Time may go by so slowly, but in Madonna's case, I cannot believe that her album Confessions on a Dance Floor, which if you ask the gays is THE best album of her career turns 17 this week.
The album, which was a mixture of 70s disco, 80s electropop and French house, was produced by Madonna and Stuart Price, and featured the huge hit Hung Up, which contained a sample of ABBA's Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight), a song Cher would later go on to cover.
I should point out that Hung Up went to #1 in 41 countries and sold over 5 million copies. And to think the song almost didn't happen because ABBA is known to not let other artists sample their music.
In order for Madonna to clear the sample, she sent a emissary to Stockholm with a letter begging songwriters Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson to use the track.
Nevertheless it worked, and with Hung Up as Confessions' infectious lead single, the album would go on to sell 10 million copies, going #1 in 40 countries, and winning a Grammy for Best Electronic/Dance Album.
Let's also not forget about the video, which Madonna filmed while still recovering from a horse riding accident. She would later go on to incorporate X ray's of her accident into the tour while she performed Like a Virgin.
Speaking of which, let's get into the Confessions tour, which I should point out was my first ever Madonna concert.
All I can tell you is that it was an experience like no other, and I definitely worked up a sweat dancing throughout the show (and not just because Madonna had the AC turned off in Madison Square Garden while she performed the two hour show).
In 2005, Madonna said the following about the album to MTV: “I feel that I just want to have fun; I want to dance; I want to feel buoyant. And I want to give other people the same feeling. There’s a lot of madness in the world around us, and I want people to be happy.”
After Hung Up, Madonna would go on to release four more singles - Sorry, Get Together and Jump, and the tour would go on to gross $194.7 million worldwide with only 60 shows.
Let's also not forget the cultural impact Confessions has has on Madonna's contemporaries, with albums from artists such as Kylie Minogue's Aphrodite, Nelly Furtado's Loose, Kelis' Flesh Tone, Robyn's Body Talk Trilogy, Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia, and Lady Gaga's The Fame/The Fame Monster, to name a few.
Madonna is currently working on music for her 15th album with Sickick, and the rumor is she's going back to her dance roots.
I know the fans have been begging for a sequel to Confessions, and in my opinion Madonna has pretty much dabbled in every musical genre. Even though it's not up to me, I think after Madame X, it's time the queen gets back to having fun again.
Check out Hung Up below...
Comments