«"The video feels... cheap," Madonna told Anderson Cooper at a packed Beacon Theatre on Friday night (June 5), shortly after the world premiere Confessions II , a 13-minute visual project dedicated to her upcoming album Confessions II. The pop icon explained to a crowd of devoted fans at the Tribeca Film Festival why her short film straddles the line between a traditional music video and a full-length visual album ("Guy [Oseari, her manager] is always yelling at me to save money"). "It was good when it was just MTV and me," she recalled of the golden era of music videos. "Those days are over.".
In a candid, relaxed, phone-free chat with Cooper (who was filling in for Jimmy Fallon, who dropped out at the last minute) and directors David Toro and Solomon Chase (TORSO), whom Madonna described as "from another planet," the Queen of Pop discussed everything from her early days in New York to her performance in Times Square the night before and her many cameo roles in her project. Confessions II .
More news from Billboard
-
Madonna turned Times Square into a Pride Month party with a surprise Grindr-themed pop-up show.
-
How Madonna's surprise performance officially revealed the secret location of a music venue in New York's Times Square.
-
Bosa serves as Panama's musical ambassador for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and other inspiring moments in Latin American music.
Movie «Confessions II» dedicated to the first six tracks from her long-awaited album «Confessions II, which will be released on July 3 and in which she again collaborates with producer Stuart Price, who worked on album «Confessions on a Dance Floor” »" (2005). As eagle-eyed fans know, this visual project gave approximately 2,800 people the opportunity to hear four unreleased songs from the album. «Confessions II »": "Good for the Soul", "One Step Away", "Danceteria" and "Read My Lips".
This wild visual project, featuring special forces paparazzi, forest people with green lasers shooting from their nether orifices («I wanted to try it, but apparently it gets pretty hot,» Madonna dryly remarked), a car crash, aerial somersaults over the dance floor, and plenty of (ahem) steamy flings in a public restroom while Benedict Cumberbatch dances outside the stalls, is a film that demands multiple viewings, and of course, the evening concluded with a screening «Confessions II.
In addition to Cumberbatch, the visuals feature, among others, Sabrina Carpenter, who crawls and writhes around the dance floor with Madonna during their duet "Bring Your Love"; Colombian singer Fade, who joins Madonna on the collaborative song "Read My Lips"; Debi Mazar, who appears in "Danceteria" – a reference to their shared past, when Mazar and Madonna, before fame, hung out at the iconic, now-closed New York club Danceteria and kissed together "to attract guys" and help the DJ play Madonna's tape; Arca, who is listed in the credits of "I Feel So Free" as an additional producer; Honey Dijon, who produced the remix of Madonna's song "I Don't Search I Find" from her 2019 album Madame X , which topped the charts Billboard Dance Club Songs; British artist Shygirl, who experiments with genres; actress Julie Garner, who appears in the frame looking remarkably like Madonna in 1987; and Madonna's daughter, Lourdes Leon, who delivers the film's closing line: "Stop, bitch.".
Madonna said the project took about a month to film, and the album itself was the result of a year and a half of work with Price while she waited for the release of the long-awaited Netflix miniseries about her life.
Only two songs from the film – «I Feel So Free» and the Carpenter collaboration «Bring Your Love» – have been officially released, and it’s unknown whether four unreleased songs from the film will appear. «Confessions II» on digital platforms before its official release on July 3. However, the project "« Confessions II» debuts on YouTube on Monday (June 8). The stunning song "Love Sensation," released Thursday (June 4) shortly after the Queen of Pop's surprise, spontaneous performance in front of 50,000 fans in Times Square, was not included in the visual project. Madonna told Cooper of the performance that it was a beautiful, full-circle moment, as she famously arrived in New York in 1978 and headed straight to Times Square with nothing but ambition and $35 in her pocket.
However, she admitted to being a little nervous, especially when she swung her leg over the plexiglass barrier separating The Square pop-up from the Times Square traffic a few floors below. "As I was about to swung my leg over the barrier, I thought, hmmm »" she mused with a grin. "I don't know how much I love my fans." Fair enough, especially considering Madonna's next stop after the Beacon Theatre was the Hamptons, where she was scheduled to visit her 95-year-old father and celebrate his birthday: if she can live that long, there's no point in risking the Queen's life by sitting on a piece of Plexiglas.
Confessions II album will be released on July 3; On July 19, Madonna, BTS and Shakira will headline the first-ever World Cup halftime show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Billboard's Best
-
Janet Jackson's Biggest Hits on the Billboard Hot 100
-
Chart Review: In 1996, Mariah Carey's "Baby" soared to number one on the Hot 100 chart.
-
Chart Review: In 1989, New Kids on the Block hit number one on the charts with "Hangin' Tough.".
Subscribe to the Billboard newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.