Madonna's Rebel Heart Concert in Manila

Madonna Rebel Heart Tour

source: www.madonna.com

Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour, is the tenth worldwide concert by Madonna which started September 9, 2015 and runs until March 20, 2016. 

I was able to watch the first day of her 2-day concert in Manila with a friend. The concert was held at SM MOA Arena from February 24-25, 2016.

The concert started at almost 11PM and while waiting for Madonna, DJ Mary Mac played various tunes to keep the crowd entertained.

Madonna played an electric guitar when she
sang "Burning Up"

Photo source: www.rappler.com

Madonna is a real performer. Her energy and stamina simply amazed everyone as she performed her songs and danced with her team on stage. She really looked good for a 57-year old woman.  As a singer/artist, she has successfully reinvented herself for more than three decades in the entertainment industry.

Madonna in a matador inspired outfit

source: www.rappler.com

The stage production during the concert was fantastic and the audience was really impressed with the visuals and perfomers especially during the part of the show where Madonna's team performed a number that is quite reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil as some team members stood on flexible poles and  swinged forward and backward while dancers kept moving on the stage. 

Performers on flexible poles swinged front and back as
 "Illuminati" tune was playing

source:  www.rappler.com

Madonna also showed her flexibility as a singer since she also sang a wonderful rendition of  "La Vie en Rose" using an acoustic guitar.

Of course the audience all sang along with Madonna during her finale song, which was "Holiday", since it is such a happy and upbeat song. It was also a coincidence and apt since the concert ended at around 1AM on February 25, 2016, which was a non-working holiday in the Philippines since it was EDSA's 30th People Power Revolution Anniversary.

Madonna singing "Holiday" while two of her dancers held the
Philippine flag

source: www.rappler.com

During Madonna's short visit to the Philippines, it was reported in the news that she was able to visit underprivileged kids in the Bahay Tuluyan Foundation and Hospicio de San Jose in Manila. Madonna is also known for her philianthropy work and she supports children's causes. 

Madonna with the kids at Bahay Tuluyan Foundation in
Manila

source: www.rappler.com

It was good to see that the singer with a  rebel heart also has a kind and caring heart especially when it comes to  reaching out to underprivileged kids. 

Wildflower by Drew Barrymore

I have read Drew Barrymore’s “Wildlfower” book. The book is a light read and revolves around the various stories that Drew personally shares with the readers.  It is the first book she has written about her life since she was 14-years old and features stories from the different stages in her life.

Drew shared how she had an unconventional childhood. She started working at 11-months old, her father separated from her mom before she was born and her mother relied on her as a bread winner. Acting runs in her blood since she is the granddaughter of actor John Barrymore.

She mentioned that when she was 6-years old, Steven Spielberg told to her: “Do not do not act your characters, BE your characters”. She followed his advise and did well as a child actress when she starred in the hit movie E.T. and had the opportunity to travel to promote the movie in countries such as Germany, Norway, Paris and England. She met Princess Diana during an E.T. movie premiere in England and she gave her an E.T. doll.

 A young Drew  Barrymore with E.T.

Source: E.T. movie website

She admitted that there are basically two things she has done: acted and had wild life experiences. Drew learned to become independent when she was 14-years old when she was emancipated by the courts and had to live on her own.  Her mom lost her credibility as a mother when she took her to Studio 54 instead of school. During her teenage years, she had tried smoking and drinking.

She admits that a turning point for her was when she flashed David Letterman on his TV talk show since after watching the taped episode of said TV guesting, she realized it was an end of an era for her which prompted her to place no sex scenes and modesty clauses her contracts.

Drew is gutsy and is quite a daredevil. During her training with Cameron Diaz for Charlie’s Angels movie, their adventures included kung fu, scuba diving with sharks and sky diving. She considers Cameron as one of her bestfriends and she was one of Cameron’s bridesmaids during her wedding. She also got Cameron as a godparent to her daughter, Frankie.

As an actress and producer, she knew that she had to work with Adam Sandler.  She told him that she knew that they were supposed to become a team since they both have production companies, like working with people that they trust and want to find their own material. They collaborated with their team of writers and worked together to make a funny romantic movie called “The Wedding Singer”.

During a trip to Africa in  2005, she was deeply moved when she visited schools and saw the state of underprivileged children who needed donations and lunch programs to stay afloat.  She felt that she wanted to help the children in Africa have better lives, thus, she also became an ambassador for UN World Food Programme and helped in raising funds for the feeding activities there.

Drew Barrymore(UN WFP Ambassador) with the kids in Africa

source: UN WFP website(www.wfp.org)

Drew remains grounded as a person. She shared how she feels grateful and how she learned from her experiences in life. In spite of her wild past and dysfunctional family, she was able to transform her life since she has become a successful actress, producer, entrepreneur and mother to daughters Olive and Frankie.

Her story is inspiring since she was able to show that one can learn from the past and can change for the better. Today, she is thankful, happy and feels lucky that she got the chance to have a stable and loving family since she now has great in-laws, a loving husband and wonderful daughters.