Blu-ray Live Concert Review: Madonna Sticky & Sweet Live in Buenos Aires 2010

[Bob Rapoport]

Click the jacket to watch "Candy Store Medley"

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At 68, Madonna is once again reminding the world why she's known as the Queen of Pop. Her sensational new album, Confessions II, and its ambitious 14-minute companion film weaving together the first six songs demonstrate an extraordinary ability to reinvent herself. I watched the film recently and was astonished by its imagination, choreography, and musical creativity. "Danceteria" was a particular highlight.

Then came her spectacular return to the MTV Video Music Awards in September, opening the show with Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX, revisiting the imagery of the new film, and ultimately winning seven awards, including Artist of the Year and Best Album.

Watching all this brought back vivid memories of another Madonna production that left me absolutely awe-struck: her Sticky & Sweet Tour, filmed at River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in December 2008.

It remains, in my opinion, one of the most ambitious and brilliantly executed stadium concerts ever produced.

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A Stadium Spectacle Unlike Any Other​

More than 256,000 fans attended Madonna's four Buenos Aires performances. The tour itself eventually reached over 3.5 million people in 32 countries, becoming the highest-grossing tour by a solo artist at the time.

The video is an often audacious AVC encoded image offered in 1080i and in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. There is simply no way to separate the live performance footage from the projections and other film elements thrown into the mix here, because they are blended together so seamlessly that it's often hard to tell exactly "where" you are, image wise, as the concert progresses. Colors here are astoundingly brilliant and beautifully saturated.

There are several literally breathtaking moments. I was especially impressed by the Chinese triptych sort of silk screen moments in the "Rain/Here Comes the Rain Again" Medley, where a beautiful array of greens and blues were on display. But the entire concert looks really, really good, with Madonna looking downright unreal for a 50 year old woman. Every fly away hair on her blonde tresses is easily visible

Madonna was performing at the absolute peak of her creative and physical powers. Backed by a 12-piece band and 16 dancers, she delivered an astonishing display of athletic endurance, musical invention, and sheer showmanship.

But what made Sticky & Sweet so extraordinary wasn't simply the music. It was the unprecedented integration of staging, choreography, lighting, enormous moving video screens, and spectacular three-dimensional visual illusions.

In 2008, the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony had demonstrated how large-scale visual technology could transform a stadium into a seemingly limitless theatrical environment. Madonna's production brought a comparable sense of wonder to a touring concert.

The giant LED screens became moving architectural elements. Images appeared to have extraordinary depth, performers interacted with virtual guests, and the stage continually transformed into something new.

The technology wasn't there simply to impress. It was designed to pull the audience into the performance, connecting tens of thousands of people through music.

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Four Acts, One Extraordinary Journey​

The production unfolds in four distinct acts: Pimp, Old School, Gypsy, and Futuristic Rave.

The opening numbers draw heavily from Madonna's then-new Hard Candy album which debuted at #1 in 37 countries. The "Candy Shop Medley" (featuring Pharrell Williams) and "Beat Goes On" (featuring Kanye West) are playful, provocative, and irresistibly entertaining, my favorite examples of integrating a guest artist into a live production.

"Human Nature" features Britney Spears on screen, while "Vogue" becomes a dazzling reinvention of one of Madonna's greatest hits. The choreography, visual effects, and musical arrangement make it an absolute showstopper.

The Old School segment is another marvel. "Into the Groove" incorporates an elaborate double-dutch jump-rope routine that demonstrates Madonna's extraordinary athletic conditioning. "Borderline" becomes a guitar-driven rock performance, and "Music" transforms the stadium into one enormous dance floor.

During Gypsy, the concert shifts into a more intimate, international atmosphere, featuring dramatic visual staging and the Romanian Kolpakov Trio. Madonna performs "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" for the Buenos Aires audience, producing an emotional response that brings many spectators to tears. Although it wasn't one of my personal musical highlights, its significance to the Argentine audience is undeniable.

And then comes Futuristic Rave, the final act, where everything reaches another level.

Vogue, Like a Prayer, and the Power of Human Connection​

Two songs deserve special recognition: "Vogue" and "Like a Prayer."

"Vogue" is a triumph of theatrical showmanship, dazzling choreography, and visual imagination.

"Like a Prayer," however, becomes something far greater than a pop performance.

The massive audience seems to move and sing as one. It reminded me of those extraordinary moments when Freddie Mercury led the Wembley crowd through Queen's "Radio Ga Ga," or Michael Hutchence commanded an enormous audience with INXS performing "Suicide Blonde."

Madonna takes that sense of communal connection into the realm of spirituality. Religious imagery, dance, music, and the universal language of emotion suggest something beyond individual faiths—a celebration of equality, shared humanity, and the spiritual connections that unite us.

Watching tens of thousands of people respond together is overwhelming.

It felt like a religious experience, not only for those in the stadium but for those of us watching at home.

The Ingenious Countdown to the Finale​

Another brilliant element of the production is the recurring tick-tock countdown motif, introduced near the beginning of the show and woven through its musical and visual design.

It becomes especially effective in the final act, leading into "4 Minutes," featuring an ingenious virtual duet with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland.

The final sequence builds through "Like a Prayer," "Ray of Light," and "Hung Up," culminating in "Give It 2 Me", one of the most inspirational performances I've ever witnessed.

Consider what Madonna accomplishes. After nearly two hours of nonstop singing, dancing, and commanding an enormously complex theatrical production, she delivers perhaps her most physically demanding performance of the entire evening.

The music, choreography, lighting, and audience response explode together in a final celebration of sheer human determination.

At an age when many entertainers begin slowing down, Madonna appears determined to leave absolutely nothing behind. It's a moment of greatness, and one I have never forgotten.

The Complete Concert Setlist​

Four acts, 26 musical numbers and interludes, with notes highlighting the production's distinctive arrangements and visual effects.

ACT I — PIMP

1. The Sweet Machine — Intro
2. Candy Shop — feat. Pharrell Williams
3. Beat Goes On — feat. Kanye West
4. Human Nature — Britney Spears video
5. Vogue 2008 — Incorporates "4 Minutes"

ACT II — OLD SCHOOL
6. Die Another Day — Video interlude
7. Into the Groove — Double-dutch jump rope
8. Heartbeat
9. Borderline — Rock guitar arrangement
10. She's Not Me
11. Music 2008 — DJ samples

ACT III — GYPSY
12. Rain / Here Comes the Rain Again — Video interlude
13. Devil Wouldn't Recognize You — Cylindrical screen
14. Spanish Lesson
15. Miles Away
16. La Isla Bonita — Kolpakov Trio
17. Me Darava / Doli Doli — Dance interlude
18. You Must Love Me — From Evita
19. Don't Cry for Me Argentina — Buenos Aires exclusive

ACT IV — FUTURISTIC RAVE
20. Get Stupid — Video interlude
21. 4 Minutes — Justin Timberlake and Timbaland
22. Like a Prayer — Dance arrangement
23. Ray of Light
24. Like a Virgin — A cappella request
25. Hung Up — Heavy-metal guitar riffs
26. Give It 2 Me — Explosive finale

In the history of stadium concerts, few artists have combined technology, imagination, musical ambition, and sheer physical endurance on the scale Madonna achieved with Sticky & Sweet. Other great performers, including U2, have created unforgettable stadium experiences, but this production represented something extraordinary to me: a complete marriage of music and theatrical technology, designed not simply to dazzle an audience but to draw every spectator into the performance.

Nearly 18 years later, I can still remember the sensation of sitting in my home theater with a 111" diagonal projection screen, Final Electrostatic panels x 5, dual subs, powered by an ATI 1805, surrounded by the magnificent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, watching tens of thousands of people move together as Madonna commanded the stage. For two hours, the walls disappeared. I wasn't watching a concert. I was there.

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And when she summoned that final, almost superhuman burst of energy for "Give It 2 Me," I knew I had witnessed something truly great.

That's the magic of live music, the promise of a great home theater, and the enduring genius of Madonna at the very height of her powers.

Specifications:

Video
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC (29.60 Mbps)
Resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Uncompressed LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)

Discs
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD-50)

Playback
2K Blu-ray: Region free

The finale is "Give It 2 Me", turn it up.