Heartbreaker World Tour

****Heartbreaker World Tour**** was Monica Vinco's fourth concert tour, launched in support of her fourth and fifth studio albums, *Emotions* (2019) and *You* (2021), respectively. Rumors of the singer embarking on a concert tour first began in December 2021, following the release of *You*, but nothing was confirmed until May 1. Comprising thirty shows, it marked Vinco’s shortest tour to date. The tour began on October 5, 2022, in New York City, New York, and concluded on December 16 of the same year, in Brisbane, Australia.

Despite some sexual aspects of the tour receiving backlash from conservative audiences and allegations of lip synching towards the singer, critics gave the tour generally positive reviews, praising Vinco’s stage and vocal performances and the references to 90s pop culture. It was also commercially successful, having a total attendance of 753,835 and grossed over $52 million.

The December 18 show at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney was filmed by Jonas Akerland for a concert film of the same name released on October 19, 2023, on American streaming network HBO Max. A live album was released four years later, on December 25, 2027.

## Controversies

### Lip synching allegations

Near the end of the North American leg of the tour, Vinco was bombarded with accusations of lip-synching. Many attributed these accusations to the fact Vinco used a microphone headset for most of the performance, rather than a handheld microphone, which she used for her previous tours and live performances; singers like Britney Spears and Madonna have been known to use a headset while performing and are also accused of lip-synching. Online discussions arose on platforms such as TikTok and Twitter, debating if Vinco was either singing live or used a pre-recorded track. An interview with Ellen DeGeneres Show circulated of Vinco stating that she preferred pre-recording backing vocals rather than background singers.

On November 22, Vinco uploaded a post to her social media, seemingly responding to the accusations. The post showed a series of videos of singer Lady Gaga performed with a headset, as well as a video of Gaga denying lip sync allegations during her Monster Ball Tour. The caption of the post stating, “Notice how she’s using a wireless mic headset and is still singing live. You can even hear her breathing. DIDN’T KNOW THAT WAS FUCKING POSSIBLE!”

Gaga would later go on to defend Vinco on Twitter, stating, “I’ve used a headset for many of my performances, and use backtracks instead of backup singers. With all of this, my vocals are still live. @monicavinco isn't the first person to do this and not that last. Just because she doesn't hold a mic, doesn't mean she's not singing.”

On December 2, 2022, during her performance in London, England, Vinco, using a handheld microphone, stated, “Look I’m using a fucking handheld mic. Can you hear me? You know these vocals could still be pre-recorded even if I’m not using a headset. I’ve never lip synced and I never will. My vocals are always live, regardless of what kind of fucking mic I use.”

### Sexuality

Controversy from conservative audiences arose around the sexual aspects of the concert, namely the performances of “Forbidden” and “Make Me”. During “Forbidden”, Vinco grinded on a chaise lounge and moaned. Many critics citied this as a reference to Madonna’s controversial performance of “Like a Virgin” during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. Following the Toronto performance on October 18, Madonna posted, on her Instagram, a video of the performance with the caption: “32 years ago, I faced arrest in Toronto if I performed “Like a Virgin” unchanged. I refused to censor my art and performed the show as rehearsed; fortunately, I was not arrested. Yesterday, Miss Vinco bravely did a similar trick, at the same venue, and I’m so proud of her. Many times has she praised and referenced me and told me personally how much my work means to her, and I love her like a daughter. I’m so proud that she can finally be herself and stand up to the criticism that women had faced for centuries when they wished to express their sexuality. Keep doing what you are doing, Monica, and don’t apologize for being who you are. Love, Madge.”

The performance of “Make Me” was met with significant controversy. During the performance, Vinco brought a male audience member onstage and laid them on the lounge and began caress and fondle them, before descending with them for a costume change. The audience member later received an autograph and backstage passes for their group, if they did not have any. The performance was compared to Janet Jackson's performance of "Would You Mind" from her All For You Tour, where the singer would strap a male audience member to a gurney and caress them. During the November 25 concert in Los Angeles, California, Vinco brought on her boyfriend, actor and comedian Shayne Topp, who was in attendance that night, and preceded to not only fondle, but ride him and even remove his mask to kiss him. The performance caused Twitter to momentarily shut down for an hour due to the amount of Tweets and videos been posted about it. On November 25, 2024, Vinco posted a video of the performance to her social media, stating, “Remember when I broke Twitter. That was fun.”

## Set list

1. “All for You” (Video Introduction) (contains elements of “Good for You”, “Emotions”, and “Welcome Back to Salem”)
2. “Welcome Back to Salem”
3. “Scream”
4. “Daddy Issues”
5. “OMG”
6. “Heartbreaker”
7. “The New Guy” (Video Interlude)
8. “Boyfriend” (contains elements of “Girlfriend”)
9. “Dancin’ So Loud” / “Who I Am” / “Controversial” / “**Supernova**”
10. “Make Me” (Nile Rodgers Remix)
11. “Emotions”
12. “What About” (contains excerpts from "This Time", "Nasty", and "What Have You Done For Me Lately")
13. “You Again” (Video Interlude)
14. “Go”
15. “(I Think) I Still Love You” (contains elements of “Rehab” and an excerpt from “Take Me Away”)
16. “Start Over”
17. “Not Even in My Dreams”
18. “Closure” (contains an excerpt from “Resentment”)
19. “Silence” (Dance Interlude)
20. “Damn”
21. “Good for You”
22. “Should Be Happy”
23. “Forbidden”
24. “Emotions”

**Encore**

2. “Karma”
3. “**Into You**”

### Notes

* "Not Even in My Dreams" was performed on select dates in the United States.
* “Not One of US” was performed during both dates in San Juan, dedicated to the people of Puerto Rico.
* During the final show in Brisbane, "**Don't Let Go**" replaced "Be Right".

### Replacements

Throughout the tour, Vinco performed one of the following songs in place of "Should Be Happy":

* During the Los Angeles show, "Two".
* During the Cologne show, "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)".
* During the first Melbourne show, "Waltzing Matilda".
* During the second Brisbane show, "Best of Me".