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Promotion

Live appearances

Madonna first performed "Dark Ballet", known then as "Beautiful Game", at the 2018 Met Gala. After singing "Like a Prayer" and a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (1984), she began singing the song wearing a corset and a metallic arm accessory, her hair was braided and parted down the center; several dancers, wearing similar costumes, performed a choreography that seemed to control and restrain her movements. On April 19, 2019, "Medellín" was performed by Madonna and Maluma at the Billboard Music Awards; the number featured four virtual versions of her Madame X alter ego — a secret agent, a musician, a cha-cha instructor and a bride. Elements also present included a garden, rain and bursting blasts of color, provided by augmented reality, marking the first time it was used on American television. During the performance, the singers recreated scenes from the song's music video, including Maluma removing a garter from Madonna's thigh; afterwards, the song rose by 261% in streams to 2,200,000, increasing from 596,000. Andrew Unterberger ranked it as the second best performance of the night, calling it "memorable" and saying it was "good to see that the pop legend certainly hasn't lost her ability to surprise and delight".

Madonna ending her set at Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019 with a performance of album single "I Rise".

On May 16, it was confirmed that Madonna would perform at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 finale. The artist was joined by Quavo, and sang "Future" and "Like a Prayer"; she wore a black cape and eyepatch with the letter X, while several dancers in gas masks fell to the ground. Also featured were two dancers with Palestinian and Israeli flags on their backs holding each other. The performance caused controversy, as it was seen as a political statement for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Eurovision organizers said that that particular part of the number was not an approved part of the act; the European Broadcasting Union released a statement saying Eurovision was a non-political event and that Madonna had been made aware. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), along with other artists such as Roger Waters and Brian Eno, had previously called for a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest in support of Palestine, and even urged Madonna not to perform. Madonna said that she was never going to "stop playing music to suit someone’s political agenda", to which the PACBI responded; "artwashing Israel’s brutal oppression of Palestinians for a million dollars must be among the most immoral political agendas". Later, the Kan Israel Broadcasting Corporation sued Live Nation over the performance, claiming the singer's representatives had violated the terms of their agreement and "reneged on financial promises".

On June 14, 2019, Madonna appeared on NBC's Today, where she was interviewed by Harry Smith and talked about the album. Later that month, she sang album track "God Control", "I Rise", "Vogue" (1990) and "American Life" (2003) at Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019; she yielded an eye-patch with an X, which was designed in the colors of the rainbow flag, while her background dancers were decked as police officers wielding combat shields.

Singles and other songs

"Medellín" was released as lead single on April 17, 2019, coinciding with the album becoming available to pre-order. Upon release, it received generally positive reviews from music critics, who called it one of Madonna's best songs in years, and an improvement from her previous two lead singles; it was also compared it to the singer's previous Latin-inspired releases, particularly "La Isla Bonita" (1987). In the United States, "Medellín" failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100, but it became Madonna's 47th chart topper on the Dance Club Songs chart, extending her record as the artist with the most number ones on the chart. It also reached the top 10 in Colombia, Hungary, and Venezuela, as well as on the digital charts in Finland and Portugal. "Crave" was released as the second single on May 10; reviews were positive, with critics deeming it the album's best vocal collaboration, and comparing it to Madonna's previous works, particularly Like a Prayer (1989) and Hard Candy (2008). It reached the eleventh place of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, becoming her biggest hit there since 1998's "Frozen".

Tour

Main article: Madame X Tour

Madonna performing at the London Palladium as part of the Madame X Tour

Previous to the album's release, the singer had expressed the possibility of going on tour during a backstage interview at the Billboard Music Awards. Madonna had previously shown interest in doing a smaller-scale show during an interview with BBC News. Titled Madame X Tour, it was officially announced by the singer on May 6 through her official Twitter account. It kicked off on September 17, 2019 at New York City's BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, and ended on March 8, 2020 at Paris' Grand Rex. It marked the first time Madonna played theaters and small venues since 1985's The Virgin Tour.

The received generally positive reviews from critics, although the lack of the singer's old songs and the inclusion of Madame X album cuts received some criticism. Controversy arose due to Madonna's late show starts, with a fan going as far as to file a class action lawsuit against her. At the 2020 Billboard year-end boxscore charts, it was reported that the tour had grossed over $36,385,935 from an audience of 124,655. After several cancellations due to a recurring knee injury, the tour ended abruptly three days before its planned final date, after the French government announced a ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. A Paramount+-original concert film was released on October 8, 2021.