In November 2005, during an interview with «The Guardian», Madonna confirmed that she was going out on tour in 2006 and it would likely be named either «The Confessions Tour» or «The Confess Your Sins Tour». Jamie King was next hired on as the director of the tour.
During an interview with «MTV» in February 2006, Madonna explained that she wanted to play first at small venues like «Roseland Ballroom» in New York or the «Wiltern Theatre» in Los Angeles, then move out to perform at stadiums and arenas. That way she deduced that she would not feel bored during her performances. King clarified,
«A typical Madonna show is quite produced, [...] She likes things large, she likes things theatrical, but this time, being that «Confessions On A Dancefloor» is an intimate album, we want to try to make people have an intimate experience as well as a big produced theatrical experience. So look for us doing some small venues, some smaller venues. [...] I would like to put her as close to her people — her fans, her dancers, her fellow supporters — as possible,»
King also confirmed that the set list for the tour consisted mainly of songs from the supporting album, with few of Madonna’s old hits making the cut. Some of the dancers from the music videos of «Hung Up» and «Sorry», both singles from «Confessions on a Dance Floor», were signed to perform on the tour as well.
In March 2006, Madonna, along with her then-husband Guy Ritchie and with their kids, moved to Los Angeles, to begin rehearsing for the tour.
In the summer of 2006, Madonna’s manager Guy Oseary announced that her Australian leg to the tour had been dropped. Her official website released the following statement:
To my fans in Australia,
Please forgive me. I really did hope and expect to come to Australia during the Confessions Tour and asked my managers to try to include some shows there. I have fond memories from previous tours. Unfortunately, the logistics just didn't work out this time around. We looked into going from Japan to Australia and ending the show there but I have to get my kids back into school in England and they are, as you can understand, my most important priority. The important thing to remember is that I'm not retiring anytime soon and I am gonna get to Australia as soon as I can. You remain in my heart and Thank you for your continued love & support.
Love,
Madonna
The concert was divided into four parts: Equestrian, Bedouin, Glam-Punk and Disco.
The Equestrian segment of the show began with images of Madonna, riding crop in hand, and horses cantering across windswept plains on the big screens. A giant disco ball was then lowered onstage, and opened like a flower bud to reveal Madonna inside. As she took her dancers’ reins, she performed «Future Lovers/I Feel Love».
This was followed by «Get Together» backed by her dancers in horse reins. She rode a carousel horse-like dancepole during «Like A Virgin». The backdrops displayed the X-Ray of Madonna’s broken bones, which she had during a previous accident.
«Jump» followed this performance, where the dancers displayed the physical discipline parkour.
After Madonna disappeared backstage, three of her dancers then revealed personal tragedies during an interlude called «Confessions».
The second segment titled «Bedouin» started with Madonna appearing on a mirrored crucifix to sing «Live To Tell» as a death toll of African AIDS victims counted down onscreen above her. She stepped down off the cross to perform «Forbidden Love» where two male dancers intertwined each other while displaying «religious symbolism» on the screens like blood corpuscles connecting to form symbols of hope and unity.
Madonna brought a guest vocalist from her «Confessions on a Dance Floor» album onstage for «Isaac», when a female dancer in an oversized Middle-Eastern burka danced within a cage with the backdrops displaying sand dunes.
Madonna then recreated the dance-off scene from her «Sorry» music video live with her troupe for her performance of the song.
The performance was followed by the song «Like It Or Not» where burlesque-style dancing was performed by Madonna with the help of a chair as a prop. After the performance, her dancers performed krump dancing for a remix interlude of «Sorry» as social, political, and ecological images flashed onscreens.
Madonna returned for the «Glam-Punk» segment of the show and strapped on a guitar for rocked-out versions of «I Love New York» and «Ray Of Light». The backdrop during the performances displayed the New York skyline sliding off and stars respectively. «Ray of Light» was accompanied by her dancers in New Wave style dance, while wearing black clothes and white ties.
An energetic rendition of «Let It Will Be» followed before she sat down for some minutes to talk with her audience. She later started singing «Drowned World/Substitute For Love» without any choreography or backdrop video, only sitting on the floor, and then recalled co-singer Yitzhak Sinwani out for an acoustic version of «Paradise Not For Me».
The final segment «Disco» started after a brief radio-style mini-mix of old hits. Madonna emerged in a butterfly-collared suit influenced by John Travolta in «Saturday Night Fever» for a mash-up of «Music» and The Tramps’ 1976 single «Disco Inferno», this also included a sample of her song «Where’s The Party» at the beginning of the song while dancers rollerskated circles around her.
Stuart Price’s remixed dance version of «Erotica», which sampled the song’s original demo «You Thrill Me», is performed.
The next song was a Tropical-Dance version of «La Isla Bonita», where the screens displayed clips of different beautiful islands, the sea and its fauna.
This is followed by «Lucky Star»; this dance re-invention of the song shared the same musical arrangement than the following and final song of the evening «Hung Up», which is accompanied by a sing-along with the audience and confetti and golden balloons falling from above.
The show ended as the phrase «Have you confessed?» appeared onscreen.
