Madonna Talks New 'Frozen on Fire' Remix and Planning a 'Magical Experience' for Upcoming Birthday

[Brendanlovesu1 6,053]

The music icon chats with PEOPLE about breathing "new life" into her 1998 hit "Frozen," the making of her upcoming remix album and birthday planning

On Thursday, the music icon, 63, released "Frozen on Fire," a remix of her 1998 hit "Frozen," with the artist Sickick. The remix — which features fresh vocals from Madonna and verses sung by Sickick — is the fourth iteration of "Frozen" to be made since the DJ first reinvented the song in 2021.

"I think what's special about this version is that Sickick is singing on it," Madonna tells PEOPLE. "I didn't actually think of him as a singer or a musician or a songwriter or anything. I thought of him as a DJ. So, when it was presented to me that he wanted to do his version, I was kind of skeptical at first. But then when I heard it, I was blown away by his musicianship, by his sense of musicality, by his melody, his singing, everything."

"When I ended up going in the studio with him and recording with him, I thought, 'This makes perfect sense to end with him because he started it, the remix,'" she continues. "He has a fantastic voice. When I first heard it, I thought it was The Weeknd."

Madonna first came across Sickick's 2021 remix of "Frozen" when people started making videos to it on TikTok.

"I was like, 'Hey, wait a minute. What is this? This is my song,'" she recalls. "It all happened by divine inspiration, I guess, because then once I heard them, I wanted to make more of them and do new versions of them that had different people singing on them and doing their take on it."

Since the initial remix, which has soundtracked nearly one million TikTok videos to date, Madonna and Sickick have released a version of the track with Nigerian singer Fireboy DML in March and a version with New Jersey's 070 Shake in April.

As to whether she could've imagined "Frozen" would be as popular as ever more than two decades after its original release, Madonna says, "I had absolutely no idea, but I'm pleasantly surprised!"

"It's fantastic," she says. "The original song is great. The video is great and what's happening with it now is great. Like I said, I feel like it's come full circle and it has a new life and it has a new kind of relevancy."

Given that TikTok is now a huge force in driving streaming and sales numbers, Madonna says she's learned to adjust to the trend.

"I come from the world [where you] spend years working on a record and releasing, and it goes in cycles," she says. "So you put a record out every three years or something like that, and it's an enormous amount of work. There's good sides and bad sides of TikTok. You know? But to me, the good side is that you don't have to wait so long to release something."

"You can put something out and you can have an audience instantly and you can get feedback instantly and you don't need a whole huge marketing machine," she adds. "You get people telling you right away whether something's working or not. So it's great to have a new way to get music out."

"Frozen on Fire" is just the start of what's to come for Madonna in 2022. On Aug. 19, she plans to release Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones, a 50-track remix collection that explores her dominance on the Billboard Dance Club chart for more than 40 years. (A 16-track version of the album is due out June 24.)

To put together the project, "I had to listen to a lot of remixes and take a trip down memory lane," she says. "I was also reminded of how different production was then than it is now, with real drums and analog production technology, to now digital technology. Everything's done in Logic or Pro Tools on a computer. You don't even have to be in a recording studio."

"So from where I started, making music in my apartment on the Lower East Side, and then having to go to a recording studio to record it, to where I am now and how I've been working, it was a good lesson on how music has changed and the way we make music has changed, the way we listen to music has changed," she continues. "It was kind of historical education, listening to my own remixes."

When she looks back on her musical catalog, Madonna says she has moments where she's "astonished" at all the work that went into her career.

"I remember things and I remember moments in time of where I was when I made that record and what producer was I working with and what studio was I in and what city was I in and what was going on in my life," she says. "I mean, I've been very blessed to have the career that I've had, so it's nice to be able to look back at my catalog of music and have that experience."

Just three days after Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones' release, Madonna will celebrate her birthday on Aug. 19. In honor of turning 64, she plans to host an extravaganza just as special as last year's celebration in Italy.

"I always have to do something special and unique on my birthday and go somewhere that I've never been before and create a magical experience, not only for myself and my children, but for my friends," she says. "So I'm still hashing that one out. It's between two places, but I don't want to say where because I don't want to jinx myself — and I also don't want everybody to go there and get a hotel room!"

Though the plans are under wraps for now, Madonna promises that like with so much of her career, "I'll take everyone on the journey with me."

https://people.com/music/madonna-talks-frozen-on-fire-remix-birthday-plans/

[steady75 5,613]

That was a nice little interview. She sounds a bit like old Madonna there. Cute 

[sidney78a 2,036]

Imma be feeling kinda old

 

[danielsevilla 707]

There's good sides and bad sides of TikTok. You know? But to me, the good side is that you don't have to wait so long to release something."

#soon 😂

[Andreo 3,273]

3 hours ago, Brendanlovesu1 said:

But to me, the good side is that you don't have to wait so long to release something.

Then do it??? 

[Fabiolous 3,794]

Loved this interview. Love the new Frozen remixes, even though they're not actually to my liking in sound. It's great that it happened and that Madonna is still passionate about her music at 64 and putting effort into things like this. We are blessed and she is amazing. Haters gonna hate.

[wtg1987 7,664]

Kind of bummed she still isn’t talking about AFTER frozen and the remix collection 🥺 you know that multi million dollar reissue campaign with Warner’s 😭😭

[thegoldencalf 8,974]

This interview got me kinda worried for her future projects. It sounds to me like she’s looking for TikTok validation for her releases. So I’m hoping her next record will not have the sound of the Frozen remixes and be packed with features from young artists that appeal to 16 year olds…

[steady75 5,613]

I didn’t hugely know about Blondie until the remix campaign in 94 I think it was. Union City Blue / Atomic and Heart of Glass. By the time I was a proper Music buyer Blondie had long since split up. Those Diddy remixes along with the Rollo Mix of Donna Summers I Feel Love properly introduced me to Blondie and Donna Summer and now I know everything about their music and journey  and absolutely Stan.
Do I still Play the  remixes I bought? No. Do I still play all the songs I discovered through that remix? Absolutely. Do not underestimate the power of a remix as a window to an entire new generation of fans who use it as a stepping stone. 
 

i literally only bought that Blondie remix because it was a Diddy remix and I loved their dance track Give Me Love. 

[Pootz333 1,295]

50 minutes ago, steady75 said:

I didn’t hugely know about Blondie until the remix campaign in 94 I think it was. Union City Blue / Atomic and Heart of Glass. By the time I was a proper Music buyer Blondie had long since split up. Those Diddy remixes along with the Rollo Mix of Donna Summers I Feel Love properly introduced me to Blondie and Donna Summer and now I know everything about their music and journey  and absolutely Stan.
Do I still Play the  remixes I bought? No. Do I still play all the songs I discovered through that remix? Absolutely. Do not underestimate the power of a remix as a window to an entire new generation of fans who use it as a stepping stone. 
 

i literally only bought that Blondie remix because it was a Diddy remix and I loved their dance track Give Me Love. 

Yes! I loved that Blondie remix album and that "I Feel Love" remix was humongous. That's what got me into both artists as well. I can't believe we're about as far from the "Pure Disco" CD as that was from the actual disco era. Whew.

[madgefan 9,208]

5 hours ago, steady75 said:

Do not underestimate the power of a remix as a window to an entire new of fans who use it as a stepping stone. 

I can happily agree with this. I first learnt about Madonna by listening to:

American Pie (Richard Humpty Vission Radio Mix)

Nothing Really Matters (Club 69 Radio Mix)

And I was only a kid. There was something so special in those remixes that I felt like I needed to know more about this woman.

[GregVsMatt 1,020]

9 hours ago, wtg1987 said:

Kind of bummed she still isn’t talking about AFTER frozen and the remix collection 🥺 you know that multi million dollar reissue campaign with Warner’s 😭😭

The campaign has been underway since the RSD release. We are in it and she will likely give statements for media / press releases as things are announced and later also interviews. We are approaching a very big anniversary. 

[Jackie 3,210]

Love this! 

[TonyMontana 4,747]

You know what, i don't really listen to those new Frozen remixes, it's just not my thing, the slow trap/slow dubstep has never been something i like, BUT, deep inside i'm happy she's still doing modern and fresh music, we may like it or not but one thing for sure it sounds current. She has never and never will be cheesy musically.  Sometimes it gets on our nerves when we don't like what she releases but damn, i'm so happy she's not releasing cheesy stuff, full of glitters and shiny bodysuits. She could easily record a new disco remix of Hung Up featuring Gloria Gaynor but as much as i love disco i think that's not what i expect from Madonna, at least not now. In 2005 that was edgy pf her to do so, now not so much.

[Vasili 1,333]

10 hours ago, steady75 said:

Do not underestimate the power of a remix as a window to an entire new generation of fans who use it as a stepping stone.

So true. A 2005 remix of a Depeche Mode song was my entrée into their incredible discography.

[drivebitch 1,524]

18 hours ago, Brendanlovesu1 said:

The music icon chats with PEOPLE about breathing "new life" into her 1998 hit "Frozen," the making of her upcoming remix album and birthday planning

On Thursday, the music icon, 63, released "Frozen on Fire," a remix of her 1998 hit "Frozen," with the artist Sickick. The remix — which features fresh vocals from Madonna and verses sung by Sickick — is the fourth iteration of "Frozen" to be made since the DJ first reinvented the song in 2021.

"I think what's special about this version is that Sickick is singing on it," Madonna tells PEOPLE. "I didn't actually think of him as a singer or a musician or a songwriter or anything. I thought of him as a DJ. So, when it was presented to me that he wanted to do his version, I was kind of skeptical at first. But then when I heard it, I was blown away by his musicianship, by his sense of musicality, by his melody, his singing, everything."

"When I ended up going in the studio with him and recording with him, I thought, 'This makes perfect sense to end with him because he started it, the remix,'" she continues. "He has a fantastic voice. When I first heard it, I thought it was The Weeknd."

Madonna first came across Sickick's 2021 remix of "Frozen" when people started making videos to it on TikTok.

"I was like, 'Hey, wait a minute. What is this? This is my song,'" she recalls. "It all happened by divine inspiration, I guess, because then once I heard them, I wanted to make more of them and do new versions of them that had different people singing on them and doing their take on it."

Since the initial remix, which has soundtracked nearly one million TikTok videos to date, Madonna and Sickick have released a version of the track with Nigerian singer Fireboy DML in March and a version with New Jersey's 070 Shake in April.

As to whether she could've imagined "Frozen" would be as popular as ever more than two decades after its original release, Madonna says, "I had absolutely no idea, but I'm pleasantly surprised!"

"It's fantastic," she says. "The original song is great. The video is great and what's happening with it now is great. Like I said, I feel like it's come full circle and it has a new life and it has a new kind of relevancy."

Given that TikTok is now a huge force in driving streaming and sales numbers, Madonna says she's learned to adjust to the trend.

"I come from the world [where you] spend years working on a record and releasing, and it goes in cycles," she says. "So you put a record out every three years or something like that, and it's an enormous amount of work. There's good sides and bad sides of TikTok. You know? But to me, the good side is that you don't have to wait so long to release something."

"You can put something out and you can have an audience instantly and you can get feedback instantly and you don't need a whole huge marketing machine," she adds. "You get people telling you right away whether something's working or not. So it's great to have a new way to get music out."

"Frozen on Fire" is just the start of what's to come for Madonna in 2022. On Aug. 19, she plans to release Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones, a 50-track remix collection that explores her dominance on the Billboard Dance Club chart for more than 40 years. (A 16-track version of the album is due out June 24.)

To put together the project, "I had to listen to a lot of remixes and take a trip down memory lane," she says. "I was also reminded of how different production was then than it is now, with real drums and analog production technology, to now digital technology. Everything's done in Logic or Pro Tools on a computer. You don't even have to be in a recording studio."

"So from where I started, making music in my apartment on the Lower East Side, and then having to go to a recording studio to record it, to where I am now and how I've been working, it was a good lesson on how music has changed and the way we make music has changed, the way we listen to music has changed," she continues. "It was kind of historical education, listening to my own remixes."

When she looks back on her musical catalog, Madonna says she has moments where she's "astonished" at all the work that went into her career.

"I remember things and I remember moments in time of where I was when I made that record and what producer was I working with and what studio was I in and what city was I in and what was going on in my life," she says. "I mean, I've been very blessed to have the career that I've had, so it's nice to be able to look back at my catalog of music and have that experience."

Just three days after Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones' release, Madonna will celebrate her birthday on Aug. 19. In honor of turning 64, she plans to host an extravaganza just as special as last year's celebration in Italy.

"I always have to do something special and unique on my birthday and go somewhere that I've never been before and create a magical experience, not only for myself and my children, but for my friends," she says. "So I'm still hashing that one out. It's between two places, but I don't want to say where because I don't want to jinx myself — and I also don't want everybody to go there and get a hotel room!"

Though the plans are under wraps for now, Madonna promises that like with so much of her career, "I'll take everyone on the journey with me."

https://people.com/music/madonna-talks-frozen-on-fire-remix-birthday-plans/

Madonna’s birthday is on the 16th, not the 19th. I think they mean 3 days BEFORE the release she’ll celebrate her birthday. 

[Robertthenurse 418]

21 hours ago, wtg1987 said:

Kind of bummed she still isn’t talking about AFTER frozen and the remix collection 🥺 you know that multi million dollar reissue campaign with Warner’s 😭😭

But she's promoting frozen 3.0 not FEL 🤣

[wtg1987 7,664]

2 minutes ago, Robertthenurse said:

But she's promoting frozen 3.0 not FEL 🤣

That’s my point exactly 

[The Grey Pilgrim 2,175]

10 hours ago, TonyMontana said:

You know what, i don't really listen to those new Frozen remixes, it's just not my thing, the slow trap/slow dubstep has never been something i like, BUT, deep inside i'm happy she's still doing modern and fresh music, we may like it or not but one thing for sure it sounds current. She has never and never will be cheesy musically.  Sometimes it gets on our nerves when we don't like what she releases but damn, i'm so happy she's not releasing cheesy stuff, full of glitters and shiny bodysuits. She could easily record a new disco remix of Hung Up featuring Gloria Gaynor but as much as i love disco i think that's not what i expect from Madonna, at least not now. In 2005 that was edgy pf her to do so, now not so much.

I get what you are saying but don't you think that this many Frozen remixes is excessive at this point? like how many more do we need that sound exactly the same with a new guest vocalist each time. These hail mary attempts to milk a tiktok trend dry just feel sad and desperate. As for disco, well that is the last thing I want her to return to, never really understood why so many gays have some insatiable and never ceasing hard on for the stuff anyway.

[Robertthenurse 418]

37 minutes ago, The First Citizen said:

I get what you are saying but don't you think that this many Frozen remixes is excessive at this point? like how many more do we need that sound exactly the same with a new guest vocalist each time. These hail mary attempts to milk a tiktok trend dry just feel sad and desperate. As for disco, well that is the last thing I want her to return to, never really understood why so many gays have some insatiable and never ceasing hard on for the stuff anyway.

Gay and Disco...are you 12?

[rlittler81 1,324]

11 hours ago, Vasili said:

So true. A 2005 remix of a Depeche Mode song was my entrée into their incredible discography.

Same. The first DM album I ever listened to and bought was Remixes 81-04.

[The Grey Pilgrim 2,175]

2 hours ago, Robertthenurse said:

Gay and Disco...are you 12?

 Do you need another glass of wine and a foot massage sweetie?

[TonyMontana 4,747]

2 hours ago, The First Citizen said:

I get what you are saying but don't you think that this many Frozen remixes is excessive at this point? like how many more do we need that sound exactly the same with a new guest vocalist each time. These hail mary attempts to milk a tiktok trend dry just feel sad and desperate. As for disco, well that is the last thing I want her to return to, never really understood why so many gays have some insatiable and never ceasing hard on for the stuff anyway.

Yes i agree releasing three remixes that sounds almost the same is... weird and crazy lol. Well now it's finally over ! The funny side is that, as fans we will always remember that weird 'mini era', i mean wich other big artist would do that ?! That's Madonna, she's always bern a bit crazy, the thing is that in the past everything was really ubder control with record companies, manager, physical single releases etc... Now that she has found out new current ways of releasing music, more "free", like she says she can record something in a day and decide to post it on the web by herself and as a result we get 3 almost identical releases of the same track within two months ! If she had that way of working a few years ago we would have probably get 5 Candy Shop remixes with differents rappers released as HC singles 😂

[Robertthenurse 418]

12 hours ago, TonyMontana said:

Yes i agree releasing three remixes that sounds almost the same is... weird and crazy lol. Well now it's finally over ! The funny side is that, as fans we will always remember that weird 'mini era', i mean wich other big artist would do that ?! That's Madonna, she's always bern a bit crazy, the thing is that in the past everything was really ubder control with record companies, manager, physical single releases etc... Now that she has found out new current ways of releasing music, more "free", like she says she can record something in a day and decide to post it on the web by herself and as a result we get 3 almost identical releases of the same track within two months ! If she had that way of working a few years ago we would have probably get 5 Candy Shop remixes with differents rappers released as HC singles 😂

Well said boo xo