Gloria Gaynor responds after Madonna sings classic hit during Celebration Tour

By Ellie Iorizzo and Naomi Clarke, PA

Gloria Gaynor has jokingly praised Madonna’s “excellent taste in music” after she performed her hit I Will Survive during her Celebration Tour in London.

The US pop superstar delivered a rendition of the 1978 hit song during her extravagant performance at The O2 in London, alongside more than 40 songs from her four-decade career.

During her opening performance on Saturday, the song came after 65-year-old Madonna praised her children for supporting her while she was ill earlier this year with a “serious bacterial infection” which saw her admitted to intensive care for several days and forced her to postpone the tour, which had been due to begin in Canada in July.

The singer said: “It was a crazy year for me as well and I didn’t think I was going to make it, neither did my doctors…

“I forgot five days of my life, or my death, I don’t really know where I was. But the angels were protecting me and my children were there, and my children always save me every time.”

She added that her secret to surviving is thinking: “I’ve got to be there for my children,” before she struck up the chords to I Will Survive by Gaynor.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Gaynor shared a clip of Madonna singing the track, writing: “@Madonna congratulations on the launch of #TheCelebrationTour at the @TheO2.

“So happy that you are in good health and ready to have a holiday with fans around the world!

“By the way, you have excellent taste in music!”

The Queen of Pop ensured the first show of her new tour would be a family affair, as four of her six children took to the stage throughout the nearly two-and-a-half-hour performance, which also saw her overcome a brief technical issue which paused the show.

After performing her hit Burning Up, Madonna briefly stopped the show as she explained there was a problem with the sound and they had to “press the reset button”.

The singer apologised for the delay and admitted “this is exactly what you don’t want to happen on your opening night” but kept the crowd entertained by recalling anecdotes from her days in her first band when she was “broke and hungry and making zero cash”, confessing she would “date men who had showers and bathtubs” as she had no way to wash at the time.

After the sound issues were resolved, the singer made up for the wait by launching into lively versions of Open Your Heart and Holiday.

She later paused the show to speak about her “heartbreak” over the suffering in Israel and Palestine.

Similarly, a photograph of the late Sinead O’Connor was shown on the large screens and Madonna draped a Ukraine flag over her back before launching into Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.

She ended the song by encouraging the crowd to chant “no fear”.

After singing her song Little Star in honour of her daughter Lourdes celebrating her 27th birthday on Saturday, she said: “We all come from love and it’s important to know that right now, because there’s a lot of really crazy things happening in the world that are so painful to witness.

“All of us are suffering watching what’s happening in Israel and Palestine. It breaks my heart to see children suffering, teenagers suffering, elderly people suffering. All of it is heartbreaking.”

Addressing the thousands of adoring fans in the crowd, she continued: “Even though our hearts are broken, our spirits cannot be broken…

“We are altogether very powerful people, we can unite in the dark and evil or we can unite in a place of light and love.”

Madonna added that collectively, “we could change the world and we can bring peace – not only to the Middle East, but all over the world”.

The superstar closed out the show with a walk down memory lane as dancers donned a number of her classic outfits, including her Like A Virgin bridal dress look, while she sang her 2015 track B**** I’m Madonna and a medley of her tracks Celebration and Music.

Madonna will perform two more dates in London before moving on to her European and North American legs, with two more London dates scheduled for December.