Madonna is the undisputed Queen of Pop. The best-selling female recording artist of all time has sold 400 million records, performed 12 concert tours and won over 300 awards spanning a 43-year career.
Her much-anticipated new album, Confessions II, has sold 500,000 copies in its first month of release. Its electro sound, closer to Goldfrapp than Madonna herself, epitomises her ever-changing style. But does this constant self-reinvention represent her refusal to be easily defined? Or is there another reason behind the Pop Queen’s history of metamorphoses?
The Power of Confidence
Madonna’s second album, Like A Virgin (1984), put her on the map. She gained traction for her ‘confidence,’ Poppy, a Gen Z fan tells me, adding: ‘She never seemed afraid to be herself or speak her mind, even when criticised. That’s really inspiring because it encourages people, especially women, to be confident in who they are and not let others hold them back.’ Poppy grew up listening to Madonna; proof that the Material Girl still radiates the same appeal that made her a ’90s icon. The Madge we knew was characteristically provocative without being fake, even willing to explore imperfections that women still get criticised for.
While ’80s Madonna was a pop mouthpiece for women desiring financial security (Material Girl) and intimacy (Into The Groove), the ’90s saw this honesty blossom into vulnerability. A more melancholic Madonna was confronting emotional numbness with singles like ‘Frozen,‘ asserting victory in defeat in ‘The Power of Goodbye‘ and ‘Tak[ing] a Bow,’ and a moment to process all the things that make us human.
By 2003, fans and Madonna alike had outgrown her ’80s and ’90s schtick, and her American Life album undersold. This was perhaps the moment when the Material Girl, grounded in authenticity, appeared to start selling out. Naughties Madonna was doing absolutely anything for the oxygen of publicity. Kissing Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera during a televised performance caused media ripples, especially after a lesbian kiss had been omitted from Scooby Doo (2002). Sure, her 1989 ‘Like A Prayer’ video sent shockwaves, but it plays with biblical themes like countless other works. These latest antics were different and looked like apparent stunts rather than artistically informed ideas to supplement her music.
Causing a Commotion
After filming herself reflecting on COVID in a bathtub, she went viral. When she flew commercial, journalists mentioned her in articles criticising other celebrities for private jets. By tying herself to the headlines, Madge’s SEO has remained strong. The fact that we’re still talking about this proves my point.
And do you recall that mortifying tumble that led to the hashtag #TeamMadonna? When she ‘fell down the stairs at the Brit Awards about 10 years ago. That’s the only thing I think of when I think of Madonna,’ says Ruby, another Gen Z-er. Even if this wasn’t another marketing ploy, Madonna still wins when it comes to being memorable.
Does Madonna’s desire for attention extend to her music? Some Gen Z music fans tell me that they ‘don’t think Madonna has translated to our generation at all.’ Could this explain the persistent collaborations since American Life with artists who boast large, young fanbases? For Confessions II, we see Madonna reprise this tactic with popstar-of-the-moment Sabrina Carpenter in ‘Bring Your Love.’ So, is Madonna strategically clinging to high-profile mainstream artists for the younger following? Or does this cynicism overlook her genuine artistic range, versatility, and the ability to move with the times while also defining them in her own way? This may be something for the readers to decide. There are other collaborations on the album, notably from musical virtuoso Stromae, but they are not headliners. And while the songs borrow from different genres, from electro, Latin (Read My Lips) and folk (L.E.S Girls), somehow they are lost or never given enough impetus to become memorable.
Strategic Marketing
For all its imperfections, Confessions II cannot be accused of lacking artistic merit. The Art is there, but hidden beneath layers of strategic marketing.
Track by track, the album submerges the listener ever deeper into an energising yet soothing techno trance. The last quarter perfectly describes the night’s end: ‘lumières’ switching on (‘Read My Lips’), walking home through deserted streets (‘Betrayal’), and bedtime (lullaby-esque ‘L.E.S Girls’). The final, less electro-y section is tailor-made for older fans with longer attention spans. If you stick with it, you’ll hear some of the more traditional instrumentation and range of vocal techniques.
What’s interesting but not unusual for Madonna is that many of the songs on the album are ‘spoken’ songs, evoking the immersive hubbub of a disco. These tracks are not meant to be catchy. Listeners must replay them to capture their allusive hook. Both ‘Danceteria’ and ‘Bring Your Love’ very consciously echo Madonna’s early hits, ‘Vogue’ and ‘Express Yourself.’ This is arguably where Madonna, as a songwriter, can best reconnect with her younger self and remind us of her earlier work.
Even if this latest output from the Queen of Pop does have a strong commercial presence, why the hate? Contractual obligations usually demand high engagement and album sales. All those working alongside her need to be paid. These are just the facts of being a high-profile artist. In which case, Confessions II might reveal more about us as consumers and the kind of economy we live in than the singer’s marketing preferences.
It’s no secret that the music industry is ageist, immature and superficial. Guaranteed profit has always been prioritised over music that experiments and takes a risk. As for young fans, they continue to be the unofficial judges of ‘good’ music, especially in the age of social media. Playing an artist’s song on your video is effectively free advertising. This explains Madonna’s shrewd preference for collaborating with young artists rather than choosing duos with ‘old hats.’ Unlike France, where veteran singers are adored, the English-speaking music scene is stuck in the teenybopper epoch.
And so, for an industry obsessed with youth, Madonna is arguably only responding to what’s expected of her. Collabs with Gen Z’s favourite singers and communicating through apps like TikTok are her main weapons of choice. Her recent interview with Graham Norton gave off a distinctive Carpenter vibe in the looks department, but whether that was deliberate or accidental is anyone’s guess.
Despite Madonna’s visibility, she remains someone who likes to keep certain things private and closed off from the public. In what was supposed to be a deep dive into the work of a landmark musician with Graham Norton, the big questions were politely dodged and less than ten minutes given to discussing her songwriting, inspirations and artistic process. The 48-minute interview mainly covers old ground and treats Madge like a famous-for-being-famous celebrity. The whole ‘interaction’ feels more like an awkward encounter between a gossip columnist and a disengaged Z-lister than between a respected TV host and one of the world’s most famous singers.
The Sleepwalkers’ Era
The website www.lyrics.com would never exist today. Instead of rereading lyrics for hidden meanings, today’s fans care more about watching an artist exit a restaurant or go viral for, well, anything. Singers of very little artistic merit (I prefer not to name names and will let readers make their own selection) are being praised as ‘iconic’ for random things that have nothing to do with songwriting or performing. Being memorable and recognisable seems to trump talent. Madonna understands and adheres to this rule, either grabbing headline space when an opportunity arises or staying aloof and generating interest some other way. Isn’t that called moving with the times while also reflecting them? Instead of capturing the zeitgeist, as she once did with her incisive lyrics, this later Madonna has chosen to become a part of it — which is perhaps preferable to being an outsider.
Critics and appreciators with more conservative tastes argue that her music has become irrelevant. But that’s because most of us have sleepwalked into the barely-conscious way we now consume music. It’s just too convenient to resist clicking on YouTube and watching the latest hit, especially when a catchy headline grabs your attention and instantly takes you to the video. This is how today’s artists attract our attention: subliminally. Listeners don’t need to be fans; they just need to click that ‘Play’ button.
As recently as the 2000s, bands were ‘dedicated to the awakening of a sleeping nation,’ getting listeners to ‘Take a Look Around’ and Rag[ing] Against The Machine of oppression. By successfully targeting a sedated audience, Confessions II reveals who we’ve become. Lazier, sleepier, more apathetic and numbed by social media and celebrity culture, we prefer to dismiss injustice and say ‘it is what it is’ than rage against it. The album’s submerging effect, deadened vocals and superficial lyrics align perfectly with the disengaged way we consume media. Little wonder it has done so well. This may help us understand Madonna’s palpable disengagement during that Graham Norton interview. A lucid audience struggles to identify with this new persona she’s created, but that’s not her main target demographic anymore.
It’s a good job Madonna keeps reinventing herself, or she’d be out of the business by now.
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