Madonna surprised fans during her Celebration Tour stop in Chicago by performing her 1992 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit, “This Used to Be My Playground,” for the first time.
The song, featured in the film “A League of Their Own,” marked the only one of her 12 No. 1 hits that she had never performed live until the Chicago concert.
Nostalgic Trip Down Memory Lane:
Addressing the audience, Madonna reminisced about filming “A League of Their Own” in Chicago and learning to play baseball for her role as “All the Way” Mae Mordabito.
She expressed fond memories of the city and shared a few lines of “This Used to Be My Playground,” a cappella, with the crowd joining in.
Madonna’s Playful Interaction with the Audience:
During the impromptu performance, Madonna playfully joked with the audience, expressing surprise that more fans knew the song than she expected.
She thanked the crowd for joining in, creating a warm and engaging moment during her retrospective show.
Chart Success and Golden Globe Nomination:
Released in 1992, “This Used to Be My Playground” topped the Hot 100 chart and reached No. 2 on the Radio Songs chart and No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary airplay chart.
The song gained a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song and became one of Madonna’s iconic hits.
Madonna’s Previous Consideration of Unperformed Hits:
In 2019, Billboard asked Madonna to consider performing three songs on her Madame X Tour that she had never performed live: “This Used to Be My Playground,” “I’ll Remember,” and “Rescue Me.”
While she rehearsed “Rescue Me,” it was ultimately included in the show as a pre-recorded spoken word interlude while she was offstage.
