Aside from having seen The Next Best Thing and hearing all of her hit songs from the 1980s, I wasn't incredibly familiar with Madonna before agreeing to review her newest album Rebel Heart.
Released on March 10th, this is her 13th studio album which explores two very different sides of Madonna's personality – the rebellious, renegade side of her and the romantic side of her. After a few songs were leaked online in December 2014, Madonna took charge pre-releasing the first six songs from the album in a marketing move that has had her topping iTunes charts and trending on twitter ever since. The new album features collaborations with many well-known pop artists including Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Nas, Chance the Rapper and Mike Tyson.
The album starts out strong with "Living For Love" a song that reached the number one spot on Hot Dance Club Songs, tying Madonna with George Strait for an act with the most number one spot on any Billboard Chart. Originally written as a break-up song, it was tweaked and finally released as an uplifting and inspirational song implying that break-ups aren't the end all be all they are made out to be.
Following closely on the heels, I also enjoyed her song "Devil's Play" which is very reminiscent of her 80s hits with lyrics such as "teach me how to pray" and singing about Mother Mary. Now why she is singing about drinking, doing acid, smoking weed, etc… I have no idea. Trying to be hardcore without succeeding? Possibly. Madonna, you aren't 20-something anymore. The beats and music are fun though.
She loses me in the middle of the album, but this is unsurprising since I'm not a huge fan of Nicki Minaj. Her album takes a turn for the worst, cussing for the sake of cussing, and lots of building herself up. (Because clearly, Madonna has to prove her self worth!)
I did enjoy the quiet ballad "Joan of Arc" in which Madonna claims she is "just human" rather than a superhero.
Then she loses me again with "Iconic".
*shrugs*
Overall, I have a love/hate relationship with Rebel Heart. Having had limited experience listening to Madonna's music, I got tired of this album pretty quickly. However, the same lack of variation I am complaining about might be exactly what Madonna was going for in an effort to provide a combination of older sounds with newer styles of music that will appeal to old and new fans alike.
Have you had the chance to listen to Madonna's newest album yet? What do you think of it? Are you a fan of her newest single "Living for Love"?
Buy the album here.
To find out more about Madonna, check out her website or follow her on twitter or instagram.
*I participated in the Madonna Rebel Heart album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided an album to review but all opinions are my own.
