Madonna may be preparing to release new music, but don’t expect her to set up shop in Sin City anytime soon.
At the premiere of her long-awaited visual album Confessions II at the Tribeca Festival on Friday night, the Queen of Pop revealed that she’s open to touring to promote the project, but made it abundantly clear that a Las Vegas residency is not in her future.
During a post-screening panel discussion at the Beacon Theater in New York City, host Anderson Cooper, who had to fill in for Jimmy Fallon due to a last-minute scheduling conflict, asked Madonna what her plans were next after the July 3 release of Confessions II.
The question sparked a chorus of fans who loudly encouraged the superstar to go on tour again.
But when the conversation turned specifically to the possibility of a residency at Las Vegas’ cutting-edge Sphere venue, Madonna quickly scrapped the idea.
“The spheres are cool, but I don’t want to wake up every morning and see Las Vegas,” she quipped, to thunderous applause.
One member of the audience enthusiastically agreed, exclaiming, “It’s not Vegas! It’s not Vegas!”
Madonna soon joined in as well.
“I never said Las Vegas!” she replied, before adding with a laugh: “I never said Las Vegas!” “I don’t know what that is.”
The 67-year-old icon doesn’t seem too sure about specific touring plans, but she did hint that she’s open to bringing “Confessions II” to fans in a live setting if she can find a new way.
“I could have gone on tour…I never want to repeat myself,” she said.
The statement was from vintage Madonna, whose career has been defined by constant reinvention and boundary-pushing live spectacle. The upcoming “Confessions II” tour will have to meet the same creative standards before she can join.
The panel also provided fans with new insight into the album’s origins. Madonna revealed that Confessions II came about after her long-gestating biopic was scrapped in 2023.
One of the stars involved in that abandoned project ended up appearing on a new visual album. That was Julia Garner, who had been chosen to play Madonna on screen.
Garner appears in the film alongside a diverse cast of celebrity cameos, including Debi Mazar, Benedict Cumberbatch, Shea Khoury, Kate Moss, Gwendoline Christie, Odessa Azion, Richard E. Grant, and Sabrina Carpenter, Madonna’s duet partner on “Bring Your Love.”
Madonna’s daughter Lourdes “Lola” Leon also had a memorable role in the project, delivering the film’s final lines. Leon looks straight into the camera and declares, “Cut, bitch.”
During her chat with Cooper, Madonna also revealed that she collaborated with Leon on one of the album’s most personal songs.
She revealed that the two co-wrote a song titled “The Test” and described the song as one of the most “emotional” moments on the record.
Directed by David Toro and Solomon Chase, the 10-minute visual album (collectively known as TORSO) features six songs from Confessions II, Madonna’s long-awaited sequel to her breakthrough 2005 dance album Confessions on a Dance Floor.
The project reunites Madonna with longtime collaborator Stuart Price, continuing the dance-pop sound that contributed to the career-defining success of the original album.
So far, fans have gotten a taste of the LP through three releases: “I Feel So Free,” “Bring Your Love” featuring Carpenter, and “Love Sensation.”
After the panel discussion, Madonna invited the crowd (many of whom arrived wearing merchandise and costumes inspired by her most iconic era) to a second screening of the film.
Before the encore presentation began, she urged attendees to be quiet and pay close attention to the lyrics, emphasizing the importance of new music.
Madonna arrived at the event wearing a sparkling white minidress, sky-high heels, a fur jacket and oversized sunglasses. Her bright blonde hair was styled into a sleek center part and sparkled perfectly against her glittering ensemble.
During the first screening, she sat in the middle of the orchestra, shocking and delighting the audience.
One person in Madonna’s section told Page Six that it’s hard to pay attention to a Madonna movie where she’s that close. “She looked so sexy!” fans gushed. “I was gagged the whole time.”
The “Confessions II” visual album will premiere on YouTube Monday at 11 a.m. ET.
