May 29, 2012 News

EXCLUSIVE Spoilers – All the juicy details on the MDNA Tour!

In the last couple of months Madonnarama revealed lots of info on the MDNA Tour setlist, concept and backdrops. Today, we can confirm the final setlist and give all the juicy details on the whole show…

This post of course includes LOTS of spoilers, so read at your own risk!

TRANSGRESSION

Opening
Opens up with bells ringing, followed by religious chants by Kalakan. A very haunting sound.
Backdrop features a thurible with a light in it.
Girl Gone Wild
Starts with repetitions of “Oh my God” and Kalakan chants, then goes into the “Act of Contrition” intro, glass shatters and Madonna appears.
Similar to the album version, but now has an incredible new instrumental part featuring whip-sounds, “Material Girl” lyrics and “Give it 2 me” music.
Revolver
Starts off with a gunshot and similar to the album version
The backdrop features Lil Wayne.
Gang Bang
This is the performance that has the motel bedroom setting.
It starts with police sirens and the background features lots of blood spatters.
The live vocals, live spoken parts and live instruments, especially Monte Pittman’s guitar solo, give it a whole new dimension.
Papa Don’t Preach
A short, edited, live version with a more prominent organ sound.
Hung up
Completely reworked for the tour in an evil-esque way.
The Abba sample is only heard during a very short part and the vocoder is used throughout the whole song.
Also features repetitions of “Oh my God” and some “Act of Contrition” lyrics.
I Don’t Give A
Madonna on guitar.
The “I Don’t Give A” intro lyrics are sung by Kalakan and Nicki Minaj makes an appearance on the backdrop videos wearing a long, blond wig.

INTERLUDE

Best Friend
Revisited and features samples from Hard Candy’s “Heartbeat”.
Backdrop is very dark, images from cemetery and coffins.

PROPHECY

Express Yourself
A classic and includes a small marching-band segment.
The backdrop is very happy, colorful and features old-fashioned comic strip images inspired by J. Howard Miller and Roy Lichtenstein.
At one point, when Madonna sings “What happens when you’re not in bed”, the backdrop has cartoon images of two men kissing.
The big surprise we mentioned a few weeks ago is the appearance of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” after which, Madonna sings a “She’s not me” line.
Give me all your luvin’
The “Just Blaze remix” is being used, which now includes more Madonna vocals.
The dancers, who now have become drummers, are suspended in the air.
Turn up the Radio
Starts with an altered version of the Music Inferno intro from the Confessions tour. The intro includes parts of “Holiday”, “Into the Groove”, “Lucky Star”, “4 Minutes” and a lot more…
It then goes into the intro of the official “Leo Zero Remix” before the album version starts.
Madonna on guitar.
Open Your Heart/Sagarra Jo
Madonna introduces “the Kalakan Trio”, as she calls them, and explains how they met during a trip in the Basque Country and why they’re joining her on tour.
The song is nothing like the original version and sounds incredible.
The backdrop features imagery inspired by the Basque Country.
After “Open Your Heart”, they all sing Sagarra Jo and it sounds beautiful!
Masterpiece
Madonna sounds great and is joined by Kalakan at the end of this very intimate and moving performance.

INTERLUDE

Justify my Love
The Justify my Love video interlude says one thing: “Dita is back!”
Madonna is being chased by carnival freaks who are wearing different masks, but goes hiding in a room to enjoy herself! It has the same feel as the “Truth or Dare by Madonna” commercial to it and is very sexy.
The video is a metaphor for everybody trying to take advantage of Madonna, judge her or exploit her private life. Instead, Madonna chooses to lock herself up in a room to escape from it all and to indulge in her own fantasies. All this in a very sexy setting!

MASCULINE/FEMININE

Vogue
Madonna wears a white shirt, black tie, black pants, long black gloves, a corset and a reinvented cone bra, all designed by the incredible Jean Paul Gaultier.
The same version as the Super Bowl halftime show, but this time the full song is performed and sung live.
The backdrop is also similar to the Super Bowl version including the VOGUE magazine font, pictures of Hollywood stars (Marlene Dietrich, Grace Kelly…)
Candy Shop vs. Erotica
Madonna takes off the corset and cone bra she’s wearing on top of her white shirt.
A very sensual choreography performed in couples during which Madonna dances with Brahim Zaibat.
This “Candy Shop” version includes a small “Erotica” interlude that uses lyrics from the 1992 song.
While she sings “Erotic Erotic put your hands all over my Body”, Brahim Zaibit is doing it!
Human Nature
Madonna has performed this song many times but this is the way it should be performed.
Close to the album version, Madonna goes into a box singing “I’m not sorry” while dancers are touching her and putting their hands all over her body in a very sensual, not sexual, way.
Like a Virgin
The song has been oddly reworked using Abel Korzeniowski’s Evgeni’s Waltz.
Madonna in a bra, looking vulnerable, sings one of her biggest hits, slowly, on one of the most touching track from the W.E. soundtrack.
Some will love it, some won’t.
At the end, Madonna sits down next to her pianist and disappears beneath the stage.

INTERLUDE

Nobody Knows me

The center video screen features Madonna from the waist up. Her hair is shoulder-length, curly and slightly slicked back. She also wears long black leather gloves, a black bra and leather straps. They went for a soft make up look to accentuate the special effects of the whole video.

During the first “I’ve had so many lives, since I was a child” part, bits and pieces of older Madonna pictures are pasted onto the actual video. The only appropriate way to describe it, is some kind of collage. As if someone had cut out different pictures from magazines to recreate a new one.
The ending of the first part “How many times I’ve died” deals with how the press has tried to bury Madonna’s career.

Using the same “collage” technique, Madonna impersonates different people who have played an important part, positive or negative, in our history: Trayvon Martin, Marine le Pen, Sarah Palin, the Pope, Hitler and more.

The left and right video screen will depict images and video footage from all the events Madonna is referring to.

Halfway through, images of different teenagers who commited suicide as a result of bullying are shown for a few seconds, along with a RIP message and their name. One of those names is Brandon Bitner.

The last segment of the backdrop features positive images of people kissing: different races, straight couples, gay couples, even older couples and parents with their children.

REDEMPTION

I’m Addicted
Sounds a lot like the album version with a few added sounds to give it a better live impact.
Madonna wears some chainmail pieces and a long, glittery robe with MDNA written on the back. Futuristic comics meets “Logan’s run”.
She also dances barefoot and the choreography is kinda futuristic and a little cultish!
I’m a Sinner / Cyber-Raga
Madonna on guitar and the song has a very 70’s vibe.
The dancers wear colorful clothing, while Madonna puts a flower necklace on her shiny ensemble.
After “I’m a Sinner”, Madonna pulls her guitar on her back and performs “Cyber-Raga” together with Kalakan.
Like a Prayer
The chainmail pieces come off and everybody joins Madonna on stage, wearing black robes with big white crosses.
Madonna goes to the end of the catwalk then returns to the main stage.
Celebration
Madonna removes the lower-part from the glittery robe to reveal some black tight pants, but keeps the upper-part that’s also worn in the “Girl Gone Wild” video.
A very energetic and happy mood, amazing choreography with Madonna jumping from one dancer to another at the end of the catwalk.
Madonna explores the DJ culture intensely in this one. She takes a pair of headphones, spins the records and also does some scratching.
The backdrop features lots of colored cubes and the entire crew disappears into one giant cube.