For most of Madonna’s career, it was déclassé to repeat yourself; to be seen as passé was a fate worse than death. These unspoken principles guided Madonna past the end of the 20th century after a reputation-building streak of collaborations with Reggie Lucas (“Borderline”), Nile Rodgers (“Like a Virgin”), and Patrick Leonard (“Live to Tell,” “Like a Prayer”). The ballooning scope and ambition of each successive release kept her forever in step with the pulse of the club at the time.
But the chart failures of ‘American Life’ in 2003 inspired something she doesn’t much endeavor: From the screaming 1979 ABBA sample of the lead single, “Hung Up,” 2005’s ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’ reconnected Madonna with her roots as a late-’70s club diva, feeding off her own rich history instead of morphing sonically to meet present trends. She now revisits the conceit of that latter-day classic with ‘Confessions II,’ her best new release since the first installment, writes critic Craig Jenkins.
Madonna is, like Paul McCartney this year, animated by rummaging through her own vaults. A second ‘Confessions’ is a smart play not just in the wake of renewed interest in her back catalogue but also a trail of Madonna full-lengths in the past two decades that made some points but never matched the highs of her 2005 opus. “The songwriting is airtight, regal but sometimes necessarily absurd, and tastefully cognizant of which points in Madonna’s career are most beloved,” writes Jenkins. “It’s a treat for a pop star who so furtively avoids circling home base to slide back to the lower Manhattan arts playgrounds that boosted her music and film careers, to shout out seminal clubs and DJs who put her on.”
Read Jenkins’s full review of Madonna’s latest album: https://t.co/AUKDolkwlc
I’m PROUD of these women: Normani, RyanDestiny, Mya, ChloeBailey, & Seyvn. With less than a week of rehearsal, they were committed & Focused on this Aaliyah tribute. #Fatima, who was behind all the original moves, worked with each of the girls tirelessly. The original band members who played for Aaliyah also came together for this moment, along with some of her original dancers🕺🏼Nisan, Mona, Blair, Tia, Marley, Derrick, Pavlo, Karl kani, Roger & Aylx. The entire team you are so APPRECIATED for your hard work! 🙌🏾
We wanted to use the original content from the original videos, but we do not own it unfortunately🙏🏾 Again, thank you to everyone involved for giving their all. 🫶🏾@Essence much love to you all🙏🏾
Thank you @RAD_6, for just being Amazing🙏🏾
Aaliyah, you are FOREVER LOVED! It’s only 1 of YOU🫶🏾
A forma como Madonna construiu a narrativa da letra de Danceteria, descrevendo suas primeiras amizades, parcerias artísticas e influências que marcaram o início da sua carreira é uma canetada de milhões. Madonna deveria ser muito mais reconhecida como a compositora genial que é
The iconic 'But I'm a Cheerleader' debuted in the US 26 years ago today 😱
The cult classic LGBTQ+ film uses high-camp satire to critique conversion therapy while offering a vibrant and queer-affirming storyline.
Directed by Jamie Babbit and starring Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall and Melanie Lynskey, it empowered queer femme visibility and validated self-acceptance over societal shame, especially during an era in film dominated by tragic queer stories.
📷 Lionsgate