Taylor Swift Vs. Madonna: Whose Tour Is Hotter?
Taylor Swift and Madonna are on the road for mega-successful tours. Swift is just finishing her 1989 Tour, while Madonna has three months left on her Rebel Heart Tour. Taylor has already made over 220 million dollars, while it is predicted that Madonna will make somewhere between 180 and 200 million at the rate she’s going if she stops her tour in March as originally planned.
Taylor Swift is currently finishing her tour in Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald notes how Swift had executed a near-perfect show.
“This is one of the most spectacular stadium shows I have seen. Nothing is missed. Add to those, Swift’s own brand of careful manipulation of devotion, including the repeated use of screened testimonials from the famous gal pals (who talk girl bonding while everyone silently acknowledges who is chief Heather here) and there is no corner in which to hide.”
Some of the reviewer’s favorite moments included when Taylor rose above the audience on a crane while playing acoustic guitar. Noel Mengel of the Courier Mail really liked the show as well.
“This reviewer has seen the biggest stadium shows that have passed through Brisbane in the past 40 years, from David Bowie to U2 and Coldplay. As a spectacle Swift’s 1989 tour matches them, every second of the event choreographed for maximum impact,” Mengel claimed.
Let’s hope Madonna gets the same type of treatment that Swift is getting from Australian critics, even though the Queen of Pop is playing in smaller venues. Playing arenas, rather than huge stadiums, has seemed to work in Madonna’s favor this time as she is garnering some of the best reviews of her career. The Sun reviewed her show in the U.K. and says the Rebel Heart Tour is nothing short of a masterpiece.
“EXACTLY 278 days, 22 hours and 44 minutes after she dominated international headlines with her unfortunate fall at the Brits, MADONNA returned to London’s O2 Arena last night. And it was an absolute triumph – the world’s undisputed Queen of Pop reigns.”
“‘Like a Prayer’ finds Madonna accompanied by Spanish guitar. The entire room is in the palm of her hand, like a string of rosary beads, 20,000 long,” Empire says about what many feel is the best part of the show.
Empire noted that Madonna’s performance was especially enticing since it fell on World AIDS Day. Madonna was at the forefront of the fight against AIDS in the 1980s, so this performance was very special for her.
So, back to the original question: Whose tour is hotter — Taylor Swift’s or Madonna’s? If you are judging by the clear commercial aspect, Taylor Swift is the winner. Even if Madonna extends her tour and makes more money than Swift, the 1989 World Tour will go down as one in which Taylor Swift was able to play back-to-back nights at huge stadiums all across the world. At this point, Taylor Swift has a bigger concert audience than Madonna.
However, if one were to look at other aspects besides commercial success, Madonna may be the winner. Taylor Swift didn’t need to prove anything since she is still at the peak of her career. On the other hand, Madonna had a lot to prove and gained back the enthusiasm from her audience, who has been weary of her these past couple of years. The Rebel Heart Tour is a major win for the Madonna brand. Let’s hope Taylor Swift can still attract the audience numbers and critical acclaim Madonna has with this tour when she is 57.
[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]
