Drowned World Tour
The Drowned World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer Madonna, launched in support of her seventh and eighth studio albums, Ray of Light and Music. It began on June 9, 2001, at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona and concluded on September 15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It marked the singer's first tour in eight years, following the Girlie Show of 1993. Originally planned for 1999, the tour was postponed due to Madonna's involvement in the film The Next Best Thing, her marriage to British director Guy Ritchie, and the birth of their son Rocco.
With just three months to prepare, Madonna assembled a creative team that included choreographers Jamie King and Christian Vincent, and designer Jean Paul Gaultier, who crafted costumes reflecting different phases of her career. The show was divided into four thematic acts —Rock 'n' Roll Punk Girl, Geisha Girl, Cyber Cowgirl, and Spanish Girl/Ghetto Girl— and featured a set list focused on Ray of Light and Music, with only two pre-1990s hits: "Holiday" and "La Isla Bonita". Critics praised the production and staging, though some were dissatisfied with the absence of her earlier hits. Grossing $76.8 million and drawing over 730,000 attendees, it was the highest-grossing solo tour of 2001. A performance filmed in Michigan aired live on HBO and was later released on VHS and DVD as Drowned World Tour 2001.
Background
Following the release of her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories, Madonna had initially planned to embark on a concert tour, with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reporting in January 1995 that she would visit Italy as part of a tour, set to take place either in the spring or fall of that year. These plans were abandoned in March 1995, however, after Madonna accepted the role of Eva Perón in Alan Parker's film adaptation of Evita, prompting her and her management to cancel all touring activity.Tour plans resurfaced after the release of her seventh studio album Ray of Light, but a planned 1999 tour was shelved as Madonna focused on motherhood and film commitments. By 2000, she was in a relationship with English film director Guy Ritchie, gave birth to their son Rocco, and released Music, her eight studio album. That November, she signaled her readiness to tour again, stating that she had "ideas of stuff I'd like to do for a big tour. I feel like it's time". In April 2001 she officially announced a world tour—her first in eight years—which came together in just three months.
The Drowned World Tour launched on June 9, 2001, at Barcelona's Palau Sant Jordi and concluded in September at Los Angeles' Staples Center. It was originally scheduled to begin with two shows in Cologne, but those dates were canceled due to technical issues, resulting in 35,000 refunded tickets. Another show in New Jersey was canceled due to illness, reducing the total number of performances from fifty to forty-seven.
Development
Conception
The tour took its name after J. G. Ballard's 1962 novel and Madonna's 1998 single. Liz Rosenberg stated that it would be her "grandest spectacle to date". It was structured around four distinct thematic acts —Rock 'n' Roll Punk Girl, Geisha Girl, Cyber Cowgirl, and Spanish Girl/Ghetto Girl— each representing a different phase of Madonna's evolving persona. She envisioned the show as a theatrical fusion of influences like martial arts, flamenco, punk, and circus performance. The set list focused primarily on songs from Music and Ray of Light, with only "Holiday" and "La Isla Bonita" representing her pre-1990s catalog. This was a deliberate choice by Madonna, who said she did not want the tour to be a "hit parade", instead describing it as a "celebration of my last three records and what I've been doing since I did Evita".Madonna personally oversaw dancer auditions in New York alongside choreographer Jamie King and dancer Christian Vincent. King, who was appointed the tour's creative director and official choreographer, later described the experience as so intense that he became physically ill. Having begun guitar lessons in 2000 with musician Monte Pittman, Madonna performed several songs on both acoustic and electric guitar during the show; Pittman also joined her onstage as part of the band. The troupe included longtime backing vocalists Niki Haris and Donna De Lory, along with electronic music producer Stuart Price on bass and keys. Rehearsals ran five days a week, thirteen hours a day. "I don't see the point of doing a show unless you offer something that is going to mind-boggle the senses," Madonna explained, emphasizing that for her, live performance is "all about theatre and drama and surprises and suspenses".
The tour's poster and logo were created by Chase Design Group, who aimed to reflect the show's ethereal and multi-layered nature. Founder Margo Chase described the concert as a "multilayered musical and spiritual journey through diverse worlds", which inspired the team to design a custom icon and typography that captured its unique atmosphere. At Madonna's request, the final design incorporated Arabic and Hebrew elements as a nod to her interest in Kabbalah. Several posters were proposed, but the singer ultimately chose the one that featured a close-up from her "What It Feels Like for a Girl" video.
Stage and technical setup
Drowned World was described by production manager Mark Spring as the most complex project he had ever worked on, calling it a "machine on the move". The scale was massive —two Boeing 747s transported the show from Europe to the US, and over 300 cargo vehicles carried more than 100 tons of equipment. The stage, the size of three tennis courts, featured a vast overhead grid of trusses, motors, and video screens, along with props like a mechanical bull and aerial rigging.The production involved three set-building companies and a crew of over 100 professionals, including lighting techs, sound engineers, dancers, and stylists. Madonna's perfectionism shaped every detail; she personally noticed audio imperfections, leading engineers to experiment with cutting-edge techniques like 14 kHz frequencies and isolated amplifiers. FOH engineer Dave Kob highlighted the show's technical demands and musical diversity —from heavy metal to flamenco— and praised Madonna for singing live throughout, despite the intense choreography. "She's a hard worker," he noted, "and she expects the same from everyone else".
Fashion
Designer Jean Paul Gaultier was enlisted to create the tour's costumes, blending punk, Scottish, geisha, cowboy, and Spanish influences to match each themed act. His designs included torn shirts and zippered pants as a nod to Madonna's early years, geisha-inspired wigs and makeup from "Nothing Really Matters", leather chaps over jeans reminiscent of "Don't Tell Me", and outfits that merged elements from "La Isla Bonita" and Evita. The DSquared2 duo, Dean and Dan Caten, contributed "ghetto fabulous" looks reflecting Madonna's then-current aesthetic. Longtime stylist Arianne Phillips supervised the wardrobe, designing some pieces herself and collaborating with Gaultier on others. For each segment, three identical versions of Madonna's outfits were made, while dancers had two duplicates of each costume.Concert synopsis
The show opened with "Drowned World/Substitute for Love", as Madonna emerged through a cloud of dry ice atop a rising platform wearing punk-inspired attire that included a tartan kilt. She launched into the high-energy "Impressive Instant", surrounded by dancers in gas masks and black mesh. She played electric guitar for "Candy Perfume Girl", then performed "Beautiful Stranger" alongside Haris and De Lory, amid psychedelic visuals from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. The segment closed with an energetic rendition of "Ray of Light".The mood shifted with a video of Madonna as a geisha set to "Paradise ", accompanied by nearly nude dancers hanging upside down from above the stage. The singer then appeared in a black wig and kimono with long red sleeves to perform "Frozen". The opening notes of "Open Your Heart" led into "Nobody's Perfect", where Madonna portrayed a symbolic act of self-sacrifice. "Mer Girl" transitioned into a fast-paced ninja battle for "Sky Fits Heaven", ending with Madonna grabbing a shotgun and pretending to shoot a dancer. The segment closed with a remix of "What It Feels Like for a Girl," as dancers in anime-inspired costumes flew across the stage, and the screen displayed visuals from Satoshi Kon's 1997 film Perfect Blue, and hentai anime Urotsukidōji.
"I Deserve It" opened the Cyber Cowgirl act. Madonna —dressed in chaps and a cowgirl hat— sat on a bale of hay and played acoustic guitar. She followed with "Don't Tell Me", featuring choreographed line dancing similar to the song's music video. "Human Nature" introduced bondage-themed choreography with a lasso, ending with Madonna riding a mechanical bull. Adopting a mock Southern accent, she playfully addressed the audience before singing "The Funny Song", a satirical piece about cannibalism. She again played guitar for "Secret", set against visuals of riverside baptisms, Sufi dervishes, and Buddhist prayers. The segment closed with a stripped-down take on "Gone", which was replaced by "You'll See" on some American concerts.
The final segment, Spanish Girl/Ghetto Girl, opened with a tango performance set to an instrumental of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina", with candles lining the stage. Madonna appeared atop a rotating leather podium to sing "Lo Que Siente La Mujer", dressed in black trousers and a backless dress. She then played guitar for "La Isla Bonita" accompanied by flamenco dancers. A mashup of "Holiday" and Stardust's "Music Sounds Better With You" followed, performed with Haris and De Lory. The show closed with "Music", featuring the full cast of dancers, confetti raining from above, and a montage of Madonna's past music videos on the screens. "The End" flashed onscreen to signal the concert's conclusion.
During the European leg, an additional video played after the concert ended, featuring Ali G humorously telling the audience, " ain't comin' back, so go on, piss off", and taking a jab at the Backstreet Boys, quipping that they were performing next and "none of us want to be around for that". The final Los Angeles shows were adjusted in response to the September 11 attacks. Madonna opened the show wearing an American flag kilt as a tribute, the staged shooting in "Mer Girl" was replaced with a gesture of reconciliation, "The Funny Song" was removed from the set list, and all dancers joined for "Holiday".