobody Knows Me, the face of Marine Le Pen, a French far-right politician and leader of French party National Front, appeared on screen with a swastika superimposed on her forehead.
WHO Le Pen and National Front party members, who threatened to sue Madonna if she went ahead to use the image in her concert in Nice, France. Madonna subsequently removed the swastika from the video and replaced it with a question mark.
WHEN Girl Gone Wild video (2012)
WHAT The raunchy black-and-white clip contained scenes of grinding, naked men in stiletto heels, same-sex kisses, an implied orgy and Madonna in a bondage suit.
WHO YouTube viewers who rated it as "inappropriate". The video-sharing site then slapped it with an age restriction, allowing only those aged 18 or older to watch it. Madonna was also blocked from uploading the video onto her Vevo account.
WHEN Coachella Music Festival (2015)
WHAT She locked lips with a stunned Canadian rapper, Drake, for a good three seconds on stage during the latter's headlining set. At the 29-year-old's invitation, she made a cameo appearance when he performed one of his songs titled Madonna.
WHO Likely Drake himself, who - rather amusingly - appeared repulsed and horrified after the intense snog. And probably Drake's fans too, who created a slew of hilarious memes mocking "grandmother" Madonna for "sucking the life force" out of their idol.
Madonna Rebel Heart Tour 2016 - S'pore (R18)
WHEN
Tomorrow, 8pm
WHERE
National Stadium
TICKETS
$108 to $1,288 from Sports Hub Tix (3158-7888 or www.sportshubtix.sg)
Opening her heart
Madonna may be synonymous with provocation, but she is not always about controversy.
On her current Rebel Heart world tour, she has shown her lighter, softer side, sometimes at a packed arena and sometimes on her Instagram.
Nov 14, 2015
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Madonna shed tears while paying tribute to the victims of the horrific Paris attacks and their families. A day before her concert, 130 people were killed and more than 350 wounded in ISIS terrorist shootings and suicide bombings in the French capital.Dec 9, 2015
PARIS, FRANCE
Madonna and her adopted son David, 10, took to the streets of Paris to deliver an impromptu performance to honour the victims of the Paris attacks. Accompanied by guitarist Monte Pittman, the duo, sporting furry jackets in the wintry cold, sang John Lennon's Imagine, as well as Madonna's own Like A Prayer and Ghosttown.
Jan 23, 2016
MIAMI, US
The mum of four celebrated her adopted daughter Mercy James' 10th birthday on stage in front of a cheering, enthusiastic crowd. She presented her with a cupcake and candle.
Feb 20, 2016
MACAU, CHINA
Madonna noticed Hong Kong Cantopop star Eason Chan dancing feverishly in the audience and invited him up on stage. It was evidently unplanned - she had no idea who Chan was. She asked him for his name, got him to clown around and even rewarded him with a banana.
Feb 23, 2016
MANILA, PHILIPPINES
Before her two concerts there, she paid surprise visits to two Manila shelters for orphans and homeless street children - the Hospicio de San Jose orphanage and the Bahay Tuluyan shelter. She even took selfies with some of the children there and posted the pictures on Instagram.
Feb 22, 2016
Madonna's son Rocco, 15, had been travelling with her on her Rebel Heart world tour, which started last September.
But he left in December, reportedly after a row, and is now with his father, Madonna's film-maker ex-husband Guy Ritchie, in the UK.
Madonna has been posting childhood photos of the boy on Instagram, accompanied by sweet messages of how much she misses him and the "days of innocence".
Madonna and Ritchie are in a custody battle for Rocco.
In the caption for the latest photo of Rocco, posted on Feb 22, she wrote: "I miss this boy so full of life so full of love! I hope we see that Leo Sun soon. The light is blinding!"
She added a heart emoji to go with it.
By the numbers
Taiwanese investor James Lee, 53, chief executive of Taiwan-based property company Kinglun International Holdings, and an unnamed man pumped in US$10 million (S$14 million) for Madonna's first-ever gig here.
This includes air freight costs for 27 containers holding the stage, lighting and wardrobe set-ups.
Even if the show sells out, Mr Lee admitted he will be unable to recoup the investment.
It will be the first concert at the National Stadium where the seating will have to be reconfigured for the show.
Seating will be pulled out to cover the running track of the stadium to ensure the side seats are nearer the stage. This process takes 10 days and comes at an extra cost.
According to Mr Lee last week, 80 to 90 per cent of the tickets were snapped up before the release of more $388 standing tickets and $188 tickets. In contrast, tickets for her other Asian stops - for smaller venues - were sold out quickly.
Mr Lee told The Business Times that one big challenge is achieving a sold-out concert at the National Stadium with 25,000 Madonna fans. This is twice the seating capacity of the average 10,000-seater venues she has been selling out around Asia.
Top-tier tickets cost US$300 to US$350 in the US while the cheapest ones cost just US$35.
Here, VIP tickets cost $1,288 and the cheapest ones are $108.
VIP tickets around Asia cost HK$11,888 (S$2,142) in Hong Kong, 10,588 patacas (S$1,852) in Macau and 57,750 pesos (S$1,701) in the Philippines.
- Noor Ashikin Abdul Rahman
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