The controversy over M.I.A.’s middle-finger salute at the Super Bowl may not have been exactly the publicity Madonna was looking for when she signed on for the halftime show. But if there’s one thing we know about Madge, it’s that she’ll take publicity any way she can get it, especially with the nicely-timed new announcement of her 2012 World Tour, which will arrive at HP Pavilion in San Jose on October 6.
The tour will start in Tel Aviv, Israel on May 29, hitting South America, Australia and 26 European cities including Paris, London and Berlin. The North American leg of the tour opens on Aug. 28, with tickets for the San Jose show and all other North American dates going on sale Feb. 13.
Her performance in Indianapolis got mixed reviews—Piers Morgan likened it to “watching your mad drunken aunt at Christmas,” but others gave it raves. The highlight (or lowlight, depending on your point of view) came during the performance of her new single “Give Me All Your Luvin,” when guest singer M.I.A. flipped the bird after singing her part.
Despite the fact that Super Bowl self-censoring is supposedly all the rage since Janet Jackson’s nipple incident eight years ago, NBC tape-delayers were asleep at the wheel, blurring the screen a couple of seconds after M.I.A. gave the finger. NBC apologized after the game; M.I.A., perhaps unsurprisingly for a lady who blows up Irish kids in her videos, did not. Ratings confirmed the Super Bowl ws watched by well over 100 million people, with more people tuning into the halftime show than any other part of the game.
Madonna’s new album, MDNA, comes out March 26.
.Madonna Announces World Tour 2012; Arrives at HP Pavilion October 6
