text: mdna world tour ( album ) mdna world tour is the fourth live album by american singer and songwriter madonna . it was released on september 6 , 2013 , by live nation entertainment and interscope records as a full concert on all formats including a double - disc cd , dvd , and blu - ray . madonna had embarked on the mdna tour for promotion of her twelfth studio album mdna . the tour was a commercial success although it courted a number of controversies . the performances at the american airlines arena in miami , florida during the north american leg of the mdna tour were documented for video release . the recording was directed by danny b. tull and stephane sennour who included footage from other shows of the tour . madonna had spent six months editing the footage from the films and together with tull and seymour she developed the video for the songs she had performed as a mini - movie . shot as a documentary , mdna world tour included the best shots available from different locations of the tour , while emphasizing madonna 's impact on the younger generation of artists . prior to the release , a concert television special , madonna : the mdna tour , was broadcast in the united states by epix on june 22 , 2013 . a premiere took place the paris theater , in new york city the same month . the release received mixed reviews from critics , with one group of reviewers commending the technicality and the visuals attached with the show , while others noting the absence of madonna 's hit songs from the set list . after the release , news outlets around the world wrote about bad manufacturing of the cd and dvd , with many buyers reportedly choosing to return their purchase . within a week interscope released a statement , the blu - ray discs in the united states . mdna world tour was a moderate success commercially . it reached the top of the album charts in hungary , and top - ten in france , israel , italy , russia , and spain , though failed to achieve high chart positions similar to the singer 's previous live releases in the united states and united kingdom . however , mdna world tour became a success on the dvd charts of most nations , earning a triple platinum certification in brazil , platinum certifications in canada and portugal , and finally a gold certification in poland . the release topped the us billboard top music videos chart with sales of 11 , 000 copies , becoming her sixth consecutive and tenth video to top the chart — the most for any artist . background and tour on march 23 , 2012 , madonna released her twelfth studio album , entitled mdna , by interscope records . the singer worked with a variety of producers such as alle benassi , benny benassi , demolition crew , free school , michael malih , , william orbit and martin solveig on the album . an electronic album , mdna lyrically explores themes such as partying , love for music , infatuation , as well as heartbreak , revenge and separation . the album received generally positive reviews from music critics . upon its release , it debuted at number one in many countries worldwide , including australia , canada , italy , spain , the united kingdom and the united states . to promote the album , madonna embarked on the mdna tour , which was her ninth concert tour . the tour visited america , europe and the middle east , while also marking the singer 's first performances in the united arab emirates , ukraine , scotland and colombia . described by her as " the journey of a soul from darkness to light " , the mdna tour was divided into four sections : transgression , where guns and violence was the main theme , prophecy , where a mix of joyful songs that bring people together are performed , masculine / feminine , a combination of sensuality and fashion with a few of madonna 's classic songs performed in a french cabaret - style , and redemption , which madonna labelled as " a big party and celebration " . the tour received positive reviews , but courted many controversial subjects such as violence , firearms , human rights , nudity and politics . nevertheless , it was a commercial success and many venues were instantly sold out . after completion , it was dubbed the highest - grossing tour of 2012 by billboard . total gross was $ 305 . 2 million from 88 sold - out shows , becoming the tenth highest - grossing tour of all time and surpassing celine dion 's taking chances world tour as the second highest - grossing tour among female artists , behind madonna 's own sticky & sweet tour . development and release initially , the filming of the concert was planned for the shows in colombia , but due to conflicts with the directors ' schedule , those shows were not filmed . instead , madonna announced on her facebook page that the november 19 and 20 shows in miami , at the american airlines arena , will be filmed for the upcoming tour dvd and blu - ray release . after accepting the award for top touring artist at the 2013 billboard music awards , madonna confirmed that she had just finished editing the dvd of the concert , with billboard predicting the video release to be in september 2013 . it was officially announced by madonna 's website that the video album for the tour will be released on august 26 , 2013 , by live nation and interscope records ; the date was later changed to september 6 and 9 for non - us countries and september 10 for us . it documented the november 19 and 20 shows at the american airlines arena , but also will include footage from other concert dates . the documentary was directed by danny b. tull and stephane sennour — who also directed the youtube concert special mdna : live à l 'olympia and the behind - the - scenes documentary inside the dna of mdna — and was produced by madonna . mdna world tour is madonna 's tenth live video album and was released on both dvd and blu - ray . madonna had spent six months editing the footage from the films and together with tull and seymour she constructed each of the performances in the video as a mini - movie . according to entertainment weekly , mdna world tour shed light on the impact madonna has had on the younger generation of artists , dancers , and general fans " who refuse to conform for conformity 's sake " . tull took the best moments from the 88 different concerts of the tour , to create a cohesive documentary . he recalled that there were numerous footage available from the tour and they had to find the " perfect " shot for madonna . he gave an example that the performance of " like a prayer " had cuts from 50 countries alone . " it was really intense . i think i looked down one day and i was like , ' oh , my fingers are about to fall off ' . but it was worth it " , tull concluded . a preview for the dvd was first shown at the billboard music awards and another preview was released in june 2013 , showing the singer performing " give me all your luvin ' " on the tour , the lead single from mdna . another video showed madonna auditioning for the dancers , while singing an acoustic version of her 2001 single , " don 't tell me " . a television broadcast of the concert , titled madonna : the mdna tour , aired on epix in the united states on june 22 , 2013 . the concert premiered at 8 p.m. est on epix 's tv network and online at and on epix apps . on june 18 , the concert special had a world premiere screening at the paris theater , in new york city , with madonna attending the event in a press conference with the media , celebrities , and fans . a contest was released just for us residents , who had the chance to win two invitations for the special event . the singer wore a black tuxedo and a top hat to the premiere , the ensemble being a tribute to actress marlene dietrich and her similar attire in the 1930 film , morocco . during the q & a , madonna recalled how difficult it was to sometimes perform on the tour , but she and her troupe nevertheless did it . at the end of the session , she showed a trailer from her secretprojectrevolution film with photographer steven klein ; the one - minute clip featured her background dancers and showed the singer being dragged on the floor . other shots included madonna wielding a gun , her dancers in underwear , and religious iconography . reception arnold wayne jones from the dallas voice gave the album four out of five stars , writing that the show " has all of the material girl 's majesty and fetishistic eroticism , merged with lots of disturbing , violent imagery and a huge catalog of songs " . jones concluded that madonna was more provocative than before with the release . chuck campbell from the republic gave the album three and a half stars out of five , writing that " an ambitious woman like madonna will not let herself become a nostalgia act " . he added that madonna makes that clear every time she goes on tour : " she 's living in the moment , and she 's all about her newest material . " the advocate 's review for the release was positive , saying that the dvd affirms the fact that madonna 's " musical reign continues " . entertainment focus ' pip ellwood felt that the highlights of the record were the live performances of " human nature " and " like a prayer " . he concluded the review by saying that " making perfect use of her dancers , the video screens and the sets , the mdna world tour is one of [ madonna 's ] most spectacular to date and she still performs with the passion and the energy she always has done . if you went to the show then get your copy of this and treat it like a souvenir . if you didn 't you need to check it out as it 's one of the best shows she 's ever done . " stephen thomas erlewine from allmusic awarded the release three out of five stars , saying that " there are unexpected musical moments that do make mdna world tour worth hearing " , including the performance of " like a virgin " and " like a prayer " . however , he felt that the cd release was unnecessary since the album would be a better experience with its video . the north jersey media group gave the dvd 2 . 5 starts out of five , saying that madonna felt to be " overly " attached to her contemporary songs than her classic releases . they added " that plodding through overlong arrangements of inconsequential songs — from the annoyingly vocoder - treated ' revolver ' early to the throwaway dance cut ' celebration ' at the end — will leave listeners wondering why so many substantial hits were given only a nod , if anything at all . " a review by kevin taft in online website " edge on the net " was overall negative . taft noticed that madonna 's vocals were altered and mixed so much that it sounded disembodied and did not match the singer 's lips . he was " shocked " to find that the audio cds also contained the badly mixed songs . the reviewer explained that " the choice to have the backing track turned down so low doesn 't help much either . in fact , it makes it sound as if madonna is on a cabaret stage with a five - piece band ... for the six months it took madge to edit her concert , one would wish she got her vocals to match her lips . " however , taft commended the overall show and the technical brilliance accompanying it . in an online chat with website reddit , madonna addressed the concerns regarding the mastering issues with the dvd and blu - ray in europe , saying that she was horrified about the glitches and her record label was solving it . she concluded by saying that " [ i ] spent 6 months editing and doing the sound mix for the dvd the last thing i want to hear is that the fans aren 't getting the fruits of my labor . " on september 23 , 2013 , interscope records announced that they were recalling all the blu - ray discs issued in us , after hearing continuous reports of glitches in the sound from consumers , adding that an " error in manufacturing " compromised the 5 . 1 audio of the discs . the announcement also added the following : " interscope records would like to make consumers of madonna 's mdna world tour blu - ray disc aware that the concert will be seen at its most optimal quality by properly adjusting the settings on your television to ' normal / movie ' mode rather than ' dynamic / enhanced ' mode . older blu - ray players or those without a firmware upgrade may experience glitches when navigating the blu - ray menu . follow the manufacturer 's instructions to upgrade firmware . commercial performance in the united states , mdna world tour failed to debut within the top - forty of the billboard 200 , unlike her previous live albums , and entered at number 90 with 4 , 000 copies sold becoming her 26th entry on the chart . however , it entered at number one on the top music videos chart with sales of 11 , 000 copies , becoming her sixth consecutive and tenth video to top the chart — the most for any artist . mdna world tour was preceded by madonna ( four weeks at number - one in 1985 ) , madonna live : the virgin tour ( 10 weeks in 1986 ) , ciao italia : live from italy ( eight weeks in 1988 ) , the immaculate collection ( four weeks in 1991 ) , drowned world tour 2001 ( one week in 2001 ) , i 'm going to tell you a secret ( two weeks in 2006 ) , the confessions tour ( two weeks in 2007 ) , celebration : the video collection ( one week in 2009 ) and sticky & sweet tour ( one week in 2010 ) . keith caulfield from billboard noted that the debut on the billboard 200 was with considerably lesser sales than the preceding album , sticky & sweet tour , which entered the chart at number ten with sales of 28 , 000 copies and atop the top music videos with 5 , 000 copies . caulfield theorized that the only availability of mdna world tour as a digital album and cd on demand from amazon.com hindered its ranking on the chart and issuing the album on the traditional music release formats of cd - dvd combo would have increased sales . the following week , mdna world tour held on to the top spot of the top music videos chart , with an additional sales of 3 , 000 copies . mdna world tour became the 29th best selling music video on the year end tabulation of billboard . a midweek prediction by music week magazine had mdna world tour listed at position 37 of the uk albums chart . it ultimately debuted at number 55 on the chart with sales of 1 , 759 copies while topping the dvd chart of the country with bigger first week sales of 5 , 599 copies . mdna world tour became madonna 's first live release not to enter the top - twenty of the uk albums chart , after the top - twenty placements at number 18 ( 14 , 449 sales ) with i 'm going to tell you a secret ( 2006 ) , number seven ( 22 , 227 sales ) with the confessions tour ( 2007 ) and number 17 ( 12 , 405 sales ) with sticky & sweet tour ( 2010 ) . the album 's highest placement was in hungary , where it reached the top of the chart . it also attained top ten positions in france , israel , italy , russia and spain , while reaching top twenty in poland and portugal . its lowest position was attained in belgium flanders region , where it failed to enter the top 100 of the ultratop chart , reaching a peak of number 116 . mdna world tour was successful on the dvd listings of most of the nations , reaching the top of the charts of 17 providers . however , in australia the album version was disqualified from charting in the aria albums chart , but it reached the top of the dvd charts for the issue of september 16 , 2013 . track listings notes ^ a signifies additional lyrics by track list adapted from allmusic . " express yourself " also contains a sample of lady gaga 's song " born this way " but the use is not credited in the album 's liner notes . credits and personnel directors – danny b. tull , stephane sennour production company – semtex films producer – madonna executive producers – arthur fogel , guy oseary , sara photography – mark ritchie film editing – madonna , danny tull costume designer – arianne phillips , jean paul gaultier , riccardo tisci credits adapted from mdna world tour cd liner notes : charts certifications release history