Madonna- Confessions II
Label: Warner
Producers: Madonna, Stuart Price, Andrew Watt, Cirkut, Tainy, Martin Garrix, Osrin, Lanita Smith, Triangle Park, Mustapha LeBeau, Mirwais Ahmadzai
Easily one of the most anticipated albums of the summer, not to mention all of 2026, Confessions II brings to glorious fruition Madonna’s long-rumored and anticipated sequel to her seminal 2005 club masterclass, Confessions on a Dance Floor. While that unexpected comeback certainly didn’t serve as the legend’s final moment of glory–there’s plenty of strong music to be found on the four records she’s released in the two decades since–it does stand as her final cultural blockbuster to date. Naturally, this thrusts plenty of heightened expectations upon II, especially given Madonna’s ability to manifest a renaissance unlike any other performer in pop history. Whether such a fate awaits the new record will only be told with time. But what Confessions II does immediately reveal itself to be is a glowing demonstration that, at 67 years of age, Madonna remains as commanding an entertainer and as vibrantly inspired an artist as ever before.
As on its predecessor, she reunites with Stuart Price in the principal production role, and together they once again craft a dazzling and entrancing DJ-club environment that is as instantly alluring as the soundscapes of the original Confessions. Madonna’s voice itself does occasionally show signs of its sixty-seven years, but she and Price consistently craft a setting to use it to its fullest potential, and there are multiple performances here that are as beautifully resonant and haunting as others from her peak-period. And as expected from Madge, everything else here is utterly ageless, from her unapologetically sexual imagery, to her effortless ability in delivering dance beats and pop hooks with the same contagious confidence as acts less than half her age. As ever before, Madonna continues to champion and advocate for the facts that a woman’s (or anyone’s for that matter) sexuality, confidence, vitality, and relevance need not be defined by any number.
However, what is truly most inspiring about this album is how confessional the lyrics and messages of the music prove to be. Of course, there was a deeper meaning lingering underneath all the euphoria of the original Confessions as well, most prominently in its narrative arc about the dance-floor providing relief, healing, and perseverance over lost love. And Madonna has never shied away from examining the impact of fame on both popular culture, as well as her own personal life. But at this stage in her life and career, the sentiments of these songs find her reckoning with her entire identity like never before on record. In the process, she once again makes a powerful proclamation about the underrated artistic relevance and power that both pop and dance music offer, not to mention the feeling of belonging and safety that it provides her within her own existence. These deep and striking reflections shine through on both the spoken intros and musical components of tracks like “I Feel So Free”, which serves as the album’s opening manifesto, the emotionally cathartic “Good for the Soul”, the hypnotic “Love Without Words”, and especially “One Step Away”, which directly strikes out against those who dismiss dance music as purely superficial. Madonna has spoken about crafting a second installment of Confessions at a time when an escapism from the real world is critically needed culturally. But the fact that she speaks so personally here about the aspects of life that she personally wants to escape from adds such a poignant and potent emotional depth to the album.
And listeners can rest assured that there are plenty of flat-out, escapist bangers to be found to serve this purpose. Singles like the Sabrina Carpenter duet, “Bring Your Love”, “Love Sensation”, and especially, “Danceteria” (a thrilling tribute to the iconic NYC dance-club), all offer endless dance bliss. In many ways, they recall career touchstones like “Express Yourself”, “Into the Groove”, and “Vogue” as much as anything from the original Confessions. Meanwhile, the Feid collaboration, “Read My Lips” harkens back to the bopping Latin influence of 1987’s “La Isla Bonita”, while the sensual “School” tips its hat to her groundbreaking Erotica-era. As on the original, there are several samplings to be found, including Lil Louis’ “French Kiss”, Inner City’s “Good Life”, Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”, and Army of Lovers’ self-titled track. None of them are as a brilliantly on-the-nose as “Hung Up’s” ABBA interpolation, but Madonna and Price are smart not to fixate on replicating that moment, and rather allow all of these nods to subtly and vibrantly support these tracks, all of which are wholly fresh on their own.
As II reaches its final act, Madonna takes the proceedings into an even deeper and more reflective realm, all the while maintaining the central club spirit of the record. She and Price flawlessly captured this balance with “Isaac” on the first Confessions, but they take it to a gorgeous new level here, beginning with the devastating “Fragile”, written as Madonna mourned the loss of her brother, Christopher Ciccone. It’s all at once devastating and subversively infectious. With its breathtaking noir trappings and faithful sampling of 19th-century French composer Erik Satie’s “Gnossienne No. 1”, she confronts the complicated family dynamics of her childhood, while proving that musical worlds as disparate as classical and dance can flourish as one. On the penultimate track, “The Test”, she duets with daughter Lola Leon on a soulfully sweet moment that assesses their own complex mother-daughter relationship. This all sets the stage for “L.E.S. Girl”, the closing number that retains the set’s dreamy aura, but otherwise strips everything down to a lullaby melody, acoustic guitar, and keys. Reflecting on the scrappy start to her career on the Lower East Side decades ago, it may very well be the most gorgeously bittersweet rendering of her catalog. It’s a beautiful finale to both the album, and an LP arc of songs that, in its own unique way, recalls the cinematic art-rock sequences on classics like Abbey Road and Born to Run.
Like so many Madonna landmarks before it, Confessions II is a remarkable and full-bodied pop music experience, brimming with both golden hit-making qualities and profound artistic expression. It’s a generously reverent sequel to its original, but more than anything, it stands as its own special body of work, deserving of singular acclaim and identity. Madonna’s stature as a living pop legend remains as towering as ever, but she also once again resurrects her contemporary relevance, launches the fifth decade of a career that never ceases to surprise and inspire.
Track Listing:
- “I Feel So Free” (Madonna, Stuart Price, Lil Louis)
- ” Good for the Soul” (Madonna, Price)
- “One Step Away” (Madonna, Price)
- “Bring Your Love” featuring Sabrina Carpenter (Madonna, Price, Roy Holman, Shanna Jackson, Kevin Saunderson)
- “Danceteria” (Madonna, Price, Andrew Watt, Henry Walter, Lou Reed)
- “Read My Lips” featuring Feid (Madonna, Price, Feid, Tainy)
- “Everything” (Madonna, Price)
- “Love Sensation” (Madonna, Price)
- “Love Without Words” (Madonna, Price)
- “Bizarre” with Martin Garrix (Madonna, Price, Martin Garrix, Oskar Rindborg, Wilhelm Borjesson, Taylor Upsahl)
- “School” (Madonna, Price, Lanita Lashonda Smith, Scott M. Carter, Mustapha M. Mbiakop, Matthew Fonson, Harloe)
- “Fragile” (Madonna, Price)
- “My Sins Are My Savior” featuring Stromae (Madonna, Price, Stromae, Magnus Baard, Lars Harkansson, Anders Hansson, Tim Norell, Per Thyren)
- “Betrayal” (Madonna, Price, Mirwais Ahmadzai, Erik Satie)
- “The Test” with Lola Leon (Madonna, Price, Lola Leon)
- “L.E.S. Girl” (Madonna, Price, Watt, Walter)
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