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Madonna is back and finally releasing her first new album in seven years, and it’s set to be a big one as she’s ‘louder and prouder than ever’.
The Material Girl, 67, announced Confessions II, the follow-up to her legendary 2005 album, which spawned hits like Hung Up and Sorry.
The long-awaited record will be released on July 3, with a source telling Metro that early listeners ‘lost their minds’.
A well-placed insider told us: ‘Madonna’s health scare really inspired her to be louder and prouder than ever, and she spent a lot of time in recovery listening to feel-good music.
‘She found a lot of comfort in electronic music so worked with people like Lil Louis and Labrinth to make some really experimental music. It is really a love letter to the origins of dance music.’
Adding to the excitement, for this album, she re-signed with Warner Records, where she spent the first three decades of her career.
Madonna’s choices for samples have been ‘very intentional’, with the icon introduced to ‘cool and niche’ artists such as Qaadir Howard and Rochelle Jordan.
Our source added: ‘The album is a lot of fun and everyone who attended a listening party she held last month lost their minds when they heard how happy she sounds on it.’
Fans immediately sense that upbeat vibe when the Like A Virgin legend shared a snippet of lead single I Feel So Free on social media.
The 60-second clip boasted an interpolation of her 1980s classic Into The Groove, with ‘Out here on the dance floor, I feel so free’ heard over the bass.
Madonna’s triumphant return comes three years after she was rushed to hospital with a bacterial infection, and placed in a coma.
She said at the time it’s a ‘miracle’ she is still alive, and thanked the friend who found her on the floor of her bathroom, and ‘dragged’ her for treatment.
When she recovered, the Queen of Pop was straight back on stage and told fans at the Kia Forum in LA that her first word when she woke up was ‘no’.
‘I’m pretty sure that was God saying to me, “Do you want to come? Want to come up with me?” “No,”’ People Magazine reported at the time.
‘I would call in every other day and ask [my doctor] why I didn’t have any energy, when was my energy going to come back, when was I going to feel myself again, when can I go on tour again?,’ she continued. ‘All he would say is, “Go outside, in the sun.”
‘It was so hard for me to walk from my house to the backyard and sit in the sun. I know that sounds insane, but it was difficult.’
Madonna had no idea when she’d be able to perform again, explaining it was a ‘strange feeling’ to not be in control.
However, as soon as she was able, she was back in the studio with British producer Stuart Price by her side, having worked on the Celebration tour together.
In her announcement for Confessions II, she quoted new track On Step Away, writing: ‘People think that dance music is superficial, but they’ve got it all wrong.
‘The dance floor is not just a place, it’s a threshold: A ritualistic space where movement replaces language.’
The lyric is a ‘manifesto’ for this new album, wiht Madonna encouraging us to ‘dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies’.
She continued: ‘To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people.’
Posters have already begun to pop up around the world promoting her 15th album, but fans will have to wait a little longer for the Queen of Pop’s dance return.
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