The central theme of the concert was love and romance and, like past tours by the singer, was divided into different thematic segments: Joan of Arc/Samurai, Rockabilly Meets Tokyo, Latin/Gypsy, and Party/Flapper.

Despite a number of controversies, critics gave the tour generally positive reviews, with praise going to Madonna's stage presence, vocals and the imagery presented; it was also commercially successful, with all shows sold out, and an audience of over 1.05 million.

[22] Jamie King was signed as the creative director for the show, while Megan Lawson and Jason Young choreographed the 20 dancers through intricate acrobatic dance steps.

As "Devil Pray" and "Iconic" from the album played, the videos showed flamenco-inspired choreography, nuns dancing on poles, and an elaborate set adorned with dancers carrying giant props.

[30] Joking that the stage looked like a penis, Stufish architect Ric Lipson recalled Madonna saying: "hearts and penises are clearly very linked and this is God's way of setting [my] life in motion".

[42] A clip of the video was previewed by the singer before the tour started, showing her pushing against the cage, embracing a shirtless man and a troupe of soldiers walking with insignia.

The first video showed themes including confinement, love, sex and violence among others, which changed in the backdrop for "Bitch I'm Madonna", where Tull wanted to create abstract imagery, superfluous color and dancing elements.

[43] Madonna's official website unveiled a contest where fans submitted their artwork related to the singer, with them displayed as a live digital gallery during the performance of "Rebel Heart".

[46] The first segment, Joan of Arc/Samurai, began with a video showing Madonna in a gown, cavorting with bare-bodied males, and juxtaposed with Mike Tyson talking inside of a cage.

The next segment, Rockabilly Meets Tokyo, started with "Body Shop", where Madonna sang the song, alongside dancers dressed as mechanics, in front of a 1965 Ford Falcon.

A spiral staircase descended from the ceiling for a mashup of "HeartBreakCity" and "Love Don't Live Here Anymore", where a male dancer followed Madonna up and down the stairs before she pushed him off from the top.

The performance of "Material Girl" found Madonna pushing her tuxedo clad dancers down an incline; the number ended with the singer walking down the catwalk in a bridal veil and carrying a white bouquet, which she eventually threw to the audience.

She played the ukulele once again for "La Vie en rose" and ended the main set with "Unapologetic Bitch", where she invited someone from the audience, terming the person with the titular name, and gifting them with a banana.

[8] General sales for the tour started from March 9, 2015, and the North American tickets purchased online were bundled with an exclusive digital download of Rebel Heart.

[64] With the European leg starting, Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported that the concert at Stockholm's Tele 2 Arena drew a total of 40,557 in audience, making it a new record for the venue.

[72] Writing for the New York Daily News, Jim Farber noted that the most shocking aspect of the tour was not the provocative imagery and performances, but that Madonna appeared in a light mood and was smiling all throughout.

[77] Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone complimented Madonna's camaraderie during the show saying, "She hasn't reached so far onstage, musically or emotionally, since her 2001 Drowned World extravaganza.

[80] Ashley Lee from The Hollywood Reporter gave a similar feedback, saying that the singer "[showcased] her years of creative vision and onstage expertise to deliver an arena show packed with visual variety, thematic theatrics and inventive instrumentation to refresh even her earliest hits".

[81] Giving the concert a rating of B+, Melissa Maerz from Entertainment Weekly was surprised by Madonna's "playful" mood during the show, since she felt that the opening sequence was reminiscent of the darker intones during the MDNA Tour.

[82] In a review for New York magazine, Lindsay Zolatz commended the show, the dancers during "Illuminati", but criticized the excessive inclusion of Rebel Heart songs in the set list.

Nunstedt complimented the show's interactive nature, and commended the singer's speech regarding the November 2015 Paris attacks and singing "Like a Prayer" as a tribute to the victims and survivors.

[85] Andrea Annaratone from Italian Vanity Fair reviewed the shows in Turin and gave a similar feedback like Nunstedt, but he criticized Madonna for starting the concert late.

[87] Hester Carvalho from the NRC Handelsblad rated the Amsterdam show four stars out of five, noting that the concert gradually became more streamlined but had less synchronized dance moves unlike the MDNA Tour.

"[90] Another five star rating came from Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph who noticed that the loudest cheer from the audience came when Madonna successfully unraveled herself from her cape during "Living for Love", referencing her falling down at the Brit Awards 2015.

McCormick described the concert as "a dazzling hi-tech, multimedia melange of light and sound, with eye and mind boggling set pieces featuring fantasy medieval executioners, martial art fighting geishas, pole dancing nuns, simulated sex shows.

[92] Nick Levine from NME believed that "too much" of the songs from Rebel Heart "could have felt try-hard from [Madonna]", but "on stage she still works harder and delivers more thrills than her younger [peers]".

[89] Lauren James from the South China Morning Post found the show as "tightly choreographed", adding that "Hong Kong finally got to bask in Madonna's glow, but it was far too much fun to be a one-night stand".

"[95] Jojo Panaligan from the Manila Bulletin noted that Madonna's unapologetic attitude was on display at the show in Mall of Asia Arena, and observed that the crowd reacted positively.

[101] Madonna's Instagram post about her arrival in Taiwan caused controversy, when it was noted that the singer had used an old badge of the Taiwanese political party, the Kuomintang (associated with the White Terror incidents), instead of the actual national emblem.

[104] At the end of Madonna's second show in Brisbane, the singer accidentally exposed the breast of a 17-year-old girl named Josephine Georgiou on stage by pulling down her top.