Madonna looked frail and exhausted in an ominous final Instagram post before her intensive care dash.
The music megastar developed a serious bacterial infection just days ago, with her tour now postponed as a result.
After suffering a medical emergency following intense rehearsals, the 64-year-old has spent several days under close observation.
As the Like A Prayer singer was taken into hospital, her family – including her six children – were said to have been "preparing for the worst".
Madonna's latest social media post offered some clues after she uploaded a series of somber snaps.
She captioned the photos: "The Calm Before The Storm………." after they were taken following some gruelling 12-hour days "strenuously" preparation.
Looking tired and in need of a rest, the icon was latest rushed to the unit after falling unwell.
According to PageSix, Madonna was found unresponsive and rushed to a hospital in New York on Saturday.
The news - which comes just two weeks before she was due to embark on her Celebration tour - was shared by her manager Guy Oseary on Instagram.
He wrote in a statement: "On Saturday, June 24, Madonna developed a serious bacterial infection which lead to a several-day stay in the ICU.
"Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care. A full recovery is expected. At this time we will need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour."
Guy concluded the statement by writing: "We will share more details with you as soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows."
PageSix said it had heard that Madonna was intubated for at least one night before having the tube removed. It added that she's now said to be alert and recovering.
Her upcoming tour - which was announced earlier this year - had been due to launch in Canada on July 15 and was scheduled to run for six months until January next year.
It's not known which dates are now affected, or whether the entire tour is going to be delayed, though Madonna was due to visit various countries over the course of the tour.
Following its launch, the tour was due to head to venues in the US, the UK, Sweden and other countries in the coming months before concluding with concerts in Mexico next year.
The tour is expected to celebrate her decades-long career in the music industry, which has included numerous chart-topping singles such as Like a Prayer, Vogue and Into the Groove.
