Madonna announced yesterday that she would be making a triumphant return to live music by playing a career-spanning greatest hits tour over 35 dates.
The Celebration Tour will take place this year to mark the 40th anniversary of Madonna’s first break out hit, Holiday, and will ferry the Queen of Pop from arenas in North America to stadiums in Europe, with support act Bob the Drag Queen to keep her company.
Madonna has had an interesting mix of support acts over the years, from funk-jazz bands (Level 42, Who’s That Girl World Tour) to Belgian electronic acts (Technotronic, Blond Ambition tour) to... LMFAO (MDNA tour).
And in keeping with her vibe shift for each tour, Bob the Drag Queen will add something different to the Celebration Tour that Madonna hasn’t had before. Look, Madge may be a little bit off-the-wall, but she always keeps it fresh.
So who is Bob the Drag Queen, and what can Madonna fans expect from his appearances on her greatest hits tour?
He won Drag Race season eight
Sashay you stay! Bob (who is non-binary and uses he/him/she/her pronouns) is a drag natural, having grown up in his mother’s drag bar in Columbus, Georgia, where he would occasionally perform when she couldn’t afford a babysitter.
Fast forward some years, and Bob was starting out in drag under the name “Kitten Withawhip” after moving to New York. Then, in 2016, he earned a place on season eight of Ru Paul’s Drag Race and successfully beat out the eleven other contestants to win the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar.
Bob, now 36, remains loyal to the Drag Race family, and even hosts a regular podcast, Sibling Rivalry, with fellow Drag Race champ Monet X Change where the two critique current and past episodes of the show. Sibling Rivalry recently went on tour, but had to cancel the second leg due to “upcoming projects”. Who know what those could be...
He hosts a drag version of Queer Eye
Bob is one of the three hosts of HBO series “We’re Here”, a reality TV show where the trio of drag queens (Bob, Eureka O’Hara and Shangela) descend upon small towns in rural America to recruit their inhabitants into taking part in a drag show, enlightening them with a no-holds-barred full drag experience for one night only.
The series, which has recieved widespread critical acclaim, has been described as “The drag version of Queer Eye” and like a trip to “gay Six Flags” (America’s chain of rollercoaster/amusement parks) because it’s a “roller coaster you’ll want to re-ride everytime the credits roll.” (Shangela’s immaculate wording there, if you couldn’t tell).
He’s big on TikTok
Bob is one of the biggest drag queens on TikTok with 2.8 million followers, and regularly goes viral with his strange videos and skits. Most recently, Bob did his part in correcting science misinformation by explaining the solar system using himself, another willing participant, a wig to represent the moon and some... interpretive dance. It also features the brilliant line “So let’s say this twink is the sun.” Put this queen in schools!
If you want a taste of Bob’s humour and music ahead of his stint as Madonna’s second in command, following him on TikTok is the best bet.
He has hits
Bob is likely to peform his catalogue of music, including recent single B*tch Like Me, which he has been performing at Sibling Rivalry’s live shows, and hits Purse First and Yet Another Dig. Bob is also an experienced standup comedian, so fans can expect some MCing and chatting to the audience as he warms them up for Madge.
Bob also features in Madonna’s tour announcement video, where she and a group of famous friends (Diplo, Eric Andre, Jack Black, Amy Schumer, etc) give one another NSFW truth or dare tasks. Bob is seemingly the only member of tour to be in the announcement video, unless this is Madonna’s way of telling us that we can expect to see Diplo and Jack Black on the tour too.
And, to be fair, a Diplo x Madonna x Tenacious D x Bob the Drag Queen mash up would really be something to behold.
