Confessions on a Dance Floor is the tenth studio album by American singer and songwriterMadonna. It was released on November 9, 2005, byWarner Bros. Records. A complete departure from her previous studio albumAmerican Life (2003), the album includes influences of 1970sdisco and 1980selectropop, as well as 2000sclub music. Initially, she began working withMirwais Ahmadzaï for the album but later felt that their collaboration was not going in the direction she desired. Madonna took her collaboration withStuart Price who was overseeing her documentaryI'm Going to Tell You a Secret. The album was mainly recorded at Price's home-studio where Madonna spent most of her time during the recordings.
Musically, the record is structured like a DJ's set. The songs are sequenced and blended so that they are played continuously without any gaps. The title arrived from the fact that the album tracklisting consists of light-hearted and happy songs in the beginning, and progresses to much darker melodies and lyrics describing personal feelings and commitments. Songs on the album sample and reference the music of other dance-oriented artists likeABBA,Donna Summer,Pet Shop Boys, theBee Gees andDepeche Mode, as well as Madonna's 1980s output.
Madonna promoted the album through several live performances and a promotional tour. She embarked on theConfessions Tour in 2006, which became the highest-grossing tour ever for a female artist at that time. Four singles were released from the album. "Hung Up", the lead single, topped the charts in a total of 41 countries. According toBillboard, it was the most successful dance song of the decade. It was followed by "Sorry", which became Madonna's twelfth number-one single in the United Kingdom. "Get Together" and "Jump" were also released as singles, both becoming top-ten hits in several countries.
The album received widespread acclaim, with critics calling it a return to form for Madonna and ranking it alongside her best albums. Madonna was honored with aGrammy Award forBest Electronic/Dance Album in 2007, as well as International Female Solo Artist at the2006 BRIT Awards. Commercially,Confessions on a Dance Floor peaked at number one in 40 countries, earning a place in the 2007Guinness World Records for topping therecord charts in the most countries. The album sold between 3.6 to 4 million copies in its first-week worldwide, and remainsone of the best-selling albums of the 21st century, with over 10 million copies. Ranked third on "The 99 Greatest Dance Albums of All Time" byVice magazine, the album is noted as a testament to Madonna's longevity with the ability to continuously reinvent herself in the third decade of her career.
Confessions on a Dance Floor merged elements from 1970sdisco, 1980selectropop and 2000sclub music. Madonna decided to incorporate disco-influenced elements in her songs while trying not to remake her music from past, instead choosing to pay tribute towards artists like theBee Gees andGiorgio Moroder.[1] The songs reflected Madonna's thoughts on love, fame and religion, hence the titleConfessions on a Dance Floor.[2] It was the complete opposite direction from her previous studio effortAmerican Life (2003).[2] The songs on that album were a form of diatribe directed at the American society. However, Madonna decided to take a different direction with this album. Regarding the development, Madonna commented:
"When I wroteAmerican Life, I was very agitated by what was going on in the world around me, [...] I was angry. I had a lot to get off my chest. I made a lot of political statements. But now, I feel that I just want to have fun; I want to dance; I want to feel buoyant. And I want to give other people the same feeling. There's a lot of madness in the world around us, and I want people to be happy."[2]
She started to work withMirwais Ahmadzaï with whom she had previously developed her eighth albumMusic (2000).[2] However, that collaboration did not suit Madonna's musical direction. According to Madonna, "[Producer] Mirwais is also very political, seriously cerebral and intellectual. All we did was sit around, talking politics all the time. So, that couldn't help but find its way into the music. I think there's an angry aspect to the music that directly reflects my feelings at the time."[1] Hence after recording tracks with Mirwais, Madonna decided to stop the project and start fresh. It was then that she turned toStuart Price who had served as musical director on her two previous concert tours and co-wrote one song onAmerican Life.[2]
In 2004, after the release ofAmerican Life, Madonna began working on two different musicals: one tentatively calledHello Suckers and another one withLuc Besson,[3] who previously directed the music video for her single "Love Profusion",[4] which would portray her as a woman on her deathbed looking back on her life. Madonna collaborated withPatrick Leonard, Ahmadzaï and Price to write new songs, the latter being assigned to pendisco-influenced songs sounding like "ABBA on drugs".[5][6] However, Madonna found herself dissatisfied with the script written by Besson and scrapped it.[5] Hence Madonna and Price decided to use the compositions for the album instead.[2] According to Madonna, it was easy for her to shift from her previous album's sentiments, since she included those political views in her documentaryI'm Going to Tell You a Secret. She elaborated:
I was running back and forth, literally, from the editing room with [the documentary's director] Jonas Akerlund to working with Stuart, who was also mixing the music in the film. We were together, non-stop, all of us. Cutting 350 hours of film down to two hours. There are a lot of serious aspects to the movie. I needed a release. When I would go to Stuart's, and we'd go up to his loft, it was like, 'Honey, I want to dance.' I wanted to be happy, silly and buoyant. I wanted to lift myself and others up with this record. So, yes, the new album was a reaction to all the other stuff I was doing, which was very serious in nature. I hope that doesn't imply that I wanted to make a superficial record, because it's not. I want people to smile when they hear this record. I wanted it to put a smile on my face, too.[1]
"We spent five or six weeks in my apartment; the studio used to be upstairs in the loft. I would work on a track overnight, then she would come in and we'd start messing around. She would do vocal melodies and I would come up with a few ideas, and then she'd go, 'Okay, I'm gonna go home and think about it.' Then she'd come back the next day and have the hook for "Hung Up" or the chorus for "Sorry". Then I would carry on working on more tracks to keep us going. It was more of a really fluid and almost childlike environment than anything that seemed too serious."
The first three songs that were written for the album were "Hung Up", "Sorry" and "Future Lovers"[3] In an interview withBillboard, Madonna commented that the recording process was a give-and-take situation. According to her, Price used to stay up all night working on the songs. This was helped by the fact that he is aDJ and is used to staying awake all night.[1] This gave Madonna the chance to work on other aspects of the compositions. She noted the fact that she and Price had opposite characteristics, which helped in their collaboration.[2] The songs were mainly recorded at Price's home.[8] Madonna said:
We did a lot of recording at his house. I'd come by in the morning and Stuart would answer the door in his stocking feet - as he'd been up all night. I'd bring him a cup of coffee and say, 'Stuart, your house is a mess, there's no food in the cupboard.' Then I'd call someone from my house to bring food over for him. And then we'd work all day. We're very much the odd couple.[8]
She further elaborated that their camaraderie was also because they had toured together for Madonna'sRe-Invention World Tour. Hence Madonna reflected that her relationship with Price was more of a brother-sister kind than the formal collaborations she was accustomed to during the recording process.[1]
"Can't I love New York the best? There's enough room in my heart for other cities, and there's also a bit of irony in the song, you know. I actually wrote that while I was on tour and in New York, and I was loving the energy of being here and just feeling like I stuck my finger in an electric socket. I can't wait to do it live — I'm going to throw my hair around!"
Confessions on a Dance Floor is primarily adance-pop,[9][10]nu-disco,[10][11] andEDM[12][11] album, which is structured like a nightly set composed by a DJ. The music starts light and happy, and as it progresses, it becomes intense, with the lyrics dealing more about personal feelings, hence "Confessions".[1][11] The album's name, according to Madonna, speaks to her reverence of the genre and her dedication to her craft.[13] According to Madonna, "[t]his is the direction of my record. That's what we intended, to make a record that you can play at a party or in your car, where you don't have to skip past a ballad. It's nonstop."[2] Madonna used samples and references of music by other disco artists. In the album's first song, "Hung Up", she sampledABBA's 1979 hit "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", for which she wrote a personal letter to songwritersBenny Andersson andBjörn Ulvaeus, who permitted Madonna to use the track.[14] References of other disco-influenced acts, includingPet Shop Boys,Depeche Mode, andDaft Punk, were also used on the album, as were the disco hits of Parisian DJCerrone.[2] The album has a song called "Forbidden Love", which is different from the same-titled song from Madonna's sixth studio albumBedtime Stories.[2] Regarding sampling herself and her own song names, Madonna commented:
"I did all of that on purpose, [...] I mean, if I'm going to plagiarize somebody, it might as well be me, right? I feel like I've earned the right to rip myself off. 'Talent borrows, genius steals,' [...] "Let's see how many other clichés I can throw in there".[2]
Singer Yitzhak Sinwani (left) lent his vocals on the song "Isaac". He also joined Madonna during some performances on theConfessions Tour.
A pulsating rhythm is present in the song "Isaac", which is regarded as the only song close to a ballad on the album.[2] However, the song was heavily criticized by a group of Israelirabbis who commented that Madonna was committing a blasphemy with their religion. They said that the song was about sixteenth-centuryKabbalah scholarYitzhak Luria.[8] In reality, the song was named after the featured vocalist Yitzhak Sinwani, who sang portions of theYemenite Hebrew poemIm Nin'alu in the track, as well as references to the Biblical story ofAbraham and Isaac. Initially, Madonna toyed with the idea of calling the song "Fear of Flying", since the idea behind the composition was to let go.[1] In the end she decided to just call it "Isaac", after the English version of Sinwani's name.[8] Regarding the song's development and the condemnation of the rabbis, Madonna said:
"You do appreciate the absurdity of a group of rabbis in Israel claiming that I'm being blasphemous about someone when they haven't heard the record, right? And then, everyone in the media runs with it as if it's the truth. And that's a little weird. But what's even weirder is that the song is not about Isaac Lurier [sic], as the rabbis claim. It's named after Yitzhak Sinwani, who's singing in Yemenite on the track. I couldn't think of a title for the song. So I called it "Isaac" [the English transliteration of "Yitzhak"]. It's interesting how their minds work, those naughty rabbis. [...] He's saying, "If all of the doors of all of the generous peoples' homes are closed to you, the gates of heaven will always be open." The words are about 1,000 years old. [...] [Yitzhak] is an old friend of mine. He's never made a record. He comes from generations of beautiful singers. Stuart and I asked him to come into the studio one day. We said, "We're just going to record you. We don't know what we're going to do with it." He's flawless. One take, no bad notes. He doesn't even need a microphone. We took one of the songs he did and I said to Stuart, "Let's sample these bits. We'll create a chorus and then I'll write lyrics around it." That's how we constructed it."[1]
The lyrics of the songs on the album incorporate bits of Madonna's musical history and are written in the form of confessions. "Hung Up" contains lyrics from Madonna's 1989duet withPrince called "Love Song", from theLike a Prayer album. "How High" continues the themes of two songs from Madonna's eighth studio albumMusic, namely "Nobody's Perfect" and "I Deserve It". The lyrics of "Push" thank the person who challenged her to expand her limits and also incorporate elements ofthe Police's song "Every Breath You Take". Other tracks like "Sorry" include the title word in ten different languages (several of which are non-idiomatic). In "I Love New York" (written at the time ofAmerican Life), she praises the city where her career began and replies to negative comments made by George W. Bush.[2] Elsewhere, Madonna sings about success and fame ("Let It Will Be") and the crossroads of past, present and future ("Like It or Not").[8]
Madonna opening theConfessions Tour with a performance of "Future Lovers", the album's fourth track
On November 4, 2005, Madonna opened the2005 MTV Europe Music Awards with her first performance of "Hung Up". She emerged from a glitter ball to perform the song, while wearing a purple leotard and matching leather boots.[15] During the next days, Madonna performed "Hung Up" on TV shows such asWetten, dass..? in Germany, andStar Academy in France, as well as on theChildren in Need 2005 telethon in London.[16][17][18] In order to promote the album's release, Madonna appeared onParkinson.[19] She played a number of songs from the album at London'sKoko Club andG-A-Y as part of a promo tour to support the album.[20][21]
In December, Madonna travelled to Japan, where "Hung Up" was performed on TV showSMAP×SMAP and her concert atStudio Coast.[22][23] On February 8, 2006, Madonna opened the48th Grammy Awards, by pairing up with the fictional animated bandGorillaz.[24] The band appeared on the stage via a three dimensional technique which projected their holograms on the stage.[24] They performed their song "Feel Good Inc." while rappersDe La Soul made a guest appearance.[25] Madonna then appeared on the stage and started performing the song while interchanging places with the hologram figures of the band.[26] She was later joined by her own group of dancers and the performance was finished on the main stage rather than the virtual screen.[25] Another performance of "Hung Up" came on April 30, 2006 during theCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California.[27]
A remix only album titledConfessions Remixed was also released in limited vinyl editions.[28] In Japan,Confessions on a Dance Floor – Japan Tour Special Edition (CD+DVD) was released on August 23, 2006. It reached number 27 on theOricon weekly albums chart and stayed on the chart for 12 weeks.[29] The album received further promotion from theConfessions Tour which began in May 2006. The tour grossed over US $194.7 million,[30] becoming highest-grossing tour ever for a female artist, at that time.[31] Additionally, the tour received the "Most Creative Stage Production" at thePollstar Concert Industry Awards,[32] as well as "Top Boxscore" from theBillboard Touring Awards.[33]
A 30 second sample from "Hung Up". The song became Madonna's most successful single, thus earning a place in theGuinness Book of World Records. The song helped Madonna achieve her thirty-sixth top-ten hit on theBillboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany etc.
"Hung Up" was released as the album'slead single on October 17, 2005. The song received critical appreciation amongst reviewers, who suggested that the track would restore the singer's popularity, which had diminished following the release of her 2003 albumAmerican Life.[34] Critics claimed that it was her best dance track to date and have compared it to other Madonna tracks in the same genre. They also complimented the effective synchronization of the ABBA sample with Madonna's song.[35] "Hung Up" became a worldwide commercial success, peaking atop the charts of 41 countries and earning a place in theGuinness Book of World Records along with the album.[36] In the United States it became her 36th top ten hit, tying her withElvis Presley.[37] The corresponding music video was a tribute toJohn Travolta, his movies and dancing in general. Directed by Johan Renck, the video featured Madonna dancing in a ballet studio in a pink leotard, which she left to go to a gaming parlour to dance with her backup dancers. It also featured the physical disciplineparkour.[38]
"Sorry" was released as the second single from the album on February 6, 2006. The song received positive reviews from contemporary critics who declared the track as the strongest song onConfessions on a Dance Floor.[39] It achieved commercial success, topping the singles charts in Italy, Spain, Romania and the United Kingdom, where it became Madonna's 12th number one single. Elsewhere, the song was a top ten hit in more than a dozen countries around the world.[40][41][42] However, in the United States, the song was less commercially successful due to underplay on radio, but managed to reach the top ofBillboard's dance charts.[43]
"Get Together" was released as the third single from the album by Warner Bros. Records on May 30, 2006. The decision was spurred by the fact that "Get Together" was the third most downloaded song from the album. It was also released to coincide with the start of Madonna'sConfessions Tour.[44][45] Critics complimented Madonna's ability to turncliché comments into pop slogans with the song.[9] The song became a success on the United States dance charts, but failed to enter the Hot 100.[46] It reached the top ten in countries such as Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and Italy, and peaked at number one in Spain.[40][47]
"Jump" was released as fourth and the final single from the album on September 11, 2006.[48] Critics complimented the song and its empowerment theme.[49] The song peaked inside the top ten of the charts in some European countries, while reaching the peak position in Italy and Hungary. In the United States, "Jump" charted in severalBillboard dance charts but failed to chart on the Hot 100.[50]
Confessions on a Dance Floor received acclaim from music critics.[62][63] AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received anaverage score of 80, based on 28 reviews.[51] Keith Caulfield fromBillboard commented thatConfessions is a "welcome return to form for the Queen of Pop."[49]Stephen Thomas Erlewine fromAllMusic commented thatConfessions is the first album where Madonna sounds like a veteran musician since she created the record for "the dance clubs or, in other words, Madonna's core audience."[52] Alan Braidwood from theBBC commented that "[t]his is the most commercial album Madonna has made in 15 years and it's magic."[11]David Browne fromEntertainment Weekly noted that for "all its pretenses of being giddy and spontaneous, though,Confessions is rarely either."[53]
Alexis Petridis fromThe Guardian said that the album "may be a return to core values, but there's still a bravery aboutConfessions on a Dancefloor. It revels in the delights of wilfully plastic dance pop in an era when lesser dance-pop artists – from Rachel Stevens to Price's protege Juliet – are having a desperately thin time of it."[54] Peter Robinson fromObserver Music Monthly declared that the album ranks alongside Madonna's other albums likeTrue Blue (1986) andLike a Prayer (1989). He credited producerStuart Price for the album, noting that "Confessions clearly wouldn't exist without Madonna, but it's Price who steals the show."[57] Stephen M. Deusner fromPitchfork noted that with the album "Madonna again reinvents herself, and it appears she's nearly lapped herself." According to Deusner, the music also makes her appear young. However he felt that the first half of the album till "I Love New York" was strong, while the second half "loses its delicate balance between pop frivolity and spiritual gravity."[58]
Thomas Inskeep fromStylus Magazine stated that the album is "Madonna's most purely beat-driven album since herself-titled 1983 debut" and "easily her finest effort sinceRay of Light."[64]Kelefa Sanneh fromThe New York Times called the album "exuberant".[65] Christian John Wikane fromPopMatters commented that the album "proved that Madonna, approaching 50 years-old, is a vital force in the ever-expansive landscape of popular music."[66] Joan Morgan fromThe Village Voice noted that "[w]ithConfessions on a Dance Floor, Madonna at long last finds her musical footing. Easily dance record of the year, Confessions is an almost seamless tribute to the strobe-lit sensuality of the '80s New York club scene that gave Madge her roots, which she explores with compelling aplomb."[67]Josh Tyrangiel fromTime magazine commented that "In dance music, words exist to be repeated, twisted, obscured and resurrected. How they sound in the moment is far more important than what they mean, and Madonna knows that better than anyone.Confessions on a Dance Floor is 56 minutes of energetic moments. It will leave you feeling silly for all the right reasons."[68]
Sal Cinquemani fromSlant Magazine was impressed with the album and said that "Madonna, with the help of Price, [...] has succeeded at creating a dance-pop odyssey with an emotional, if not necessarily narrative, arc — and one big continuously-mixed F you to the art-dismantling iPod Shuffle in the process."[9] He compared the album toAustralian recording artistKylie Minogue's studio albumLight Years (2000), saying "Comparisons toLight Years, Kylie Minogue's own discofied comeback album from 2000, are inevitable".[9]Alan Light fromRolling Stone declared that the album illustrated that "Madonna has never lost her faith in the power of the beat." However, he opined that "Confessions on a Dance Floor won't stand the test of time like her glorious early club hits, but it proves its point. Like Rakim back in the day, Madonna can still move the crowd."[60]
Madonna performing the album's second single, "Sorry", during theConfessions Tour. The song became Madonna's twelfth number one single in the United Kingdom.
In the United States, the album debuted at number one on theBillboard 200 chart, selling 350,000 copies in its first week. It became her sixth number one album on the chart and the third consecutive album to debut at the top, followingMusic (2000) andAmerican Life (2003).[73] On December 14, 2005, the album was certifiedplatinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of one million copies.[74] As of December 2016, the album has sold over 1.734 million copies in America, according toNielsen SoundScan.[75] The album also debuted at the top of the charts in Canada, with first-week sales of 74,000.[76] It was present on the chart for a total of 46 weeks and received a quintuple platinum certification fromMusic Canada (MC) for total shipment of 500,000 copies in the country.[77][78]Confessions on a Dance Floor achieved commercial success in Latin American countries. It attained certifications in Chile,[79] Brazil,[80] Mexico,[81] and became one of thehighest-certified albums in Argentina by theCámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (CAPIF).[82]
The album was also successful in Asia-Pacific countries. In Australia,Confessions on a Dance Floor debuted at the top of theARIA Albums Chart for the issue dated November 21, 2005, and was present for a total of 33 weeks within the top 50 of the chart.[83] It was certified two timesplatinum by theAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) denoting shipments of 140,000 copies.[84] It debuted at number five on the New Zealand albums chart, and was certified platinum byRecorded Music NZ (RMNZ) for shipment of 15,000 copies.[85][86] The same peak position was attained on theOricon charts in Japan, where the album was certified double platinum for shipment of 500,000 copies by theRecording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).[87][88] In Hong Kong, the album was awarded a Gold Disc Award by the IFPI for becoming one of ten biggest-selling international album for 2005.[89]
The album found its biggest reception in Europe, where topped theEuropean Top 100 Albums chart for four weeks and was certified quadrupleplatinum by IFPI for shipping a total of four million copies across the continent.[90][91] In the United Kingdom,Confessions on a Dance Floor debuted at the top of theUK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 217,610 units, her highest ever in the country.[92] It became Madonna's ninth number-one album, and has sold 1,360,000 copies as of November 2020, according to theOfficial Charts Company, while being certified quadruple platinum by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI).[93][94] That same week, the first single from the album, "Hung Up", topped the singles chart. The album became the fifth consecutive Madonna album to top the chart.[95] In Ireland, the album debuted and peaked at number three.[96] In France, the album debuted at position 113 on the albums chart, jumping to the top of the chart the next week.[97] It was certified diamond by theSyndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP), denoting shipments of 750,000copies.[98] Actual sales in France stand at between 800,000 and 900,000 units.[99] In Italy, the album sold more than other international releases during the period of 2005-2006.[100] Across Europe, the album peaked at number one in Austria, Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.[40]
Madonna won the Best International Female Solo Artist at the2006 BRIT Awards.[101] She also won World's Best Selling Pop Artist and Best Selling U.S. Artist at the2006 World Music Awards for the album.[102] She was nominated for five awards at the2006 MTV Video Music Awards for the music video of the album's first single, "Hung Up".[103] Madonna also got nominated for Best Album of the Year, Best Pop Video, and Best Female Artist at theMTV Europe Music Awards 2006.[104] She also won aGrammy Award in the category of "Best Dance/Electronic Album" at the2007 ceremony.[105] The album peaked at number one in 40 countries, earning a place in theGuinness World Records for topping the record charts in the most countries.[106]
Rolling Stone rankedConfessions on a Dance Floor as the twenty-second top album of 2005.[107]NME also placed it at number 29 on the magazine's list of the 50 best albums of 2005.[108] Sal Cinquemani ofSlant Magazine ranked the album at the third position on his list of the top ten albums of 2005.[109] The same magazine considered the album the 38th best one from the 2000s.[110] Three critics writing forStylus Magazine also includedConfessions on a Dance Floor in their year-end lists of the best albums of 2005.[111]Q Magazine named the record the 26th best one of 2005.[112] On their ranking of the best albums from 2005,The Observer listed the album at number 26.[113] By the end of the 2000s,Slant Magazine placed the album at number 38 on their list of "The 100 Best Albums of the Aughts".[114] In 2015,Confessions on a Dance Floor was ranked third on "The 99 Greatest Dance Albums of All Time" byVice magazine.[115]
Madonna performing lead single "Hung Up" on theConfessions Tour. The song earned her a place in theGuinness Book of World Records.
Mike Nied fromIdolator praisedConfessions on a Dance Floor as one of the most influential pop albums of the decade and dubbed Madonna as a "timeless trendsetter" and "creative genius".[116] According to Michael Arceneaux fromNBC News, it is "arguably her last great, impactful album; it's the last time she still felt truly forward-thinking, even if it looked back sonically."[117] Christopher Rosa fromVH1 called it her "best album to date" and explained that is a "near-perfect pop record" and "her most natural reinvention".[118] It was ranked as the third best dance album of all-time byVice magazine—the highest peak by a female performer. The magazine staff commented: "This is the album all her subsequent albums is compared to; for its enduring relevance and how it redefined Madonna as an artist, it should be". Author Sancho Xavi fromEl País noted that the album started thedisco revival during the 21st century and popularized the revivals concept of others musical genres during the first decade.[119]
Justin Myers from the UKOfficial Charts Company commented: "An 'imperial phase' is when a pop star is at the pinnacle of their career, shifting stacks of records, having big hits, selling out arenas, owning the radio and being generally unavoidable and untouchable. Many pop acts barely manage one. Thanks to this album, Madonna claimed her third. How many popstars can honestly say that?"[120] Calling her the "Mother of Reinvention", Jim Schembri fromThe Age wrote a detailed article of Madonna's impact withConfessions on a Dance Floor:
[The album] went straight to No. 1 everywhere exceptMars. So too did the first single, "Hung Up", the video for which is on every time you turn on the TV. [Madonna] has reclaimed her place in the pop firmament with unrivaled ferocity. And she is a sterling example of pop survival. In a firmament that eats up artists like popcorn and where chart success is as fleeting asJessica Simpson's attention span, Madonna remains an inspiring, intimidating beacon of permanence. Her longevity has thrived on her ability to continually reinvent herself by reading the winds of pop culture and taking her cue from there.[121]
With theConfessions on a Dance Floor era, Madonna broke severalworld records and the album resuscitated her music sales and popularity,[66] after the critical and commercial disappointment ofAmerican Life.[13] At that time, Madonna became the best-selling female artist in the European market and the fifth best-selling artist overall with a quadruple platinum award by theIFPI, equivalent of 4 million copies sold across the continent.[122] In the United Kingdom,Confessions on a Dance Floor became one of the fastest selling albums ever, with first week sales of 217,610 copies according to the Official Charts Company.[123] Also, Madonna earned a place in theGuinness Book of World Records as the "oldest artist tosimultaneously top theUK singles andalbum charts".[124] Album's influence has been noted on other works, includingDua Lipa's 2020 album,Future Nostalgia,[125]Kim Petras's 2022 EP,Slut Pop,[126] andRomy's solo debut albumMid Air (2023).[127]
In February 2025, Madonna revealed to be working in a sequel to the album, which will be also produced by Stuart Price.[128]
Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing(Olympic Studios andRecord Plant Studios, Los Angeles)
Stuart Price – mixing("Forbidden Love"); recording ("How High" and "Like It or Not")(at Murlyn Studios, Stockholm and Shirland Road); "Future Lovers"(at Mayfair Studios)
Alex Dromgoole – assistant engineer
David Emery – second assistant engineer
Antony Kilhoffer – second assistant engineer(at Record Plant, Los Angeles)
Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering(at Bernie Grundman Mastering)
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Madonna – Queen MADONNA !. JFN Kiosque. November 12, 2009. p. 22.Archived from the original on September 23, 2022. RetrievedDecember 22, 2021.Disque de Diamant en France (958.000 exemplaires vendus).
^abc"Madonna".The Hollywood Reporter. 2007 – via Google Books.MADONNA Confessions on a dance floor 8 million albums sold worldwide ONE OF THE YEAR ' S MOST SUCCESSFUL ALBUMS # 1 IN TWENTY – EIGHT COUNTRIES Australia Austria Belgium Canada Croatia Denmark Finland ... Hong Kong Israel Italy Japan Mexico Norway Poland Portugal Singapore Slovakia Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan
^"Årslista Album – År 2005" (in Swedish). Swedish Recording Industry Association.Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. RetrievedMarch 22, 2013.
^"Årslista Album – År 2006" (in Swedish). Swedish Recording Industry Association.Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. RetrievedMarch 22, 2013.
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