There are discussions on a different Madonna forum () about the Madame X era and how it could have panned out. A lot of us fans feel like it had a lot more potential than ultimately came to fruition -- What would have been the ideal era to you?
I envision something like this:
First off, what a theoretically awesome concept. Madonna as a constantly reinventing persona? Makes perfect sense at this stage in her career -- Really feels like a culmination of everything she is as an artist, down to all the different musical elements on the album...
Anyways, let's begin with Medellin. I'm sorry, but every Madonna fanatic friend of mine and I were disappointed upon first listen. No, it's certainly not a bad song and definitely a step up as a lead single from the last few eras (arguably the best since Confessions), but let's face it -- Not catchy enough, over half is in a different language, and the structure is all over the place. Furthermore, it sounded like a ripoff of the Latino music vibe trend at the time, even though, in retrospect, it's really held up its own.
What's hard about this album is that nothing on it particularly stands out as a showstopping single to me. It works better as a collective sum than on an individual song basis. However, there are a few songs that are objectively fan favorites and would have worked well as singles:
* I Don't Search I Find
* God Control (no, this was technically not a single)
* Come Alive
* Crave (yes, I know this was a single)
* I Rise
That's it. I just can't picture any of the other songs on a Spotify hits playlist or working with a more universal listening audience.
So, let's start at the beginning of the era --
Picture this:
The month of April, there's a "Madame X is..." media campaign with poster mock-ups featuring all of her different looks throughout the era with closeup, abstract photos of her face in shadows and featuring the eye-patch with the X. She's unidentifiable from the pics.
Multiple billboards in Times Square, big cities (Chicago, LA, Miami, etc.), etc. Internet postings. Newspaper ads in the classifieds.
In parallel to this, there is a detective Twitter account / Instagram User / Facebook Account / etc. (all the same person) who regularly updates that he / she is getting closer to figuring out who this is. The account quickly gains media traction, due to the general public interest in who this mystery person is.
He posts evidence suggesting that:
* She's always on the run
* She's blonde and wounded
* She's known for her disguises
Her management invests in a social media campaign that plants "information" via widely-followed Reddit threads, third-party Twitter accounts, and social media videos. This campaign draws big attention via viral posting and participation by social media influencers. These information leaks imply that the billboards are a result of a hacking attempt (due to her extensive knowledge of hacking tactics), that she's a foreign adversary with controversial opinions, and that she has a manifesto against world leaders that she's about to leak.
And then, the lead detective posts a video the Friday before Eurovision -- He found her last night, and he's revealing her to the world:
Madame X is a Spy.
The video link gives way to a video of I Don't Search I Find with a theme very much like the Madame X Tour, complete with detectives trying to determine who she is, and giving way to a story beginning with Madame X on the run from a hostile government / authoritarian figure. It's the perfect song. Classic Madonna elements, instantly loved by the gays (let's be real, her main demographic nowadays), and meshes well with the European music scene. The video ends with "To be continued...beginning September 17th" and links to tour dates with the same Madame X Tour itinerary. A ticket lottery is necessary in this parallel universe, because there's a huge demand for the tour.
Fast forward to Eurovision. The setlist is Vogue, I Don't Search I Find, and a continuation of the IDSIF theme into a short snippet of God Control. The video drops simultaneously with the end of the performance. It's the Hung Up of the 2010s, and it's met with universal acclaim.
Throughout the summer, she mainly sticks to the promo single release strategy she originally had, albeit with longer stretches between songs. Each promo single comes with a full-fleshed video that further explains the story of Madame X:
* I Rise at the end of June (she is a Freedom Fighter for Gay Rights)
(Promoted at Pride and via a partnership with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC))
* Crave at the end of July (she is in the House of Love)
(As a surprise summer festival performance at any Swae Lee sets)
* Come Alive at the end of August (she is traveling around the world)
(See below)
In the weeks leading up to the Madame X Tour, she does a surprise performance at the end of the VMAs, performing a medley of the entire Madame X album, much like the Beyonce Lemonade performance from 2016. The performance tells the whole story of Madame X. At the conclusion of the performance, the album surprise drops on all streaming platforms, along with an accompanying set of visuals for each of the songs.
Fast forward to the tour, where she has worked with the Celine Dion production designer to produce a world class theatre production. She's taking a different approach for this tour -- It's visual and musician focused, rather than tightly choreographed. Much like Confessions with a lot of choreographed "poses" rather than true dancing. Perfectly suited for her age and body.
She kicks off the tour in New York with the following setlist:
Act 1 - Madame X Is A Prisoner
1. Introducing: Madame X / Joan of Arc (Intro)
2. Dark Ballet
3. Killers Who Are Partying
4. Human Nature
5. What It Feels Like For A Girl
6. Bedtime Story
Act 2 - Madame X Is A Head of State
7. The Coffin (Interlude)
8. American Life
9. Papa Don't Preach (Full)
10. Express Yourself (Full)
11. Future (Piano Mix)
Act 3 - Madame X Is Traveling Around The World
11. Extreme Occident (Interlude)
12. Batuka
13. Like a Virgin (Fado Style)
14. La Isla Bonita (Welcome To My Fado Club Tempo / Instrumental) (Full)
26. James Baldwin Quote / Dancer Gunshots (Interlude)
27. God Control
28. Like a Prayer (With Elements of I Rise)
The tour concludes with a much-hyped streaming deal with Netflix, where they acquire all Madonna tours, including the unreleased shows. The current special is called Madame X is...an Icon. It drops simultaneously with a greatest hits campaign, complete with the works (Stuart Price remasters are dusted off from the shelved 2020 release, demoes included, never-released single mixes, etc. etc.). The accompanying media campaign is mainly driven by content that doesn't require her participation. She doesn't do the usual interview / performance circuit. Most of her work speaks for itself and is driven by retrospective documentaries, interviews with her producers / musicians / music video directors, and other footage / content from the vaults.
She rests throughout the rest of 2020 and eventually embarks on a summer stadium greatest hits tour in 2021. MDNA production. Stuart Price is the music director. Her butt implants are gone.
I can’t decide between Erotica and Madame X but chose Madame X cause I know she will need more representation cause no one appreciates her for the immaculate art it is!
I can’t decide between Erotica and Madame X but chose Madame X cause I know she will need more representation cause no one appreciates her for the immaculate art it is!
I can’t decide between Erotica and Madame X but chose Madame X cause I know she will need more representation cause no one appreciates her for the immaculate art it is!
Saw it live on opening night in Brooklyn and loved it to smithereens. Aside from the pretentious opening, it was a spectacular evening of theater. Much like the album, it’s so difficult to categorize it within the context of her other albums, so I can’t seem to do it properly for the concert. It’s a musical and an original cast album. But if I had to rank it amongst the live shows I’ve seen in-person, it would be as follows (best to least best):
01. RIT
02. MXT
03. RHT
04. CT (One of her most brilliant tours, I love it on disc more than I did in person but I have to rank them, so there it is)
05. DWT (I grew to LOVE it on disc. But, in all honesty, she was not feeling the crowd the night I attended)
06. MDNA
07. S&S
OMG Coachella share this amazing news! To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this festival Coachella is going to premiere on YouTube many iconic performances including the Madonna show in 2006!!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-XUNrtH1cJ/?igshid=w7uwhq27esnp
That's what I was going to say, too. I wish she and her team would revisit her older albums, remaster them and reissue (on colored 180 gram vinyls, in gatefold jackets AVOIDING generic sleeves!), and do similar to what Sting did with his albums:
I would kill for such box set of Madonna's records
Write a book of poetry
Talk more in depth about her music.
Write an autobiography
Write an art critique book
Let down her guard
Write an album of lullabys.
Wow so cool thank you for telling me all of that. Madonna's versions are always superior to others
So neat hearing these things about her music that I would not be able to find anywhere else on the internet!
Why are the live versions superior to the album mixes? Why isnt this the version of Future that is on the album? Why dont we have proprer intros to Dark Ballet, God Control and Extreme Occident?
Hoping we get the album instrumentals so that we can at least make our own.
Id really like it if she’d release the mix of Future used in the show.
Can we all just take a moment to appreciate how brilliant Future is on the Madame X tour?
The last section of this concert is absolutely terrific. Can't wait for February! X
We've been discussing this in private with @stfan97who kindly attempted to provide acceptable lyrics, despite the audio sound quality and Madonna's mumblings:
Judge yourself, no one else
Day begins, wash away yourself
Where's your spirit, gotta hear it
Boy you lay down, put your head down
When you turn it, gotta burn it (?!)
When you're brilliant, gotta learn it, oh yeah
Let your light shine
Any improvement or other suggestion is well accepted!
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