Queen Madonna

Madonna.... some reviews about her recent show I read... wonder if she will ever ever step into Singapore for a concert! Will I go? Hmmm.... but I hate crowds...

She was an equestrian, a disco queen and a black-clad rocker --- plus she crucified herself on a mirrored cross -- all in less than two hours.

With so much flash and dazzle, it was like watching a made-for-TV performance.

Wearing jodhpurs and a top hat and carrying a jeweled riding crop, the singer emerged from a giant disco ball covered with $2 million worth of Swarovski crystals. (Maybe that's why the tickets are so expensive!)

The production was so tightly choreographed that it left little room for spontaneity. Even when Madonna flipped the crowd the bird, it felt scripted, not subversive.

More than a dozen dancers -- who had as many costume changes as the Material Girl herself -- provided ample eye candy. The enormous T-shaped Forum stage featured moving platforms that carried her four-piece band and three backup singers.

A jungle-gym contraption lowered from the ceiling became a play place for Cirque du Soleil-style gymnasts, while multiple massive video screens flashed images of war, world leaders, nature and, of course, Madonna.

The singer looked happiest when she was dancing, microphone at her side. It was the only time she smiled. Despite the aerobic performance, her voice remained strong. At times, though, it was hard to tell where her singing stopped and the reverb began.

The most lively and festive numbers came at the disco-flavored end of the show. A dozen dancers on roller skates emerged from beneath the stage to perform "Xanadu"-worthy tricks while Madonna, wearing a sleeker version of John Travolta's "Saturday Night Fever" white suit, sang "Music."

She kept the energy high as she performed new, disco-enhanced arrangements of the 20-year-old "La Isla Bonita" and 1992's "Erotica." Gold Mylar balloons fell from the sky as she implored the crowd to sing along with her latest single, "Hung Up."

"Don't make me stop this car," the Material Mom joked when the audience didn't sing to her satisfaction. Then she spat, "Come on, you lazy (rhymes with suckers), SING!"

Well.... she is the queen after all!