The Monster Ball Tour based on The Fame Monster
The Monster Ball Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga. Staged in support of her first EP, The Fame Monster (2009) and comprising a set list of songs mostly from that and her debut studio album, The Fame (2008), the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 2009 through 2011. It is the highest grossing tour for a debut headlining artist in history. Described as "the first-ever pop electro opera" by Gaga, the tour was announced in October 2009 after an intended joint concert tour with rapper Kanye West was suddenly cancelled. The Monster Ball Tour commenced four days after the release of The Fame Monster in November 2009.
A revision of the tour occurred after only a few months of performances, due to Gaga's concern that the original version was constructed within a very short span of time. The stage of the original show looked like a frame, comparable to that of a hollowed-out television set. Since The Fame Monster dealt with the paranoias Gaga had faced, the main theme of the original shows became human evolution, while elements of the cancelled tour with West were still included in some parts. From 2010 onwards, the revamped shows had a New York theme and portrayed a story set in the city, where Gaga and her friends got lost and had to find their way to "the Monster Ball". Both versions of the show were divided into five segments, with the last being the encore. Each of them featured Gaga in new outfits, singing songs related to the concept of the segment, as they were followed by a video interlude.
The tour received positive reviews, with critics praising Gaga's singing abilities and the theatricality of the show. The Monster Ball was a commercial success, with extra demand for tickets prompting organisers to add multiple dates to the itinerary. It ultimately grossed an estimated US$227.4 million from 200 reported shows, attended by an audience of 2.5 million. At the 2010 Billboard Touring Awards, Gaga won the Breakthrough Performer Award, as well as the Concert Marketing & Promotion Award. HBO filmed a special of The Monster Ball Tour during Gaga's February 2011 shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Documenting the whole concert with intersperses of backstage footage, Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden, aired in May and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 21, 2011.