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Why is she so resistant to playing the hits properly?


Apples388

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Well, Suedy was very VERY VERY clever because he warned that what she did with MDNA could resonance in this tour. And seeing how tickets are being a bit harder to sell, maybe this is the case.

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Well, Suedy was very VERY VERY clever because he warned that what she did with MDNA could resonance in this tour. And seeing how tickets are being a bit harder to sell, maybe this is the case.

I am not sure you can point to any one thing about and say that is the reason tickets have moved slower this time around.

In 2012, she had the Superbowl. Her halftime show was the most-watched event in television history. She had 114 million people watch it live -- who knows how many more watched it online in the days to come. It's impossible to overstate how big an impact this level of promotion had on ticket sales for the MDNA Tour.

In 2012, she had a top ten hit. Yeah, "GMAYL" was absolute shit. And yeah, it dropped out of the top ten and off the charts like a goddamn stone after a week or two. But she was on the radio fairly frequently for a couple of weeks. She doesn't have that this time around.

Finally, yes, the MDNA Tour got some bad reviews and had some truly toxic word of mouth, and I do think that's hurting her this time around. I have friends who saw her in New York, Kansas City, and San Jose, and they were very angry about ticket prices and the late start time. The lack of hits added insult to injury, but I think the damage to her reputation was done before the show even began -- They all said they'd never go to one of her shows again and, as far as I know, none of them have bought tickets for this tour.

So, do I think MDNA hurt her with regard to selling tickets with this tour? Yes. But I don't think we can say it is simply a matter of her not doing enough hits last time around.

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Well, Suedy was very VERY VERY clever because he warned that what she did with MDNA could resonance in this tour. And seeing how tickets are being a bit harder to sell, maybe this is the case.

Thanks my darling.

And yes you all know about the Power of the Suedey predictions. Let's not remind you all about my Rebel Heart era predictions which have all been true so far. :queenbitch:

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I do like the reinventions if the hits. She should play 6 songs from her new album, and reach back onto her amazing catalogue for the rest. She has so many songs that were popular that she hasn't performed in years. Dress You Up, who's that girl, take a bow, beautiful stranger, ect.. I know this must bore her to death though.

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So, do I think MDNA hurt her with regard to selling tickets with this tour? Yes. But I don't think we can say it is simply a matter of her not doing enough hits last time around.

I very much agree with this. I mean every time she tours she's a few more years removed from her commercial peak, so it would make sense the ticket sales go down. Plus, with DWT and RIT Madonna touring was still seen as a rare occurrence, which clearly isn't the case anymore. A lot of the general public might see her once in their lifetime because she's a legend but then are going to think "well I've done that." I mean the only people I've seen live multiple times are people I really like.

Having said all that, I still think pricing is the biggest issue this time around.

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Well, I think playing the hits properly time and time again would make people tired and bored to see the same versions, the same choreo, etc.

So far, I think she's doing mostly (95% of the times) good choices.

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I agree, and i think that's what puts her on a league of her own, that's what makes her different.

Same here! It breathes new life into them. Ok sometimes it doesn't work but most of her reinventions are amazing and is a big part why I love her so much on the concert stage.

THIS!

The way she reworks her classics is mainly due to the fact that she wants them to fit in the sections, they're placed in. I mean, imagine here doing the album version of LAV on MDNAT instead of the one she did in the end. She plays the album versions whenever they fit. If they don't fit, they'll have to be reworked or adjusted to fit a certain theme or concept she wants to express through her performance AND I LOVE IT. I mean she mainly chooses popular songs to do exactly that, which is generous enough imo. She could choose all kinds of unknown shit instead but no, she usually caters to what casual fans want.

However, I wished she would actually give even less of a shit. Yes, she's a legacy artist but she was never boastful in that sense until recently. She doesn't have to play only oldies to put on a great motherfucking show.

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I do like the reinventions if the hits. She should play 6 songs from her new album, and reach back onto her amazing catalogue for the rest. She has so many songs that were popular that she hasn't performed in years. Dress You Up, who's that girl, take a bow, beautiful stranger, ect.. I know this must bore her to death though.

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There are many reasons for the consents selling worse this time... of course it matters that a lot of people were not impressed with MDNA... to be honest I saw a lot of people leaving the concert pretty early.... but it also matters that most of us have been spoiled with Madonna concerts... and casual fans who have already seen her in concert is not going to pay top dollar for a tickets... especially when she is not having any huge hits to promote the concerts....

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I like the Re-Inventions, however, I think they work best when they are at least recognizable - there's a reason they were hits in the first place.

Some of my favorite Re-Inventions:

Like a Virgin - CT

La Isla Bonita - CT

Lucky Star - CT

Into the Groove - S&S

Into the Groove - RIT (not really far from the original)

Music Inferno - CT - AMAZING

BAD re-inventions

Hung Up - S&S

Borderline - S&S

La Isla Bonita - S&S

Human Nature - S&S

Clearly S&S is not my favorite tour....fun while there, but I don't look back on it much.

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However, I wished she would actually give even less of a shit. Yes, she's a legacy artist but she was never boastful in that sense until recently. She doesn't have to play only oldies to put on a great motherfucking show.

No one here is saying she has to play "only oldies." But you can't deny that, at this point in her career, she needs to rely more on hits to sell tickets for this and future tours than she has in the past.

She got away with stuffing two-thirds of setlist with new songs and obscure album tracks in the past because she was the biggest star in the goddamn world, and that's not true anymore.

She needs "casual fans" -- women who were 80s wannabes, middle-aged gays who were vogueing in the 90s, young adults who were turned on to her by "ROL" and "Music" -- in order to make a tour financially viable. And she needs to stack the setlist with a significant number of hits in order to get casual fans in the door and get them to come back for the next tour.

Her live shows are too big, too spectacular, and far too expensive to produce if she can't sell out or come close to selling out. (She said as much during the recent promo tour.) She can't move tickets in the numbers she needs by catering exclusively to her hardcore fanbase -- the people who collect old vinyls and talk about bootlegs of old tours. She needs casual fans to buy concert tickets, and casual fans want to hear songs like "Into the Groove" and "Vogue." It's a fact of life.

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fans need to stop thinking that playing more hits than new songs is a bad thing. even new pop girls get the loudest reactions playing the big hits. (i think the only ones who don't have that problem as much are rappers/hip hop artists)

its like that with gags, beyonce, miley.. everyone. they have to play the songs everyone knows. they can add a few unknown ones only big fans know but in general people come for the songs they can sing to. and madonna has literally dozens of those to choose from

don't know about U2 or other rock bands but I'm sure most people who go to their show also want the hits..

but that said I'm excited for between the bars being performed as well. I know a lot of fans aren't gonna know it, but I think it would be amazing to hear that particular song compared to lets say,GGW, or revolver. at least when she chooses to sing a few songs that aren't that well known, you know they're amazing and not auto tuned or things like that ;) (going by her instagram)

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I can see her point of view. She as an artist wants to deliver her current work and state of mind.

Of course we as a fans wants all of her hits. We know she even hates some of her past songs and for artistic reasons of the tour and obviously ticket sales it should be included.

This tour will have some of her best tunes in her career and I can't wait!

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"Like a Prayer" on S&S was pretty damn good. Some of the other mash-ups on that tour, less so.

She just has this need to keep things somewhat fresh, even when it comes to the oldies-but-goodies. Been that way since Girlie Show. She doesn't do it for every classic, but she does it more often than not, even if it's not a dramatic alteration.

Like, could you seriously picture her performing "Dress You Up" on tour, with the arrangement, more or less, like the one on Ellen?

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I love it when she properly re-invents old songs, giving them a whole new character but what I could not stand were the cheap MASH-UPs she did on S&S

Well the majority of her reinventions that are not simply spiced-up album/TIC versions post-TGS are mashups and rock versions, even Candy Shop on MDNA was built around a sample. And then there are the acoustic/ballad versions, after these you barely have anything left, bar Erotica CT.

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"Like a Prayer" on S&S was pretty damn good. Some of the other mash-ups on that tour, less so.

I liked all the S&S re-inventions, except "Human Nature" and "Hung Up."

Actually, "Hung Up" has never been re-done successfully -- it was terrible on both Sticky and MDNA.

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I really wish Madonna would stop trying to cater to the masses and plays smaller venues from here on out where she can just perform and do whatever she wants without worrying about whether or not "casual" fans get upset that she doesn't do the hits or comes out an hour too late.

Anyone who wasn't impressed by the MdNA tour is an idiot who should just go to the cirque de soleil or visit las Vegas and watch Celine Dion perform the hits

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My only complaint about Madonnas concerts is that she butchers them in the editing room with 10 filters, frantic cuts and unnecessary shots of her backup dancers being "hip" and edgy

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If I thought she was going to play a good proportion of hits on Rebel Heart Tour, I'd have bought a ticket instantly. However, having attended MDNA in Edinburgh, which was the first Madonna gig I got to go to, I'm just not hyped for it at all. I bought tickets for that before the album was released (yep, no one to blame but myself!) and sadly didn't enjoy the show. In fact I could not believe that after coming on stage so late, she cut 2 songs from the show, one of which was Like A Virgin!

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well, for me, as a fan, i'm more than happy and proud that she always tries, and succeed to, to give new life and meaning to her songs....

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