Madame X (album)
Madame X is the fourteenth studio album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on June 14, 2019, under Interscope Records, as Madonna's final album with the label, before returning back to Warner Records. The record was creatively influenced by her expatriate life in Lisbon, Portugal, after Madonna relocated there in mid-2017 to put her son David Banda into a top football academy. 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 18 months. Madame X also features guest appearances by artists Maluma, Quavo, Swae Lee and Anitta.
Madame X is a concept album which represents a musical and lyrical departure from Madonna's previous releases, focusing on Latin, trap, art pop and world music. It deals with political themes including sexism, gun control, freedom of speech, racism and gay rights, similar to her ninth studio album American Life. Four singles were released: "Medellín", "Crave", "I Rise" and "I Don't Search I Find". The songs "Dark Ballet" and "Future" were released as promotional singles to raise interest in the album. To further promote Madame X, Madonna performed on television shows such as the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, at which augmented reality was incorporated into the performance. She also 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 by Madonna in her documentary film Madame X.
The music on Madame X received generally positive reviews from critics. Many of them complimented the progressive sound in comparison to her previous efforts, deeming the album "bizarre" and "patchwork", yet calling it her best since 2005's Confessions on a Dance Floor. Madame X debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart, becoming Madonna's ninth number-one album in the United States. It reached number two in Australia, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, while charting highly in ten other countries. By the end of 2020, Madame X had sold over 500,000 copies worldwide.
Background and development
In August 2017, Madonna relocated to Lisbon after seeking a top football academy for her son David Banda, who wanted to become a professional association football player. She later stated that she had options of top academies in Turin and Barcelona, but Lisbon seemed the best choice for herself and her family. While she thought the move was going to be "fun and adventurous", she soon realized that she was not suited to the lifestyle change, and felt depressed without local friends. She began meeting artists, such as painters and musicians, who would invite her to their "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.One of the first musicians Madonna met in Lisbon was Dino D'Santiago, who she called her "musical plug"; he taught her to speak and sing Portuguese, and also to sing in D'Santiago's native Cape Verdean Creole. He also introduced the singer to a number of musicians in the area, including some who ended up being featured on the album. Believing "music is the soul of the universe", she felt connected to her new influences, so she decided to record an album based on her musical experience in the country, which she referred to be "a melting pot of culture".
Writing and recording sessions
In January 2018, Madonna announced on her Instagram account that she had begun work on her fourteenth studio album, posting a shot of herself singing into a microphone with the caption: "Feels so good to be working on music again!". When Madonna moved to Lisbon, she was in the process of writing a script for a film, and was trying to raise money with investors, but the project fell through. She decided to use her free time to make music, after being inspired by the living room sessions she had attended. Initially, the singer had no intention of recording an album, as she was "just playing around and experimenting", but then she realized she was "officially making a record". She disclosed that she had recorded her two previous albums—MDNA and Rebel Heart —reluctantly, as she was concentrating on parallel projects at the time, but this time she started recording as she "got bored". Madonna split her time between Lisbon, London, New York and Los Angeles to record the album, in a process which lasted over 18 months.Inspired by the melancholy and the feeling of Portuguese music, Madonna turned to music producer Mirwais, who had previously co-produced three of her albums, Music, American Life and Confessions on a Dance Floor. She sent him demos, as she wanted to make the music her own and make it sound more modern. Mirwais sent his ideas back to Madonna a few days later; she recalled that he had added elements such a Roland TR-808, and "turned it into something amazing". The singer also explained that she wanted to work with Mirwais again as they shared similar personalities and were interested in experimenting, and further disclosed that she likes the fact that "he breaks the rules and doesn't think or hear in a conventional way", and does not have any rules about how music should sound. She said that their similar minds make them start debates about everything that is going on in the world while in the studio, and it reflects in the politically oriented music. "Killers Who Are Partying" was the first song out of the six they wrote for the album, built around the sample of a guitar Madonna had recorded herself during a Fado session. During her promotion for Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones album, she retrospectively stated this was her favorite song.
Madonna revealed in January 2019 that she was working with the Cape Verdean drummer collective Batukadeiras Orchestra. The singer became interested in working with the collective after watching a "mesmerizing and hypnotizing" performance of theirs which she described as a "wild" experience. In the collaboration, Madonna would write down some words in the studio and encourage the Batukadeiras to "just repeat" after her. As they were not used to using microphones, the production team had to record things separately because Madonna was singing in time, while the collective was playing in their txabeta triplet time. After being introduced by D'Santiago, Madonna became fascinated with the music of Guinea-Bissau native Kimi Djabaté. As both the Batukadeiras and Djabaté did not speak English, D'Santiago acted as a translator in the studio. Madonna sent them the other songs she had recorded for the album as she wanted to know if they sounded authentic.
"Crave" was one of the first songs Madonna wrote for Madame X with American musician Starrah, but the song was put on hold when she began working in Lisbon. Upon reviewing all the songs she had written, Madonna listened to the track again and thought a male voice was needed on it, and asked rapper and singer Swae Lee to sing "Crave" with her. In December 2018, singer Anitta shared a selfie with Madonna on her social media accounts, revealing that they were working together. Anitta was introduced to Madonna by photographer Mert Alas when she was looking to record a song in Brazilian Portuguese and pay tribute to her fans who are native from the country. Madonna said it felt very different than Portugal's Portuguese, so she had to relearn the language with the help of Anitta. Months later, in February 2019, singer Maluma posted a photo in the studio with Madonna; they had met backstage at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, and she decided to collaborate with Maluma after she learned of their mutual love of horses. While discussing her choice of artists to collaborate for the record, Madonna said that it happens instinctively and in an organic way.
Title and artwork
On April 15, 2019, a one-minute teaser was uploaded to Madonna's official social media accounts, in which she declares herself as Madame X, an alter-ego the album is named after, which is also the title of a 1908 play written by Alexandre Bisson, as well as an infamous 1884 portrait by artist John Singer Sargent. In the video, Madonna donned several costumes and identities while explaining the concept behind the album. The singer claimed she was given the moniker "Madame X" by her dance teacher Martha Graham at the age of 19, when the singer attended dance classes at her school. Madonna's refusal to comply with the school's strict dress code got her sent to Graham's office regularly, which led Graham to tell Madonna, "I'm going to give you a new name: Madame X. Every day, you come to school and I don't recognize you. Every day, you change your identity. You're a mystery to me." She shared the story with designer Jeremy Scott during a visit in Lisbon, and suggested that it could be the record's title, to which she agreed. In the teaser, Madonna gave further details concerning the album and her alter-ego, which features different personas and characters:
"I decided to call my record Madame X. Madame X is a secret agent. Traveling around the world. Changing identities. Fighting for freedom. Bringing light to dark places. She is a dancer. A professor. A head of state. A housekeeper. An equestrian. A prisoner. A student. A mother. A child. A teacher. A nun. A singer. A saint. A whore. A spy in the house of love. I am Madame X".
Madame Xs album artworks were taken from a January 18, 2019 photoshoot with photographer Steven Klein in Lisbon, Portugal. The cover for the standard edition features Madonna wearing diamond art deco earrings by Pennisi Jewelry, with azeviche black hair, pale skin, arched eyebrows, thin smile and red lipstick. The album's title was etched across her lips to give the illusion of her mouth being sewn shut. Some journalists compared the imagery to that of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, while a writer on The Art Newspaper noted that the artwork also referenced Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky, who had previously sewed his mouth shut in a protest. In an interview with iHeartRadio's The Box, Madonna disclosed that she is representing her mother on the cover, Madonna Fortin, as the picture depicts what she looked like, and it meant a lot to her. Madonna's mother's lips were sewn shut when she died, which was previously depicted in the music video for "Oh Father". Mike Wass from Idolator called it an "already-iconic artwork". The cover for the deluxe edition features a platinum-blonde Madonna depicting a Soviet revolutionary, and was used on the digital deluxe and box set versions. For this alternative artwork, the singer seemed to "recreate the cover illustration of a 1910 novel adaptation by J.W. McConaughy", as noted by Papers Michael Love Michael. A third album artwork features a brunette Madonna holding a guitar in front of a wall of blue tiles, and was used for the deluxe two-CD and box set releases. Another promotional picture for Madame X was shared by Madonna in her social media networks, depicting a nipple pierced by a single red rose, which she described as a "portrait of a lady"; it was criticized by the media. Attitudes Matthew Barton described the album's standard artwork and packaging as a "labour of love", and praised the deluxe box set as a "stroke of genius".