Madonna in Rio: the queen of pop leaves fans ‘in a trance’ with a show and tributes to Brazil

The singer moved the largest audience of her career with successes and perfectionism on stage; Anitta and Pabllo Vittar participated in the show

The effect Madonna leaves anyone in a trance state. These included the approximately 1.6 million people who were on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro to witness the historic performance of the world’s greatest living pop artist.

• Receive the main news directly on WhatsApp! Subscribe to the Terra channel

It is true that this Saturday the 4th the singer made the audience sing and dance with her hits. However, the closure of The celebration tour represented more than this. On the tour designed to celebrate her 40-year career, it was the audience who celebrated the almost cathartic experience of witnessing Madonna.

With themed t-shirts and fans in hand, fans left the house early to try and sit next to the diva. Wanting to brave the heat wave in the capital Rio de Janeiro and the crowded public transport in the city to reach Avenida Atlântica, they were already crowded on Copacabana beach at 5pm, almost 6 hours before Madonna took the stage.

In the second half there were also those who tried to get a fan card, purchasing an object on which the artist’s face was printed. And street vendors at the exit of the Cardeal Arcoverde metro station, closest to the stage, offered a variety of items with the singer’s name on them.

Contrary to popular belief, the soundtrack to the trip to the beach was not the queen of pop songs. They were phrases like: “Look ecobag Madonna!” and “Buy Madonna’s T-shirt!”

In the first weekend of May it seems that everything has become “Madonna”. From the objects given to the public to the diva, everything was dominated by her effect. Confirmation arrived on stage. After almost an hour’s delay, something already expected by her fans, the queen of pop presented herself to the largest audience of her career.

Fan confusion

In the song she chose to open the show, Madonna sings: When I was young, nothing else mattered to me but making myself happy. Nothing really matters was published in 1998 and the strong discourse contained in the lyrics still seems to make sense, even after 26 years.

During the nearly three-hour show, it seems the queen of pop made herself and her audience happy. Far from the moaning Madonna that many assumed, the one who would have been annoyed by the noise of the fans and the heat of Rio, what was seen on stage was an energetic and attentive woman with every step on stage.

The performance impressed even those who are already fans, but had never had the opportunity to see it up close. Rodrigo Barbosa Santiago, from Rio de Janeiro, witnessed a performance by the Madonna for the first time in his life and guarantees that he will leave with teary eyes. For him, the highlight of the evening are the choreographies and the play of images created by the cameras that filmed everything from the stage.

“I thought the audiovisual was sensational, so connected and with every moment of her life so well represented. For me it told a story, she chose moments from her 40 year career well and I was really surprised that she herself danced, at her age,” he said Earth.

Fan Gabriel Oliveira agrees with Rodrigo. For him, ballet was essential to drive the story told on stage.

“The dance troupe is very good. There is harmony and the show, in fact, is a great celebration of its 40-year career”, he defended himself.

For those who witnessed the show directly from Copacabana, the impression was that the audience was entranced by the presence of the Madonna. The fans only really came out of their trance state during some important moments of the performance. When the queen of pop started singing the hit song Hanged upfor example, there was no one who didn’t jump and join in the chorus with her.

The artist’s family side also thrilled the audience. In Bad girl, Madonna sang while daughter Mercy James, 18, played the piano. A little younger than her sister, Estere was a DJ Rowing and made the fans go on a never-ending ‘beat’.

Another highlight was the long-awaited tribute to AIDS victims in the song Live to tell. In every country she visited, she Madonna projected images of local personalities. In Brazil it was no different. The audience applauded the moment the black and white photos appeared Cazuza, Renato Russo, Caio Fernando Abreu, Sandra Brea and others appeared on the screen.

Declaration of love to Brazil

Nothing thrilled audiences more than seeing themselves represented on stage. In another fitting tribute, Madonna brought a group of rhythmic children from the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro to the stage. Led by Pretinho da Serrinha, the 20 young people wore the shirts of the Brazilian national football team which paid homage to the pop ‘star’: the words ‘Madonna 10’ were printed on the uniform.

The queen of pop herself dressed in green and yellow while the faces of several Brazilian personalities appeared on the screens. To each of them, she screams more and more excitedly from the audience. Maria Bethânia, Raoni Metuktire, Marielle Franco and Marina Silva were some of the faces that lit up the LED screens, as well as the Brazilian flag.

Another moment that elicited screams and laughter from the artist’s millionaire audience was during his acceptance speech to his Brazilian fans. In a moment of relaxation, she also said that she felt the love of Brazilians even from her vagina. The moment became a meme after the TV show Globo translated the phrase to “I feel it here in my parakeet.”

Frustrated expectations

Anitta and Pabllo Vittar also brought a bit of Brazil to the presentation. The two, confirmed for the show, actually took the stage, but not as fans imagined. The wait for the number with the singer Rio girl it was a moment of surprise with the music It makes it deliciouscollaboration between Anitta and Madonna released on the 2019 album Madame

The reality wasn’t so exciting, although it drew screams from the audience. Sober and not very similar to the Anitta that Brazilians know, the singer appeared during the performance of Rowing. As a joke, she held up signs with 10s for the queen of pop dancers.

The number has already been done with other famous people in other countries. In Mexico, for example, the actress Salma Hayek played the role entrusted to Anitta this Saturday 4th. However, the funk singer appeared less at ease than usual. The reason could also be the lack of rehearsals, as she arrived in Rio de Janeiro on the day of the show.

The person who tried twice before “D-Day” was Pabllo Vittar. The drag queen took to the stage during the song Music. Dressed in the Brazilian football shirt, she played with Madonna, ran across the stage, made the queen smile and even carried her on her lap. “The diva liked Pabllo, right? You could see it,” commented Gabriel.

The presence of the two Brazilians was exciting, but did not fascinate the fans present. This is because the expectation was that there would be a musical number together.

“I thought Pabllo would sing with her and also with Anitta. So, I felt something was missing when they arrived,” Gabriel confessed.

The fan, in fact, was also frustrated by another feature of the show: the reproduction. Gabriel, who had never been to a Madonna performance, would have liked to hear her voice more live.

“I already suspected it, but I didn’t like having many playblack in the show. I thought his voice was too low and the band was missing,” she said.

Rodrigo took it easy with the queen of pop. For him, Madonna’s only fault at the end of the tour was that she didn’t sing her favorite song. “I know that for every fan there will always be a song missing, and for me, she missed singing Excuse me“, He complained.

He still believes that the end of the show was not as expected, but the “Madonna way” was still well represented.

“The ending was a little abrupt, but look, all the ‘Madonnas’ were already there. She revisited all the stages and ended with Bitch, I’m Madonna, because in the end that’s enough, right? It’s her!”, underlined Rodrigo.

Perrengue on the way home

Not all the excitement in the world after Madonna’s free show in Copacabana managed to ease the difficulties on the way home. During the week, the City of Rio de Janeiro announced traffic and public transportation plans for the event. For convenience, most opted to return to the subway.

As soon as they arrived at the Cardeal Arcoverde station, the closest to the stage, the audience had to face huge queues to use public transport. About an hour after the show ended, the area was still packed. 500 meters from the event site, the station no longer hosted fans and Metrô Rio employees advised everyone to go to the next station, Siqueira Campos.

The problem is that the station was much further away than the first: 1.5 kilometers to get there on foot. Even so, many people didn’t think twice about trying their luck there. However, Siqueira Campos looked even more crowded than Cardeal Arcoverde.

For this reason, the flood of people who left from Copacabana crossed the Túnel Velho, in the South Zone, to try their luck with a taxi or an app-based car in Botafogo. Along the way, many criticized: “This is worse than New Year’s Eve, man!”

Source: Terra

Earl

Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.