Madonna Transforms Times Square into a Dance Floor for 50,000
Madonna delivered the ultimate surprise performance yesterday evening in the heart of Times Square, transforming the iconic New York City landmark into a massive impromptu dance floor for a crowd of more than 50,000 fans.
The event marked the official launch of The Square, the NYC high-tech venue built for a digital world and hidden behind an 18,000 sqft, 8K LED electronic billboard beneath the Hilton Tempo Hotel, directly on Broadway and 47th Street. “We thought [Madonna] was the right person to talk across multiple generations of fans. You don’t get someone better than her who can talk to anyone in the world,” explained Jeff Marks, CEO of Innovative Partnerships Group, which helped create the venue.
Due to restrictions put in place by the city for open-air pop-up events of such scale the artists only have a 15-minute window to take the stage – and that’s exactly for how long Madonna was seen towering above Times Square.
The epic New York experience also marked the first time Madonna performed live new music from her upcoming album Confessions II, including the latest track to be released, Love Sensation.
Love’s the reason why
It’s a drug that that I can’t stop taking Baby let’s get high
Tripping up to the sky
On your love sensation good vibration Love sensation
Alongside Love Sensation, Madonna performed I Feel So Free and a remix of Bring Your Love with her vocals only, plus a trio of beloved songs from Confessions on a Dance Floor: Get Together, I Love New York – the song she wrote for her beloved city – and the closing number, Hung Up.
The crowd returned the love for her every step of the way in this quintessential New York City. The unforgettable moment was also shared with audiences around the world through Grindr’s first-ever livestream, bringing everyone to the dance floor. Following the livestreaming, the performance made a quick pit stop in the cutting room – click here to watch the new edit of Madonna – Confessions II Live in NYC on YouTube.
Love Sensation was first teased in late April during a surprise club appearance by Madonna in West Hollywood where Stuart Price previewed a snippet of the song in his DJ set. It instantly generated buzz around the club and quickly sparked online discussion, fueling demand for a potential release of the track.
Madonna’s dance floor dominance shows no signs of slowing as the euphoric anthem I Feel So Free, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance Airplay Chart and Bring Your Love, her collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter which just hit No. 1 on the UK Club Chart.
Confessions II – a continuation of its iconic counterpart Confessions on a Dance Floor – is set for release on July 3rd via Warner Records. Fans can pre-order the album + the ultimate curation of expansive vinyl, CDs and cassette offerings via madonna.com.
Madonna Performance Setlist
- I Feel So Free (Remix)
- Bring Your Love (Remix)
- Love Sensation
- Get Together
- I Love New York
- Hung Up
Madonna Performance Credits
- Musical Direction by: Madonna & Stuart Price
- Creative Direction by: Madonna & Jonas Akerlund
- Stage Design by: Stufish Entertainment Architects
- Choreography by: Sidi Larbi, with assistance by Nicholas Huchard and Matt Cady
- Addtl. Choreography & Dance by: MazelFreten (Laura Defretin & Brandon Masele) joined on stage by Jal Joshua & Ivy Mugler
- Stylist: Rita Melssen
- MUA: Marcelo Gutierrez
- Hair: Matt Benns
- Dancers: Ayaba Amavi, Hervé Ana, Mathilde Boagno, Téo Cellier, Lorenzo Da Silva Dasse, Julien Djiele, William Domiquin, Marcus Dossavi, Sara-Michelle Drouide, Imani Griffon, Théa Haggiag-Meier, Maelo Hernandez, Adrien Larrazet, Manuela Le Daeron, Alice Lemonnier, Marie Lévénez, Jonathan Lutumba, Nicolas Mailho, Océane Maréchal, Brandon Masele, Matteo Masson, Jade Mavoungou-Bayonne, Jade Mienandi, Ainhoa Otero, Filipe Francisco Pereira Silva, Doris Poulard, Elsa Progrebnoi, Akciel Régent Gonzalez, Syndy Resulme, Iman Sahli
