Madonna starts her "Celebration" tour after a delay caused by a health scare

After a summer health scare, Madonna launched her surprisingly poignant new ‘Celebration’ world tour in London on Saturday.

The singer, who turned 65 in August, performed a melancholy set at the O2 Arena on opening night, paying tribute to Prince, Michael Jackson, and Sinead O'Connor.

According to the singer, her health issues made it “a crazy year for me.”

“My doctors and I didn't think I'd survive. So I woke up with all my kids surrounding me, she added.

In June, Madonna canceled the first leg of her “Celebration” tour in North America due to a bacterial infection.

I forget five days of my life—or death. She said she didn't know where she was and thanked her children for saving her "every time."

If you want to know my secret and how I survived, I thought, ‘I’ve got to be there for my children. I must survive for them, she replied.