Madonna’s Madame X tour will be delayed by five days. The first three performances are being moved to other dates on the schedule, which will now begin on September 17th instead of September 12th.
Madonna, addressing her fans in the third person as the character of Madame X, says in a statement:
“Madame ❌ Is a perfectionist and wants to give you the most unique, magical, and musical experience. She underestimated the amount of time it would take to bring this kind of intimate theatrical experience to you and wants it to be perfect!!!
“Thank you so much for your understanding.”
The massive tour is being conducted in theaters, not arenas, with long sit down periods in each city. The opening is at the Howard Gilman Opera House as part of BAM in Brooklyn. One insider told me: “It’s going to be like an arena show in a theater. It’s amazing.”
Madonna’s “Madame X” hasn’t been a great sales success. Since its release in June, “Madame X” has sold about 100,000 copies. But that’s par for the course with “legacy artists.” Her fans want to hear the hits, not new songs, which makes even touring more difficult because the acts have to re-invent ways of presenting old material over and over. The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and Elton John have found innovative ways of doing just that. Madonna will, too.
Madonna’s tour covers New York, Paris, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, and Las Vegas. She’ll play her recent hometown, Lisbon, Portugal, but so far nothing in her real hometown, Detroit, or San Francisco. They’ll probably be in the next wave.