New York, Oct 10, 2021, IANS
Madonna and Jon Batiste, bandleader and TV personality familiar to the viewers of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", took to the streets of Harlem, New York City, singing her 1989 pop-rock-gospel song "Like A Prayer" in the early hours of Saturday.
Her impromptu sing-a-long happened after a performance at Ginny's Supper Club in the basement of celebrated Ethiopian-Swedish-American chef Marcus Samuelson's Red Rooster restaurant.
As she walked down 126th Street, Madonna took the night owls of Harlem by surprise. Billboard.com called it as a "near-religious experience". Variety.com described it as a "New Orleans-style street party".
"Travelling a few blocks down the street, the congregation ended outside a nearby church, where Madonna, framed by the ecclesiastical doors behind her, offered an invocation. 'The Lord is with all of us,' she said. 'Sometimes you just have to say a prayer'," reports Variety.com.
Before Madonna and Batiste appeared on the street armed with megaphones, she performed a selection of her classic hits -- "Dark Ballet", "La Isla Bonita" and the Portuguese Saudade -- and songs from her Billboard 200-topping "Madame X" album. Variety.com said the evening at Ginny's Supper Club was "impossibly intimate".
Oozing sensuality in a black cocktail dress and lace gloves topped up with a long blonde wig, Madonna was celebrating the release of her "Madame X" concert film.
"Madame X is born," Billboard.com quoted Madonna as saying, tipping to the documentary's release. "But the fact is, she's always been here, pushing you, inspiring you."