One of the recipes for continued success is knowing how to surround yourself, explains Sophie Rosemont, author of a bible on female rock stars. For her Parisian concerts, she “called on (La)Horde, the group at the head of the Palais national in Marseille”.
Singer Madonna, 65, gives a series of four concerts in Paris. She gave the first Sunday, November 12. Madonna fills the Bercy hall four times, a success of the “high priestess of pop” which can be explained in particular because Madonna “always finds a way to reach the younger generations”, according to Sophie Rosemont, music journalist, author of Girls rock (NiL Éditions). For 40 years, the singer has influenced many stars, “there is an aura of respectability around” of her, “all the international pop stars claim it”to the extent that “Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, but also Billie Eilish follow in her wake. She’s a bit like the mother of these artists.”
Madonna gave the first of four Parisian concerts, the “Celebration tour” of her 40-year career, with a grandiose show, sometimes kitsch, sometimes in bad taste according to some. At 65, she filled four Bercys. The “Madonna” recipe still works?
Sophie Rosemont: Madonna has never cared about good taste, and so much the better! It gave exceptional hits, like Holiday. And as Madonna says: “Music unites the bourgeoisie and the rebels”. As for his age… Is it really that important? The Rolling Stones showed it, there is no age to go on stage.
In the international pop landscape, Madonna remains essential?
Today, there is still an aura of respectability around this high priestess of pop. All international pop stars claim it. All the singers claim her influence, in artistic freedom, for the ability to engage on certain subjects, the sense of show, whether on stage, but also in records. And in this sense, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, but also Billie Eilish are following in her wake. She is, in a way, the mother of these artists.
Is she still successful with young people?
There is always, each time, a new generation who comes to Madonna’s concerts, if only out of curiosity, and who are seduced. She also knows how to surround herself: for example, on this tour, she called on (La)Horde, the group at the head of the Palais national in Marseille, which everyone is talking about at the moment. It’s a very alert collective, very powerful among the younger generation, and it speaks. They dusted off choreographies from 30 or 40 years ago, summoned them, reinvented them. Madonna always finds a way to reach younger generations through her collaborations.
194 euros the price of the ticket standing in the pit, is it justified?
Nothing justifies the prices of most major artists’ concerts today. We are still in a frenzy. If it only affected Madonna, that would already be good news, but it affects a lot of great artists that everyone wants to see. We are in a post-covid frenzy. After Madonna, it’s very expensive, but a Madonna concert is always worth the detour.