Tour by Madonna | |
![]() Promotional poster for the tour | |
Location |
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Associated album | |
Start date | June 9, 2001 |
End date | September 15, 2001 |
Legs | 2 |
No. of shows | 47 |
Box office | US$76.8 million[a] |
Madonna concert chronology |
The Drowned World Tour (billed as Drowned World Tour 2001) was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna in support of her seventh and eighth studio albums Ray of Light (1998) and Music (2000), respectively. The tour began on June 9, 2001, at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain, and ended on September 15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, United States. It was her first tour in eight years, following the Girlie Show in 1993. Set to start in 1999, it was delayed until 2001 as Madonna filmed and starred in the movie The Next Best Thing (2000), began working on Music, gave birth to her son Rocco and married Guy Ritchie.
When the tour was finally decided, there was little time, so in just three months, auditions for dancers were held, musicians and technicians were hired and rehearsals took place. Madonna appointed Jamie King, Alex Magno, and Deborah Brown choreographers, while French designer Jean Paul Gaultier, who had worked with the singer in the past, was in charge of the tour's wardrobe. Gaultier created the outfits in such way that they indicated different phases of Madonna's career. The poster and logo for the tour included references to Kabbalah, which Madonna was studying at the time. Like the singer's previous tours, the show was divided into different thematic acts: Rock 'n' Roll Punk Girl, Geisha Girl, Cyber Cowgirl, and Spanish Girl/Ghetto Girl. The set list consisted mainly of songs from Ray of Light and Music, with "Holiday" and "La Isla Bonita" being the only pre-1990s singles she performed.
The show was appreciated by critics, who lauded the staging and production. The lack of Madonna's 1980s songs, however, left some dissatisfied. Drowned World was a commercial success; grossing more than US$76.8 million ($132.15 million adjusted for inflation[1]), and playing to over 730,000 fans in sold-out shows throughout Europe and the United States, it became 2001's highest-grossing concert tour by a solo artist. At the 2001 Pollstar awards, it was nominated for Major Tour of the Year and Most Creative Stage Production, but lost them both to U2. The concert on August 26 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan was filmed professionally and broadcast live on HBO as Madonna Live: The Drowned World Tour; afterwards, it was released on VHS and DVD under the title Drowned World Tour 2001.
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