The iconic, quintessential Queen of Pop returns with her brand new album, MDNA. Which I think is Madonna's way of letting the new wave of popstars know that she is still here and she has had a lengthy career for a reason. In the 80s and 90s, she competed for the spotlight with the likes of Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, In the 2000s Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Rihanna have all been hailed has heir to the Pop throne but through it all, Madge stands tall and strong.
MDNA sees her team back up with William Orbit, who crafted the dark sound on her iconic Ray of Light album and the reunion is somewhat of a bittersweet experience. Some of the songs on this album managed to capture that controversial yet infectious sound that has won her legion of fans, on songs like the sex-laced Girls Gone Wild, the occultic-like chants on Gang Bang, the mellow sounds on Beautiful Killer, Falling Free, Love Spent and the golden globe winning Masterpiece. Other than the aforementioned songs, the rest of the album pretty much sounds like pops of bubble-gum, which happens to be the recipe for mainstream success today. However, Madonna gets a pass because her catalogue of songs have seen her master the art of pop music, a secret I'm sure that she will not be willing to share anytime soon.
MDNA definitely does not show any improvement in her vocals as they pretty much sounds the same for as long as I have listened to her songs, she still puts up with the loud horns and synths that have been the signature of her style of music. But let's give honour to whom its due, Madonna has been performing for 40+ decades and in that period we have lost key performers who use to share the spotlight with her through the years. The fact that she is able to release new music in an industry that is obsessed with the "young ones" - it is an achievement in its own right. With every album she releases, a sold out world tour follows close behind so let's look forward to more tour records to be broken because she currently holds the record for the best selling world tour of all time by a Female Artist
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