Newsletters
Madonna released her 15th album, "Confessions II," on Friday, returning to the club-driven sound that helped define one of the strongest periods of her career and drawing some of her best reviews in years.
The 16-track album reunites the 67-year-old Queen of Pop with British producer Stuart Price, who worked with her on the 2005 global success "Confessions on a Dance Floor."
That record was powered by hits including "Hung Up" and "Sorry," and the new release has quickly been framed by critics as a follow-up to that era.
Several major outlets, including Rolling Stone, Variety and The Guardian, described "Confessions II" as Madonna's best album since "Confessions on a Dance Floor," especially after the more muted reactions to her recent releases "Rebel Heart" and "Madame X."
Rolling Stone called the album a "64-minute nonstop groove that flows like a club-DJ set, each song fading into the next, drawing from all over the history of dance music."
The Guardian said it was "not quite as good as Confessions on a Dance Floor," but still clearly her strongest album since then.
Patrick Thevenin, a journalist at French music magazine Les Inrockuptibles and an expert on Madonna, said expectations had leaned toward a ballad-heavy or Broadway-inspired project, but the album instead moves back toward dance music.
Although "Confessions II" is built around dancefloor fillers, meaning club-ready tracks designed to get people dancing, it also moves through pop, folk influences and a brief reggae turn with Colombian singer Feid.
The album also includes a collaboration with Dutch DJ Martin Garrix, a duet featuring a spoken-word performance by Belgian star Stromae, and a track recorded with Madonna's daughter Lola Leon.
Its most discussed collaboration is "Bring Your Love" with Sabrina Carpenter. The pair performed the song at Coachella festival in April, and the performance quickly went viral.
Another track, "Danceteria," pays tribute to the New York club where Madonna worked in the 1980s before becoming one of the world's most recognizable pop stars.
The Warner release has been backed by a strong promotional campaign, including a surprise mini-concert in New York's Times Square in early June to launch Pride Month, the annual celebration of LGBTQ rights and visibility.
Madonna is also due to perform at the halftime show of the Football World Cup final on July 19 alongside Shakira and K-pop group BTS.
Author Benoit Clerc, whose book analyzing Madonna's 305 songs is set to appear in October, said the campaign was far more forceful than the one behind her previous album.
"There is a genuinely aggressive strategy compared with the last album, a whole battle plan has been orchestrated. She's leaving nothing to chance," Clerc told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
