Madonna fans have been awaiting Confessions II for a pretty long time now. It’s been at least two years since the album was first teased, as well as seven years since Madonna’s last official LP, and a full 21 years at this point since Confessions on a Dancefloor — the well-received, club-forward 2005 set that still stands as the benchmark against which all Madonna full-lengths of the last two decades have been judged. But Friday, the sequel set at long last materialized, and the early returns have been almost uniformly positive, including rave reviews and at least a shot at a potential No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 next week.
With this Rollout Report Card episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Eric Frankenberg and Joe Lynch as we look at everything surrounding Confessions II and the months that have led up to it. We attempt to grade all aspects of the rollout, from the high-profile live performances to the 10-minute mini-movie accompanying the album to some very entertaining M interview moments.
And of course, along the way we answer all the most pressing questions about Confessions II: Did we really believe Confessions II was ever actually coming? Is Madonna’s last two decades of albums actually a little underappreciated? Does her Times Square performance have a little too much Flash Mob energy? Does her Sabrina Carpenter duet feel the same as her Britney Spears teamup two decades ago? Is “Danceteria” already part of the all-time Madonna canon? How much does Lourdes’ presence add to the overall album cycle? And most importantly: Do we consider Confessions II a worthy — or perhaps even superior — sequel to the original?
Check it out above — along with a YouTube playlist of some of the most important moments from this old-school album campaign, all of which are discussed in the podcast — and subscribe to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts) for weekly discussions every Thursday about all things related to pop stardom!
And as we say in every one of these GPS podcast posts — if you have the time and money to spare, please consider donating to any of these causes in the fight for trans rights:
Transgender Law Center
Trans Lifeline
Destination Tomorrow
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
Human Rights Campaign – In Your Area
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