MADONNA has made another emotional onstage tribute to her son Rocco, this time during a one-off musical comedy show in Melbourne, Australia.
The 57-year-old singer staged the free gig, a combination of performance art, comedy, storytelling and music called Tears of a Clown, for members of her fan club as a way to thank them for waiting 23 years for her to tour Down Under.
The show saw Madge arrive onstage in a clown’s outfit riding on a tricycle, and included a performance of her song Intervention dedicated to her estranged 15-year-old son — the subject of a bitter custody dispute between the singer and her ex-husband Guy Ritchie.
Before she began the song Madonna said: “Oh there’s no end to the mistakes I’ve made.
“Anyway everybody knows the saga of me and my son Rocco. It’s not a fun story to tell or think about. I probably could have enjoyed myself a little bit more on this tour if he hadn’t disappeared so suddenly and also if I knew when I would see him again.”
The song, from Madonna’s 2003 album American Life, includes the lyrics: “I got to save my baby/Because he makes me cry/I got to make him happy/I got to teach him how to fly.”
As she sang, images of of Rocco appeared on a screen behind her.
The singer, who is said to be on the brink of a meltdown over her rift with Rocco, also expressed regret over causing pain in other people’s lives.
She said: “I won’t hurt anybody. I won’t hurt anybody ever again in my life. I never want to be the cause of anyone’s pain ever again in my life.
“There is absolutely no logical reason for me to be here where I am in my life today. I know there’s no way I could ever have imagined my life turned out the way that it did. That’s the beautiful thing about magic and art.”
The tribute follows Madonna’s breakdown onstage at a concert in Auckland, New Zealand, where she also dedicated a song to Rocco, telling the crowd: “There is no love stronger than a mother for her son.”
At the Melbourne gig Madonna explained why she chose to dress as a clown, saying: “There’s something so attractive about clowns because they try so hard to make you smile, to make you laugh.
“I actually tried to wear one of those big pairs of shoes and they were impossible. It is an art form. You have to practise for months in those and I haven’t had that opportunity.”
As promised there was also some comedy, including a gag that had Madonna asking: “What’s six inches long, has a big head and makes the girls go crazy?”
The answer was a hundred-dollar bill.
Madonna also performed a set list of fan favourites, including Don’t Tell Me, I’m So Stupid and Nobody’s Perfect, as well as a cover of Elliot Smith’s Between the Bars.
The star will end her Rebel Heart tour with shows in Brisbane and Sydney next week.
Bron: The Sun
