Dancing until 1am with the Queen of Pop in a sweaty converted warehouse was not what I thought I’d be doing on a Thursday night, but when Madonna calls, you answer.
Likely driven by her ever-adapting music and penchant for wild stunts, Madge, 67, has gained a reputation as the ultimate party girl.
Her Confessions II album launch party in London was probably rather tame compared to what she is used to.
However, at my ripe old age of 28, I simply couldn’t keep up.
She was singing, dancing, waving her arms around, and generally being her playful self for her almost hour-long set.
Madonna is undeniably mesmerising when she’s on stage, even a tiny one that’s mainly filled with a DJ deck, which she stepped onto at midnight, sharp.
Not usually known for promptness, the Like a Virgin hitmaker clearly didn’t want to leave the crowd of adoring fans and industry insiders waiting too long, especially as the party was already several hours in.
The energy when she walked out was palpable, though, with everyone screaming and cheering for the living legend.
I truly had no idea what to expect from her set, having seen her once before at her Celebration tour, where she was in full superstar mode with huge sets and dancers.
Stripped-back Madonna is still a certified icon, as she took the microphone to sing along to club remixes of select songs from both Confessions albums.
Classics like Hung Up were blended in an energetic dance set with her new songs, including singles Love Sensation, Bring Your Love, and I Feel So Free.
So blended in fact, I was struggling a little to pick out the new tracks, which I wasn’t alone in as when I was leaving another Madge fan complained about the same thing.
‘I thought she’d play the new album through,’ he told me, while his partner added: ‘Or at least put it on after she left the stage.’
The couple joked they would have been better off staying home and listening to it as it dropped digitally, before frantically reassuring me they absolutely thought seeing Madonna in person was the better option, even if they would need to pop on Confessions II in the Uber home.
For an album launch, it was an odd choice but the event itself – hosted by Grindr, who also collaborated on an exclusive vinyl – was billed as Club Confessions.
I’d argue it would be too expected to sing the album front to back for Madonna to want to do that. She’s never been one to choose the obvious path.
The entire event was set up to feel like a nightclub, and a queer-friendly one at that, with everyone just seeming to be in a good mood.
Half the party seemed to already know each other (probably at least in part thanks to the famed dating app), so the energy was more akin to that of a mate’s huge house party – only that mate was the Madonna.
Some of the very exclusive guests included Kate Moss, Ashley Roberts, and Daisy Edgar-Jones, as well as Kitty Scott-Claws and Sebastian Croft, who I spotted in the crowd.
While people filled the dance floor around during the DJ sets, including Jodie Harsh, who served as our pre-Madge warm-up, there was rarely pushing or desperation to get to the front.
Maybe it’s in part down to Madonna’s own carefree energy. You never quite know what’s coming next, so you just go with whatever is happening, letting the music take you.
Most of the crowd dared not take their eyes off her.
That being said, she was a little hard to actually see thanks to the low stage and all the phones in the air.
At one point, Madonna asked us all to put our phones away and dance, a request that went largely ignored – partly because the music was so loud she was a little muffled.
While the dancefloor is very much alive, it was probably one of the worst events for constant recording that I’ve been to in recent years.
At around 10 minutes to 1, Madonna wrapped up her set and walked off stage, probably vanishing to her next commitment or an afterparty.
I, like many in the crowd, used this as the ideal time to make my long journey home, exhausted and ecstatic.
It’s a shame for Honey Dijon who took to the stage for a DJ set afterwards but after three hours of dancing, we were ready to abandon the dance floor.
I may have left not knowing exactly what Confessions II sounded like, but I knew what feeling Madonna was trying to convey, and really, isn’t that the whole point of music?