The Queen of Pop is, as always, hard at work. She’s currently traveling the globe to promote her expensive but well-reviewed MDNA Skin line of skincare products.
In a new interview with WWD published on Monday, Madonna was promoting a $200 beauty roller. She also informed fans that her fourteenth studio album won’t be out until 2019.
“I’m finishing my record, which I’m going to release next year. Yep, in between rose mist spray and serums, I’m actually making music. Can’t quit my day job.”
It was previously reported that her new album would drop by the end of 2019.
This sounds like bad news, but maybe it isn’t. I am a hardcore, diehard, live-it-and-breathe-it Madonna fan, and as hard as it is for me to wait, I’m fine with the pushback if it means she’s really taking her time with it to make it something special.
Madonna is a multitasking businesswoman, and that’s fine. There’s less than nothing wrong with a side hustle or twelve.
But aside from being a mother of six, this fan wishes the music to be Madonna’s top priority. It’s what put her on the map, and she remains the best-selling female recording artist in history, per the Guinness Book of World Records.
Her worst studio album ever, though it definitely had its moments, was 2012’s MDNA. Producer William Orbit (he also worked on Ray of Light) said in the press that the album didn’t turn out great because Madonna was focused on other business ventures.
Related: Instinct Ranked Madonna's 13 Studio Albums
If spending a few more months on #14 is a matter of really honing in and making it shine, that’s just splendid.
The first single from the new album is rumored to be “Beautiful Game.” She performed the track at this year’s Met Ball.
I love how aggressive she still sounds at 60, and I love the phrase “Because your world is such a shame/Because your world’s obsessed with fame/Because your world’s in so much pain.” There’s no question that she’s still got it. The life force we’ve fallen for since the 80s is still there in plain sight.
Madonna’s most underrated talent, even though it’s the one that she’s perhaps best-known for, is her gifts as a singer-songwriter. She has written incredible, breathtaking lyrics on numerous occasions. She is best when she’s not following trends but rather experimenting.
In 2018, the world has officially gone insane (or at least the wool isn’t over our eyes anymore and the insanity is just more visible), and men are out of control. We need a great, biting, hard-hitting and hopeful pop record from this feminist icon now more than ever. I am certain that she has it in her.
Interview: WWD
Note: This is the opinion of one Instinct Magazine contributor and does not reflect the views of Instinct Magazine itself or the fellow contributors.