StrangeButTrue said:

I'm going to the Beacon/Tribeca event, very excited! I got a bleeder.

Nice!! I look forward to reading your thoughts/review

StrangeButTrue said:

there is also a Paul Oakenfold remix of I Feel So Free sent to radio.

Madonna - I Feel So Free ... - YouTube

*some info from the listening party.These are the 6 tracks that were played:

• I Feel So Free

• Danceteria

• Good For The Soul

• Bring Your Love

• Love Sensation

• Fragile

* "Danceteria" is a spoken word track about Madonna's club days.

*the songs are described as 80s house,nu disco,Detroit techno,and just good ol' dance pop.

*"Fragile" is a little slower than the other tracks....it has an "icy production and synth strings similiar to "Frozen".

*there is another track,"Bizarre",but it wasn't played at this listening party.

*just like the first Confessions album,the songs all blend into each other.

Alot of reports are coming in from the listening parties

***Good For the Soul — A previously unknown track, revealed for the first time at this playback session. Described as a more straightforward dance track with a slight hint of 90s techno, carrying the sense that dance itself is medicinal.

***someone in Popjustice who attended a session mentions a track called “School(or School’s In Session)”, which apparently has Up Down Suite vibes and asks the question who is the teacher and who is the student.

*** * Good For The Soul - huge spiritual banger. Track 2, this mixes in straight after I Feel So Free.

* Love Sensation - recorded live in a traditional DJ setup with just 4 faders and samples. Sensational!
* Danceteria - the entire room applauded. 80s NYC disco chaos and Madonna relives the iconic club that discovered her. It’s also giving Vogue.
* Fragile - an anthem for grief, written as Madonna lost her brother. This one will make you cry.

*** "Good for the Soul".--- Begins with the lyric “Everything begins with consciousness,“ (Bedtime Stories vibes). Piano house chorus “let down your hair and breathe in the air”. Stuart talked about it as exploring digital v irl connections. The verses are about the digital but the chorus is the antidote (“dance in the rain, no need to explain”).

***"Danceteria"---A big moment in the COADF2 sessions was how they had a song (“everybody get up and dance” was the hook I think) she said she had an idea but wanted to go home and work on it. Next day she had pages of lyrics and wanted to record it straight off. Her first take was the one we hear on the track. Danceteria. It’s a total banger. It's giving Debbie Harry, Lady Miss Kier but TOTAL Madonna. It’s incredible

so,we can pretty much put together a partial tracklist:

I Feel So Free

Bizarre

and six more songs that we don't know anything about

official tracklist revealed.This is the standard 12-track version.

Madonna - I Feel So Free ... - YouTube

First listen of Madonna's...The Mirror

EXCLUSIVE: First listen of Madonna's new Confessions II album - 'dark with filthy basslines'

The Mirror's Tom Bryant was among the first in the world to hear tracks from Madonna's hotly-anticipated sequal to Confessions On a Dancefloor - and was blown away by what he heard

It’s a dark, house-oriented album complete with filthy basslines, and one for dancing long into the night. Intriguingly, it’s set up as one continuous mix as the tracks are all merged into one. But there are more tender moments too such as the song Fragile, which is said to be about the death of her brother.

Madonna is confident the album has bona fide hits. “We finished one track ("Love Sensation") and she just looked to me and went ‘banger!,’” producer Stuart Price laughs.Hearing tracks such as I Feel So Free, Good for the Soul, Danceteria and Love Sensation, it’s hard to disagree with her assessment.

So excited for the World Cup performance - bigger reach than Super Bowl? I hope she nails it and does something that makes the GP think twice about doubting her abilities.

StrangeButTrue said:

So excited for the World Cup performance - bigger reach than Super Bowl? I hope she nails it and does something that makes the GP think twice about doubting her abilities.

Do you think she will perform a new song from Confessions II?

the Peggy Gou Energy mix of "I Feel So Free" is so much fun really enjoying it.

in this remix,we also get a tease from another track on the album.Near the end,Madonna says "everything begins with consciousness".That is actually the opening line of "Good For The Soul".

an amazing,full recap of the Madonna listening parties this past week (lots of info!! )

General comments about the recording process

• The album playback for media took place in London on may 13th at a club called Lost on Shaftesbury Avenue. It was hosted by Jodie Harsh and Stuart Price was there and was interviewed while playing tracks off CII in between.
• What was played was not a continuous mix (except IFSF into Good for the Soul which is clearly Track 2). Everything else was played standalone. In between Stuart talking - he introduced tracks individually (quick fade outs) and never said they sat next to each other.
• Stuart said Celebration was the start of CII and they went to the studio after the tour. Madonna enjoyed doing the Celebration tour. They didn’t go in the studio thinking they were going to do Confessions II, the project evolved into it. It’s documenting where she is at in life and who she is.
• The mood board for the album was revisiting clubs like Twilight, Limelight, Danceteria etc. that Madonna frequented back in the day.
• Recording of the album was very structured. M would come with an A4 notepad with lyrics. Sometimes she would bring the lyrics and Stuart would have some music and they would connect the lyrics with the music.
• It was mostly recorded in one location with the same microphone she used for Confessions 1 which Stuart had bought with all the money in his back account 28 years ago. She was very specific about the sound she wanted.
• If Confessions 1 was Disco House, Confessions 2 is Chicago House.
• A mix of dance music, spoken word, sassy beats and passionate recollection. Overall it’s house with nu-disco & influences of Detroit techno…and just good old dance pop. There’s elements of 80s house, Detroit techno & nu-disco, but the lyrics are so original it doesn’t feel like throwback. Lyrically she’s plugged into memories, not just NY but Menjo’s as a teenager in Detroit.
• Another random (but great) moment from Stuart. When he was asked when he knew that what he was working on was going to be Confesstions 2 he said “When she posted it on Instagram”.
• The album took over a year to complete. Madonna would listen to each song they recorded, start to finish everyday when she was at the gym.
• Stuart referenced Erotica.
• There is a lot of spoken word on the album about what the dancefloor means. It’s confessional but also includes songs around loss and related to world events.
• He talked about bit about the Abbey show.
• He said M’s vocals was the best he heard. I also made a note about the record was Madonna being at the height of her expression and also showing vulnerability.
• He referred to the album as a 16 track record and did not mention the 12 track version. He also said “Is it 16 tracks or is it one long track?”
• According to Lucy O’Brien tracks are mostly regular length of 3 to 4 minutes.
• The vocals sound intimate, up close to the mic. Also soaring in places.Aactually there’s a lot more of her melodic vocal than spoken word. So, don’t worry. Still plenty of her singing. Her voice was stretched and treated in places, but not much vocoder.
• Most of the album was recorded during the night, between 10 pm to 3 am and you can tell.
• He also mentioned no collaborator was ever the same after working with Madonna (in a positive way)
• Someone asked if there was saxophone on any of the tracks to which Lucy said she didn’t hear any.

Track by Track information and reaction

I Feel So Free

• The song was played during the event in combination with track 2 “Good For The Soul”

Good For The Soul

• A huge spiritual banger. Track 2, this mixes in straight after I Feel So Free.
• Good for the Soul. Begins with the lyric “Everything begins with consciousness“, so immediate Bedtime Stories vibes. Piano house chorus “Let down your hair and breathe in the air”. Stuart talked about it as exploring digital versus in real life connections. The verses are about the digital but the chorus is the antidote (“Dance in the rain, no need to explain”).
• Another song was a 4 to the floor track called “Good For the Soul” that had a hint of Detroit techno. “Good For The Soul” is a more straightforward dance track, with slight hint of 90s techno. The vibe that “dance is medicinal”…
• It’s slightly drum and bassy with an instrumental breakdown, beefy, heavy vibes it builds and builds and it’s hot.

Bring Your Love

• As mentioned elsewhere nothing was recorded remotely. BYL was recorded in NY with Sabrina. There was an immediate physical chemistry between them as they had similar experiences at different times of their lives. He said the idea of recording BYL came up naturally and they just went “let’s get in the room and see what happens. He also said BYL was a “Fuck You” track and was about having control over your own career. And it was like “you think you know me or know better than I do? F U! bring your love!”

Danceteria

• Danceteria will result in wig shortage worldwide. Incredible. Vogue style raps checking Basquiat, Keith Haring and … Debi Mazar. In a “oh this is so good” kind of way. “Everybody here is a work of art”
• A big moment in the COADF2 sessions was how they had the rough concept a song (“everybody get up and dance” was the hook I think). Madonna said she had an idea but wanted to go home and work on it. The next day she had pages of lyrics and wanted to record it straight off. Her first take was the one we hear on the final track, “Danceteria”. It’s a total banger. It was giving Debbie Harry, Lady Miss Kier but TOTAL Madonna. It’s incredible.
• There’s an incredible spoken word track called “Danceteria”, with her stories about clubland. Danceteria reminds me of her Vogue rap, but more gritty. And rather than being about Hollywood icons, it’s her NY friends. It got a massive round of applause when we heard it. And it’s funny too!
• Stuart says for “Danceteria” she used an old mic from back in the day, sellotaped together.
• The entire room applauded. 80s NYC disco chaos and Madonna relives the iconic club that discovered her. It’s also giving Vogue.
• It’s like Vogue meets COADF. It’s THE song, a hot song.
• The song feels like the spoken bit of Vogue but on steroids, like it just feels like she’s taken that concept, thrown it into a dance blender and turned it right up. The beat is absolutely infectious on it, and even on that first listen I was already singing the chorus. That is definitely the track I’d be spinning in clubs.
• When describing references for the song someone who heard it said Blondie’s “Rapture” for the Fab 5 Freddy check (he’s in there with Debi M), rap and homage to a scene. Dee-lite’s “Groove Is In The Heart” for the sass and funk/house mash-up. Madonna’s “Fever (Radio Edit)” from Finally Enough Love for the 90s house and Girls Aloud’s “Long Hot Summer” just for the breeziness and fun (and some sonic similarities in my mind at least). Vogue and Everybody are too easy to reference but basically imagine those two having a girls night. Danceteria proper SLAPS.

Bizarre

• This song was played during a NYC listening party according to reports.

School

• “School is in Session” is a line in the song. Described as a ‘deep cut’ gave me Up Down Suite vibes. Stuart said it asks who is the teacher and who is the student?

Fragile

• An anthem for grief, written as Madonna lost her brother. This one will make you cry.
• The song “Fragile” is about her brother Christopher. “Fragile” is slightly slower, has elements of that icy production & synth strings of Frozen. Beautiful. It is actually very moving. You know one of those songs with a sense of yearning, like she’s grasping something out of reach.
• Prominent strings and a choir mixed in at some point. The drums were sort of “broken” in the verse and when the chorus comes it’s more syncopated.
• The deepest and most raw song, also referencing the current state of the world. Very emotional.
• Features the line “You’ve been hurt before”.
• Actually very euphoric.

Love Sensation

• The song was recorded live in a traditional DJ setup with just 4 faders and samples. Sensational!
• “Love Sensation” sounded like the version played at The Abbey. Stuart said they liked to test the tracks out with a live crowd (‘testing as you go, seeing what works’). It has that big room chug and her voice is pitched quite low…
• It had a piano house vibe, hopeful vibes. It was one of the last tracks they finished for the album. After they finished the track, played it in full in the studio Madonna turned around towards Stuart and said “BANGER”!

You can view the full deluxe tracklisting today by playing the original Confessions album, they updated the teaser videos. Clever.

StrangeButTrue said:

ShellyMcG said:

StrangeButTrue said:

So excited for the World Cup performance - bigger reach than Super Bowl? I hope she nails it and does something that makes the GP think twice about doubting her abilities.

The World Cup is like 10 times bigger than the Superbowl. Outside of the US, relatively few people care about American football.

Do you know "all the people"?
Check the international NFL schedule for the coming season.
It's literally all over the world and guaranteed to be sold out!
That's just regular season, no playoffs.
Yes, World Cup is a bit more coveted cuz it's every four years, so your ten times is only,
uhhhh, heh-heh, uhh, heh-heh, like, three times?
uhhhh, heh-heh-heh...

StrangeButTrue said:

You can view the full deluxe tracklisting today by playing the original Confessions album, they updated the teaser videos. Clever.

1. I Feel So Free

2. Good For The Soul

3. One Step Away

4. Bring Your Love

5. Danceteria

6. Read My Lips

7. Everything

8. Love Sensation

9. Love Without Words

10. Bizarre

11. School

12. Fragile

13. My Sins Are My Savior

14. Betrayal

15. The Test

16. L.E.S Girl

nayroo2002 said:

a few thoughts/notes about the tracklist.....

***What happened to the song "Forgive Yourself" (which Madonna mentioned in an interview last year)? Did it not make the final tracklist,or did the title simply change? I'm betting that the title has been changed to "Betrayal".

***it's interesting that,at the beginning of "Bring Your Love",(when Madonna says "ask yourself this...."),we're actually hearing the beat of "One Step Away".This already seems like one of the coolest segues on the album.

***supposedly,the mini-movie contains the first six tracks.

***remember the first Confessions album featured the lyric "all of your life has all been a test" (from "Isaac")....well now on the sequel,we actually get "The Test"

***speaking of which.....there's also a song here called "School"! Madonna missed a great opportunity...she should have placed these two tracks back-to-back! lol

[Edited 5/20/26 12:49pm]