Madonna announces new album, a sequel two decades later

NEW YORK (AP):

As Madonna sang in her 2005 hit, Hung Up, time goes by so slowly. But it continues to move.

On Wednesday, the pop superstar announced she’ll release a new album, Confessions on a Dance Floor: Part II, on July 3 via Warner Records – 21 years after the original.

It’s exciting for a number of reasons: The album is a sequel to her 2005 release, Confessions on a Dance Floor, and her first full-length in seven years, since 2019’s Madame X. The Associated Press characterised the latter album as a misstep. However, the original Confessions has been widely regarded as a return to the top of her pop powers. The critically acclaimed release, which produced such hits as Hung Up, Sorry, Get Together and Jump, was dance-pop disco for a new era of clubgoers. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and won a Grammy for Best Electronic/Dance Album in 2006.

Madonna has previously teased a second Confessions work. In December 2024, she shared an Instagram video of herself in the studio with the original album’s producer, Stuart Price.

In the official press announcement, Madonna shared a manifesto that she and Price had for the album.

“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies. These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years – they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect – with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” she wrote. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions, pulling us into a trancelike state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it, but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”