Live Performances
Madonna has performed "Ray of Light" several times. In 1998, Madonna appeared on several TV Shows including The Oprah Winfrey Show to promote the album, and would sometimes perform the song. During the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards Madonna started performing her song "Shanti/Ashtangi", sporting black hair and wearing an Indian sari, Lenny Kravitz then appeared playing the guitar, which paved way to "Ray of Light". That same evening the song's music video would go on to win several awards including "Best Female Video" and "Video of the Year". 3 years later, "Ray of Light" was included as the fifth song of Madonna's 2001 Drowned World Tour, and the last one of the opening Neo-Punk segment, which featured Madonna and her dancers wearing punk inspired clothing, this time with the electric guitar being played by Monte Pittman. In 2005 Madonna performed "Ray of Light" during the Live 8 benefit concert. That same year while doing a set of short promotional performances for her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, Madonna sang "Ray of light several times, including at the 2006 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California.
During her 2006 Confessions Tour Madonna included a rock version of "Ray of light" as the second song of the show's third act, the Glam-Punk segment. For this performance Madonna played the electric guitar (which featured an "I ♥ NY" guitar strap) and urged all the fans to jump all through the song, it also featured 6 male backup dancers, dressed in black outfits and white ties doing a synchronized choreography. "Ray of Light" was also performed by Madonna during the 2007 Live Earth concert in London's Wembley Stadium.
For the 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour, "Ray of Light" was included as the third song of the show's final segment. This time, Madonna played the electric guitar and wore a futuristic outfit with a breastplate and a short wig. She was accompanied by her dancers who were dressed in futuristic outfits and performed a robotic choreography. During the tour's 2009 European leg, "Ray of Light" became the show's penultimate song. "Ray of Light" was rumored to be part of Madonna's 2012 Super Bowl setlist, but ultimately was not performed.
A brief excerpt of the song was used during the "Turning Up the Hits" interlude on the MDNA Tour.
Read more about this topic: Ray Of Light (song)
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