Madonna sings happy birthday to 'humble and kind' daughter Mercy James, 18, during sold-out Madison Square Garden concert in NYC
Madonna sang happy birthday to her 'humble and kind' daughter Chifundo 'Mercy' James Kambewa Ciccone, who turned 18 during her sold-out Madison Square Garden concert in Manhattan on Monday.
The 65-year-old Queen of Pop also posted a birthday tribute to Mercy, in which she performed composer Erik Satie's 1893 song Gnossienne No.1 on piano.
'Beautiful Chfifundo James you're 18 [years] old today!' Michigan-born Madge - who boasts 52.2M social media followers - gushed on Instagram.
'Beautiful Mercy James you're already a young woman! Beautiful African queen!
You surprised all of us! You were always the quiet one. The gentle one. The shy and stoic one. While all of my other children were clamoring for attention, you were hiding under your hoodie — never wanting to draw attention to yourself.
Madonna sang happy birthday to her 'humble and kind' daughter Chifundo 'Mercy' James Kambewa Ciccone (R), who turned 18 during her sold-out Madison Square Garden concert in Manhattan on Monday
'Always humble and kind. Always the first one to say thank you [and] to clear the table after dinner! To come and hug me and say how much you appreciate something.
And always the most [responsible]. Beautiful Mercy James I am really astounded by the woman you have become. Poised and radiant. Skilled and soulful. A true artist.'
While on tour, the seven time Grammy winner enlists Mercy to accompany her on piano for her 1992 track Bad Girl as well as a bit of Chopin.
'That hand that was once frozen in your mouth as a child now makes magic happen when you play the piano,' Madonna wrote.
'Whether its Erik Satie or Chilly Gonzales. To hear you play Chopin every night in my show with such confidence is such a thrill.'
The self-made superstar also gave her newly-legal adult a shout out for her skills behind the camera, and gushed: 'Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to watch you grow. You really are a wonder.'
Mercy was a four-year-old orphan suffering from Malaria when Madonna adopted her in 2007, which led to a three-year legal battle due to her two divorces.
In 2017, the Raising Malawi founder opened The Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care at Queen Central Hospital in Malawi in her honor.
The 65-year-old Queen of Pop also posted a birthday tribute to Mercy, in which she performed composer Erik Satie's 1893 song Gnossienne No.1 on piano
Michigan-born Madge gushed on Instagram: 'Beautiful Mercy James you're already a young woman! Beautiful African queen! You surprised all of us! You were always the quiet one. The gentle one. The shy and stoic one. While all of my other children were clamoring for attention, you were hiding under your hoodie — never wanting to draw attention to yourself'
While on tour, the seven time Grammy winner enlists Mercy to accompany her on piano for her 1992 track Bad Girl as well as a bit of Chopin
Mercy was a four-year-old orphan suffering from Malaria when Madonna adopted her in 2007, which led to a three-year legal battle due to her two divorces
In 2017, the Raising Malawi founder opened The Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care at Queen Central Hospital in Malawi in her honor (2017 stock shot)
Madonna is also mother to five more children - daughter Lourdes, 27 (with ex Carlos Leon); son Rocco, 23 (with ex-husband #2 Guy Ritchie); son David, 18; and twin daughters Estere and Stella, 11.
Last Wednesday, Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden filed a federal civil lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York seeking unspecified damages from the two-time Golden Globe winner for going on 'two hours late' during her December 13 concert at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
'Sound check issues' caused Madonna to go on at 10:45pm rather than her usual call time between 9pm-10pm that particular evening - according to People.
And since doors to the venue opened at 7:30pm and the Vulgar singer's opening DJ Honey Dijon began her set at 8:30pm, concertgoers mistakenly believed she was between two-three hours late.
It's worth noting that Madonna is lucky to be alive following her June 24 hospitalization for 'a serious bacterial infection' during which she was in a 48-hour medically induced coma.
The Material Girl - who gets 44.6M monthly listeners on Spotify - is next scheduled to bring her $77.4M-grossing, 79-date Celebration Tour back to Madison Square Garden for a second show this Tuesday.
Madonna reportedly teamed up with creative director Lewis James and musical director Stuart Price to dream up her most spectacular stage presentation for her 12th concert tour honoring her four-decade career.
Rather than a band or singer, the Popular singer enlisted RuPaul's Drag Race #8 champ Bob the Drag Queen to serve opening act duties for her.
Last Wednesday, Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden filed a federal civil lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York seeking unspecified damages from Madonna for going on 'two hours late' during her December 13 concert at Brooklyn's Barclays Center
'Sound check issues' caused the self-made superstar to go on at 10:45pm rather than her usual call time between 9pm-10pm that particular evening
And since doors to the venue opened at 7:30pm and Madonna's opening DJ Honey Dijon began her set at 8:30pm, concertgoers mistakenly believed she was between two-three hours late
The Material Girl is next scheduled to bring her $77.4M-grossing, 79-date Celebration Tour back to Madison Square Garden for a second show this Tuesday
Here's hoping things go better this time as Madonna's knee and hip injuries forced her to cancel 14 shows of her prior 75-date The Madame X Tour back in 2019-2020.
As the coronavirus pandemic put the final nail in her tour's coffin, the Vogue hitmaker underwent knee surgery in April 2020 followed by hip surgery in November 2020 as well as 'regenerative treatment for my missing cartilage.'
Madonna plans to eventually embark on her self-directed Universal Pictures biopic - titled Little Sparrow - starring three-time Emmy winner Julia Garner.
The Evita alum co-wrote the script with Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody, who was later replaced by Independent Spirit Award-winning screenwriter Erin Wilson (The Girl on the Train, Secretary).
