With 1.6 million people,
@Madonna's Celebration Tour in Rio breaks the record for the largest standalone concert by any artist in history. Not female pop artist, but any artist; male or female, dead or alive.
While it's a nice quantifiable amplification to the power of her legacy, the significance of her show in Rio is even bigger than the record that she just broke.
That show was an art & politics masterclass, and an exorcism of traditionalist ideals in the face of a mahoosive amount of conservatives.
The raunchy comments, expressions, and simulations capturing sexual liberation. The religious doings of Like A Prayer. The highlighting of queer culture. And so many other themes explored by the show.
All of this, conducted by an aged woman whose free agency is always written off by the public due to age, whom they never fail to remind that she's way past her prime and should retire. We all know how stubbornly daring Madonna is.
On the issue of women being reminded that they're way past their prime due to age, Madonna is once again trailblazing and I think the significance of this is understated.
The production value of that show was peak art!!! Performed by a 65 year old!
Don't you wonder why Madonna is the poster girl for ageism against females in the industry despite not being the oldest? She's actively reprogramming our mental images of what an aged woman can do.
An aged woman can still work her ass off to produce ambitious and artistic productions that speak to culture, and you'd think it was done by some young artist full of vitality.
Well yeah, that's the point. That Madonna, 65, with over 40 years of a dominating career, is still full of artistic vitality, serving exemplary creative direction in her work for future 60 year olds to remember and be inspired by.
So it doesn't matter that this record of 1.6 million audience will be broken in the near future - because, face it, the Copacabana show format is now an attraction in pop culture after Madonna's show.
What matters is the foundational impact that Madonna's production, and brand, has created for the industry and the culture going forward.
A pop star coming along to break this Madonna record in the near future, will be a validation to the cultural impact of the The Celebration Tour in Rio. But it would not mean that they have done the same thing that Madonna has done.
#MadonnaCelebrationTourInRio #MadonnaInRio