Chuck Arnold
Entertainment
Published December 14, 2023, 7:42 p.m. ET
Sit on a perch – there's nothing there.
It was great to see how much of Madonna's “Celebration” tour lived up to its name – in honor of her 40th anniversary in the music industry – but one of the most entertaining parts was seeing which surprise guest joined the queen Pop will take the judgment seat during “Vogue”.
Since the tour opened at London's O2 Arena in October, everyone from her eldest children Lourdes Leon and Rocco Ritchie to designers Donatella Versace and Jean Paul Gaultier to FKA Twigs and M's long-time friend Debi Mazar have taken that place of honor during the ballroom scene.
And at the start of the US tour on Wednesday evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Madonna could certainly have chosen a selection of celebrities to bring it all back to where it all began: New York.
The Diva returns to the BK Arena on Thursday and Saturday before dates at Madison Square Garden on January 22nd, 23rd and 29th.
Madonna and boxing trainer Josh Popper – who met the star while training her son David Banda – have been romantically linked since earlier this year. Matthew Rettenmund/Splash from Shutterstock
But instead of shining, she got sentimental and called her boyfriend, boxing trainer Josh Popper. He trained Madonna's 18-year-old son David Banda at his Breadwinners gym in Manhattan, and the two have been romantically linked since earlier this year.
And their May-December romance – he's 30, she's 65 – was on display at Barclays on Wednesday. Although Popper was a little more reserved than some of the other judges, as he essentially got lap dances from women and men with his girlfriend right next to him, his big smile said it all as he embraced their big night – and their world.
And perhaps it's no coincidence that the show's steamy highlight, Madonna's 1992 hit “Erotica,” is set in boxing rings where dancers blur the lines between pain and pleasure and features Mistress Dita – the singer's dominatrix alter ego from this time – is clearly the person responsible.
Madonna, her boyfriend Josh Popper, her daughter Estere and her son David Banda posed at the Barclays Center on Wednesday evening. Matthew Rettenmund/Splash from Shutterstock
There are other guests on the show who are close to Madonna's heart. In addition to her 11-year-old daughter Estere, busy working the runway during “Vogue,” there's Banda on guitar in “Mother and Father” and “La Isla Bonita”; daughter Mercy James, 17, on piano for “Bad Girl”; and Estere's twin sister Stella sings “Don't Tell Me.”
“I am the happiest mother in the world,” Madonna said.
“I get to perform every show with four of my six incredible, amazing children.”
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