"[Madonna] is still unmatched in her ability to lift cultural iconography into the mainstream". On the contrary, Rafael Estefanía expressed that "the technological visual feast sometimes overshadowed the music itself", an opinion that was shared by El País and Entertainment Weeklys John McAlley. NMEs Alex Needham called the tour a tribute to her "incredible graft, magnetic appeal and, above all, her supreme ability at making pop music"; he also said that if other musicians were to put "a tenth of the creative energy" into concerts as Madonna, "we would all be a lot better off". On a similar note, Phil Gallo from Variety opined that the "mesmerizing and confident" Drowned World Tour "puts to shame any singer who thinks she might have a shot at Ms. Ciccone's pop throne". Michael Hubbard further added: "you’d struggle to find a better show [...] and you’d find it difficult to find a mainstream artist who can command near-universal respect for anything like as long as this fine lady". Writing for The Guardian, Alex Petridis explained that "her contemporaries are either in reduced circumstances or languishing in the middle of the road [...] Madonna, however, still twists hip dancefloor trends to her own design". He ultimately concluded that "with its perfect dance routines, special effects, devoted audience and hint of bullish arrogance, the Drowned World show befits the world's most famous woman". For John McAlley, it wasn't up to par to 1990's Blond Ambition World Tour but was better than The Girlie Show; "[Drowned World] offers plenty of artiness, attitude, eye candy, and its own brand of ambition" [...] there are plenty of reasons to bow at this artist's feat". Alberto Armendáriz from Argentinean newspaper La Nación felt that the only "criticizable" aspect was that "the whole affair [was] so tightly scripted, it left no room for spontaneity or interactions" between the singer and the audience. Jon Pareles, from The New York Times, said the singer's voice sounded "fuller and smoother" than on previous tours, particularly in performances such as "I Deserve It" (2000) and "You'll See" (1995). Nonetheless, he criticized her "arrogance" and use of profanities. "[She] represents self-love backed by plenty of gym time and a whole troupe of devoted flunkies – enough to delight an audience she only seems to disdain. Music makes the people come together, – together, that is, if Madonna is in charge", Pareles concluded. From Spin, Joshua