Drowned World Tour
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, in Barcelona, Spain and ended in Los Angeles, United States, on September 15. 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.
"Drowned World Tour 2001" redirects here. For the video release, see Drowned World Tour 2001 (video).Location
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 in 2023 dollars[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.
Commercial reception[edit]
Dates for the Drowned World Tour were limited to cities in Europe and North America. For many weeks prior, Arthur Fogel from Live Nation attempted to book dates in Toronto's Air Canada Centre, between the Sunrise, Atlanta, and Detroit gigs, though no free bookings were available; it became Madonna's first tour to completely skip over Canada.[18][54] The first Barcelona concert attracted 18,000 people.[55] Initially, only one concert was confirmed at London's Earls Court Exhibition Centre, but after the 16,000 tickets sold out in just fifteen minutes, promoters added five more dates, which were completely sold out in six hours;[56][14] prices ranged between £40 and £85.[14] With a million hits on the official website within the first 10 minutes, and an estimated 30 million attempts through ticket hotlines – which were attended by 265 operators – Madonna made history by having her London shows among the fastest selling of all time.[57][58]
In the United States, all concerts sold out in hours, with the four Los Angeles dates selling out in just seventeen minutes.[59][56][18] With forty-seven concerts, and over 730,000 tickets sold in Europe and the United States, it was reported to have earned US$76.8 million ($132.15 million in 2023 dollars[1]), averaging at $1.6 million ($2.75 million in 2023 dollars[1]) per show; Drowned World became the highest-grossing concert tour of 2001 by a solo artist, as well as the fourth highest-grossing overall, only behind U2, 'N Sync, and the Backstreet Boys.[60][61]