Madonna has confirmed that she is back in the studio in London, and working with Stuart Price again.
Madge has been working with the hit producer for over two decades now, with him most widely recognised for his contributions to her hit 2005 album ‘Confessions On A Dance Floor’. Since then he has gone on to work with her on three of her tours, and recently reconnected with her last year as part of her acclaimed ‘Celebration’ shows.
Now, according to a new post by the Queen of Pop on Instagram, it looks like the two are working on new music together, and have been seen in a London studio.
The singer shared the update on her Instagram page earlier this week, posting a carousel of photos with the caption “London Calling……………Back in the Stu with Stuart Price.”
In the pictures, Madge is seen with Price multiple times in his home recording studio, working on new material. She is also seen alongside her boyfriend Akeem Morris, cheering Chelsea at their Premier League clash with Brighton at Stamford Bridge over the weekend. Check it out below.
If the new material they’re working on turns out to be a new album, it’ll mark the first LP from Madonna since her 2019 release ‘Madame X’.
Since her 14th record was shared, the singer has gone on to embark on a huge world tour, celebrating the hits from throughout her career. The ‘Celebration’ tour dates were initially postponed due to a near-death health scare.
While exact details of the health issues Madonna faced last year aren’t known, it was revealed that she faced a life-threatening health episode in June 2023 after battling a “serious bacterial infection”. It led to her slipping into a coma and being admitted to the ICU.
Her relatives revealed that they were were initially “preparing for the worst” when she became unwell. She has since made a full recovery, but was forced to reschedule all of her US shows, beginning the trek in Europe instead.
The UK dates included multiple sold-out stops at The O2 in London – which were given a five-star review by NME. It described the opening gig as showcasing “a series of spectacular set-pieces referencing iconic highlights from Madonna’s reign”.
The tour also marked Madonna working with Stuart Price again. Around the time of the two reconnecting, Price said: “When she announced the greatest hits tour I called her just to say, ‘Congratulations, I think this is a great idea.’ And she said, ‘I was just thinking about you, and I thought you’d be the perfect person to work with on this’,” (via The Sun).
Price has also worked with the likes of Dua Lipa, George Ezra, Take That and The Killers.
In other Madonna news, earlier this year the pop icon took to social media to share that she’s been rewriting the script for her biographical film, which is now being titled Who’s That Girl.
The film is being titled after her 1987 album of the same title – but is not to be confused with her 1987 comedy film that shares the same name.
It has been in the works for several years now, but was scrapped in January last year, in an attempt from Madge to stop “misogynistic men” from telling her story.
Ozark and Inventing Anna star Julia Garner was tapped to star as Madge in the biopic after she “emerged the favourite” from over a dozen candidates, and during a 2022 interview with Variety, Madonna gave an update on the movie and explained why she took a more hands-on role. “I’ve had an extraordinary life, I must make an extraordinary film,” she said, adding: “No one’s going to tell my story, but me.”
Asked about the progress she’d made with the movie, Madonna replied: “I have a very long script that is really hard for me to make shorter. I’ve been whittling away at it, but it’s like hacking off my limbs.”
Back in 2019, Madonna spoke to NME as part of The Big Read series, and opened up more about the inspiration behind ‘Madame X’. “I didn’t make a Latin record intentionally,” she told us. “It just sort of happened because I was living there. The first group of friends I met were all musicians but they were from all over the world, not just Portugal.
“It was a melting point of so many different cultures and musical genres which started percolating in my brain. I wanted to take the folk music I was listening to but make it more modern sounding, something you could dance to. I was first inspired by it, then I turned it into a challenge.”
