"We have so much to celebrate,” Madonna told the 44,000 at Dodger Stadium on November 6, 2008 during her Stick & Sweet Tour.

The Material Girl had many reasons to beam. She was about 1/3 of the way through an 85-date world tour that when it was completed would be ranked as the highest-grossing tour ever by a solo artist and the second-highest of all time overall, behind only The Rolling Stones’ A Bigger Bang Tour.

The album she was touring in support of, Hard Candy, her 11th studio release, had debuted at #1 in over 30 countries and extended her streak of Top 10 charting albums.

No, really.

Madonna (1983, #8), Like a Virgin (1984, #1), True Blue (1986, #1), Like a Prayer (1989, #1), Erotica (1992, #2), Bedtime Stories (1994, #3), Ray of Light (1998, #2), Music (2000, #1), American Life (2003, #1), Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005, #1), and Hard Candy (2008, #1).

The legendary singer / songwriter / icon / and dancer also had an extra skip to her step because the US had just elected its first Black president.

So when fans speculated if there would be any guest appearances at her Los Angeles stop, they were expecting perhaps Timbaland or Pharrell, who had both contributed to the album.

Timbaland co-produced “Miles Away,” “Dance 2Night,” and "4 Seconds" on the album. Pharrell, who was part of the Neptunes then, did even more by co-writing and producing “Give It 2 Me,” “Heartbeat,” “She’s Not Me,” “Candy Shop,” and “Beat Goes On.”

So let's just say when during the third song of the 20-tune set, the crowd was totally surprised to see Britney Jean Spears stroll down the catwalk of the stage to the side of a foul-mouthed Madonna.

Madonna, of course, playing a Les Paul and wearing a silver top hat.

"Express yourself, don't repress yourself," Spears sang as she made the long walk.

"Hey Britney," Madonna said in the most casual way.

During the tour Madonna would perform while a video of "Human Nature" was playing above and around her. In it are images of Spears trapped in an elevator as she freaks out.

In 2009 Rolling Stone asked Madonna, "is that how you analogize what's happened in her career?

Madonna: Yes. Didn't that explain what I thought? "I'm not your bitch, don't hang your shit on me." I just think people should mind their own business and let her grow up. I think everyone goes off the deep end at one time or another, and she, like Michael Jackson, didn't really have a childhood, so there are some inherent problems in that scenario. I have a lot of compassion for her, and I hope that she can find balance in her life. I don't know how bad her meltdown was. One can't believe everything one reads."

In the fourth and final act of the show, during "4 Minutes," to everyone's surprise, including Fergie, JLo, Rick Rubin, and Miss Drew Barrymore who were in attendance, Britney's former beau, Justin Timberlake appeared.

The pair had recorded the song for Hard Candy and it was released as the lead single. The banger, produced by the aforementioned soared to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in more than 20 countries. Madonna said the 2x Grammy nominated single was a call to "save the world" before time runs out.

The official video has been seen 246 million times - her 7th most-popular video, nipping at the heels of "Papa Don't Preach."

In that same Rolling Stone interview she was asked if she sees any of her influence on JT.

"There’s people like Justin Timberlake, who’s really good-looking and laid-back. He’s sort of a Cary Grant. I love him, I love working with him, but I don’t recognize myself in him," she said.

"But I can see myself in Lady Gaga."

Since Madonna, Britney, nor Justin have any tour dates on their calendar for the rest of this year, why not see what she's talking about and check out Lady Gaga who is in Europe right now?

Get your tix on Mother Monster's website.

Mayhem Ball Tour 2025-2026

11/09 Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, Netherlands
11/11 Sportpaleis Arena, Antwerp, Belgium
11/13-11/14 LDLC Arena, Lyon, France
11/17-11/18 Accor Arena, Paris, France
11/20 Accor Arena, Paris, France
11/22 Accor Arena, Paris, France
12/05-12/06 Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia
12/09 Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia
12/12-12/13 Accor Stadium, Sydney, Australia
1/21-1/22 Kyocera Dome Osaka, Osaka, Japan
1/25-1/26 Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
1/29-1/30 Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
2/14-2/15 Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, AZ
2/18-2/19 Kia Forum, Inglewood, CA
2/22-2/23 Kia Forum, Inglewood, CA
2/28-3/1 Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX
3/4 State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
3/6 State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
3/8-3/9 Moody Center, Austin, TX
3/13 Kaseya Center, Miami, FL
3/19-3/20 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
3/23-3/24 Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
3/29-3/30 TD Garden, Boston, MA
4/2-4/3 Bell Centre, Montreal, Canada