The Confessions Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna, launched in support of her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). The tour began on May 21, 2006, at the Forum in Inglewood, California, and concluded on September 21 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, visiting venues across North America and Eurasia. It marked Madonna's first performances in Russia, Wales, the Czech Republic, and Denmark.
Like her previous tours, Confessions was divided into thematic segments —Equestrian, Bedouin, Never Mind the Bollocks, and Disco. The show received generally positive reviews from critics; however, the performance of "Live to Tell" (1986), which depicted Madonna suspended on a mirrored cross wearing a crown of thorns, drew strong condemnation from religious leaders, particularly during the concert in Rome. Madonna defended the segment, stating it was intended to raise awareness about the millions of children dying from AIDS in Africa.
Despite the controversy, the tour was a commercial success. Tickets sold out rapidly worldwide, prompting the addition of new dates. Grossing over US$194.7 million ($ million in dollars) from 60 shows and 1.2 million attendees, it became the highest-grossing tour for a female artist at the time, surpassing Cher's Living Proof: The Farewell Tour (2002―05). It received accolades including Most Creative Stage Production at the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards and Top Boxscore from the Billboard Touring Conference and Awards, and was recognized by Guinness World Records as the highest-grossing music tour per concert. The London performances at Wembley Arena were filmed and broadcast live on NBC as Madonna: The Confessions Tour Live from London, and later released as a live album and DVD under the title The Confessions Tour (2007).
Background In late 2005, following the release of her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor, Madonna began discussing plans for a new tour. After debuting the lead single "Hung Up" at the MTV Europe Music Awards in October, she expressed interest in returning to Australia, where she had not performed in over a decade. To promote the album, she made appearances on programs such as Wetten, dass..?, Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood, and held intimate performances at London venues like KOKO and G-A-Y. In interviews with Billboard and The Guardian, she confirmed that a tour was being planned for 2006, describing it as "all-out disco" and debating between the titles Confessions and Confess Your Sins. Jamie King, who had previously directed Madonna's Drowned World (2001) and Re-Invention (2004) concert tours, stated that she initially envisioned the show in smaller venues, reflecting the album's intimate tone, but it would eventually expand to arenas and stadiums.
The tour was officially announced on February 9, 2006, during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, with Madonna later stating that she wanted to "turn the world into one big dance floor." Following a warm-up performance at Coachella, tour dates were revealed on April 3, spanning North America, Europe, and Japan. Titled Confessions Tour, it began on May 21 at Inglewood, California, and concluded on September 21 at Tokyo. It also marked her first concerts in Russia, Wales, Denmark, and the Czech Republic. A planned Australian leg was canceled midway through the tour, with Madonna citing logistical issues and her children’s school schedule. In a public statement, she expressed disappointment and promised to return to Australia in the future.
Development Conception and stage setup
Both Madonna and King confirmed that the tour's set list would focus heavily on material from Confessions on a Dance Floor. The singer stated she wanted to highlight the new album, having already performed her "old stuff" on the Re-Invention Tour. King echoed the sentiment, explaining, "people love it [the new album], and they want to hear it." He also aimed to make the show "more interactive", with a design that would place Madonna "as close to her people — her fans, her dancers, her fellow supporters — as possible."
The tour featured a diverse ensemble including longtime backing vocalist and dancer Donna De Lory, vocalist Nicki Richards, guitarist Monte Pittman, keyboardist and musical director Stuart Price, and Yitzhak Sinwani from the London Kabbalah Centre. The 12 dancers included Sofia Boutella and parkour pioneer Sébastien Foucan, with whom Madonna trained in parkour. The concert was divided into four themed acts: Equestrian, Bedouin, Never Mind the Bollocks, and Disco. The official tour poster featured images from Madonna's promotional concert at G-A-Y, photographed by Steven Klein. DJ Paul Oakenfold served as the opening act on select European dates.
Production was led by Chris Lamb, with creative decisions made collaboratively but ultimately approved by Madonna. Lighting designer Roy Bennett described the show as "extremely theatrical and very big", likening it to being in a nightclub or a disco. The stage was twice the size of the one used for Re-Invention and featured three illuminated runways leading to satellite B-stages in the front and sides. The main runway ended in a small dance floor, while the side runways were lined with fencing.
The centerpiece of the stage was a semi-circular, hydraulic lift that rotated and rose —originally used during the Re-Invention Tour— accompanied by three V9 LED video screens. A semi-circular LED curtain descended during certain numbers to create a 3D visual effect. The production featured elaborate props, including five suspended disco balls, a black mechanical saddle for "Like a Virgin" (1984), monkey bars for "Jump", a mirrored cross, a crown of thorns, and a large steel cage. The most elaborate element was a giant disco ball encrusted with $2 million in Swarovski crystals, from which Madonna made her entrance each night. A total of 70 tons of equipment were used for the tour, transported across cities via two private planes, 24 semi-trucks, and a fleet of buses and vans. X-ray radiographies of Madonna's injuries from a 2005 horseback riding accident were projected as visuals during "Like a Virgin".
Fashion The tour's wardrobe was designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, with additional collaboration from stylist Arianne Phillips. The overall aesthetic drew inspiration from a range of sources, including Saturday Night Fever (1977), Starlight Express (1984), and Fame (1980). For the opening Equestrian segment, Madonna was inspired by a theatrical horse show in Paris that Gaultier had taken her to. This led to a horseback riding theme, with male dancers dressed as horses wearing harnesses and saddle-like details. The singer's look included a black top hat with a horse's tail, inspired by one of the costumes worn by Romy Schneider in Luchino Visconti's 1973 film Ludwig. Gaultier noted that Madonna had "strong opinions" on ensuring the outfits were functional for high-intensity choreography.
Other ensembles included a "Biblical chic" off-the-shoulder blouse with velvet cropped pants and a crown of thorns, along with jodhpurs, jackets, and blouses made from rich fabrics like taffeta, duchesse, satin, Chantilly lace, and silk chiffon. In line with the disco theme of Confessions on a Dance Floor, Gaultier also created a white suit modeled after John Travolta's in Saturday Night Fever, a one-shouldered unitard adorned with purple Swarovski crystals reminiscent of ABBA, a satin cape embroidered with "Dancing Queen", and a pink glittering jumpsuit. At one point, Madonna also donned a leather jacket with a dramatically high feathered collar —an outfit evoking Suzi Quatro and the 1970s glam rock scene.
Concert synopsis
The concert opened with a video of Madonna walking through a stable with a riding crop, followed by dancers in leather bridles galloping along the stage's three runways. A giant disco ball descended and opened to reveal Madonna inside, dressed in a black riding outfit. She launched into a mashup of "Future Lovers" and Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" (1977). This was followed by "Get Together", performed wth sensual choreography on the main catwalk, and "Like a Virgin", during which Madonna rode a black saddle as X-ray imagery of her horseback accident injuries flashed on the screens. For "Jump", which closed the first segment, a steel monkey bar structure descended as Madonna sang and dancers executed parkour moves.
The Bedouin act began with an interlude entitled "Confessions", where three dancers recounted personal traumas. This performance segued into "Live to Tell". Suspended from a mirrored cross and wearing a crown of thorns, Madonna sang as a death toll of AIDS victims in Africa counted down above her. She continued with "Forbidden Love", featuring two male dancers intertwining beneath visuals of blood cells. Then came "Isaac", where Yitzhak Sinwani played a horn as a veiled dancer performed inside a massive cage. "Sorry" recreated the choreography of its music video, with Madonna and her dancers confined inside the cage. The act ended with "Like It or Not", a solo chair dance performance.
The Never Mind the Bollocks segment began with a politically charged video interlude set to a remixed "Sorry" followed, displaying imagery of world leaders like George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden alongside scenes of war and famine, with dancers krumping onstage. The interlude transitioned into "I Love New York", in which Madonna played electric guitar in a black leather jacket and altered the lyrics to criticize then-president George W. Bush, while a New York City skyline played in the background. She continued the guitar-driven set with "Ray of Light", backed by synchronized dancers in black suits and white ties. For "Let It Will Be", Madonna danced energetically across the stage alone, then shifted into a stripped-down version of "Drowned World/Substitute for Love". She closed the act with "Paradise (Not For Me)", performed acoustically with Sinwani as cherry blossoms illuminated the screens.
The final segment, Disco, began with a video interlude featuring clips from Madonna's earlier hits set to a mashup of "Borderline", "Erotica", "Dress You Up", "Holiday", and The Trammps "Disco Inferno" (1976). Dancers in roller skates filled the runways before Madonna returned in the white Travolta suit to perform "Music", which sampled True Blue track "Where’s the Party". She then transitioned into a ballroom-style performance of "Erotica", which incorporated lyrics from the original demo version, "You Thrill Me". A lively dance remix of "La Isla Bonita" followed, with tropical visuals on screen. The penultimate number, a modernized version of "Lucky Star" was performed with De Lory and Richards. As the beat gradually shifted, the final number "Hung Up" began. The performance featured an audience sing-along and ballons dropping from the ceiling. As the music faded and the lights dimmed, the phrase "Have you confessed?" appeared on screen, marking the end of the show.
Critical reception The Confessions Tour received generally positive reviews. Don Chareunsy from The San Diego Union-Tribune noted that while Drowned World and Re-Invention were "excellent concerts", Madonna "stepped it up a few notches" for Confessions. Ben Wener of the Orange County Register described the show as "multimedia, cross-cultural preaching to the choir on a scale only U2 has reached lately", adding that, "no one —but no one— stages elaborate eye-candy productions like Madonna". Entertainment Weeklys Chris Willman gave it an A− and called it "her most enthralling concert to date". The Sunday Times similarly stated that Madonna was "doing what she is best at, and doing it brilliantly".