Madonna has released her 15th studio album Confessions II.

20 years after the release of Confessions on a Dance Floor, a record that many music critics call one of the best in Madonna's career, the singer has unveiled her long—awaited sequel. The new album Confessions II became the artist's first studio release in seven years and immediately became the center of attention of the music industry. Critics call the record a return to dance music, and Madonna herself admits that working on it was connected not only with the desire to collaborate with producer Stuart Price again, but also with an attempt to respond to a changed world. About why the sequel to the iconic album had to wait almost twenty years and how the new release has already managed to change the conversation about modern pop music - in the material of Izvestia.

Returning to the dance floor after 20 years

When Confessions on a Dance Floor was released in November 2005, many critics perceived it as Madonna's return to club music, with which she once began to conquer the world stage. The album topped the charts in more than 40 countries, earned the singer a Grammy Award for Best Electronic and Dance Recording, and eventually became one of the most highly acclaimed works in her discography. Almost 20 years later, this story was continued — on July 3, Madonna released Confessions II, re-recorded with British producer Stuart Price. The standard version includes 16 tracks, and among the guest artists are Sabrina Carpenter, Feid, Martin Garrix, Stromae and the singer's daughter Lourdes Leon, who performed the song The Test with her mother.

Unlike many modern sequels to iconic albums, Confessions II does not attempt to literally reproduce the sound of its predecessor. Music reviewers note that the new record retains its dance base, but it is noticeably different in its emotional mood: it contains more reflections on time, memory, loss and the ability of music to unite people even in the most difficult periods. According to People magazine, the album proves that after 40 years of her career, Madonna still knows how to create music aimed not only at club venues, but also at a wide audience.

Immediately after its release, the album received mostly positive reviews. The Guardian newspaper called it one of the most convincing works of the singer in recent years, noting that Madonna is not trying to compete with young performers, but once again offers her own vision of dance music. In Variety, the album was described as a confident continuation of the cult album of 2005, and Billboard has already compiled a rating of the best songs of the release, highlighting several potential hits. According to the publication, interest in the record turned out to be so high that it almost immediately became one of the most discussed music releases of the summer.

That is why many critics consider Confessions II not as an attempt to play on nostalgia for one of Madonna's most successful albums, but as an independent work that brings the singer back to the genre that largely defined one of the brightest pages of her career.

Madonna unveils new songs from the upcoming album Confessions II

The album that had to wait seven years

Confessions II was Madonna's first full-length studio album since the release of Madame X in 2019. During this time, the artist managed to survive severe health problems, hold a large-scale world tour Celebration Tour dedicated to the 40th anniversary of her career, and return to collaboration with Warner Records, where many of her most famous records were released. It was after the end of the tour that the work on the new material entered an active phase.

According to the singer herself, the idea of continuing Confessions on a Dance Floor did not arise out of a desire to repeat the previous success. On the contrary, Madonna wanted to re-record music that would help people feel joy and freedom at a time when the world is going through a series of crises and conflicts. That's why she turned back to Price, the producer with whom she worked on the original album almost 20 years ago.

At the same time, Madonna herself emphasizes that dance music has never been exclusively entertainment for her. In an interview, she talks about dancing as a way to experience difficult emotions, stay connected with people, and find inner freedom. This idea runs through the entire album and unites its compositions more strongly than the stylistic similarity with the 2005 album.

According to music reviewers, this is what distinguishes Confessions II from most modern sequels of famous albums. Instead of trying to recreate the atmosphere of the past, Madonna uses a familiar musical base as a starting point for talking about the present — and that's why the new release is already being called one of the main musical events of 2026.

Madonna performed at Coachella with Sabrina Carpenter

How a girl from Michigan became the queen of pop music

Today, Madonna's name has long been a part of the history of world pop music, but her path to this status began long before the multi-million copies of records and world tours. The future singer was born in 1958 in Bay City, Michigan, and spent her childhood in a suburb of Detroit. She was greatly influenced by the early loss of her mother, who died when Madonna was only five years old. Later, the artist repeatedly admitted that it was this event that taught her not to be afraid of change and to constantly look for new ways of self-expression.

In the late 1970s, she made a decision that she would later call the most important in her life—she moved to New York with little money or acquaintances. At first, Madonna worked part-time as a waitress, dancer and model, while simultaneously trying to gain a foothold in the music industry. Later, she recalled that it was this period that taught her to rely only on her own strength and not be afraid to take risks.

Madonna's first self-titled album, released in 1983, immediately attracted the attention of the dance scene, but the real worldwide success came to the singer after the release of Like a Virgin. In the following decades, she practically did not linger within the framework of one genre: she experimented with disco, electronica, R&B, trip-hop, folk and even elements of world music. Each new record became not only a musical, but also a visual experiment, and the constant change of images over time turned into one of the main features of her career. It was for her ability to reinvent herself over and over again that the artist received the unofficial title of Queen of Pop — the "Queen of Pop Music."

For more than 40 years on stage, Madonna has released dozens of chart-topping hits around the world. Albums Like a Prayer, Ray of Light, Music, American Life, and then Confessions on a Dance Floor not only became commercially successful, but also reflected the next stage in the development of pop music. According to Billboard, it is Madonna who remains the record holder for the number of songs topping the US dance chart, and the total circulation of her recordings exceeds 300 million copies, making her one of the most commercially successful performers in history.

In addition to commercial success, the singer has repeatedly received recognition from the professional community. She has won seven Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, inclusion in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and many other international awards. Madonna's influence on modern pop culture is regularly noted not only by music critics, but also by researchers of popular culture, calling her one of the artists who determined the development of popular music in recent decades.

Over the course of her career, Madonna has repeatedly proved that she does not perceive her own successes as an excuse to repeat formulas that have already been found. Almost every new album of hers was accompanied by a change of musical direction, stage image and artistic language. That is why critics consider Confessions II not as an attempt to regain the popularity of one of the most famous records of the 2000s, but as another chapter in the artist's history, which continues to change along with the music industry, and sometimes to set its direction.