He engaged in precise tour rehearsals and enlisted Jim Henson's Creature Shop for production of his set, with design handled by Esmeralda Devlin, Martin Phillips, and John McGuire.

[2][3] The first show was supposed to be a two-night concert at Hammersmith Apollo in London, until West moved it to the city's O2 Arena on the night of November 22, 2007, as a result of heavy demand.

[6] On January 30, 2008, Kanye posted to his blog that he would be embarking on a tour leg for this year across North America, in the wake of the UK stint's success and the death of his mother Donda West.

[9][10] West teased his tour set-up to his US audience at the ceremony by wearing a flashing LED jacket and luminous shades, with neon lighting covering the stage.

[13] Following a show at The O2 Arena, the rapper wished for normalcy rather than being "under scrutiny and paparazzi" on the tour, expressing that he missed his mother and had "sacrificed real life" for his career.

He was supported by the likes of Mr Hudson and the Library, Consequence, Tony Williams, and Kid Cudi for the leg across Europe, while Nas accompanied him for shows in Oceania.

West reviewed his weaknesses and tried to escape by finding his way home to Earth,[5][18][6] after which Jane's computerized voice told him that he is needed as "the brightest star in the universe" and he performed "Stronger".

[20][22] He rapped for an hour and a half uninterrupted as he played a hero under a skyline dominated by asteroids, whirling clouds, bursting stars, and moonscapes, failing to break out to connect with others.

[20] West deployed a minimalist stage set-up for the tour, appearing alone besides his backup singers and 10–piece live pit band who wore body armour as they played in the dark.

[21][24][25][26] The rapper rocked a sci-fi outfit that consisted of glowing accessories, dark jeans, a leather jacket,[25] shoulder pad control panels,[19][26] gloves, and his signature shutter shades.

[22][26] Aliens appeared in floating bubbles, including a moving robot and a female monster who was suspended from wires, wearing a blue wig with her glowing eyes.

West issued a statement honoring how Absolut had collaborated with "the pre-eminent artists of the 20th century", including his inspirations Andy Warhol, Tom Ford, Keith Haring, and Helmut Newton.

"[31][32] A person also onlooks in confusion as a man in a club takes one and transforms into West while the rapper himself exits a bathroom stall; the ending shows a toll-free number for orders and the price of $19.95.

[31][32] A spokeswoman for Absolut said that their logo is shown once in the commercial on purpose for their audience to have their own experience rather than "telling them what it is", while they had the intention of capturing those spending more time online and consuming news media.

[20] Pareles highlighted its sci-fi theme and the momentum of West's stamina mixed with his lone self-determination, while he felt that he pushes hip-hop's boundaries alongside the support acts, despite the music's "less triumphal and more melancholy" rearrangements being held back by the concert's instrumentation.

[21] MacDonald finalized that West comes back to Earth "with the hard-won wisdom that life is a gift and every day a miracle", accompanied by three of hip-hop's most talented and versatile acts that gave strong performances.

He wrote that West continues his hero character by confronting terror, doubt, and "filial grief" to carry his braggadocio "into the realm of myth itself" with images that "saturated the stage floor" while escaping their boundaries.

[18] At the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Travis Nichols pointed to the concert as West's self-love fest primarily focused on him, a reputation he has even within "the narcissistic echo chambers of hip-hop".

[22] He said the rapper "got wide berth" and his impressive effort felt like "watching Kobe Bryant pour in 64 points just so the Lakers could lose by two", although he highlighted the space narrative and West's artistry through both his musicality and stage setting.

[34] On October 9, 2009, West announced Australian photographer Nabil Elderkin's book Glow in the Dark that was designed by graphic team Base and chronicles the tour's events.

West quickly apologized for the mistake over his blog and admitted he realized the wrong city had been named after the lack of a crowd response, succeeding this by mumbling his words.

[47] The rapper ranted on his blog against the paparazzi after the incident as he decried "the monster" they made him out to be and expressed that there should be a law of asking to photograph someone, citing how "the paps killed Princess Diana".