The Girlie Show (Madonna)
The Girlie Show was the fourth concert tour by American singer and songwriter Madonna, in support of her fifth studio album, Erotica (1992). In October 1992, Madonna simultaneously released Erotica and the coffee table book Sex. The former ended up being Madonna's lowest selling album at the time, while the latter received extensive media attention, and backlash from fans and critics; nonetheless, it was commercially successful. After the critical and commercial failure of the erotic thriller Body of Evidence starring Madonna, the tour was announced in July 1993. The 39-date tour marked the first time the singer visited places such as Turkey, Israel, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Brazil and Australia. According to some critics, it was the singer's way to "revive" her music career following the negative reaction to the thriller. The tour took its name after an Edward Hopper painting titled "Girlie Show". Madonna's brother, Christopher Ciccone, was appointed tour director.
Like her previous Blond Ambition World Tour (1990), the concert was divided into different thematic sections: Dominatrix, Studio 54, Weimar Cabaret, and an encore. Madonna opened the show dressed as a dominatrix surrounded by topless dancers, while lighter moments included her descending from the ceiling on a giant disco ball wearing an Afro wig for "Express Yourself" (1989), as well as singing "Like a Virgin" (1984) in the guise of actress Marlene Dietrich. The Girlie Show received generally positive reviews from critics, who agreed that despite the controversy surrounding the singer, she could still please her audience. It began in London on September 25, 1993, and ended in Tokyo on December 19 of the same year. Upon completion, it was reported to have grossed US$70 million.[a]
Several organizations in different countries protested to force the cancellation of the concerts, due to their explicit sexual nature. In Puerto Rico, Madonna passed the island's flag between her legs on stage, resulting in outrage among Puerto Rican society. A number of concerts were recorded and broadcast, with the show on November 19, 1993, in Sydney, Australia being aired as a special on HBO; the following year, it was released on video under the title The Girlie Show: Live Down Under. The concerts in Fukuoka, Japan were also filmed, but broadcast exclusively on Japanese television.
Commercial reception[edit]
The Girlie Show proved to be commercially successful. In London, 15,000 tickets were sold within two hours, while the opening night was attended by 72,000 people.[31][53] Madonna's very first concert in Israel attracted an audience of 50,000 people.[54] The three shows at New York City's Madison Square Garden grossed US$2,020,475 million, while the three Mexican concerts grossed $8,927,703 million; prices ranged from $28.13 to $125.[55][56] The first show at Argentina's River Plate Stadium saw the singer playing to an audience of 50,000.[57] In Brazil, she broke attendance records: 86,000 and 120,000 people attended the concerts in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, respectively. It remains the second largest crowd ever on Rio's Maracanã Stadium for a concert by a female artist, behind Tina Turner's 1988 Break Every Rule World Tour (attended by 188,000 people).[58] The average ticket price for the shows was $15.[59]
In Australia, Madonna set the record for the biggest ticket sales with over 360,000 tickets sold; the first date sold 52,000 tickets in an hour and 20 minutes, with prices ranging from $45 to $142.[60] The single concert at the Adelaide Oval attracted over 40,000 people, standing as one of the most attended concerts in the venue's history.[61][62] The dates in Melbourne and Sydney sold 147,241 and 135,000 tickets, respectively.[63] In Sydney, over 90,000 tickets were sold in an hour.[64] Billboard then reported that the eight Australian concerts had grossed over US$18.5 million.[65] Upon completion, the tour was reported to have grossed a total of $70 million[a] from 39 concerts.[66]