The Celebration Tour (Spoilers)

[Madonna Wannabee Collector 233]

i like the old corset better

[True Blue 84 1,830]

Lets be gratefull she doesnt sound like these artists 

Lauryn Hill 

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJEgxL5J/

Enrique Iglesias 

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJEgH34X/

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJEgaHC5/

 

And lets talk about why Enrique Iglesias is not all over the news with those vocals? If Madonna sang like that ( Eurovision) the world would be all on it...

Again, i think she is doing a pretty good job vocal wise at the celebration tour, is it perfect? No, but if you want perfect live vocals go to a boring vocalist show... She sounds fine and the show is amazing 

[Frank 42,509]

She was on fire tonight. Way better than last night show. Great mood, great spirits... She had pigtails during the DAD/Cowboy section, looked amazing. The speech was mostly about her children and how all of us the fans are her children too. The Vogue guest was Úrsula Corberó.

I recorded last night's full audio, just on my smartphone, and the result is way better than i expected, pretty listenable!! Anyway i'll probably send the raw file to @rodrigochecchia to see if he can improve it in any way to make it better, as soon as i can.

[True Blue 84 1,830]

20 minutes ago, Frank said:

She was on fire tonight. Way better than last night show. Great mood, great spirits... She had pigtails during the DAD/Cowboy section, looked amazing. The speech was mostly about her children and how all of us the fans are her children too. The Vogue guest was Úrsula Corberó.

I recorded last night's full audio, just on my smartphone, and the result is way better than i expected, pretty listenable!! Anyway i'll probably send the raw file to @rodrigochecchia to see if he can improve it in any way to make it better, as soon as i can.

Glad you had a great time 

[FraP 402]

8 hours ago, McDonna said:

Did she now?  Look, I'm the first to admit she hasn't the perfect voice, but to me it doesn't matter. I've known that since the 80s.  But it's apparent you speak about not "blindly idolizing" only to make the most ridiculous  "blinded" claim ever, by stating she sang beautifully til the Confessions Tour.  And while I admit, she's had a lot of great moments vocally, but I can post a handful of videos where her vocals were hardly what one would call "beautiful".  Starting with this one.... and I'm speaking about her ROL vocals:

I also recall she's had some bad vocals on the Who's That Girl Tour and Blond Ambition Tour as well.  So let's not pretend she's been perfect until a certain point. She's always struggled with great live vocals, but she's also had many great live vocal moments before and she still has even after Confessions Tour.  But again, I don't care!  I've accepted since becoming a fan that she's not the most greatest singer.  And while the ROL performance may not have the greatest vocals, she still put on one hell of a show.  She still does. That's all that matters!

But this is cherry-picking. You've chosen her least successful vocal performance on TV EVER. Moreover, it's the technically most challenging song of her entire career, and she has only sung it in its original key twice (here and on Oprah).
In this performance, it's evident that there were several issues, and she wasn't even in good shape. It can happen once in a career, unless you're a technically extremely skilled singer, in which case your great technical knowledge compensates for the problems of the day.
Furthermore, it's worth noting that she often gets very nervous when it comes to singing live on TV, as confirmed by some of her collaborators. She was definitely extremely nervous that evening, perhaps because she had laryngitis or something similar.

Let's talk about the tours.

Let's talk about her consistency, not just a single unsuccessful performance.

In the DWT, RIT, and CT, except for a few off nights, her vocal level was good. Throughout the Music Promo Tour and the American Life Promo Tour (possibly the best vocals of her entire career).
he was never an excellent singer, but she was never a slouch either. She has demonstrated throughout her career that she can sing, even if she doesn't excel. After CT, her voice changed. Her tone has changed significantly; she has lost consistency. I believe her poor vocal technique may have also taken a toll on her vocal cords. A tour like the Sticky and Sweet Tour can't help you maintain a healthy voice; there are consequences. After the RHT, the best thing she has done is the tribute to Prince.

At the WTG and BAT, she was far from perfect, and sometimes she sang worse than others, but overall, she was usually in tune, and the performances were almost always quite successful. She didn't have the heavy breathing and intonation problems that she has now. Don't live in denial.

2 hours ago, True Blue 84 said:

This!... 

 

I wonder if Taylor swift, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Janet, fans and many more bitch this much about vocals lol. All of these are worse than Madonna imo.  

I don't know about other fan bases, but it has to be said that these mentioned singers rarely give performances that are so out of tune.
They hit some wrong notes, but Madonna, when she's not in good shape, surpasses them by far.

 

1 hour ago, True Blue 84 said:

Lets be gratefull she doesnt sound like these artists 

Lauryn Hill 

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJEgxL5J/

Enrique Iglesias 

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJEgH34X/

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJEgaHC5/

 

And lets talk about why Enrique Iglesias is not all over the news with those vocals? If Madonna sang like that ( Eurovision) the world would be all on it...

Again, i think she is doing a pretty good job vocal wise at the celebration tour, is it perfect? No, but if you want perfect live vocals go to a boring vocalist show... She sounds fine and the show is amazing 

 

Lauryn Hill does sound much better than Madonna, even though she may not be in her prime anymore. Enrique Iglesias, for me, is not even an artist.
And nowadays on social media, when someone sings poorly, they become the target of online ridicule.
It's not that there's a specific bias against Madonna; it happens to everyone. I think of Fergie's national anthem performance, Lana del Rey's infamous SNL performance, Mariah's NYE 2016 performance.
Similarly, Madonna is mocked on TikTok for singing CFY nearly tone deaf as well

[True Blue 84 1,830]

31 minutes ago, FraP said:

But this is cherry-picking. You've chosen her least successful vocal performance on TV EVER. Moreover, it's the technically most challenging song of her entire career, and she has only sung it in its original key twice (here and on Oprah).
In this performance, it's evident that there were several issues, and she wasn't even in good shape. It can happen once in a career, unless you're a technically extremely skilled singer, in which case your great technical knowledge compensates for the problems of the day.
Furthermore, it's worth noting that she often gets very nervous when it comes to singing live on TV, as confirmed by some of her collaborators. She was definitely extremely nervous that evening, perhaps because she had laryngitis or something similar.

Let's talk about the tours.

Let's talk about her consistency, not just a single unsuccessful performance.

In the DWT, RIT, and CT, except for a few off nights, her vocal level was good. Throughout the Music Promo Tour and the American Life Promo Tour (possibly the best vocals of her entire career).
he was never an excellent singer, but she was never a slouch either. She has demonstrated throughout her career that she can sing, even if she doesn't excel. After CT, her voice changed. Her tone has changed significantly; she has lost consistency. I believe her poor vocal technique may have also taken a toll on her vocal cords. A tour like the Sticky and Sweet Tour can't help you maintain a healthy voice; there are consequences. After the RHT, the best thing she has done is the tribute to Prince.

At the WTG and BAT, she was far from perfect, and sometimes she sang worse than others, but overall, she was usually in tune, and the performances were almost always quite successful. She didn't have the heavy breathing and intonation problems that she has now. Don't live in denial.

I don't know about other fan bases, but it has to be said that these mentioned singers rarely give performances that are so out of tune.
They hit some wrong notes, but Madonna, when she's not in good shape, surpasses them by far.

 

 

Lauryn Hill does sound much better than Madonna, even though she may not be in her prime anymore. Enrique Iglesias, for me, is not even an artist.
And nowadays on social media, when someone sings poorly, they become the target of online ridicule.
It's not that there's a specific bias against Madonna; it happens to everyone. I think of Fergie's national anthem performance, Lana del Rey's infamous SNL performance, Mariah's NYE 2016 performance.
Similarly, Madonna is mocked on TikTok for singing CFY nearly tone deaf as well

Realy?😂 I think you should watch more Rihanna and Katy Perry live vocals because there are definitley performances where they sound way WAY worse... And none of them ever deliverd live vocals like Madonna's sooner or later ( oscars) Frozen ( Rainforest benefit) You'l see ( dwt) Lucky star ( wtgt) Live to Tell ( confessions) Like a prayer ( live8) and i can go on and on... and sure, madonna has some realy bad performances to, but overal she definatly sings better than Rihanna or Katy or Britney or Janet ( and btw Britney and Janet doesnt even sing live) ... And to come to an end, you think she sounds not good on this tour, I think she sounds fine, not great but definatly not bad, and yes there are some lesser performances but so what, overal she sounds fine to me. And if you don't agree thats fine... Peace 

[missberic 764]

I don't know if going down the comparison path is a smart move. Each artist has their own weaknesses, bad days and random circumstances. Like, Katy may be known for her poor breath control, but Madonna couldn't pull Firework live in her wildest dreams. And saying Taylor looks like a crippled person being tazed... Have you seen this tour's Ray Of Light performance?

Truth is the worst vocals on WTG and BAT don't even come close to what we have now. I wouldn't say she sounds fine, she's cracking more than Mariah defrosting on early holiday season, but she does give a half-decent live performance for 90% of a 2 hour show. Not her worst ever, not her best either. It is what it is.

Love the new braids. Prefer the old corset. Will pretend I didn't read about the grillz.

[True Blue 84 1,830]

6 minutes ago, missberic said:

I don't know if going down the comparison path is a smart move. Each artist has their own weaknesses, bad days and random circumstances. Like, Katy may be known for her poor breath control, but Madonna couldn't pull Firework live in her wildest dreams. And saying Taylor looks like a crippled person being tazed... Have you seen this tour's Ray Of Light performance?

Truth is the worst vocals on WTG and BAT don't even come close to what we have now. I wouldn't say she sounds fine, she's cracking more than Mariah defrosting on early holiday season, but she does give a half-decent live performance for 90% of a 2 hour show. Not her worst ever, not her best either. It is what it is.

Love the new braids. Prefer the old corset. Will pretend I didn't read about the grillz.

[Prayer 14,361]

I'm really surprised at the vocals discussion. To me, she's sounding the best she's had in a VERY long time. It reminds me of 2004-2006 live Madonna (of course Stuart Price is behind that). And I love the little mistakes here and there, they show it's all live (over backing track sometimes yes) and she's human and not perfect:

I guess some people's expectations are unrealistic with her? She's never been one of those artists that sound like the record. And what's the point anyway? It's a live show.

[Drownedboy 1,676]

4 hours ago, Roland Barthes said:

Michael Jackson never sang a live note again after the Bad tour. I've never seen his fans complain. In his late years he even incorporated janet's vocals in his routines as his own (you know you want this)....Britney did not even bother to move her lips. Never seen her fans complain. Beyoncé and Gaga have super loud backtracks and the only time i saw the latter it was so loud that it even covered the music. Beyoncé both times i saw her she mostly sang a lot of added ad libs over the backing track to cover it. I've watch clips of  Taylor Swift live and not only she moves like a cripled person being tazed but her voice is terrible live (which i did not expected) also. Never seen the fans complain. I'm a super fan of Depeche Mode and Dave Gahan has a shit voice live and screams a lot (way too much), never seen a fan complain. I'd rather eat shit than see Celine Dion live, i absolutely loathe what she does, i don't even think she sings good, screaming in tune does not equal singing, it's like showing off how big one's dick is. I absolutely and definitely think that tv shows about singing with judges have ZERO artistic qualities and even less creativity and "artists" who have emerged from this shit shows are lame AF. Yep, loacal star Kelly Clarckson is a nice girl but she has the charisma of a pastries seller in New Jersey and she's basically a karaoke singer.

i've seen Madonna live many times and she was vocally very good some nights and very shit other nights, on the same tours. Re-Invention is where she sang the best imo, at lest both times i saw it but NKM and DAD were 100% lipped and it pissed me off. Confessions was very good also but Sorry was lipped and since she sang it 2 meters away from me and even looked at me (us) while on the left platform i could totally see and hear it. But most of the time, even with a back track she's singing liveeven when we think she's not like Vogue on RIT, it was not the same voice both nights but she nailed it and if lipping can pass on record, in the venue it sounds completly different, you can tell when it's live and when she's singing, the echo is not the same. 

And sometimes a very good singer can be shit even when she sings good, i adore PJ Harvey, saw her many times live but the last time she made my ears bleed because she decided to sing only in her upper register and after a few tracks i had enough, it was grating.

While Celine is more powerful and sure singing live, give me Madonna´s voice over Celine any day, I don´t dislike Celine at all. As for Mariah and Whitney, the same, and they screamed too much for me taste. I think Madonna has been underated as a vocalist all her carreer, even by her.

[Michael_Py 234]

To be honest i think this is the last tour with this magnitude, with several dates and cities. 
 

she might do residencies in some cities and with shows more like Madame X. Let’s get real, she is 65 already. Of course she is a Godess, a Queen but she won’t live forever, so get up mother fuck*rs, enjoy her, go and see her asap during this tour. 
 

we are truly lucky she is still doing this, I can’t with the complaints about her moves or voice, delusional talk. I can see all of us crying and crying ig something bad happens.

she needs more credit from us, it’s not fair.

 

[pawn_shop_blues 575]

My friend isn't even a Madonna fan like us, but before we went to see her show, I told her that, you know, she's 65. She won't be moving around much or singing. She might be out of breath sometimes. And my friend said it doesn't matter to her, even if she lip-syncs the whole show. She is a legend. She almost died a few months ago, so you're lucky that you're seeing your fav live. It might be her last big tour. So, I don't get these constant complaints about her voice on this forum.  poor woman had put so much effort into the concept of the show or other things.

I am also a fan of Lana Del Rey and love her a lot. I am an active member of lanaboards/reddit and I swear to god if her fans criticize her voice or moan about using heavy backing tracks that much. We just eat whatever she gives us. We already know she's not a strong vocalist. She doesn't even sing full songs and points her mic to the crowd. But still, we go and see her shows.

I personally noticed it often here on this forum that  Madonna fans criticize her so negatively all the time. Sometimes it's just too much. 

[PHIL 260]

she gives the best she can at the moment. enough said for me. go and enjoy her art! :*
spoiler: it is INCREDIBLE ;)

[dankpepe 1,042]

2 hours ago, Michael_Py said:

To be honest i think this is the last tour with this magnitude, with several dates and cities. 
 

she might do residencies in some cities and with shows more like Madame X. Let’s get real, she is 65 already. Of course she is a Godess, a Queen but she won’t live forever, so get up mother fuck*rs, enjoy her, go and see her asap during this tour. 
 

we are truly lucky she is still doing this, I can’t with the complaints about her moves or voice, delusional talk. I can see all of us crying and crying ig something bad happens.

she needs more credit from us, it’s not fair.

 

This was my thinking too. She comes to my city like once every 10 years, so I don't think at her age she'll be coming back to my city after this tour. And I'm not going to fly to see her, so I figured I'll do it and go

[Prayer 14,361]

2 hours ago, Michael_Py said:

To be honest i think this is the last tour with this magnitude, with several dates and cities. 
 

she might do residencies in some cities and with shows more like Madame X. Let’s get real, she is 65 already. Of course she is a Godess, a Queen but she won’t live forever, so get up mother fuck*rs, enjoy her, go and see her asap during this tour. 
 

we are truly lucky she is still doing this, I can’t with the complaints about her moves or voice, delusional talk. I can see all of us crying and crying ig something bad happens.

she needs more credit from us, it’s not fair.

 

It felt really emotional cause it's probably the last time like this. But again, we've been saying that since the "Drowned World Tour" in 2001! I remember everyone was saying then "this is probably her last big tour..."

Now it's likely. And it's incredible she's done it this time. But if this is "the end" for her big arena tours, it's the best ending possible, honestly. A gift.

[Lorx 344]

6 hours ago, Roland Barthes said:

Michael Jackson never sang a live note again after the Bad tour. I've never seen his fans complain. In his late years he even incorporated janet's vocals in his routines as his own (you know you want this)....Britney did not even bother to move her lips. Never seen her fans complain. Beyoncé and Gaga have super loud backtracks and the only time i saw the latter it was so loud that it even covered the music. Beyoncé both times i saw her she mostly sang a lot of added ad libs over the backing track to cover it. I've watch clips of  Taylor Swift live and not only she moves like a cripled person being tazed but her voice is terrible live (which i did not expected) also. Never seen the fans complain. I'm a super fan of Depeche Mode and Dave Gahan has a shit voice live and screams a lot (way too much), never seen a fan complain. I'd rather eat shit than see Celine Dion live, i absolutely loathe what she does, i don't even think she sings good, screaming in tune does not equal singing, it's like showing off how big one's dick is. I absolutely and definitely think that tv shows about singing with judges have ZERO artistic qualities and even less creativity and "artists" who have emerged from this shit shows are lame AF. Yep, loacal star Kelly Clarckson is a nice girl but she has the charisma of a pastries seller in New Jersey and she's basically a karaoke singer.

i've seen Madonna live many times and she was vocally very good some nights and very shit other nights, on the same tours. Re-Invention is where she sang the best imo, at lest both times i saw it but NKM and DAD were 100% lipped and it pissed me off. Confessions was very good also but Sorry was lipped and since she sang it 2 meters away from me and even looked at me (us) while on the left platform i could totally see and hear it. But most of the time, even with a back track she's singing liveeven when we think she's not like Vogue on RIT, it was not the same voice both nights but she nailed it and if lipping can pass on record, in the venue it sounds completly different, you can tell when it's live and when she's singing, the echo is not the same. 

And sometimes a very good singer can be shit even when she sings good, i adore PJ Harvey, saw her many times live but the last time she made my ears bleed because she decided to sing only in her upper register and after a few tracks i had enough, it was grating.

I get where you're coming from, but I'd like to offer some insights. Regarding Madonna, the performance of Sorry you mentioned wasn't lip-synced; it was her actual voice, albeit with some audio processing. If you delve into live recordings from different shows, you'll pick up small imperfections that vary from night to night.

As for Beyoncé and Gaga, their vocal prowess is undeniable. They resort to backing tracks primarily for numbers with intense dance routines, yet they consistently deliver powerful live vocals on top of those tracks. While her vocal abilities are extraordinary, Lady Gaga sometimes overemphasizes her higher chest notes. This reliance on a less mixed or head voice can affect the interpretative quality of her performances. Nonetheless, her vocal talent is substantial, and these instances do not diminish her impressive range and control. I don't listen to her and I don't like her, but I gotta be honest.

I'm a huge Depeche Mode fan myself and have seen them live four times, most recently this past summer, with plans to see them again this winter. It's true that Dave Gahan has his off moments (like during A Pain That I'm Used To), which could be attributed to his past struggles with substance abuse and sometimes he's strained with his high chest register (this made his voice deteriorate). However, the majority of his performances are solid, usually outshining Madonna's at least in terms of pitch, breath control and tuning, and he performs without a backing track, relying only on Martin Gore's backing vocals.

Celine Dion may not be everyone's cup of tea, but from a technical standpoint, she's more skilled than many pop vocalists. Taylor Swift may not be the most virtuosic singer, but she's certainly not tone-deaf at all. In fact, her live performances are consistently strong, and she seems to have improved significantly over the years (from what I've seen in videos, as I don't actively follow her). Britney Spears does rely on playback, but we shouldn't settle for mediocrity as a common comfort.

My point, as a singer and longtime voice student, is that Madonna's vocal abilities have progressively declined. She did make a bit of a comeback after the Sticky and Sweet Tour, but she has never returned to her prime vocal quality, as heard during the Drowned World Tour or the Reinvention Tour.
She was never the epitome of vocal perfection, but she was better than this, reaching her peak in the early 2000s. Even in the '80s and early '90s, her vocal performance was superior to what we hear from her today.

It's wise for her to use backing tracks and Auto-Tune, although autotune is sometimes too subtle to correct her pitch effectively and may inadvertently highlight her vocal imperfections leading to the closest note (which is a wrong note).
Her current vocal capabilities are below those of 90% of her peers in the pop world. Despite this, I still love her and find her timbre particularly beautiful in the lower notes, where she seems most comfortable now.

1 hour ago, Prayer said:

I'm really surprised at the vocals discussion. To me, she's sounding the best she's had in a VERY long time. It reminds me of 2004-2006 live Madonna (of course Stuart Price is behind that). And I love the little mistakes here and there, they show it's all live (over backing track sometimes yes) and she's human and not perfect:

I guess some people's expectations are unrealistic with her? She's never been one of those artists that sound like the record. And what's the point anyway? It's a live show.

You can certainly hear a stark contrast when comparing renditions of the same songs from the Reinvention Tour to this tour. The difference is quite pronounced.
However, that said, I still enjoy the show. I'm aware that her singing isn't flawless and I wasn't expecting any better.

1 hour ago, Drownedboy said:

While Celine is more powerful and sure singing live, give me Madonna´s voice over Celine any day, I don´t dislike Celine at all. As for Mariah and Whitney, the same, and they screamed too much for me taste. I think Madonna has been underated as a vocalist all her carreer, even by her.

I concur with your preference for Madonna's voice timbre over Celine's, Whitney's, or Mariah's, without any hesitation. While Celine Dion is undoubtedly a skilled vocalist, there are others who excel even more, particularly in different musical genres. Her songs don't resonate with me, and while her timbre is decent, it's not one that I'm particularly fond of.

Mariah Carey has always possessed excellent vocal technique, but I'm not a fan of her music, and it seems she has lost some of her prowess over the years, possibly due to a lack of ongoing vocal training.

As for Whitney Houston, she never really 'screamed' in her performances. Instead, she was a master at controlling her chest voice, adept at varying her dynamics from powerful belts to the softest whispers. She skillfully utilized her mixed and head registers as well. High chest notes, naturally, are not meant to be sung softly, as they require a certain level of intensity to be belted out effectively. But that's not screaming. Christina Aguilera is a screamer.
Whitney's high notes were always well-integrated into the narrative of the song, adhering to the appropriate ascending and descending climaxes.

Madonna didn't believe enough in her own vocal abilities, ceasing her vocal training prematurely and not solidifying the techniques she had developed up until the early 2000s. She didn't gave enough credit to her voice and her big achievements.
Yet, her voice is distinctive and with the right technique her potential could be tremendous. She has a unique vocal quality that has its own appeal. Her voice tells a story that aligns with her artistic persona and that storytelling aspect is something I greatly appreciate.

[FraP 402]

Are there HQ photos and video of her with the braids?
I guess people are gonna hate the braids 

Edited November 3, 2023 by FraP (see edit history)

[Blue Jean 15,254]

2 hours ago, Frank said:

She was on fire tonight. Way better than last night show. Great mood, great spirits... She had pigtails during the DAD/Cowboy section, looked amazing. The speech was mostly about her children and how all of us the fans are her children too. The Vogue guest was Úrsula Corberó.

I recorded last night's full audio, just on my smartphone, and the result is way better than i expected, pretty listenable!! Anyway i'll probably send the raw file to @rodrigochecchiato see if he can improve it in any way to make it better, as soon as i can.

So glad you got to see the show and had a great time Frank! It is such an amazing show and I’m having withdrawals 

[True Blue 84 1,830]

54 minutes ago, Lorx said:

I get where you're coming from, but I'd like to offer some insights. Regarding Madonna, the performance of Sorry you mentioned wasn't lip-synced; it was her actual voice, albeit with some audio processing. If you delve into live recordings from different shows, you'll pick up small imperfections that vary from night to night.

As for Beyoncé and Gaga, their vocal prowess is undeniable. They resort to backing tracks primarily for numbers with intense dance routines, yet they consistently deliver powerful live vocals on top of those tracks. While her vocal abilities are extraordinary, Lady Gaga sometimes overemphasizes her higher chest notes. This reliance on a less mixed or head voice can affect the interpretative quality of her performances. Nonetheless, her vocal talent is substantial, and these instances do not diminish her impressive range and control. I don't listen to her and I don't like her, but I gotta be honest.

I'm a huge Depeche Mode fan myself and have seen them live four times, most recently this past summer, with plans to see them again this winter. It's true that Dave Gahan has his off moments (like during A Pain That I'm Used To), which could be attributed to his past struggles with substance abuse and sometimes he's strained with his high chest register (this made his voice deteriorate). However, the majority of his performances are solid, usually outshining Madonna's at least in terms of pitch, breath control and tuning, and he performs without a backing track, relying only on Martin Gore's backing vocals.

Celine Dion may not be everyone's cup of tea, but from a technical standpoint, she's more skilled than many pop vocalists. Taylor Swift may not be the most virtuosic singer, but she's certainly not tone-deaf at all. In fact, her live performances are consistently strong, and she seems to have improved significantly over the years (from what I've seen in videos, as I don't actively follow her). Britney Spears does rely on playback, but we shouldn't settle for mediocrity as a common comfort.

My point, as a singer and longtime voice student, is that Madonna's vocal abilities have progressively declined. She did make a bit of a comeback after the Sticky and Sweet Tour, but she has never returned to her prime vocal quality, as heard during the Drowned World Tour or the Reinvention Tour.
She was never the epitome of vocal perfection, but she was better than this, reaching her peak in the early 2000s. Even in the '80s and early '90s, her vocal performance was superior to what we hear from her today.

It's wise for her to use backing tracks and Auto-Tune, although autotune is sometimes too subtle to correct her pitch effectively and may inadvertently highlight her vocal imperfections leading to the closest note (which is a wrong note).
Her current vocal capabilities are below those of 90% of her peers in the pop world. Despite this, I still love her and find her timbre particularly beautiful in the lower notes, where she seems most comfortable now.

You can certainly hear a stark contrast when comparing renditions of the same songs from the Reinvention Tour to this tour. The difference is quite pronounced.
However, that said, I still enjoy the show. I'm aware that her singing isn't flawless and I wasn't expecting any better.

I concur with your preference for Madonna's voice timbre over Celine's, Whitney's, or Mariah's, without any hesitation. While Celine Dion is undoubtedly a skilled vocalist, there are others who excel even more, particularly in different musical genres. Her songs don't resonate with me, and while her timbre is decent, it's not one that I'm particularly fond of.

Mariah Carey has always possessed excellent vocal technique, but I'm not a fan of her music, and it seems she has lost some of her prowess over the years, possibly due to a lack of ongoing vocal training.

As for Whitney Houston, she never really 'screamed' in her performances. Instead, she was a master at controlling her chest voice, adept at varying her dynamics from powerful belts to the softest whispers. She skillfully utilized her mixed and head registers as well. High chest notes, naturally, are not meant to be sung softly, as they require a certain level of intensity to be belted out effectively. But that's not screaming. Christina Aguilera is a screamer.
Whitney's high notes were always well-integrated into the narrative of the song, adhering to the appropriate ascending and descending climaxes.

Madonna didn't believe enough in her own vocal abilities, ceasing her vocal training prematurely and not solidifying the techniques she had developed up until the early 2000s. She didn't gave enough credit to her voice and her big achievements.
Yet, her voice is distinctive and with the right technique her potential could be tremendous. She has a unique vocal quality that has its own appeal. Her voice tells a story that aligns with her artistic persona and that storytelling aspect is something I greatly appreciate.

And even after your take on her vocals, most people and critics say she sounds fine on this tour. Can we just accept that we all have different taste and standards when it comes to this subject... i mean she has a 40+ year successful carreer with a sold out world tour right now at age 65, she must do something right vocaly. 

[Burning Up 4 Madonna 999]

8 hours ago, True Blue 84 said:

Any video's from Barcelona night 2? 

Here you go 

 

[Angelo 5,715]

1 hour ago, FraP said:

Are there HQ photos and video of her with the braids?
I guess people are gonna hate the braids 

NO BRAIDS HERE 

[Burning Up 4 Madonna 999]

Full show from last night 4k

 

[Riccardo1975 834]

5 minutes ago, Burning Up 4 Madonna said:

Full show from last night 4k

 

 

...........................4K?

[Burning Up 4 Madonna 999]

16 minutes ago, Riccardo1975 said:

 

...........................4K?

lol yea it sure doesnt look like it does it

[Riccardo1975 834]

...why don't you post the original file here using mega?