Madonna is proud of her children for working hard as performers in her ongoing Celebration Tour.
“I think what my children learned the most in this year of rehearsing and performing is that if you want to follow your dreams, you have to work hard for them,” the pop superstar, 65, said in an interview with W magazine published Wednesday.
“And if all of them choose something different later in life, they will never forget this year of blood, sweat, and tears.”
As Madonna prepared to hit the road for the concert series — a spectacle that honors her four decades in the spotlight — she tapped her four youngest kids, David, 18, Mercy, also 18, plus 11-year-old twins Stella and Estere, to showcase their unique talents on stage.
“Because the Celebration Tour is a retrospective of my life, I thought it made perfect sense to include all of my children still living with me in the show; they all dance and play musical instruments, and have been doing so for years,” the “Ray of Light” singer told the publication.
“David has played guitar since he was a child. Mercy has played piano since she was 8 and she’s been classically trained most of her life. Eventually, when I adopted the twins, they started to play piano and dance as well.”
Madonna noted that there is “always an endless parade of dancing and [performing arts] teachers coming and going in our house,” so it only made sense to give her children a bigger platform to shine on the Celebration Tour.
A show highlight for the Grammy winner is when daughter Mercy accompanies her on piano during a powerful rendition of her 1993 ballad “Bad Girl.”
“I saw a strange, poetic juxtaposition of hedonism and exploration emerging into the light of Mercy, sitting stoically at her grand piano playing Chopin as she beckoned me towards her, making me think about the choices I have made in my life,” Madonna said, explaining how that specific moment came to be.
“Singing ‘Bad Girl’ was kind of my confession to her, and I felt we had an unspoken understanding of what was happening.”
Meanwhile, David duets with his mom on “Mother and Father” from her 2003 album, “American Life.”
“‘Mother and Father’ is one of my favorite moments in the show because it gave me a chance to not only honor my mother and her memory but also to honor David’s mother and her memory,” she said of the young creative, whom she adopted from Malawi in 2006.
“He has always wanted to sing and play guitar. He loves being on stage — this is nothing new. Much of the show is about motherhood, family, and the importance of that in my artistic life.”
As for Stella and Estere, the girls dance their hearts out when Madonna sings her 2000 smash “Don’t Tell Me,” and also during a section in the show that pays homage to ballroom and the art of vogueing.
“While Estere was learning how to DJ, she became interested in ballroom competitions. Just by luck, one of my choreographer’s assistants, Ivy Mugler, has her own ballroom house called House of Mugler,” she says of how the two became interested in that sect of dance.
“She started taking Estere aside during rehearsals to another room—and within a couple of weeks she was doing death drops and spins and surprising us with her ability. So, of course we had to turn that section of the show into Estere’s Ball.”
Madonna is also mom to Lourdes “Lola” Leon, 27 — whom she shares with ex Carlos Leon — and Rocco Ritchie, 23 — whom she shares with ex-husband Guy Ritchie. Her eldest have also participated in her tours, including 2012’s MDNA Tour, for which Lourdes worked in the wardrobe department while Rocco performed on stage.
“I have always been blessed with children who are interested in music, dance and art. Starting from the top with Lola, who was not only an incredible ballet dancer and a rhythmic gymnast, she also switches to musical theater and contemporary dance,” she said.
The eternal hitmaker acknowledged that “nothing brings [her] more happiness” than collaborating with her kids.
“It would be boring if they were just traveling from hotel to hotel, and occasionally coming to watch the show,” she elaborated. “Of course, I am their mother so sometimes we get on each other’s nerves. We are a family of artists but we are also a family, and that’s what happens.”
The Celebration Tour’s next stop is Friday in Mexico City, followed by a final — and free — show in Rio de Janeiro on May 4.
