Madame X (album)
Madame X is the fourteenth studio album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on June 14, 2019, by Interscope Records. The album became her final studio album under the three-album contract with the record company. The record was creatively influenced by her expatriate life in Lisbon, Portugal, after relocating there in summer 2017 when seeking a top football academy for her son David Banda. Madonna co-wrote and co-produced the album with a number of musicians, including Mirwais, Mike Dean, Diplo, The Picard Brothers and Jason Evigan, during a process that lasted for 18 months. Madame X also features guest appearances by artists Maluma, Quavo, Swae Lee, and Anitta.
Madame X
June 14, 2019
2018–2019 in Lisbon, London, Los Angeles and New York
56:01
- English
- Portuguese
- Spanish
- Madonna
- Mirwais
- Mike Dean (also exec.)
- Diplo
- The Picard Brothers
- Billboard
- Jason Evigan
- Jeff Bhasker
- Pharrell Williams
Madame X is a concept album which represents a complete musical and lyrical departure from Madonna's previous releases, focusing on Latin, trap, art pop and world music, while dealing with political-oriented themes, including sexism, gun control, freedom of speech, racism and gay rights. To promote it, four singles were released: "Medellín", "Crave", "I Rise" and "I Don't Search I Find", while "Dark Ballet" and "Future" were promotional singles. To further promote Madame X, Madonna gave a number of televised performances and embarked on the Madame X Tour, an all-theatre tour which visited North America and Europe, from September 2019 to March 2020, and was chronicled in the documentary of the same name.
Madame X received generally positive reviews from music critics. Many of them complimented its progressive sound in comparison to her previous efforts, deeming the album as "bizarre" and called it her best since 2005's Confessions on a Dance Floor, while others were ambivalent towards its lack of cohesiveness. Madame X debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart, becoming her ninth number-one album in the United States. Elsewhere, it reached number-two in countries including Australia, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, while peaking within the top 10 in other 10 regions. By the end of 2020, Madame X had sold over 500,000 copies worldwide.
Background and development[edit]
In August 2017, Madonna relocated to Lisbon when seeking a top football academy for her son David Banda, who wanted to become a professional association football player.[1] She later stated that she had options of top academies in Turin and Barcelona, and Lisbon seemed the best choice for herself and her family.[2] While she thought the move was going to be "fun and adventurous", she soon realised that she was not suited to the lifestyle change, and began feeling depressed as she had no friends in the city. Although she felt happy for leaving the United States and seeing the world and looking at the world from another point of view, Madonna soon felt she needed to make friends and meet new people in order to improve her mental state.[3][4] She began meeting artists, such as painters and musicians, who would invite her to "living room sessions". In the sessions, they would bring food and sit around the table, and musicians would start playing instruments, singing Fado and samba music.[5]
One of the first musicians Madonna met in Lisbon was a man named Dino D'Santiago, who she called her "musical plug", and coached her on how to speak Portuguese and sing in Portuguese and Creole. He also introduced the singer to a number of musicians in the area, including some who ended up being featured on the album.[6] Believing "music is the soul of the universe", she felt connected to her new influences, so she then decided to record an album based on her musical experience in the country, which she referred to be "a melting pot of culture".[5]
Notes