Despite decades as the ‘Queen of Pop’ as her latest album “Madame X” launches, Madonna says she feels ‘nervous’ and ‘excited’ every time she has a new record out. In an interview with Reuters, she described “Madame X” as a “chameleon.”
“Every song is a reflection of Madame X. Sometimes she’s a freedom fighter, sometimes she’s a cha cha instructor, sometimes she’s longing for love, sometimes she’s feeling nostalgic,” Madonna said. “Sometimes she’s thinking about all the people in the world who are suffering, who don’t have a voice and who need a voice and feels a sense of responsibility for those people.”
Her new Madame X alter ego is a reflection of the singer, who is known for repeatedly reinventing herself.
On her 14th studio album, Madonna addresses US gun control laws and uses a snippet of a speech by school shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez in the rousing single “I Rise,” a song she says aims to give a voice to marginalised people. “Dark Ballet,” a piano ballad infused with electronic pop, was inspired by Joan of Arc and references a world “up in flames” while in “Killers Who Are Partying,” she sings about the poor, exploited children as well as a woman raped.
Influenced by living in Lisbon, where Madonna joined local musicians in so-called living room sessions, the Latin-infused “Madame X” also takes listeners to street parties and the club with a spate of catchy tracks. Madonna also sings in Spanish and Portuguese on the 15-track album, which will be released on Friday.
Madonna, who shot to fame in the early 1980s with hits likes “Holiday” and “Like a Virgin,” has sold more than 300 million records worldwide, making her the best-selling female recording artist, according to Guinness World Records. Known for pushing boundaries and sometimes provocative imagery, her work has influenced scores of artists.
Asked how she felt about her career, she said: “I’m incredibly grateful to have been able to be successful for so long and to be able to be in a position that I am, to continue to create, to have the freedom to speak my mind and to feel inspired and creative.”
“I’ll keep speaking my mind, hopefully in an as artistic a way as possible because I do like to be political but I like to do it in a poetic way.”
Madonna describes herself as “a curious person, constantly searching for answers, for wisdom, for knowledge to understand what life is all about.”
“All of my work is informed by the things that I learn, so that’s what provokes the reinvention.”
