One year ago, the first "Rebel Heart' snippet leaked!

[PlasticLimbo 1,606]

Clip of New Madonna Song 'Rebel Heart' Leaks

 

 

 

A snippet of a new Madonna song, rumored to be titled "Rebel Heart," leaked to the Internet on Thursday (Nov. 27).

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Madonna's publicist had no comment about the leak, but the diva's manager, Guy Oseary, Tweeted: "I would be grateful to any Madonna fans that can assist us in finding those responsible for the leak. We appreciate your help."

About 40 seconds of the dance-meets-acoustic track materialized with Madonna singing, "I've spent some time as a narcissist, hearing the others say 'look at you, look at you.' Trying to be so provocative, I said, 'Oh yeah, that was me. All the things I did just to be seen.'"

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It's assumed the song is titled "Rebel Heart," as Madonna is heard singing the phrase at one point in the snippet, and because she used the #RebelHeart hashtag on her Instagram for months. The song might be a co-production withAvicii, as Madonna used the #RebelHeart hashtag in a photo of her with him and his team nine months ago.

It's unknown if the song clip is from a demo version of the song or a recording of a finished track. (As the audio quality of the snippet is questionable -- it sounds like it was recorded through speakers -- some observers have suggested the song is unfinished.)

Madonna has been working on new music throughout 2014, frequently updating her Instagram feed with photos and messages regarding her progress. A new album from the entertainer is expected in 2015. It will be her first studio effort since 2012's MDNA, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

[Dazedmadonna 18,464]

Tragic, I still think it should have happened after the album release..

[Gargamel 8,775]

That was tragic for her from a privacy violation's point of view...this album which is clearly one of the best and one of the most inspired for many years IMO deserved a proper release and a better lot!

 

This said, leak or not leak, I still think it would not have made much difference in terms of sales and above all in terms of appreciations...

[Dazedmadonna 18,464]

That was tragic for her from a privacy violation's point of view...this album which is clearly one the best and one of the most inspired for many years IMO deserved a proper release and a better lot!

 

This said, leak or not leak, I still think it would not have made much difference in terms of sales and above all in terms of appreciations...

 

That's what I meant

[LUKESAVANT 1,211]

That was tragic for her from a privacy violation's point of view...this album which is clearly one the best and one of the most inspired for many years IMO deserved a proper release and a better lot!

 

This said, leak or not leak, I still think it would not have made much difference in terms of sales and above all in terms of appreciations...

 

Respectfully, I disagree.

 

Rebel Heart easily could have hit 500,000 in first week if:

 

-people didn't have it already.  Remember, by Christmas most had all 25 tracks in almost final demo form (except Ghosttown), Ghosttown was the surprise.

-Avicii tracks were built upon instead of deconstructed

-Produced as a secret album (ala Beyonce)

 

I won't say Madonna pulls any sway in today's world relative to sales much anymore but that is also because she doesn't do what other younger artists do to be on the front of their minds.  I think this is the only draw back to being the "Queen of Pop".  Rebel Heart has some pretty amazing tracks that for any other singer would have catapulted Rebel Heart to 1,000,000 in first week.  There are a lot of younger fans that are now true Madonna fans.  Even her facebook followers... over 18 Million worldwide, why didn't at least half buy the album?  So, the autopsy on Rebel Heart being unsuccessful wasn't about the work which was overall given great praise, it had to be about the process or strategy.  The Leak was bad, it was very bad.

[Angelo 5,887]

The Leak was bad, it was very bad.

yes it was very bad for her (and so good for us :P)

but let's be real

she doesn't sell very well from 10 years

her last successfull album was confessions

her last hit single was 4 minutes and give it 2 me (a bit)

[Enrico 16,096]

I can't see how you are a fan and you don't buy the album.

Still there are many of us who bought so many different copies (FNAC, vinyl, etc.).

Although the physical release was horrible with no lyrics, no credit... really an invitation not to buy it!

I have to confess I was one of the people who listened to the demos... I couldn't resist. I love the process as much as the result. But at the end, it wasn't good for us. The leak forced M and her team to rework some songs which were already excellent... see the uptempo version of Joan of Arc or that stupid remix of Beautiful scars. Or Devil pray, so overproduced. And the crime of letting Autotune baby out of the album!

[Stevo 6,452]

I can't see how you are a fan and you don't buy the album.Still there are many of us who bought so many different copies (FNAC, vinyl, etc.).

To me, being a fan doesn't mean you have to automatically like every single thing an artist does. I am a fan, and have been since around 1989. I have every album except I'm Breathless, the evita soundtrack and rebel heart. I wasn't into the jazzy style of I'm breathless, and I'm not into musical/soundtracks so didn't buy the evita soundtracks either (but I did download legally a few songs). I don't have the new album as, MDNA was a bit of a let down for me, I didn't listen to any of the RH demos as I thought they might sound similar to the songs I didn't like on MDNA. When I heard Living for the love on the radio it did absolutely nothing for me, the same with other singles from this album. I listened to all the album tracks on spotify but overall the album didn't appeal to me so I didn't buy it. It doesn't mean I'm not a fan of her work. I am a fan of her work for the most part, but just not a fan of this last album.Also, for the albums I bought, I bought one copy on CD (or digital for COADF and MDNA). I don't feel a need to buy an album in every format that is released, but that's just my opinion :-)

[MerBoy13 595]

Im glad the demos leaked I just wish they had after the album tbh Wash Over Me, Holy Water (Love the cheekiness of the demo album version is fire too!) Joan Of Arc, Devil Pray, Borrowed Time, Rebel Heart, Beautiful Scars, Illuminati, Inside Out & Addicted (TOTGA) anyone? Generally I don't think it affected the album sales hugely tbh. Then again people shouldn't sell demos until the album campaign has fully and truly come to an end. Do feel blessed we were given a huge chance to listen through the whole recording process and changes from the demos to the album versions. Plus the cut songs aka Back That Up, Tragic Girl, Alone With You, Freedom, God Is Love, Heaven, Never Let You Go, Nothing Lasts Forever, Revolution, Best Night (Different Lyrics), TNB, Score, Take A Day, Take It Back, Two Steps Behind Me were all interesting to hear too and some were fantastic it was a shame they got the cut!Just to say as well I purchased all 3 different copies of the album plus the German one with Autotune Baby and I also purchased it off ITunes! 😊

[MisterMistere 870]

I can't see how you are a fan and you don't buy the album.

Still there are many of us who bought so many different copies (FNAC, vinyl, etc.).

Although the physical release was horrible with no lyrics, no credit... really an invitation not to buy it!

I have to confess I was one of the people who listened to the demos... I couldn't resist. I love the process as much as the result. But at the end, it wasn't good for us. The leak forced M and her team to rework some songs which were already excellent... see the uptempo version of Joan of Arc or that stupid remix of Beautiful scars. Or Devil pray, so overproduced. And the crime of letting Autotune baby out of the album!

 

I think the story M changed the songs arrangements because of the leaks it's totally made up.

The demos were already reworked / being reworked BEFORE the mega leak. The first leaks happened at the end of november. The first official E.P. on iTunes was released less than a month, and we already found changed songs on it. She changed the arrangements because she wanted the songs written with different producers to sound homogenic in style. No way Madonna would have thrown away her work because of a leak. The songs on the album sound exactly as she wanted us to hear them.

Candy shop leaked in the summer of 2007, she had 7/8 months to change it, but on the album it sounds identical as the leaked demo. Same as GMAYL: she added the girls on it, she didn't rewrite/reworked the song.

[Enrico 16,096]

@ I think you are right, a fan is not necessarily a collector. Still when I admire a singer or an actor I tend to buy the albums / see the movies and judge. I trust M as an artist and every album is worth buying. Definitely Rebel Heart is.@@MisterMistere To think that M turned beautiful demos to worse makes me think... wanting to sound young and modern made her lose some integrity but didn't gain her any new fan. But they needed an homogenic sound, that is absolutely true.

[Stevo 6,452]

To think that M turned beautiful demos to worse makes me think... wanting to sound young and modern made her lose some integrity but didn't gain her any new fan. But they needed an homogenic sound, that is absolutely true.

Maybe i'll give the demos ago then after reading this ☺. I think what you say here is true for me. I feel that the latest album sounds like she's maybe trying too hard to be relevant to younger people and is maybe not as interesting or exciting to listen to for me personally as her other albums, but it sounds as though some of the demos are quite different to the final versions so may be good for me. No doubt in a few years i'll be singing a different tune and think the album is fantastic. I tend to do that........ lol.

[Angelo 5,887]

Maybe i'll give the demos ago then after reading this ☺. I think what you say here is true for me. I feel that the latest album sounds like she's maybe trying too hard to be relevant to younger people and is maybe not as interesting or exciting to listen to for me personally as her other albums, but it sounds as though some of the demos are quite different to the final versions so may be good for me. No doubt in a few years i'll be singing a different tune and think the album is fantastic. I tend to do that........ lol.

for me with mdna she tried to be relevant to young people

but I don't think rebel heart is like mdna

RH for me is two steps far away from mdna

 

more serious songs.....of course it's not her best album, but is way better than mdna and hard candy...it's a solid good album

of course there are silly songs like BIM and Holy Water

but every album of madonna has silly songs

[Fighter 28,888]

Rebel Heart should've been the lead single and the album should've been a standard collection of the best songs from the sessions. Not 4 versions or whatever it was containing lots of filler to cash in from as much as possible from the material just bc it leaked.

 

I think my problem with the album is that it tries too hard to be EVERYTHING, instead of just focusing on one thing, one vision. For me the album would've been a great addition to her catalogue had it been all avicii/heartfelt/mainstream, or all diplo/sophie/underground (which I really wish she would do on the next one).

[Dazedmadonna 18,464]

I'm probably the only one here that is super duper happy about the final result, and doesn't like any demo more than the final. 😂

[Angelo 5,887]

I'm probably the only one here that is super duper happy about the final result, and doesn't like any demo more than the final.

for a lot of songs you're not alone XD

[madgefan 10,236]

The double disc experience would have blown our minds  On one hand you have all these emotional songs that are not necessarily ballads exquisitely produced, and on the other hand all those uptempo tracks that scream radio airplay and fun charged music videos. A double album could have given the whole project a more cohesive theme along with a more natural flow between songs. But hell Interscope just went ahead with the idea of relasing 3 different main formats so we got what we got. Personally, I love collecting Madonna's releases but with Rebel Heart I could do with just one copy and that's the Super Deluxe Edition although I hate the cover selected for that one.

 

Regarding the demos, there's no doubt many of them had such potential to be included as the final versions (especially the Avicii tracks) but the cuts included on the album are not that bad, I mean, Madonna's quality standards as for her sound are so high that I don't think a bad produced song could have made it in the first place. Also, I don't think the album final product feels as rushed as MDNA which consisted basically on a collection of demos penned by others and retouched by Madonna's ideas at the very last minute 

 

Love Madonna anyway, love her music and Rebel Heart proves that she's still got it. The same feeling you could get in the early 80s or in the mid 90s when almost everybody bet her career wouldn't last any longer, and she still released amazing music!

 

[MisterMistere 870]

I'm probably the only one here that is super duper happy about the final result, and doesn't like any demo more than the final.

 

No... when I first heard the demos I was wondering... how would M will make a cohesive record out of all this?? The demos sounded as a work-in-progress for 3 or 4 different projects... lots of different sessions... it was like to listen Hard Candy / Ray of Light / Mdna demos all together... to listen to Joan of Arc / Bitch I'm Madonna / Hold Tight / Messiah subsequently was a bit confusing... but the final album perfectly answers to my initial questions.

[Adriano 160]

Best comment i read is that the double record would have been perfect. RH really lacks cohesion, like rol and COADF had...Bitch I'm Madonna looks like a droped song from another album.IMO it should have followed devil pray's theme, dark and fucking amazing (I love electronic, house, progressive house music...this song is sort of like that). It's the song i keep listening to, along with Hold Tight, Illuminati, Inside Out and Holy Water.Living for Love, GT and BIM are the songs i never gave a f... ...but I'm gonna be ok, i don't care what the people say...

[danMfan 1,399]

One year?!! OMG! Time goes by so fast!

[Andymad 10,782]

Time does go by fast!! I'll admit... I didn't give into the leak at first. And I wish I hadn't. I mean I'm glad I did... ish. As an artist, a stage performer... I absolutely love the rehearsal process.  I love to hear things when they first start out, and then the final product. My BIGGEST disappointment was the track Rebel Heart.  I felt that she had really really gotten that one right.  It was dance inspired, it had guitars and strings and a great beat.  It was everything I had wanted/expected from a new Madonna song.  And to be honest, I felt the release of Rebel Heart lacked that dance element.  Living For Love felt WAY out of place, having dance beats to it.  That is my opinion.  I think a lot of you feel the same way.  But also... as an artist, and a fan, I had to respect the changes she made.  We don't see her music like she does. I don't think she sits there and asks people "is this okay, does it sound good?". It's HER, product.  And i'm guilty BIG TIME of judgement, but I have to remember it's her product. Anyway, I dig the album