Madonna's 'Confessions II' (Review)

While America celebrated its 250th Independence Day, Madonnaput out 15th album Confessions II! It musically reboots a past album, but candidly expressing more than we've heard personally from her. I recap Madonna's discography and compare Confessions II 's quality to 2005's Confessions on a Dance Floor's record.

Celebration - 2009 compilation

Confessions II - The Film

Coachella 2026 feat Sabrina Carpenter: "Bring Your Love", "Vogue", "Like A Prayer"

Times Square pop-up concert (6/4/26)

"Tom's Diner" - Suzanne Vega (1990)

"Outside" - George Michael" (1998)

"Me Against the Music" - Britney Spears & Madonna (2004)

RENAISSANCE - Beyoncè (2022)

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Transcript

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Welcome to Music Media Review, the weekly podcast critiquing modern music and media headlines. I'm Jess. Hope you had a nice 4th of July 250th, and thank you for taking the time to stream our bicentennial episode. While we were preoccupied that holiday weekend, Madonna released her 15th album, Confessions 2, on July 3rd. She's been recording music 45 years, predominantly in pop, dance, and always artistically drawing attention. It's been a while raving Madonna's music in a new light. I'm pleased to report that Confessions 2 is worth the hype. This episode, I'll peek back where she left off musically and compare it to its predecessor titled record, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Quoting Dansa Torea's chorus, everybody get up and dance. Everyone here is a work of art. So let's put it all out there on Music Media Review. Madonna's 14 albums omitting soundtracks are Madonna 1983, Like a Virgin, 1984, True Blue 1986, Like a Prayer 1989, Erotica 1992, Bedtime Stories 1995, Ray of Light 1998, Music 2000, American Life 2003, Confessions on a Dance Floor 2005, Hard Candy 2008, MDNA 2012, Rebel Heart 2015, and Madam X 2019. I bet I would have been enamored with Madonna's entrance in the 80s. She's the only exception, I prefer her later work than early stuff. Other than Holiday Crazy for you, Who's That Girl and Express Yourself, I felt Pop came off cheesy for her personality in the 80s. Riling up people became Madonna's reputation just as much as the music when she rolled around in a wedding dress singing like a virgin at MTV's first VMAs, had controversy with Pepsi for Lyka Prayers music video of Burning Crucifixes, released sexual songs and a nude memoir in the early 90s, French kissed Britney Spears and Christine Aguilera at 2004's VMAs opening. And let's not forget she's occasionally wearing scantily clad clothing. Transitioning out 80s New Wave Disco to 90s Electronica built up Diva qualities in freeing her mind. I'm obsessed with Vogue, Justify My Love, Ray of Light, Nothing Really Matters, Take A Bow's a Vulnerable Ballad as my favorite. The 2000s continued Madonna curating dance hits with modern engineering. Autotune, synthesized beats, reverb, vocal repetition, music videos, and massive touring. Ironically, I felt the 2010 albums didn't present anything new. Girl Gone Wild is decent off MDNA, 2015's halftime show tried resuming a hot streak I couldn't connect right. A friend of mine and I streamed Madame X's 2021 concert film on Paramount Plus when it first came out. We both concurred the staging was incredible, kinda dragged like a play to then suddenly hearing throwbacks in the middle. Not bad, Madonna surely loves Theatrix. It didn't sit well though in 2023 to 2004's celebrations tour. Five fans sued her for her late arrivals causing them no transportation to get home, provocative choreography, and no air conditioning on at venues. The lawsuits were overturned. I've noticed some differences resulting other concert advertisements. Key sketch mats feature transportation or rideshare sections so nobody's stranded, there's cooling stations for outdoor festivals, vendors listing food and drinks for hydration, and sometimes advisory warnings when purchasing tickets, whether age restrictions, light effects, or schedules subject to change. I think Live Nation decided to enforce those measures universally, forewarning Madonna's extremities. Needless to say, things were needed to turn around. Confessions 2 crept up and gave us exactly what was needed. Like I mentioned in Justin Bieber's Speed Demon episode, Coachella boosted a transformation consumers missed. Madonna walked out during Sabrina Carpenter's set April 18th, 2026, premiering their duet Bring Your Love. The promo single was available April 30th, revealing Confessions 2's release date. I heard it on Spotify's New Music Friday playlist and saw the music video on MTV Live's epic awesome videos block. Bring Your Love revisits 90s Club Funk, and Sabrina Carpenter's cameo is like the new me against the music Madonna did on Britney Spears' 2004 In the Zone album. I instantly took a liking to it, believing a revamp would be in play. Honestly, I enjoyed it more than Sabrina's Man Best Friend album. She was a perfect choice of joining modern pop fans with Madonna's diehards. Superb surprise teasing a first impression at Coachella. Unfortunately, the outfit Madonna wore was stolen from her dressing room, and she's still extremely hurt nobody has come forward. Vogue and Like a Prayer was sung as well. I'll share that link in our episode description for you to check later. Thinking back to the discography I cited, how does Confessions 2 rank within and Confessions on a Dance Floor? Sonically, the 90s descriptors I praised revive. I hear mellow aspects, bedtime stories, and ray of light consisted, a little more rhythmic and not overdone. Every track segues into each other, breezing through so smoothly. I complimented Beyoncé's 2022 album Renaissance produced the same way. Very vintage segueing cleanly as if you're listening to the vinyl or a club DJ mixing one into another. I feel so free sounds like a reawakening in the beginning, gradually adding sampled vocals, Madonna's spoken word, and singing. Dance always seemed therapeutic for her. I feel free candidly elaborates. Thanks for coming. Sometimes I like to just hide in the shadows, create a new persona, a different identity. I can be whoever I want to be. Honestly, I wish I could be like other people and just not care. But out here on the dance floor, I feel so free. Come on and meet me on the dance floor. Come here, baby. I can give you much more tonight. It's really hard for me to trust people. Can you blame me? I never know what people like me. That's why I like to go dancing. Safety in numbers. Never suspect what goes on in others' minds, right? What does Madonna have left to hide at almost 68 years old? Track 2 says letting down your hair and breed in the air is good for the soul. Track 3 encourages Dancing is one step away. Track 4's Bring Your Love featuring Sabrina Carpenter. In many ways, I feel George Michael and Madonna's Vogue influenced track 5's Danceria. When a cop tricked George Michael in a public restroom arrest in 1998, he had the last word spoofing in this single Outside in a disco bathroom music video dressed in a police uniform. It was brilliant. Loved his sense of humor moving his career forward. Dancator is woven in a YouTube video medley titled Confessions to the Film. Basically long form music videos visualizing some of the songs. Civilians begin dancing in a public bathroom joining Madonna and some celeb friends. I recognize Debbie Mazar and Benedict Cumberbatch. Debbie co-starred in Music's 2000 video with Madonna. Benedict Cumberbatch was just in Taylor Swift's Opalite video earlier this year. Clever cross-promoting. Like Vogue's name-dropping shout-outs, Dancer Torea names Madonna's late New York City first roommate Martin Bergillon, Dancer Torea's former doorman Hayui Montaug, Debbie Mazar, the producer who played her debut single Everybody, Mark Cayman's, rapper Fab5 Freddy, her ex-art gallery owner, Basque, clothes designer Keith Herring, their friend Kenny Sharf, Sheikh's guitarist Niall Rogers, and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. If you heard my Devil Wiz Prodigy episode from May, this further connected those music factoids. I like the Unity here too. No wonder it came out 4th of July weekend and is the current single. Columbian Latin Flair takes place in track 6's Read My Lips featuring Fe, Mentally Drowns Out Everything in Track 7, Love Sensation fits in Dua Lipa's Universe, and Nod's Nothing Really Mad is Aura for Track 8. As Madonna's 2000 albums morph dance rock and digital effects, it tried sounding contemporary for her forties. Love Without Words mimics that in track nine, not exactly my taste. Martin Garrix is a renowned young dance producer and I think sings backgrounds in track ten's bizarre. He's not credited and I didn't see anybody else's contribution listed. Could this be a trial stepping in front of the microphone for him? It sounded pretty good. Tracks 11 through 12, School and Fragile, went techno as MDNA, except Fragile mourned Madonna's brother Christopher. He succumbed to pancreatic cancer October 4th, 2024, at age 63. Their stepmother had died a few weeks before, September 24th, from cancer. Madonna didn't have a good report with her. She never got over losing her biological mother at just five in 1963, who suffered breast cancer at 30. Carrie and Grief could explain the behavior she's ensued. Underrated, in my opinion, is Track 13, My Sins Are My Savior, featuring Stromay. Rely on a dreamy early 90s hip-hop dance. Paul Van Haver, also known as Stromet, is a Belgian artist I've read collab with other artists. His French spoken words flow so well with her. My mind equates the beat to Suzanne Vega's Tom Diner. Familiarity held me like in the end of Confessions 2's tracks. Number 14's Betrayal attributed similar dramatic instrumentation of bedtime stories like Secret and Take a Bow. Madonna's daughter Lola Leon duets on track 15's The Test, who inspired Way of Light's Empowerment. Their lyrical mutual support is very beautiful. I'm amazed how many musicians' kids are adhering beside their parents on stage lately. Track 16 concludes LES Girl, Lower East Side Girl, reflecting the first love Madonna attracted living there and taking the change going solo. Powerful ending full circle. Confessions on a Dance Floor included I Love New York stating the top city Madonna identifies most, traveling all over the world. I really appreciate the ways Confessions 2 rode and rated higher than Confessions on a Dance Floor. It's quite versatile, acquiring multiple collaborators assisting the directions and went. Listening back to Confessions on a Dance Floor, to me the production blasted too loud, lacking death nor variety. Hung Up and Jump accumulated Madonna's Dance Number Ones. I don't see myself willingly racing back to either or the album. I've read a couple of bloggers paraphrasing alike. I remember 2008's Hard Candy was fun experimenting with Timbalyn and Justin Timberlake. Four minutes, give it to me, and Miles Away greeted her 50s, bridging Celebration's 2009 compilation, Restoring the Archives. Europe and Australia announced Confession 2's top album charting. US has a fair shot to follow. Its marketed singles are progressing pretty good so far. Bring Your Love ranked number 74 on the Hop 100, number 29 in the UK, No. 20 Adult Pop, Number 7 Hot Dance Pop Songs, and Number 1 in Italy. Love Sensation charted number 16 digital songs, number 11 Dance Airplay, number 5 in the UK, and number 1 UK Pop Club. Dance Itaria debuted number 38 in the UK, number 9 Australia Dance, and number 3 in New Zealand. Welcome back home, Madonna. Can't wait to see the industry's long-term reactions for award season, year-end lists, and global record-breaking stats. You deserve it. Thanks for listening to this episode. Vote which confessions album you prefer on our Spotify app episode poll and question on Music Media Review's YouTube channel page. I look forward to your responses. You can also email Music Media Review Podcast at gmail.com. Follow our social media pages for episode follow-ups and topical updates via Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Great to see the following grow. A special thank you to Life's But a Song Podcast who recently interviewed me about Meet Me in St. Louis's 1944 musical movie review. We had so much fun. A second partnering is in the works for a holiday themed classic film milestone. You can hear our funny episode in the link I provided. I'm Jess. Talk to you next week with What Else is Trending in Music.