madfan13_86

Hm he’s hot? ? 
But seriously, he’s a good lyricist, has a pleasant voice, and clearly works hard- releasing new music, collaborations and music videos quite often. Hardly a mediocre person. Reggaeton/or “this Maluma character” may not be your thing but I wouldn’t devalue the merits of his work just because of one’s personal tastes.
Also, no doubt Madonna collaborated with him because of his looks and self-confidence. Don’t forget the look on her face when she first met him backstage. She was THIRSTY! Lol

Even that one be exciting. Let's be honest, Madame X cannot be bothered to do a lot of things nowadays. 

Hm he’s hot? ? 
But seriously, he’s a good lyricist, has a pleasant voice, and clearly works hard- releasing new music, collaborations and music videos quite often. Hardly a mediocre person. Reggaeton/or “this Maluma character” may not be your thing but I wouldn’t devalue the merits of his work just because of one’s personal tastes.
Also, no doubt Madonna collaborated with him because of his looks and self-confidence. Don’t forget the look on her face when she first met him backstage. She was THIRSTY! Lol

Come to terms with her legacy? In case you haven't noticed, she's putting together her biopic. So she's revisiting her past in her own way, at her own pace and in the way she wants to do it. 
Moreover, I think she's actually been flirting with her legacy for a while, just not in a very obvious way (which is her right too). She often likes to reuse her old lyrics (like "Vogue" on "Holy Water", or even "Don't Tell Me" in "Future"), posts old photos on her IG, and I'm pretty sure Madame X is the closest she's been to embracing her own body of work. In fact, I remember she mentioned how she became her own muse while working on the album. Madame X was sort of a homage to her younger self, to her struggles in NYC pre-fame, and to the creative re-inventions throughout her career. 
Also, remember that Prince released very uncommercial and unconventional albums for many years, and also enjoyed the creative freedom and eccentricity that came along with them. Likewise, Geogre Michael always took a LONG time in between albums, and you didn't see anyone denying/doubting his standing in music. There is this strange expectation for women to keep up and to constantly demonstrate that they are at the top, that they are relevant. At this point even us, Madonna's hardcore fans, shouldn't even be questioning or worrying about her status in music history, or her relevance at all. She is actually a rarity in the music industry in terms of CREATIVE longevity. Cher has been around for ages but look at how many studio albums she released in the 2000s and 2010s. Also, while she relied on repetitive tour concepts and milked her catalogue like crazy (am I the only one who noticed how similar all of her shows are?), it's clear Madonna is far more interested in making new & innovative music, and to look ahead.
My call is for us to simply enjoy the fruits of her current work while she's still willing to release new music. She's clearly slowing down, after all. Madame X gave us some of the most amazing videos of her entire career and even if the MX Tour was a f-ing nightmare for many, it was truly a bold move on her behalf —artistically and conceptually speaking. People like Bob Dylan rarely look back  and release new studio albums like crazy and no one is questioning his legacy (also, he's a man, of course! Duh!). I'm a fan of Bob too and let me tell you, his concerts can be a nightmare in terms of his "mistreatment" of his own legacy—he reworks his old songs beyond recognition, and I think most of his fans are actually okay with that. Not the case for demanding M fans. They just want their diva to be stuck in the past with the same arrangements and giving them constant nostalgia. Which makes me think, people like Cyndi Lauper (one of my all time fave live performers, by the way) or Belinda Carlisle who sing the same 3-5 songs on every tour and with very little creativity behind the arrangements. So it's really frustrating how Madonna fans dismiss or underestimate her current work while whining too much about the past. We'll really miss it when she stops recording new material. That's for sure. 
Even if the 2010s saw M moving away from the centre of the pop music world, remember she always disliked being called a pop star. She preferred it far more to be called a performance artist, and maybe during the last few years, she took the opportunity to fully explore the depths of that. Furthermore, these "underperforming" albums still gave M 2 #1 albums in the USA in the 2010s, sold out tours, press and plenty of social commentary, which I'm sure will be better understood and embraced by future generations. 
Don't despair people! Enjoy the ride, one doesn't know when it could be over. Whether or not she gets another hit single again. 
 

Come to terms with her legacy? In case you haven't noticed, she's putting together her biopic. So she's revisiting her past in her own way, at her own pace and in the way she wants to do it. 
Moreover, I think she's actually been flirting with her legacy for a while, just not in a very obvious way (which is her right too). She often likes to reuse her old lyrics (like "Vogue" on "Holy Water", or even "Don't Tell Me" in "Future"), posts old photos on her IG, and I'm pretty sure Madame X is the closest she's been to embracing her own body of work. In fact, I remember she mentioned how she became her own muse while working on the album. Madame X was sort of a homage to her younger self, to her struggles in NYC pre-fame, and to the creative re-inventions throughout her career. 
Also, remember that Prince released very uncommercial and unconventional albums for many years, and also enjoyed the creative freedom and eccentricity that came along with them. Likewise, Geogre Michael always took a LONG time in between albums, and you didn't see anyone denying/doubting his standing in music. There is this strange expectation for women to keep up and to constantly demonstrate that they are at the top, that they are relevant. At this point even us, Madonna's hardcore fans, shouldn't even be questioning or worrying about her status in music history, or her relevance at all. She is actually a rarity in the music industry in terms of CREATIVE longevity. Cher has been around for ages but look at how many studio albums she released in the 2000s and 2010s. Also, while she relied on repetitive tour concepts and milked her catalogue like crazy (am I the only one who noticed how similar all of her shows are?), it's clear Madonna is far more interested in making new & innovative music, and to look ahead.
My call is for us to simply enjoy the fruits of her current work while she's still willing to release new music. She's clearly slowing down, after all. Madame X gave us some of the most amazing videos of her entire career and even if the MX Tour was a f-ing nightmare for many, it was truly a bold move on her behalf —artistically and conceptually speaking. People like Bob Dylan rarely look back  and release new studio albums like crazy and no one is questioning his legacy (also, he's a man, of course! Duh!). I'm a fan of Bob too and let me tell you, his concerts can be a nightmare in terms of his "mistreatment" of his own legacy—he reworks his old songs beyond recognition, and I think most of his fans are actually okay with that. Not the case for demanding M fans. They just want their diva to be stuck in the past with the same arrangements and giving them constant nostalgia. Which makes me think, people like Cyndi Lauper (one of my all time fave live performers, by the way) or Belinda Carlisle who sing the same 3-5 songs on every tour and with very little creativity behind the arrangements. So it's really frustrating how Madonna fans dismiss or underestimate her current work while whining too much about the past. We'll really miss it when she stops recording new material. That's for sure. 
Even if the 2010s saw M moving away from the centre of the pop music world, remember she always disliked being called a pop star. She preferred it far more to be called a performance artist, and maybe during the last few years, she took the opportunity to fully explore the depths of that. Furthermore, these "underperforming" albums still gave M 2 #1 albums in the USA in the 2010s, sold out tours, press and plenty of social commentary, which I'm sure will be better understood and embraced by future generations. 
Don't despair people! Enjoy the ride, one doesn't know when it could be over. Whether or not she gets another hit single again. 
 

Sadly, Madonna's career during the last 5/6 years has been plagued with so maney cringey moments; in fact, I'm always on edge now whenever she actually announces an appearance somewhere... my first though is usually "OMG how is she going to fuck it up this time?" Yup, it's come to that. I'm all for the freedom-champion performance artist narrative she likes to pull, but often it has nothing to do with that and a lot with lack of judgement and wisdom... like, how on Earth did she ever think that kissing Drake on stage would be a good thing to do? Or even delivering a "serious" message about the pandemic while in her bathttub & surrounded by rose petals (Even if her intentions were good, and I do think she was misinterpreted)? We live in a world where optics matter more now than ever before. Soundbites, thanks to social media, are all almigthy, and have the power to trigger anger, violence, happiness and sadness in equal measure. As independent, confident and wise as we know she could/has been... honestly, she could've done better these last few years. 
I agree with some fellow posters here about the many awful cringey moments we've "endured" recenty. Notably:
- Drake
- The horrible Aretha speech... not only was it out of touch, but she was also unashamdely recycling bits of her own 2009 tribute speech for Michael Jackson. And was the audition bit even true? Oh, and nevermind the dress. #mess
- Eurovision is probably the worst ever for me. It was really heartbreaking. Pathetic, I know. But the disappointment was real for me. A mere "we experienced tech issues during my performance" post would've done wonders, but she pretended nothing happened and the whole MX era was doomed from there. She gave all her haters the material they needed to hate on her more ("the woman cannot sing, she's a has-been, she's a fake," etc)... I remember watching Good Morning Britain the next day and hearing the harsh/hateful comments, particularly from a man Jeetendr Sehdev who called her "the most inauthetic, dishonest and media-manipulator celebrity of all time". Ouch.
- Yes, the 2015 BRIT Awards... The social media reactions were beyond brutal.
- The GIF above did remind me that the Superbowl performance had that super weird moment with LMFAO — what a horrible choice. She probably thought they were the s*** and "edgy". Little did she know...
- Every time she pretended to like Taylor Swift's music LOL
- As much as I enjoyed her brattiness during the Graham Norton 2019 interview (I really did!), it's uncomfortbale to notice how her sense of humour really seems to go nowhere with most people... she just ends up scaring everyone around her. I do enjoy her sarcasm... unfortunately it's probably not TV/Entertainment industry material... happens to her in most of her TV appearances, and perhaps more and more as time goes by. 
- When she got all bitchy at concert goers in Santiago, Chile in 2012 while she was rehearsing because allegedly someone in the audience was smoking... Truthfully (if you watch the video on youtube), she got mad at them because they had laughed at her when the wind turned her umbrella over haha. So much for her claims to having a good sense of humour. Yea, only when she can be the bully in charge. She can be so rude to us.

Disclaimer: I'll make a very controversial statement: I don't care about new hits. 
Obviously I'd be super happy if she could regain love from general public, but what price will she have to pay to have a new hit? It's evident she should release exactly what press and casual listeners want from her. So, what? A cute dance song, an energetic disco banger, a heart-melting ballad and so on, no damned controversies, no silly collaborations, no trendy genres...the list would be so long and the final result could be a modern version of This Used to be My Playground. Could it work? Maybe just for a week at the #1 spot and lot of love from press. It would be fine. Would it be a classic? I don't know, for me of course, I'm mad for her ballads. But at the end of the day, the most important question is: is she really interested in having a new hit releasing exactly what people want from her? I think so, but at her own terms. Look at the adored in aeternum Confessions on a Dancefloor: after American Life general public asked from her something suitable for dancing. And she became the Dancing Queen, but it didn't seem forced or unnatural: her will to release something fun and joyous after an obscure album matched perfectly general expectations and desires and we got monster hits. General public has short memory. Maybe in some years she'll decide to release something that fits like a glove what people expect from her: with these crazy chart rules a new #1 wouldn't be a weird idea. But for the moment, she seems to be more interested in exploring new genres and I'm totally with her. I'm deeply glad she doesn't feel the pressure to be the No.1 anymore at all costs. That's why I'm crazy for her last project (not counting the mad amount of easter eggs about literature, philosophy, music she hid in it). For me, that's the most important move she made to revaluate her catalog: not remaining stuck on your beautiful past but doing a wild leap in the dark.The following statement could be controversial but I truly appreciate her way to celebrate her past, with discretion, with no nostalgic feelings, but with unconditional love, both for her old hits and new ones. This approach, in my opinion, underlines that she firmly believes that her new albums don't have less worth than her older ones, that her songs are worth to be listened no matter if they are hits or not, if they're loved by casual listeners or not, if they're old or not. She couldn't have given a better gift to her catalog. I'm sure she knows that there will always be smart people who are interested in discovering the history of music and that her name is among the first ones. That's her legacy and it doesn't matter if nowadays silly teenagers don't know anyone of her songs. Look at what they listen to today...It's better if these people stay away from her songs, it's evident that not everything is for everyone. If they enjoy listening to Drake (??) or someone like him, let them do it. History will be the final judge. 
Speaking about legacies, I truly can't understand why lots of people appreciate what Mariah Carey (nothing against her) did for her 30 years of career: it's clearly an admission of defeat, the admission she loves more her past than her present and future, that she maybe feels her glory days are over and that she doesn't want to do anything to change it. It's sad.
I'm going to finish this my rambling post quoting a marvelous song from Dido, I will go down this this ship/and I won't put my hands up and surrender/ there will be no white flag above my door. She's not surrending, that's the good news.
Let's enjoy this new chapter of her career, appreciating her new projects and trying not to play the silly game of sales, No.1 and so on. That's for babies. Will she have a new hit, restart to sell tons of album just like old days and be loved like in the ROL era ? Of course it would be marvelous, but the influence and importance of an artistic project can't be measured only by quantity, but most of the times by quality, and I think she still has lot of it. Will public understand it? I have my doubts about it, but I believe in miracles. And after all, people took 15 years to learn to love American Life. Miracles really exist.

Come to terms with her legacy? In case you haven't noticed, she's putting together her biopic. So she's revisiting her past in her own way, at her own pace and in the way she wants to do it. 
Moreover, I think she's actually been flirting with her legacy for a while, just not in a very obvious way (which is her right too). She often likes to reuse her old lyrics (like "Vogue" on "Holy Water", or even "Don't Tell Me" in "Future"), posts old photos on her IG, and I'm pretty sure Madame X is the closest she's been to embracing her own body of work. In fact, I remember she mentioned how she became her own muse while working on the album. Madame X was sort of a homage to her younger self, to her struggles in NYC pre-fame, and to the creative re-inventions throughout her career. 
Also, remember that Prince released very uncommercial and unconventional albums for many years, and also enjoyed the creative freedom and eccentricity that came along with them. Likewise, Geogre Michael always took a LONG time in between albums, and you didn't see anyone denying/doubting his standing in music. There is this strange expectation for women to keep up and to constantly demonstrate that they are at the top, that they are relevant. At this point even us, Madonna's hardcore fans, shouldn't even be questioning or worrying about her status in music history, or her relevance at all. She is actually a rarity in the music industry in terms of CREATIVE longevity. Cher has been around for ages but look at how many studio albums she released in the 2000s and 2010s. Also, while she relied on repetitive tour concepts and milked her catalogue like crazy (am I the only one who noticed how similar all of her shows are?), it's clear Madonna is far more interested in making new & innovative music, and to look ahead.
My call is for us to simply enjoy the fruits of her current work while she's still willing to release new music. She's clearly slowing down, after all. Madame X gave us some of the most amazing videos of her entire career and even if the MX Tour was a f-ing nightmare for many, it was truly a bold move on her behalf —artistically and conceptually speaking. People like Bob Dylan rarely look back  and release new studio albums like crazy and no one is questioning his legacy (also, he's a man, of course! Duh!). I'm a fan of Bob too and let me tell you, his concerts can be a nightmare in terms of his "mistreatment" of his own legacy—he reworks his old songs beyond recognition, and I think most of his fans are actually okay with that. Not the case for demanding M fans. They just want their diva to be stuck in the past with the same arrangements and giving them constant nostalgia. Which makes me think, people like Cyndi Lauper (one of my all time fave live performers, by the way) or Belinda Carlisle who sing the same 3-5 songs on every tour and with very little creativity behind the arrangements. So it's really frustrating how Madonna fans dismiss or underestimate her current work while whining too much about the past. We'll really miss it when she stops recording new material. That's for sure. 
Even if the 2010s saw M moving away from the centre of the pop music world, remember she always disliked being called a pop star. She preferred it far more to be called a performance artist, and maybe during the last few years, she took the opportunity to fully explore the depths of that. Furthermore, these "underperforming" albums still gave M 2 #1 albums in the USA in the 2010s, sold out tours, press and plenty of social commentary, which I'm sure will be better understood and embraced by future generations. 
Don't despair people! Enjoy the ride, one doesn't know when it could be over. Whether or not she gets another hit single again. 
 

Sadly, Madonna's career during the last 5/6 years has been plagued with so maney cringey moments; in fact, I'm always on edge now whenever she actually announces an appearance somewhere... my first though is usually "OMG how is she going to fuck it up this time?" Yup, it's come to that. I'm all for the freedom-champion performance artist narrative she likes to pull, but often it has nothing to do with that and a lot with lack of judgement and wisdom... like, how on Earth did she ever think that kissing Drake on stage would be a good thing to do? Or even delivering a "serious" message about the pandemic while in her bathttub & surrounded by rose petals (Even if her intentions were good, and I do think she was misinterpreted)? We live in a world where optics matter more now than ever before. Soundbites, thanks to social media, are all almigthy, and have the power to trigger anger, violence, happiness and sadness in equal measure. As independent, confident and wise as we know she could/has been... honestly, she could've done better these last few years. 
I agree with some fellow posters here about the many awful cringey moments we've "endured" recenty. Notably:
- Drake
- The horrible Aretha speech... not only was it out of touch, but she was also unashamdely recycling bits of her own 2009 tribute speech for Michael Jackson. And was the audition bit even true? Oh, and nevermind the dress. #mess
- Eurovision is probably the worst ever for me. It was really heartbreaking. Pathetic, I know. But the disappointment was real for me. A mere "we experienced tech issues during my performance" post would've done wonders, but she pretended nothing happened and the whole MX era was doomed from there. She gave all her haters the material they needed to hate on her more ("the woman cannot sing, she's a has-been, she's a fake," etc)... I remember watching Good Morning Britain the next day and hearing the harsh/hateful comments, particularly from a man Jeetendr Sehdev who called her "the most inauthetic, dishonest and media-manipulator celebrity of all time". Ouch.
- Yes, the 2015 BRIT Awards... The social media reactions were beyond brutal.
- The GIF above did remind me that the Superbowl performance had that super weird moment with LMFAO — what a horrible choice. She probably thought they were the s*** and "edgy". Little did she know...
- Every time she pretended to like Taylor Swift's music LOL
- As much as I enjoyed her brattiness during the Graham Norton 2019 interview (I really did!), it's uncomfortbale to notice how her sense of humour really seems to go nowhere with most people... she just ends up scaring everyone around her. I do enjoy her sarcasm... unfortunately it's probably not TV/Entertainment industry material... happens to her in most of her TV appearances, and perhaps more and more as time goes by. 
- When she got all bitchy at concert goers in Santiago, Chile in 2012 while she was rehearsing because allegedly someone in the audience was smoking... Truthfully (if you watch the video on youtube), she got mad at them because they had laughed at her when the wind turned her umbrella over haha. So much for her claims to having a good sense of humour. Yea, only when she can be the bully in charge. She can be so rude to us.

Come to terms with her legacy? In case you haven't noticed, she's putting together her biopic. So she's revisiting her past in her own way, at her own pace and in the way she wants to do it. 
Moreover, I think she's actually been flirting with her legacy for a while, just not in a very obvious way (which is her right too). She often likes to reuse her old lyrics (like "Vogue" on "Holy Water", or even "Don't Tell Me" in "Future"), posts old photos on her IG, and I'm pretty sure Madame X is the closest she's been to embracing her own body of work. In fact, I remember she mentioned how she became her own muse while working on the album. Madame X was sort of a homage to her younger self, to her struggles in NYC pre-fame, and to the creative re-inventions throughout her career. 
Also, remember that Prince released very uncommercial and unconventional albums for many years, and also enjoyed the creative freedom and eccentricity that came along with them. Likewise, Geogre Michael always took a LONG time in between albums, and you didn't see anyone denying/doubting his standing in music. There is this strange expectation for women to keep up and to constantly demonstrate that they are at the top, that they are relevant. At this point even us, Madonna's hardcore fans, shouldn't even be questioning or worrying about her status in music history, or her relevance at all. She is actually a rarity in the music industry in terms of CREATIVE longevity. Cher has been around for ages but look at how many studio albums she released in the 2000s and 2010s. Also, while she relied on repetitive tour concepts and milked her catalogue like crazy (am I the only one who noticed how similar all of her shows are?), it's clear Madonna is far more interested in making new & innovative music, and to look ahead.
My call is for us to simply enjoy the fruits of her current work while she's still willing to release new music. She's clearly slowing down, after all. Madame X gave us some of the most amazing videos of her entire career and even if the MX Tour was a f-ing nightmare for many, it was truly a bold move on her behalf —artistically and conceptually speaking. People like Bob Dylan rarely look back  and release new studio albums like crazy and no one is questioning his legacy (also, he's a man, of course! Duh!). I'm a fan of Bob too and let me tell you, his concerts can be a nightmare in terms of his "mistreatment" of his own legacy—he reworks his old songs beyond recognition, and I think most of his fans are actually okay with that. Not the case for demanding M fans. They just want their diva to be stuck in the past with the same arrangements and giving them constant nostalgia. Which makes me think, people like Cyndi Lauper (one of my all time fave live performers, by the way) or Belinda Carlisle who sing the same 3-5 songs on every tour and with very little creativity behind the arrangements. So it's really frustrating how Madonna fans dismiss or underestimate her current work while whining too much about the past. We'll really miss it when she stops recording new material. That's for sure. 
Even if the 2010s saw M moving away from the centre of the pop music world, remember she always disliked being called a pop star. She preferred it far more to be called a performance artist, and maybe during the last few years, she took the opportunity to fully explore the depths of that. Furthermore, these "underperforming" albums still gave M 2 #1 albums in the USA in the 2010s, sold out tours, press and plenty of social commentary, which I'm sure will be better understood and embraced by future generations. 
Don't despair people! Enjoy the ride, one doesn't know when it could be over. Whether or not she gets another hit single again. 
 

Come to terms with her legacy? In case you haven't noticed, she's putting together her biopic. So she's revisiting her past in her own way, at her own pace and in the way she wants to do it. 
Moreover, I think she's actually been flirting with her legacy for a while, just not in a very obvious way (which is her right too). She often likes to reuse her old lyrics (like "Vogue" on "Holy Water", or even "Don't Tell Me" in "Future"), posts old photos on her IG, and I'm pretty sure Madame X is the closest she's been to embracing her own body of work. In fact, I remember she mentioned how she became her own muse while working on the album. Madame X was sort of a homage to her younger self, to her struggles in NYC pre-fame, and to the creative re-inventions throughout her career. 
Also, remember that Prince released very uncommercial and unconventional albums for many years, and also enjoyed the creative freedom and eccentricity that came along with them. Likewise, Geogre Michael always took a LONG time in between albums, and you didn't see anyone denying/doubting his standing in music. There is this strange expectation for women to keep up and to constantly demonstrate that they are at the top, that they are relevant. At this point even us, Madonna's hardcore fans, shouldn't even be questioning or worrying about her status in music history, or her relevance at all. She is actually a rarity in the music industry in terms of CREATIVE longevity. Cher has been around for ages but look at how many studio albums she released in the 2000s and 2010s. Also, while she relied on repetitive tour concepts and milked her catalogue like crazy (am I the only one who noticed how similar all of her shows are?), it's clear Madonna is far more interested in making new & innovative music, and to look ahead.
My call is for us to simply enjoy the fruits of her current work while she's still willing to release new music. She's clearly slowing down, after all. Madame X gave us some of the most amazing videos of her entire career and even if the MX Tour was a f-ing nightmare for many, it was truly a bold move on her behalf —artistically and conceptually speaking. People like Bob Dylan rarely look back  and release new studio albums like crazy and no one is questioning his legacy (also, he's a man, of course! Duh!). I'm a fan of Bob too and let me tell you, his concerts can be a nightmare in terms of his "mistreatment" of his own legacy—he reworks his old songs beyond recognition, and I think most of his fans are actually okay with that. Not the case for demanding M fans. They just want their diva to be stuck in the past with the same arrangements and giving them constant nostalgia. Which makes me think, people like Cyndi Lauper (one of my all time fave live performers, by the way) or Belinda Carlisle who sing the same 3-5 songs on every tour and with very little creativity behind the arrangements. So it's really frustrating how Madonna fans dismiss or underestimate her current work while whining too much about the past. We'll really miss it when she stops recording new material. That's for sure. 
Even if the 2010s saw M moving away from the centre of the pop music world, remember she always disliked being called a pop star. She preferred it far more to be called a performance artist, and maybe during the last few years, she took the opportunity to fully explore the depths of that. Furthermore, these "underperforming" albums still gave M 2 #1 albums in the USA in the 2010s, sold out tours, press and plenty of social commentary, which I'm sure will be better understood and embraced by future generations. 
Don't despair people! Enjoy the ride, one doesn't know when it could be over. Whether or not she gets another hit single again. 
 

Come to terms with her legacy? In case you haven't noticed, she's putting together her biopic. So she's revisiting her past in her own way, at her own pace and in the way she wants to do it. 
Moreover, I think she's actually been flirting with her legacy for a while, just not in a very obvious way (which is her right too). She often likes to reuse her old lyrics (like "Vogue" on "Holy Water", or even "Don't Tell Me" in "Future"), posts old photos on her IG, and I'm pretty sure Madame X is the closest she's been to embracing her own body of work. In fact, I remember she mentioned how she became her own muse while working on the album. Madame X was sort of a homage to her younger self, to her struggles in NYC pre-fame, and to the creative re-inventions throughout her career. 
Also, remember that Prince released very uncommercial and unconventional albums for many years, and also enjoyed the creative freedom and eccentricity that came along with them. Likewise, Geogre Michael always took a LONG time in between albums, and you didn't see anyone denying/doubting his standing in music. There is this strange expectation for women to keep up and to constantly demonstrate that they are at the top, that they are relevant. At this point even us, Madonna's hardcore fans, shouldn't even be questioning or worrying about her status in music history, or her relevance at all. She is actually a rarity in the music industry in terms of CREATIVE longevity. Cher has been around for ages but look at how many studio albums she released in the 2000s and 2010s. Also, while she relied on repetitive tour concepts and milked her catalogue like crazy (am I the only one who noticed how similar all of her shows are?), it's clear Madonna is far more interested in making new & innovative music, and to look ahead.
My call is for us to simply enjoy the fruits of her current work while she's still willing to release new music. She's clearly slowing down, after all. Madame X gave us some of the most amazing videos of her entire career and even if the MX Tour was a f-ing nightmare for many, it was truly a bold move on her behalf —artistically and conceptually speaking. People like Bob Dylan rarely look back  and release new studio albums like crazy and no one is questioning his legacy (also, he's a man, of course! Duh!). I'm a fan of Bob too and let me tell you, his concerts can be a nightmare in terms of his "mistreatment" of his own legacy—he reworks his old songs beyond recognition, and I think most of his fans are actually okay with that. Not the case for demanding M fans. They just want their diva to be stuck in the past with the same arrangements and giving them constant nostalgia. Which makes me think, people like Cyndi Lauper (one of my all time fave live performers, by the way) or Belinda Carlisle who sing the same 3-5 songs on every tour and with very little creativity behind the arrangements. So it's really frustrating how Madonna fans dismiss or underestimate her current work while whining too much about the past. We'll really miss it when she stops recording new material. That's for sure. 
Even if the 2010s saw M moving away from the centre of the pop music world, remember she always disliked being called a pop star. She preferred it far more to be called a performance artist, and maybe during the last few years, she took the opportunity to fully explore the depths of that. Furthermore, these "underperforming" albums still gave M 2 #1 albums in the USA in the 2010s, sold out tours, press and plenty of social commentary, which I'm sure will be better understood and embraced by future generations. 
Don't despair people! Enjoy the ride, one doesn't know when it could be over. Whether or not she gets another hit single again. 
 

C'mon, man. This is a discussion board, you know, to discuss? We're just talking. Why insult like this? If you have something to say, say it. Maybe it will even be relevant to the discussion. But these type of comments bring nothing new to the table.

Good points and I'm not trying to purposely be obtuse but that's a slightly meta framing all the same.
There's duality in everything. Cause and affect. Madonna had been leaning into all thing British by the mid 90's. Nelle Hooper, Massive Attack, Alan Parker, Lloyd Webber. Her relationship with Andy Bird had a profound affect on her. To say that the UK wasn't a draw and a creative an influence is a bit evasive. 
Austin Powers - Beautiful Stranger about Andy Bird presumably.
William Orbit - Ray Of Light
James Bond.
Music Video - Ali G
The English Roses.
Mini Coopers
Rupert Everett
Stuart Price - Confessions / AL and Musical director on tours. Confessions LIVE from London. 
She even adopted the freakin accent and left her midwest New York hybrid drawl behind. 
Confessions arguably had Euro disco influences as opposed to American and of course MIrwais is French. The UK was the natural place for her to land after her escape from the US. 
Impressive Instant and I Deserve It (Guy), were about him weren't they? I think I read that. He directed the WIFAFAG video. 
American Life the video centres around the US war. The song and the entire record is nothing to do with that at all in any way whatsoever it's a midlife crisis record. The fact that she had moved to the UK during the Bush years may have given her perspective on her former US home and she arguably became more aware of the ills of the American Dream. I clearly remember her saying something like the dumbest person in the UK is more intelligent than the average American. A horrendous statement but she clearly felt some kind of way and was trying to distance herself from all things US and house a more Euro feel. Bye Bye miss American Pie. 
Her shift back to American music influences as Hard Candy came round and divorce was already on the cards seems very transparent wouldn't you say?
One thing is for sure. The artistry was on point during their years together, The references fresh and the eras exciting...and downhill since I'm afraid. 
...but there's two sides to every argument. Music was heavily cowboy influenced...but chopped up and dissected. The Cow Girl..again questioning the dominance of the man. I Love New York..etc so no doubt she missed home too. 
Was / is Guy a dick? Probably absolutely??? ... but in the late 90's early 00's he was the hot shit director, fresh incredibly talented and handsome. The homophobia thing is unacceptable but we only have Christophers word on that don't we and wasn't he was also in the grip of a terrible substance abuse issue? I'm sure we've all been witness to that toxic gay who's erratic behaviour forces you to give them a wide berth. They're often not afraid to pull out the old "homophobia" card.  
I do find it odd. Guys films are laced with homo erotic activity and tension and I'll always be grateful to him for casting Tom Hardy as Handsome bob in Rock'n'Rolla.
Relationships are a compromise and if you think Guy Ritchie was forcing Madonna to dress up in stately Manor clothes and feed chickens then I don't know what to tell you. We know enough about Madonna by now to know she took all these things and make them her own as part of another reinvention. I don't see anyone hounding Denis Rodman and Tupac against the wall for her Hip Hop bad girl make over circa 94. Magpie-ing form her current surroundings is part of her brand....also see Madame X.
She addressed the duality of their relationship on MDNA  and in reality no one knows except the both of them. The real theme of grief she seemed to have at the end of the marriage was monetary. 
As fans we often side with our idol and cast aspersions on anyone who falls out of her favour. I think the truth of the matter is Guy probably just fell out of love with Madonna and she found that unbearable and devastating...That's no ones fault. Love is complex....now if She's Not Me is a thing then we bout to have another conversation...but who really knows the timeline. 
"It wasn't always perfect, but it wasn't always bad"
" I tried to be a good girl I tried to be your wife"
"I feel like I've lost my very best friend"
" I fucked up, I made a mistake"
Just like the album....Self reflection through fake smiles, heartache, regret, rage and trying on old versions of yourself for re-affirmation. 
 
 
....or not
 
 
 
 
 

Adding to what you said...

Music started being recorded in mid-1999, before they even met. Music was launched on Sept 2000, their marriage was 3 months later.

American Life was all about the US (war) - no UK influence whatsoever.

Confessions also had 0 influence from Guy or the UK, except if we count that Stuart Price is british, I guess?

During these years, he was also homophobic to her brother, told her "she looked like a granny on stage", implemented behaviours on her that she had never had (Madonna in pubs? Madonna feeding chickens as a housewife? really?), and many other things.
It does takes two to tango, but justifying and equating Guy's problematic behaviour with Madonna being a bit of a diva... good lord.

I'm sure Lola and Rocco think we, Madonna fans, are a pretty pathetic bunch (I have met a few myself lol). It must be weird for them to see the level of idolatry/worship and obsession that their mum inspires in so many people... worrying too, like we have no lives of our own. Even Madonna has clearly encouraged us to focus on our own lives, and also kept her distance from us—which is understanble. Truthfully, she has never been chummy with us, nor really made us feel like we owe her anything. Which doesn't mean she isn't thankful, but I'm convinced that she's the kind of person who truly believes that everything she has is mostly the result of hard work and discipline, even if MANY people (collaborators, enablers, industry members, boyfriends, lovers, friends, and fans, of course) have been instrumental for her success.
But going back to the topic, Lola clearly takes after her mother in terms of "sense of humour" and bitchiness. Unlike other celebrities and their children, these bunch have no interest in even pretending to like the public. Actually, I always giggled at hardcore fans waiting to see Madonna before and after shows during the MX Tour... Seriously, the woman NEVER stopped to say hi. And they still stood there (often in the cold) anxiously waiting for her. That's what Lola refers to when accusing of having "no life". Also, seeing some fans literally celebrating the fact that she's bullying them is truly pathetic, and it does expose how ridiculous social media is (in a worrying way). 
I'm also not going to pretend/imagine Madonna's kids are nice at all. Especially Lola and Rocco. Mercy does look like the kindest soul, but the others... Hm.... Rocco is really just like his dad—a posh, entitled brat. Even his choice of clothing for the recent trip to Africa made me think how much his attire looked like a distasteful throwback to the British Empire. Yuck. Some trivia: I met Guy back in 2011 at an event in one of his homes in Fitzrovia (central London) and I realised how much of an upper/middle-class chauvinistic bully he was. I was only a uni student then and it was quite heartbreaking, as I only realised afterwards how clever and sophisticated his bullying had been towards me and some of my friends. Oh well, you live, you learn. But yea, these kids... Stay away people haha.

Hm he’s hot? ? 
But seriously, he’s a good lyricist, has a pleasant voice, and clearly works hard- releasing new music, collaborations and music videos quite often. Hardly a mediocre person. Reggaeton/or “this Maluma character” may not be your thing but I wouldn’t devalue the merits of his work just because of one’s personal tastes.
Also, no doubt Madonna collaborated with him because of his looks and self-confidence. Don’t forget the look on her face when she first met him backstage. She was THIRSTY! Lol

I always felt like Guy was good for Madonna because he bought her down to earth a bit and made her take herself less seriously. I liked her humour when they were together. I'm positive that their relationship attributed in some small way to the reasons why she managed the transition into a 00's darling rather than being left in the 90's. She had a great sense of humour before but the Music project and that Brit sensibility lent itself to some much needed light relief after the heavy Ray Of Light project. Madonna moving to the UK was a time that brought her immense creativity and passion in her music and art. Even Erotica and Bedtime Stories is maybe my favourite period of her career, there is no doubt that the early and mid 90's were a commercial wreck for her in the most part...and then we were in to bland balladry for an eternity with Evita  as much of a yawn in many ways. Ray Of Light is always the pivotal moment but to me the Music era was the closest to True Blue in terms of star power and he star shining brightly. Fun polished and optimistic. Ray Of Light paved the way in that sense. 
Towards the end the result were gash though. Hard Candy is an aural representation of the discourse...and let's not pretend Madonna would have been easy to live with either. It takes two to tango. 

We all need to chill here and hope that Madonna and her team are sticking to the current rules in place for traveling. Suddenly we’ve become enraged online trolls trying to hold celebrities (including M) accountable for things most of us have no idea about.
It’s easy to hate on the rich but, let’s ask ourselves, what do we get from doing that? Absolutely nothing. A moment of self-gratification, perhaps, nothing more. Believe me, NO ONE involved - nor Madonna, nor the respective migration authorities in Malawi or Kenya are reading your comments. She even met the President of Malawi ffs! 
If you’re so concerned about people not following the rules, please make sure you do that yourself first and foremost. If Madonna has indeed broken any rules, believe me, we’ll hear about it. For now, don’t perpetuate the gossip and BS tabloids and Madonna haters on Twitter relish in. Stop thinking social media is everything, and maybe give her (super uber rich entitled Madonna) the benefit of the doubt. She’s doing plenty of good in Africa, I don’t believe she’s gone there to spread covid to vulnerable people.
It’s so easy to be so judgmental behind the screen... I can’t speak for any of you but I’d rather put my energy (frustration, anger!) into something more productive than calling Madonna out on a Madonna FAN forum, or Twitter. Isn’t that one of Madonna’s main lessons for us to begin with? “Do something meaningful with your own life first, that’s how you can pay tribute to me”? (I recall she said something like that to an audience back in 2003 when promoting American Life in London, maybe it was at the HMV store mini concert she gave  — correct me if I’m wrong?)
Anyway, hope everyone is good and safe. End of rant LOL

I'm sure Lola and Rocco think we, Madonna fans, are a pretty pathetic bunch (I have met a few myself lol). It must be weird for them to see the level of idolatry/worship and obsession that their mum inspires in so many people... worrying too, like we have no lives of our own. Even Madonna has clearly encouraged us to focus on our own lives, and also kept her distance from us—which is understanble. Truthfully, she has never been chummy with us, nor really made us feel like we owe her anything. Which doesn't mean she isn't thankful, but I'm convinced that she's the kind of person who truly believes that everything she has is mostly the result of hard work and discipline, even if MANY people (collaborators, enablers, industry members, boyfriends, lovers, friends, and fans, of course) have been instrumental for her success.
But going back to the topic, Lola clearly takes after her mother in terms of "sense of humour" and bitchiness. Unlike other celebrities and their children, these bunch have no interest in even pretending to like the public. Actually, I always giggled at hardcore fans waiting to see Madonna before and after shows during the MX Tour... Seriously, the woman NEVER stopped to say hi. And they still stood there (often in the cold) anxiously waiting for her. That's what Lola refers to when accusing of having "no life". Also, seeing some fans literally celebrating the fact that she's bullying them is truly pathetic, and it does expose how ridiculous social media is (in a worrying way). 
I'm also not going to pretend/imagine Madonna's kids are nice at all. Especially Lola and Rocco. Mercy does look like the kindest soul, but the others... Hm.... Rocco is really just like his dad—a posh, entitled brat. Even his choice of clothing for the recent trip to Africa made me think how much his attire looked like a distasteful throwback to the British Empire. Yuck. Some trivia: I met Guy back in 2011 at an event in one of his homes in Fitzrovia (central London) and I realised how much of an upper/middle-class chauvinistic bully he was. I was only a uni student then and it was quite heartbreaking, as I only realised afterwards how clever and sophisticated his bullying had been towards me and some of my friends. Oh well, you live, you learn. But yea, these kids... Stay away people haha.

He was a great TV-personality and a great journalist. RIP, sir.

2002 
 

If you haven't heard yet, Larry King died this morning. Wow, what a legend. I have enjoyed every interview he has ever done. He had a way of getting deep and having fun with everyone....including Madonna. RIP!! You'll never be forgotten Larry King!!
 
 

And yet, some fans absolutely swear he was the best thing to ever happen to her and aren't able to see that (as the majority of us do). I think it's the daddy effect.

PS: and we are all "somebody"s and "nobody"s. Even Madonna is a nobody to a lot of people I know. Let's not go down that path...

Using Lola to try to get to Madonna is weird at best.
And if I felt used, id probably clap back too.
So people need to check their behavior before deciding what kind of person she is based on Internet behavior.
Again: what you see online isnt real.