What will Madonna’s next career move be?

SINGAPORE — Her 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour and 2012’s MDNA Tour netted US$408 million (S$573m) and US$305 million, respectively; making her the only female artiste ever to score the top-two highest grossing concert tours of all time.

Her latest, Rebel Heart Tour, which the pop diva will strut out at the National Stadium on Sunday, has already raked in US$88 million from its European and North American legs, with the Asian and Oceania stops yet to be included.

Yet, this could be the last time we will get to see the megastar in big-scale spectaculars. Her 10-year deal with live-events promoter Live Nation ends in 2017; and according to industry watchers, the unprecedented US$120 million contract is unlikely to be renewed.

So, the singer with a net worth of US$520 million could easily bankroll the production of her future albums and tours, but in case she does not want to, TODAY has a few options for the Iconic One…

VIVA LAS VEGAS?

Talk that Madonna was offered a US$1 billion contract to do a five-year headlining residency in Las Vegas has been bubbling since 2010. Her contemporaries such as Celine Dion, Elton John and Jennifer Lopez have already ventured down this route. With her undeniable stage presence, rich catalogue of hits and ardent fan base, Madonna is more than capable of drawing the crowds night after night, while making new music along the way. The only snag is that she has famously declared she hates the place: “I couldn’t bear it for five minutes!” Then again, Las Vegas has always been a stop on all her world tours, so, never say never.

INTIMATE GIGS?

While a Guitar and a Microphone tour a la Prince’s Piano and a Microphone stint is quite unlikely, Madonna could do mini concerts such as the one she did in 2012 in the middle of the MDNA World Tour. Billed as an intimate event, La M played a 45-minute set at Paris’ Olympia Club, and fans paid between EUR80 (S$124) and EUR280 to see her. Despite some controversy — some ticket holders were expecting the entire MDNA show (duh) — the one-time-only gig was generally well-received, asserting that Madonna can most certainly thrill with less frills.

AUTHOR, AUTHOR?

In 2015, Madonna told BBC Radio 2 that she would write her memoirs one day. “I’ve so many stories to tell,” she said.

Books bode well for the singer. To date, her 1992 limited edition coffee-table book Sex remains the best- and fastest-selling coffee table book of all-time and is among the top 100-most sought-after out-of-print titles in the United States. What’s more, the woman has range: In 2003, the then-mother-of-two released a successful series of beautifully-illustrated children’s books. The first, The English Roses, was launched simultaneously in more than 100 countries and in 30 languages. So Memoirs of The Material Girl? It is a guaranteed best-seller.

MOVIE MAGIC?

Truth be told, the best chance of Madonna ever winning an Oscar is via the Best Original Song route. Yet, she could not even get nominated with past gems such as Beautiful Stranger and This Used To Be My Playground. How about directing then? Well, 2008’s Filth And Wisdom was barely seen, but 2011’s W.E., about England’s King Edward VIII and American Wallis Simpson, was lauded for its exquisite costumes and won Madge a Golden Globe for Best Original Song (Masterpiece). Can her next project, The Impossible Lives Of Greta Wells, strike Oscar gold?

CELEBRITY CEO?

Forbes magazine once called Madonna “America’s smartest business woman”. If she were to leave showbiz altogether, the megastar has a string of lifestyle brands to fall back on.

These include: Material Girl, a trendy juniors’ clothing line which she runs with daughter Lourdes Leon and it is now into its fifth year; Truth Or Dare by Madonna which offers fragrances, footwear and lingerie to an older audience; skincare range MDNA Skin (which will be available in Singapore later this year); and gym chain Hard Candy Fitness, which now has locations in eight major cities, from Moscow to Sydney.

If all else fails, Madonna can always just live off her music royalties a la Hugh Grant’s character in About A Boy. Knowing the notorious workaholic however, that is an unlikely scenario for quite some time 
to come.