Tour by Madonna | |
Promotional poster for the tour
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Associated album | MDNA |
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Start date | May 31, 2012 |
End date | December 22, 2012 |
Legs | 4 |
No. of shows |
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Box office | US $305.2 million ($318.38 million in 2017 dollars) |
Madonna concert chronology |
The MDNA Tour was the ninth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It showcased material from her twelfth studio album, MDNA (2012). The tour visited the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. This marked the singer's first performances in the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Scotland, and Colombia. The tour was initially planned to reach Australia in January 2013 but was cancelled; Madonna apologized through a video letter on her official YouTube account.
Madonna described the tour as "the journey of a soul from darkness to light". It was divided into four sections: Transgression, where guns and violence was the main theme, Prophecy, where a mix of joyful songs that bring people together are performed, Masculine/Feminine, a combination of sensuality and fashion with a few of Madonna's classic songs performed in a French Cabaret-style, and Redemption, which Madonna labeled as "a big party and celebration". The tour has received mostly positive reception from critics.
The tour courted many controversial subjects such as violence, firearms, human rights, nudity, and politics. Lawsuits threatened against Madonna have also been engaged from the tour. The MDNA Tour created immense success at the box office and many venues were instantly sold out. It was dubbed as the highest-grossing tour of 2012 by Billboard. The tour grossed $305.2 million from 88 sold-out shows, becoming the tenth highest-grossing tour of all time and surpassing Celine Dion's Taking Chances Tour as the second highest-grossing tour among female artists, behind Madonna's own Sticky & Sweet Tour. Madonna broke the record for occupying the top two highest-grossing female tours of all time. Madonna accepted the Top Touring Artist of the year at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards.