''Rebel Heart Tour'' is the fifth

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

by American singer and songwriter

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, chronicling her tenth worldwide concert tour of the same name, recorded at Sydney's Allphones Arena. It was released on September 15, 2017 by

Eagle Vision The Eagle Vision is a full-sized, front-wheel drive four-door sports sedan produced from 1992 until 1997. It was marketed by Eagle, replacing the AMC/Renault-designed Eagle Premier (from which the Vision was derived). The Eagle Vision was ...

on DVD and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

formats and by

Eagle Records Eagle Records is a British record label, a division of Eagle Rock Entertainment, itself a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. In the United Kingdom, the label's managing director is Lindsay Brown, former manager of Van Halen, while in the Un ...

for audio versions. ''Rebel Heart Tour'' also contains bonus content like excerpts from the Tears of a Clown show (2016) at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Forum Theatre Forum theatre is a type of theatre created by Brazilian theatre director Augusto Boal. It is one of the techniques under the umbrella term of Theatre of the Oppressed (TO). This relates to the engagement of spectators influencing and engaging with ...

, as well as a 22-song double CD. Danny Tull and Nathan Rissman, who had worked on Madonna's previous concert films, directed ''Rebel Heart Tour''. The album received generally positive feedback from critics, who picked Madonna's live singing, dancing and the production as highlights. ''Rebel Heart Tour'' reached the top of the DVD and video charts in most of the countries it charted in, and top ten of the album charts in Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain. At the 32nd

Japan Gold Disc Award The is an award presented by the Recording Industry Association of Japan in the field of music. Categories *Artist of the Year *New Artist of the Year *Best Enka/Kayokyoku Artist *Best Enka/Kayokyoku New Artist *Single of the Year *Song of the ...

, ''Rebel Heart Tour'' won in the category of Best Music Video for Western Artists.

Background

Madonna had embarked on the

Rebel Heart Tour The Rebel Heart Tour was the tenth concert tour by American singer Madonna, staged in support of her thirteenth studio album, ''Rebel Heart'' (2015). Comprising 82 shows, the tour visited North America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. It began on S ...

(2015–2016) to promote her thirteenth studio album, ''

Rebel Heart ''Rebel Heart'' is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released by Interscope Records on March 6, 2015. She worked on the album throughout 2014, co-writing and co-producing it with various musicians, including Di ...

''. Performed in 82 shows across 55 cities, the tour was a commercial success earning US$169.8 million; it was attended by an audience of over 1.045 million. The performances at the Allphones Arena in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, Australia were recorded for the video release. In September 2016, Madonna announced on her

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

that she had finished watching a "rough assembly" of the tour's film, and it would be out in the next two months. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' subsequently announced that the concert film would premiere on December 9, 2016 on American cable channel Showtime. Titled ''Madonna: Rebel Heart Tour'', it featured behind-the-scenes footage from the Australian performances of the tour, which had been exclusively previewed by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' on December 2, 2016. Danny Tull and Nathan Rissman, who had worked on Madonna's previous concert films, directed ''Rebel Heart Tour''. Madonna explained in an interview with

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

I was there every step of the way, every day for months and months. It's really hard to capture the true feeling of the excitement and the passion and the heat and the blood, sweat and tears. I'm pleased with the way it came out... en I look back at the DVD it almost brings a tear to my eye because everyone seems so in love.

The film was released on September 15, 2017 on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital formats, containing bonus content like the Tears of a Clown show at

in 2016, as well as a 22-song double CD. The cover image was shot by fashion photographer Joshua Brandão.

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of ...

(BBFC) listed the total running time of the album at over 138 minutes, with almost two hours for the main tour film and the rest for Tears of a Clown and a bonus performance of " Like a Prayer" (1989) during one of the shows. The release of ''Rebel Heart Tour'' was distributed by

Eagle Rock Entertainment Eagle Rock Entertainment is an international producer and distributor of music films and programming. It operates two record labels (Eagle Records and Armoury Records), a full-service production company (Eagle Rock Productions) and a music publis ...

. It was made available for pre-order on August 16, 2017, Madonna's birthday, in all physical and digital-file-based stores. Along with the pre-order, a live version of "

Material Girl "Material Girl" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her second studio album, '' Like a Virgin'' (1984). It was released on November 30, 1984, by the Sire label as the second single from ''Like a Virgin''. It also appears slightly ...

" was purchasable from the digital outlets. The Japanese edition of the DVD/ Blu-ray included a performance of " Take a Bow" (1994) as a bonus track. Five years after its original release, the album was reissued on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

format by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it ...

on September 9, 2022, featuring the same 14 tracks as the single-CD format.

Critical response

Markos Papadatos from the ''Digital Journal'' gave the album a rating of A describing the release as a "must for any die-hard fan of Madonna". Jeffrey Kaufman from Blu-ray.com gave a rating of four stars out of five for the release, saying that Madonna knows "how to provide amazing visuals for a Blu-ray concert release to accompany an interesting if kind of random assortment of tunes from her by now pretty long career." He further complimented the production, the video and the audio quality of the album, recommending it for being "constantly over the top and often quite breathtaking". Writing for Decider, Benjamin H. Smith opined that "the 2017 concert film, ''Madonna: Rebel Heart Tour'', shows the Material Girl hasn't lost any steps now that she's more a grande dame ..what she debatably lacks as a vocalist, she has always made up for with her ability to craft her persona, like

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, altering it to keep up with the latest trends, but always maintaining her singular identity", but pointed out that "it was her ‘80s songbook that got the biggest response". Daryl Deino from

Inquisitr Inquisitr, a website started in 2007 for news and entertainment stories, was relaunched in May 2011. It is owned and operated by Inquisitr Ltd. History The web domain for Inquisitr was registered in Iceland on August 6, 2007. The company was fo ...

gave a positive review for the live album of the release, but criticized its DVD and Blu-ray versions for poor editing. He named ''Rebel Heart Tour'' Madonna's best live album to date and found it superior to the DVD and Blu-ray. He also complimented Madonna's live, unprocessed vocals on the album, praising in particular her cover of "

La Vie en rose "La Vie en rose" (; ) is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became very popular in the US in 1950, when seven versions reached the ''Billboard ...

", calling it "the best vocal performance of her career so far ..this is a song nobody could imagine adonnacovering at the beginning of her career. Now, it sounds natural". Although the singer's voice sounded "strained" to Deino during the dance sequences, it was not noticeable in the video versions since "Madonna's dancing is the key element in these performances". He ended his review saying that the "whole album makes you want to run to a Madonna concert, and that's exactly what a live album is supposed to do." Simon Button from ''

Attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a propo ...

'' commended the release, describing it as "a work of theatrical genius", complimenting the dancers, Madonna's camaraderie onstage and the "smoke-and-mirrors element" in the product. However, he criticized the inclusion of the Tears of a Clown show, finding it to be "as much a car crash as the two hours of the ''Rebel Heart Tour'' are a triumph". Writing for DVD Movie Guide, Colin Jacobson felt that "as a concert, Madonna's ''Rebel Heart Tour'' falls into the 'good but not great' category. As a video, it disappoints because it fails to effectively recapture the live experience". Roger Wink, from music portal Vintage Vinyl News, was critical of the CD release; "much of the allure of a Madonna show is the visual aspect which doesn't come across on CD, so the DVD/Blu-Ray is probably a much better experience but that doesn't excuse the low points, and there are many of them, in the listening experience".

Commercial reception

In the United Kingdom, ''Rebel Heart Tour'' sold 1,993 copies in its first week of release, and debuted at number 42 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. In the United States, ''Rebel Heart Tour'' failed to chart on the ''Billboard'' 200, but reached numbers 20 and 45 on the Digital Album and Top Album Sales charts for one week each, respectively. The album also reached number two on the Top Music Video chart, being kept from the pole position by

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many ...

's ''Precious Memories: Live at the Ryman'' (2009). ''Rebel Heart Tour'' had sold 3,848 copies in the US as of September 24, 2017. ''Rebel Heart Tour'' reached number one in Mexico, and placed at number 69 on the year-end chart. In France, the live album peaked at number 20 on the

French Albums Chart French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

selling 1,921 copies, while the video versions topped the French DVD Charts selling 5,044 units in its first-week. The

Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique The National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing (french: Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique; SNEP) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym ...

(SNEP) certified the video Platinum for selling over 15,000 units. Across the rest of Europe, the album reached the top ten of the charts in Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain. At the 32nd

, ''Rebel Heart Tour'' won in the category of Best Music Video for Western Artists.

Track listing

Additional notes *"S.E.X." contains elements of " Justify My Love" written by

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male R ...

, Ingrid Chavez and Madonna, and performed by Madonna. *DVD / Blu-ray version also includes the

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

performance of "

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is a jazz song introduced by Carol Channing in the original Broadway production of '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1949), with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Leo Robin. Marilyn Monroe version American actr ...

, written by

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also becam ...

and

Leo Robin Leo Robin (April 6, 1900 – December 29, 1984) was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Academy Award for Best Original Song, Oscar-winning song "Thanks for t ...

, performed between "La Vie en rose" and "Unapologetic Bitch". *"Holiday" contains elements of " Take Me to the Mardi Gras" written by

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

and performed by Bob James.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Rebel Heart Tour''. *Madonna – creator,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

Kiley Dean Kiley Dean (born April 12, 1982) is an American contemporary R&B singer. Dean was born and raised in a small town in Arkansas. When she was about 7 years old, her family decided to move to Orlando. She grew up singing in school and church, which ...

–

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

Nicki Richards Nicki Richards (born Honolulu, Hawaii, United States on March 24) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and actress based in Manhattan, New York City. She is also known as a backing singer for a number of renowned artists and on a big numbe ...

– backing vocals *Nathan Rissman – director *Danny B. Tull – director, lead editor *

Jamie King Jamie King (born 1972) is an American creative director, choreographer, and producer. His work directing concert tours for pop stars has grossed over $2 billion. Early career King started his career in entertainment as a dancer. He appeared on ...

– stage director *Al Gurdon –

director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

*Ric Lipson –

stage designer Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trai ...

* Arianne Phillips –

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...

*Alexander Hammer – lead editor *Sean Spuehler – vocal mixing engineer *

Arthur Fogel Arthur Fogel is a Canadian music promoter and the CEO of the Global Touring division of Live Nation Entertainment. His team has managed four of the top five highest-grossing tours in history, including those by U2, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and The P ...

–

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

Guy Oseary Guy Harley Oseary ( he, גיא עוזרי; born October 3, 1972) is an Israeli-American talent manager and writer. His clients include Madonna, U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Biography Guy Oseary was born on October 3, 1972, in Jerus ...

– executive producer *Sara Zambreno – executive producer *Geoff Kempin – executive producer for

*Terry Shand – executive producer for Eagle Rock Entertainment *Brian Frasier Moore –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

Monte Pittman Monte Lee Pittman (born November 19, 1975) is an American musician and studio musician based in Los Angeles, known largely as Madonna's long-time guitarist and for playing for heavy metal band Prong. He has also worked as a solo artist. Caree ...

– guitar, ukulele *Ric'key Pageot – keyboards,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a ree ...

*Kevin Antunes –

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

, keyboards *Kevin Mazur –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...

*Jonathan Lia – producer

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certification and sales

!colspan="3", Album , - !colspan="3", Video , -

Release history

References

External links

*
Rebel Heart Tour To Premiere On Showtime Dec 9th
at Madonna.com
Rebel Heart Tour DVD Is Coming Soon!
at Madonna.com {{Authority control 2017 live albums 2017 video albums Eagle Rock Entertainment live albums Eagle Rock Entertainment video albums Live video albums Madonna live albums Madonna video albums