Maps of Music

Madame X (2019)

Where the lyrics of Madame X take you, and where it was really made.

The title came from a nickname a dance teacher gave Madonna at 19, and the cover shows her with her lips sewn shut.

Key places

Lisbon: the city behind the record (2019)

Recording site Lisbon — Madonna moved to Lisbon in 2017, and the city shaped the record. It is one of the four cities where the album was recorded over more than 18 months. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

London: one of the recording cities (2019)

Recording site Wild Bunch Studios (London) — London was one of the four cities where Madonna recorded the album. The sessions moved between these places over more than 18 months. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

New York: one of the recording cities (2019)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — New York City was one of the four cities used for recording the album. The sessions moved between the four cities over more than 18 months. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Los Angeles: one of the recording cities (2019)

Recording site Los Angeles — Los Angeles was one of the four cities where Madonna recorded the album. The work was split among these places over more than 18 months. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Madame X: the fourteenth studio album by Madonna
• Released 14 June 2019 on Interscope Records
• Madonna's final album with Interscope before returning to Warner in 2022
• Concept album mixing Latin, trap, art pop and world music
• Lyrics address sexism, gun control, freedom of speech, racism and gay rights
• Guest artists: Anitta, Maluma, Quavo and Swae Lee
• Four singles: "Medellín", "Crave", "I Rise" and "I Don't Search I Find"

Background

• Madonna moved to Lisbon in August 2017 to place her son David Banda in a top football academy
• She found the lifestyle change hard at first and felt depressed without local friends
• She joined "living room sessions" in Lisbon with painters and musicians who played Fado and samba
• Dino D'Santiago became an early guide, teaching her Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole
• Mirwais co-produced the record; he had worked on Music, American Life and Confessions on a Dance Floor
• Recording took more than 18 months, split between Lisbon, London, New York and Los Angeles

Recording

• Co-writers and co-producers included Mike Dean, Diplo, the Picard Brothers and Jason Evigan
• The Batukadeiras Orchestra from Cape Verde contributed drums and background vocals
• Kimi Djabaté, from Guinea-Bissau, appears on the final track
• "Killers Who Are Partying" was the first of the six songs written with Mirwais
• Madonna sings in Portuguese on four tracks, with English and Spanish also used

Cover

• Artwork comes from a 18 January 2019 photoshoot with Steven Klein in Lisbon
• Standard cover: the title is etched across her lips, suggesting a mouth sewn shut
• Deluxe cover: platinum-blonde Madonna depicting a Soviet revolutionary

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Madonna Louise Ciccone, born August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress.
• Raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township; moved to New York City in 1978 to pursue dance.
• Performed as a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in the rock bands Breakfast Club and Emmy before signing with Sire Records.
• Debut album Madonna (1983) brought her fame.

Career

• Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986), and The Immaculate Collection (1990) are among the best-selling albums of all time.
• Rolling Stone ranked Like a Prayer (1989), Ray of Light (1998), and Music (2000) among the greatest albums of all time.
• Known for continual reinvention and for works addressing social, political, sexual, and religious themes.
• Acting credits include Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Dick Tracy (1990), A League of Their Own (1992), and Evita (1996), for which she won a Golden Globe.
• Founded the entertainment company Maverick (1992–2009), including Maverick Records.
• Is the best-selling female music artist of all time and the first female performer to accumulate US$1 billion from concerts.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, in her first year of eligibility.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: average score 70 from 21 reviews
• AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine): said the album "amply rewards such close listening"
• Kitty Empire (The Observer): hailed it as a "splendidly bizarre return to form"
• Ben Beaumont-Thomas (The Guardian): called it her "most natural-feeling, progressive and original record" since Confessions on a Dance Floor, while also one of her "most bizarre and sprawling"
• Rob Sheffield (Rolling Stone): described it as "admirably bizarre" but said its strongest songs were buried beneath "disasters"
• Neil McCormick (The Daily Telegraph): called it "a mad mishmash of an album" and criticized its lack of cohesiveness
• Rich Juzwiak (Pitchfork): denounced it as "muddled and convoluted"
• Mark Kennedy (Associated Press): called it a "needy, trying-too-hard mess"
• Jonny Coleman (The Hollywood Reporter): classified it a "mess"

Records

• US Billboard 200: debuted at number one with 95,000 album-equivalent units, Madonna's ninth US number one
• UK Albums Chart: debuted at number two with 27,227 copies in the first week; BPI silver
• Canada and Australia: number two; New Zealand: number five
• Japan (Oricon): number 11
• Germany: number five; France: number four
• Topped album charts in Argentina and Portugal
• Gold certification in Italy and Poland
• Over 500,000 copies sold worldwide by the end of 2020

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Madonna said dance teacher Martha Graham gave her the "Madame X" nickname at 19, after repeated trips to the office over her dress-code refusals.
• Madonna shared the story with designer Jeremy Scott in Lisbon and suggested it as the album title.
• The cover depicts Madonna's mother, Madonna Fortin, according to Madonna's own statement to iHeartRadio's The Box.
• The album's first teaser was posted on 15 April 2019, showing Madonna in several costumes and identities.
• The Madame X Tour was the first time since the Virgin Tour in 1985 that Madonna played theaters and small venues, and it ended early in March 2020 in Paris.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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