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Madonna's daughters leave fans speechless with surprise performance during Celebration tour

The Queen of Pop was joined on stage in London by her 17-year-old daughter Mercy and 10-year-old Estere


 Madonna performs during opening night of The Celebration Tour at The O2 Arena on October 14© Kevin Mazur
Georgia Brown
Senior Lifestyle & Fashion Writer
October 15, 2023
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Madonna lit up the O2 Arena in London's Greenwich on Saturday night, kicking off her career-spanning Celebration tour in the UK. 

The Queen of Pop, 65, played more than 40 of her greatest hits including Vogue, Like A Prayer, and Holiday as she dazzled the audience with a setlist of her most popular anthems. 

In one surprising moment during the show, the Like A Virgin! hitmaker took to the stage alongside her 17-year-old daughter Chifundo 'Mercy' James, who hit the keys on a grand piano and played the haunting instrumental to her mom's iconic hit Bad Girl. 

Madonna and Mercy James perform during opening night of The Celebration Tour at The O2 Arena on 14 October 2023 in London, England.© Kevin Mazur / Getty
Madonna and Mercy James perform during opening night of The Celebration Tour at The O2 Arena on 14 October 2023 in London, England.

Fans went wild for the moving mother-daughter moment, taking to TikTok to share their thoughts at the touching family performance. "This was the highlight of the show," wrote one fan, as another penned: "WOW Mercy is such a talented pianist!" 

"17 years old and you're going to out shine everyone like that? Ok girl!" added a third fan. 

Estere, Lourdes Leon and Madonna perform during opening night of The Celebration Tour© Kevin Mazur / Getty
Estere, Lourdes Leon and Madonna perform during opening night of The Celebration Tour

Showcasing her children's musical skills wasn't the only thing Madonna brought to the stage. The mom-of-six's 10-year-old daughter Estere enchanted the audience as she vogued to a mashup of her mom's most-famous song, strutting down the runway whilst performing a highly stylised improvised dance set. 

"Like mother, like daughter!" shouted an emcee, as Madonna and her eldest daughter Lourdes held up '10' paddles as if they were judging Estere in a voguing contest. Iconic!

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The multi award-winning superstar opened up about her parenthood journey in a Vanity Fair Italy interview in January 2023.

"Having children and raising them is a work of art. And no one gives you a manual," she said, "You have to learn from mistakes. It's a job that takes a lot of time. And it's tiring because there's never rest."

Photo shared by Madonna on her Instagram Stories August 2023 with her daughters, twins Stella and Estere plus Mercy, backstage at the Renaissance tour with Beyoncé and her daughter Rumi at MetLife Stadium on July 30.© Instagram
Madonna with her daughters, twins Stella and Estere plus Mercy, backstage at the Renaissance tour with Beyoncé

Madonna's daughter Chifundo 'Mercy' James was born in Malawi in 2006. Three years later, once Madonna had settled her divorce from ex-husband Guy Ritchie, she applied to adopt Mercy as a single mother from an orphanage in Blantyre, Malawi. 

Madonna and Mercy hugging and smiling© Getty Images
Madonna and Mercy celebrating after Mercy gave a speech at the opening of the pediatric and intensive care unit

The High Court initially rejected her application, but she was later approved to adopt Mercy on 12 June, 2009.The Michigan-born mom is full of love for her second-oldest daughter. 

Photo shared by Madonna on her Instagram Stories August 2023 with her daughters, twins Stella and Estere plus Mercy, attending Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour at the MetLife Stadium on July 30.© Instagram
Photo shared by Madonna on her Instagram Stories August 2023 with her daughters, twins Stella and Estere plus Mercy, attending Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour at the MetLife Stadium on July 30.

Madonna adopted her twin daughters Stella and Estere Ciccone in February 2017 when they were both five years old. 

Speaking to People following the adoption, she said: "I thought, 'What am I waiting for? Just do it,'" after she expressed how she'd been finding herself thinking: "'Why isn't my kitchen filled with dancing children?'"

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