page_title: Revolver (song)
section_title: Live performance and controversy
hierarchical_section_title: Revolver (song) / Live performance and controversy
caption_attribution_description: DSCN1810
context_page_description: "Revolver" is a song by American recording artist Madonna from her third greatest hits compilation, Celebration. It was released on December 14, 2009 by Warner Bros. Records and marked her final single release with the label, which had been her record company since 1982. The song features American rapper Lil Wayne and was written by Madonna, Carlos Battey, Steven Battey, Dwayne Carter, Justin Franks and Brandon Kitchen. It was produced by Madonna and DJ Frank E.
  The single release included remixes by David Guetta and Afrojack, which won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category at the 53rd Grammy Awards. This version also appears on the deluxe version of Guetta's album One More Love. The single also included mixes by Paul van Dyk, Tracy Young and included remixes of "Celebration" by Akon and Felguk. The original album version does not appear on any formats of the release and some versions are credited as "Madonna vs. David Guetta".
  An electropop song, "Revolver" features Madonna singing the whole song, with a guest appearance by Wayne near the end. The lyrics talk about juxtaposing love with weaponry. Contemporary critics gave a mixed review of the song.
context_section_description: Madonna performed "Revolver" as the second song on The MDNA Tour in 2012. She performed it while holding a Kalashnikov rifle, a common weapon among many rebels, while one of her dancers held an Israeli Uzi submachine gun. Madonna and four dancers then participated in a faux fight and pretended to shoot their weapons and fire bullets. During the performance Lil Wayne appeared on the backdrop screens to perform his verse. It was noted that during the performance Madonna resembled a gunfighter in the style of Kill Bill. During her concert in Phoenix, Madonna pointed her rifle to their fans, while in Miami, she faked murdering her masked dancers. According to Jane Stevenson from Jam!, "[Madonna] really got our attention as she and her dancers wielded guns". The wardrobe for the performance consisted of a black outfit fitted with an ample cleavage, gloves of the same color and heeled boots. After the tour was finished, the singer stated she would auction all the outfits she wore on tour to help Hurricane Sandy victims. The performance of the song at the November 19–20, 2012, shows in Miami, at the American Airlines Arena were recorded and released in Madonna's fourth live album, MDNA World Tour.
  The use of fake weapons generated controversy. After the concert in Colorado, Madonna was criticised over the use of fake weapons, since the public was sensitized by the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting, which occurred at the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises. Peter Burns, a radio broadcaster in the region, told The Hollywood Reporter that "You could see people kinda looking at each other. I heard the word 'Colorado', you know, 'Aurora', 'shooting'. You could hear people talking about it, and it was little bit unsettling. I saw two or three people get up and grab their stuff and actually leave their seats". Ray Mark Rinaldi from Reverb website said that Madonna was "dancing with guns and shooting up bad guys during 'Revolver'. It was a bloody scene, particularly tasteless in Colorado these days, but all cartoon; if folks got upset, they were supposed to". Daniel Brokman from The Phoenix said: "Madonna took the capacity crowd into a dark place that few were expecting minutes earlier from this queen of '80s pop music". In a review of the concert, Ross Raihala from Twin Cities mentioned that there was "darkness hung over much of the first half of the show" because of the performances of "Revolver" and "Gang Bang."
  Meanwhile, Madonna commented on a letter published in Billboard: "I do not condone violence or the use of guns.  Rather they are symbols of wanting to appear strong and wanting to find a way to stop feelings that I find hurtful or damaging. In my case, it's wanting to stop the lies and hypocrisy of the church, the intolerance of many narrow minded cultures and societies I have experienced throughout my life and in some cases the pain I have felt from having my heart broken."
caption: Madonna and her dancers holding fake guns while performing "Revolver" on The MDNA Tour (2012).
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