CONFESSIONS II, released in July, is Madonna’s fifteenth studio album and a sequel to her 2005 Grammy-winning Confessions on a Dance Floor. But despite hitting number 1 in the UK and Canadian album charts, this much-awaited comeback (similar to Katy Perry‘s) feels disappointing to a new generation of listeners.
Preach!
We kick off the album with ‘I Feel So Free,’ an experimental track that relies heavily on spoken-word voiceovers and, as a result, feels more like a lecture than a song. Madonna’s tone is that of a woman who’s lived a full life and now wants to share her wisdom with her fans. And her message? Don’t underestimate the electronic genre. ‘Love Without Words’ is about the healing power of dance, while ‘Good For the Soul’ is an ode to the dance floor, a transcendent space where people can be free. Here you can ‘let down your hair and breathe in the air,’ Madonna tells us persuasively in her silky, sonorous voice.
Of course, one could argue that amidst a nightlife crisis, with a quarter of UK towns left without a single club, this should be a wake-up call to the industry. But the cost-of-living crisis is understandably far from Madonna’s mind. Instead, in ‘Everything,’ she bemoans that young people don’t ‘want to go outside anymore.’ Considering that this is someone who’s earned her fortune with hits like ‘Papa Don’t Preach,’ the lyrics felt rather preachy to a Gen Z listener like me.
Meaningless Collaborations
Having listened to the album, one of my biggest peeves is just how rubbish, for want of a better word, the collaborations with other musicians are. The renowned Stormae is heavily under-utilised in ‘My Sins Are My Savior.’ Considering that the Belgium-born artist is one of the most successful French-speaking singers on the planet, to confine him to a one-line voiceover towards the end of the song feels like a disservice. The forgettable ‘Read My Lips,’ featuring the Colombian musician Feid, is about confronting a lying partner and weaves together dance, reggaeton and country influences. The pop princess Sabrina Carpenter joins Madonna on ‘Bring Your Love.’ But let’s be honest, she was roped in purely to attract a younger audience. The song itself is mediocre, and Carpenter’s vocals are so autotuned that she sounds robotic.
By far the standout collaboration is with Lola Leon, a 29-year-old American singer (and daughter of Madonna) who made her debut in 2022. In ‘The Test,’ addressing someone who is affectionately called ‘my little star,’ Madonna speaks of her regret at not realising the strain that the ‘flashing lights’ had on her relationships with loved ones. The pair’s vocals work really well together and, unlike the other collaborations on the album, this one feels as though Leon’s voice was made for the song. On a deeper level, the song speaks of the toll that fame takes, not just on the celebrity, but on their inner circle. With Ariana Grande recently making headlines for her decision to step away from public life, it is clear that the themes discussed in ‘The Test’ remain relevant to today’s stars.
Mirror Image
It is perhaps no surprise that numerous songs from CONFESSIONS II feel like sluggish remakes from Madonna’s previous albums, particularly Confessions on a Dance Floor. For example, ‘Betrayal’ (2026) and ‘Sorry’ (2005) both ponder what it means to forgive someone. ‘L.E.S. Girl’ (2026) and ‘Forbidden Love’ (2005) deal with similarly romantic themes. But while Forbidden Love is a happy love story — ‘once upon a time, there was a boy and there was a girl,’ as the chorus goes — ‘L.E.S. Girl’ features a girl who is crying over a boy with ‘dirty bleach-blonde roots’ and a ‘leather jacket.’
To some extent, the two albums are meant to be intertwined, but CONFESSIONS II doesn’t feel like a continuation or progression of the themes raised in 2005. Frustratingly, it is the golden oldies that sound so much better. The vaguely catchy ‘Love Sensation’ (2026) is about a ‘pure’ and ‘trust[worthy]’ partner, while 2005 Madonna sings about someone who pushes her ‘when [she] think[s] she know[s] it all.’ Both songs reference partners who encourage her to be a better version of herself, but Push achieves a euphoniousness that Love Sensation could only dream of. ‘Danceteria’ is the closest to a foot-stomper we have in CONFESSIONS II, and even then, it has nothing on the reverberating beat of ‘Hung Up.’ Sadly, because Madonna spends the entire song listing the names of celebrities she met in the ’80s (all of which went over my Gen Z head), the impression is more of a fading star pining for her heydays instead of another unforgettable dance track.
‘My Sins Are My Savior’ (2026) and ‘Isaac’ (2005) are also comparable. They both share religious imagery and favour real instruments over electronic beats. In Savior, a haunting piano number concludes the song, while Issac pays tribute to Middle Eastern music by layering numerous folk instruments, such as the shofar, dulcimer and percussion. However, that’s where the similarities end. My Sins Are My Savior is another forgettable effort, whereas Isaac casts a spell on you (largely thanks to Yitzhak Sinwani’s impressive vocals). The blend of traditional instruments and modern dance beats has helped the song feel fresh for over two decades, something that Savior is unlikely to accomplish.
Maturity
That is not to say that CONFESSIONS II is a regression. A few of Madonna’s new songs reveal a certain nuance that’s lacking throughout the album’s poppier numbers. ‘Bizarre’ details a relationship in which the man doesn’t want to share the limelight with his partner. Echoing the manosphere, this tells of someone who feels threatened by a woman’s success. ‘Fragile’ speaks to those who have lost a loved one and sees Madonna trying to comfort somebody who’s ‘been hurt before.’ It is tender yet determined, mournful but hopeful. ‘Betrayal’ encourages listeners not to cling to hate, even when they want to. ‘Open the dam, let the water rush in // Let it go,’ the sage tells us, Marcus Aurelius Meditations-style. Songs such as these display a welcome tone of emotional maturity that would have elevated CONFESSIONS II to a whole new level.
For me, Madonna’s latest offering suffers from one cardinal sin: a lack of originality. With generally half-baked lyrics, CONFESSIONS II feels like a desperate attempt by the Queen of Pop to remain relevant to a new generation of listeners. The stats speak for themselves. The album peaked at Number 1 in the UK, only to plummet to 9th place in week two, and currently holds 60th place. What does this tell us? The Queen of Pop can still command people’s attention, but only briefly. My generation has already moved on.
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