Probably not. You will have offended someone somewhere. It was a great performance by both, though I noticed Madonna watching her footing a few times. Not surprising in those heels. Although Maluma looked the part, I hate his rapping on the song..
He's not really big in America, or anywhere outside of Spanish speaking countries (though the latter certainly constitutes a lot of people).
Very cool performance, I like the song even more now. There is definitely a hook in there which probably could have been emphasized more or expanded upon to give it greater impact but it's a hook nonetheless. As for the performance, it's nice to see Madonna getting back to being innovative with performance art rather than confrontational (B****, I'm Madonna), the latter of which seemed like a desperate attempt for elder respect. I'm curious if the holograms were in view by the live audience or just added to the TV feed. They looked really good on my computer screen.
It was a great performance, but I still think the song is rubbish. This morning, by chance, Cherish came on the radio. Now, it’s not even amongst by favourite Madonna songs, but I was struck today by its simple, melodic charm. This is what Madonna used to be about.. Great pop songs that people loved. Medellin is all production, effects and with a horrible rap sat on top. It’s extremely unlikely this will be played on the radio in 30 years. Though I have to say I’ve yet to hear it once even in 2019!
Apparently the next song from the album, I Rise, is being released tomorrow. It has been described as anthemic.
I wish she stopped chasing trends and just pulled out a quality album. Her antics aren't working anymore and are damaging her brand.
I Rise is alright, kind of feels like one of the more "empowering" tracks off Rebel Heart, which isn't a knock, but I expect more from a single released ahead of the album
I definitely prefer I Rise over Medelín. The melody is memorable and there were a couple of good lyrical lines. Like the first track, I enjoy the softer production sound - nothing bombastic or harsh. The recordings are easy to listen to repeatedly.
Well, at least there’s no guest rapper. As a song, it’s average. I wouldn’t describe it as anthemic in any way. It’s the kind of thing she’s done better hundreds of times in the past. Where it falls down is of course the autotune on her voice. It’s so bad that if I didn’t know it was Madonna I would never pick it out as her. It literally could be anyone. Especially with the rappy style delivery on the verses which all the kids are doing now. So, if Medellin is a 2, I Rise is a 4 at best.
Of the two videos that we’ve seen so far it’s obvious that 99.9% of the budget went to the first single...
This is not a video or a single. It’s just a promotional song to get more people to preorder the album and to get more streams. That is how albums are promoted now. The next single is a song called Crave which will be coming out next week with a video to follow.
What antics has she done with this album? The new songs have contemporary production like all her music. I understand a lot of people here only like her 80s music and think she should repeat the same sound. But music evolves. I love both songs.
Hasn't she noticed that use of Autotune has diminished somewhat on pop records. This actually sounds dated now rather than trendy. Love that Ariana Grandma comment. AG must be worst current example of someone with a decent voice that destroys it with production.
Autotune is a signature sound of Mirwais who produced this album. He has been using it for years long before it was considered trendy.
I understand that you liked her new songs, but here's my take: Madonna's music is always changing, and I don't think anybody expects her to stay using the same sound she used years ago. That doesn't mean it's okay to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Unlike new popstars, who need hits to establish their careers, Madonna already has a loyal fanbase who will always check her new music (and it's unlikely she will ever get a new hit, anyway). She has a lot of freedom and can afford to take risks and different directions nowadays, yet she keeps releasing pastiches of (fading) trends, which aren't nearly as interesting/memorable as her old songs or the music she's emulating. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if her next release is a K-pop inspired album.
I don’t see how either of these songs appeal to the lowest common denominator. They are more mature than a lot of her recent work. They have a modern production but combined with her style. Madonna is a pop artist. Her music is always going to have somewhat of a commercial pop aspect to it. It’s unrealistic to expect her to abandon that because you personally prefer some other kind of music. Of course her older songs are more memorable because you’ve heard them so many times.
On Mirwais' 2000 album Production, the autotune created a specific sound that fit his style of futuristic music extremely well. It was refreshing, exciting. I really don't hear what the autotune is supposed to add to these Madonna "songs"?
Thank you so much for explaining how it all works now. I doubt we’d have figured that out for ourselves! And I think there is nothing in ‘I Rise’ that I haven’t heard before. It sounds like it belongs on Rebel Heart. I am by no means automatically critical of Madonna’s new music and am always excited to hear her new material but the ‘featuring’ tracks with boring raps and the ‘anthemic’ tracks that are really just lazy pastiches don’t do it for me. I don’t want to live in the past, in fact I like quite a few “modern” artists, but for plop sakes, if the music is lazy, repetitive, boring and generally uninspired, I am not going to buy it.
I agree aside from that I would flip flop the ratings of the songs. When P!nk or Sia do anthemic songs, you actually feel something. This song has a grain of some sort of anthem theme but quickly falls apart trying to be trendy. Madonna's over processed voice becomes more and more of a distraction and overpowers the song as it goes on. There's no need for her voice to be like that in both singles especially for this song. Maybe she should try to be more like a P!nk or Sia and less of an Ariana or whatever the hell she is trying to mimic? This is the first album I won't be purchasing. I'm very disappointed as Rebel Heart was a step in the right direction. Also, Medellin just came out as a single. Why put this next song out so quickly - especially if it sounds like this? I still don't understand the logic with this. It's one thing to put a single out way ahead of the album but this isn't the case there.
There’s another track out next Friday, apparently. It’s how they do it now. It’s so confusing. The next song is supposed to be a dance one.
