MADONNA -- Best pop star EVER!
It's fucking official. In my book, at least...and I dare anyone to argue me. TRY IT! Madonna is the best pop star the world has ever seen. Her CONFESSIONS tour, shown tonight on NBC, was the final electrifying piece of proof. There is simply no one else like her.
Yes, i've been a fan since day one. But i'm not some fawning sycophant. This is a very clear-headed, educated conclusion. How ANYONE can not be wowed by her showmanship is beyond me. But it's obviously more than that. It's just the perfect storm of pop star brews -- voice, looks, charisma, chutzpah, dancing, provocation.
Notice I mentioned voice first...often insanely underestimated with her. But it's a great voice -- warm and relatable -- but also, impressively, a flexible one. It can sound girlish and playful, soulful, arch, cold and menacing; it can scale the operatic heights of RAY OF LIGHT or sink to the low register purr of current single JUMP. Straight-up pop...sure, she'll deliver that. But she's managed to bring elements of R&B, flamenco, gospel, hip-hop, electronica, rock, country, and even showtunes to her endless hit parade...and, thus, to mainstream audiences.
As great as her voice is, though (and have the insipid dolts suggesting she receives tons of studio wizardry to sound good FINALLY faced facts?), it's the SPECTACLE of her concert that drove me to write this. She just takes you, like Springsteen, to another plane. I hope this doesn't sound ridiculous, but she made me wanna be all that I could be in this life. It WAS a celebration of being ALIVE. I was mesmerized by some of the dancing, particularly the "simple" arm movements during "Forbidden Love." The "rock" portion of her show particularly riveted. It was just such a wild sense of jubilant abandon, with the guitars, lights, frenetic dancing and pounding beat. It was, in two words, FUCKING CATHARSIS. Bravo, Madonna, bravo!
Yes, i've been a fan since day one. But i'm not some fawning sycophant. This is a very clear-headed, educated conclusion. How ANYONE can not be wowed by her showmanship is beyond me. But it's obviously more than that. It's just the perfect storm of pop star brews -- voice, looks, charisma, chutzpah, dancing, provocation.
Notice I mentioned voice first...often insanely underestimated with her. But it's a great voice -- warm and relatable -- but also, impressively, a flexible one. It can sound girlish and playful, soulful, arch, cold and menacing; it can scale the operatic heights of RAY OF LIGHT or sink to the low register purr of current single JUMP. Straight-up pop...sure, she'll deliver that. But she's managed to bring elements of R&B, flamenco, gospel, hip-hop, electronica, rock, country, and even showtunes to her endless hit parade...and, thus, to mainstream audiences.
As great as her voice is, though (and have the insipid dolts suggesting she receives tons of studio wizardry to sound good FINALLY faced facts?), it's the SPECTACLE of her concert that drove me to write this. She just takes you, like Springsteen, to another plane. I hope this doesn't sound ridiculous, but she made me wanna be all that I could be in this life. It WAS a celebration of being ALIVE. I was mesmerized by some of the dancing, particularly the "simple" arm movements during "Forbidden Love." The "rock" portion of her show particularly riveted. It was just such a wild sense of jubilant abandon, with the guitars, lights, frenetic dancing and pounding beat. It was, in two words, FUCKING CATHARSIS. Bravo, Madonna, bravo!
posted by Gregoire at 10:21 PM
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