You might expect sober plaints from a singer devoted to motherhood, Kabbalah studies and activism for African AIDS orphans. But Hard Candy's frenzied blast of hard beats and candy-coated grooves verifies that Madonna is still expressing herself on the dance floor."People love to dance, even if they only rock back and forth," Madonna says, explaining her refusal to abandon the genre on her new album. "It's a primal force people are drawn to."
The same could be said for Her Madgesty. Candy, arriving Tuesday, earned a four-star rave in Rolling Stone. Entertainment Weekly's B+ review dubs it "an unpretentious, non-stop dance party." First single 4 Minutes, featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, is the top-selling digital track (847,000 downloads) and a YouTube video sensation that has spawned endless fan spoofs and remakes — and prompted Madonna's amusing "Message to YouTube" response.
The superstar's 11th and final studio album for Warner Bros. marks a transition to her monster deal with Live Nation. Announced last fall, the 10-year partnership, worth an estimated $120 million, entails recordings, touring, merchandise, online and fan club endeavors, DVDs, TV/film projects and sponsorships.
As CD sales plummet and the industry struggles for footing in the digital age, Madonna says she stepped into the future. "I have to feel optimistic," she says. "Whenever there's shift, things break down and people find new ways to operate. It's a natural evolution, and you can't fight it or feel sorry for yourself. Thank God, I don't have to rely only on record sales. I know how to put on a show."
Madonna plans to bring Hard Candy's sweet and edgy grooves to the stage this fall. At 49, can she still cause a commotion?
"Madonna may have made a deal with Live Nation, but that does not mean she's the ubiquitous cultural icon she once was," writes industry blogger Bob Lefsetz. "If (young fans) go to the show at all, it will be with their parents, as nostalgia. Give Radiohead and Trent Reznor props. They're living in the now. Madonna is living in the 20th century."
But Geoff Mayfield, Billboard's director of charts, says Madonna has legs. "She still has the ability to debut at No. 1," he says. "She'll tour longer than a lot of other pop artists might. She has a huge fan base. There are people that age I wouldn't bet on, but I'd never bet against Madonna."
Madonna chews on work, love, 'Hard Candy'
More than a quarter-century after debut single Everybody got everybody dancing, Madonna has yet to be demoted to Immaterial Girl, even in this age of flash-in-the-pantheon stars.
"Don't stop me now, don't need to catch my breath," she defiantly sings on her new track Give It 2 Me. "I can go on and on and on."
So it seems. It's one of a dozen cuts on her Hard Candy disc, out Tuesday with assists from Justin Timberlake, Timbaland and Pharrell Williams. She also has directed the comedy Filth and Wisdom and produced and written a documentary, I Am Because We Are, about AIDS orphans in Malawi. That's where she found David Banda, the 2-year-old she and filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie are adopting.
Madonna chats from her London home:
Q: Why these collaborators?
A: I love their records, and they bring out the best in other people. I thought we could play to each other's strengths. I decided to work with singers, songwriters and producers who are artists in their own right and see what that would manifest.
Q: Did you instantly click?
A: No, I don't think you do with anyone. I'd met them before in social circumstances. It's quite different when you sit down and say, "Let's write a song." You're putting yourself in a vulnerable position. Will they think my ideas are stupid? Can I speak freely without hurting anyone's feelings? That's awkward. They're personable, and nobody was unprofessional.
Q: What inspired Hard Candy's urgent, mobilizing fervor?
A: We don't have the luxury of thinking someone else is going to take care of our problems. Obviously, I've been focused on the world around me and taking responsibility for the past few years. (Candy) also is about life's surprises and trust and disappointment, about finding out that people I thought were my friends weren't. It's staying flexible, not being married to any fixed idea and not taking anything too literally.
Q: She's Not Me could be a response to Madonna wannabes.
A: I wasn't thinking about that. I'm very happy if what I do and what I've accomplished has inspired other women or given them a sense of ownership of their destiny. I don't think anyone is trying to be me. To me, (She's Not Me) is the ultimate jilted lover song. The follow-up to I Will Survive, maybe a little angrier.
Q: Work often separates you and Guy, which you address with some sadness in Miles Away.
A: That's the drawback of two artists living together. We have to make sacrifices, and there's always a trade-off. It's about long-distance relationships in general. After I wrote it, the guys in the studio were like, "I can totally relate."
Q: Is the media spotlight less welcome now that the cameras are on your family?
A: Attention on the adoption bothered me because it will filter down to my other children (Lourdes, 11, and Rocco, 7), and it's hard for them to understand why anyone would get mad at me for saving someone's life. We have a basic understanding in this house that most things written in newspapers and magazines aren't true.
Q: What's your reaction to the microscope Britney Spears has been under the past year?
A: I have a lot of compassion for her. People are being entertained by her suffering. I don't condone it, and it makes me sad.
Q: You turn 50 on Aug. 16. Any dread about that milestone?
A: I love birthdays. You get to have a party and people give you presents. I don't think this year is any more significant than last year.
Q: Reports keep surfacing that you've had cosmetic surgery. Sharon Osbourne rather indelicately said, "I went into shock at Madonna's new head." Do you want to respond?
A: There's something undignified about commenting on someone else's commentary. I don't mind what she says or doesn't say.
Q: As someone on the cutting edge of trends, do you think the best music gets heard?
A: Not necessarily. If a fire engine's blaring in my ear, I'm not going to hear the fantastic mandolin next to me. Everything is about instant gratification and shorter shelf life. Someone who's offering subtleties won't make an impact. We live in a world full of distractions.
Q: Did your induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month feel a bit premature?
A: Kind of. I was thinking: "But I'm not done yet. I don't want to be in a museum." I had to stop and look at it as an acknowledgement of the work I've done. The footage they showed was predominantly from the first 10 years of my career, and it seems like centuries ago. I've gone through a million revolutions and evolutions since then.
Source: By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY
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