Madonna turns 50

The Queen of Pop is now half a century old! Happy Birthday Madonna!

Darren Hayes on "Hard Candy"

Dissapointing. I like one or two songs. Madonna's always the best when she's leading the pack. When she works with someone at the end of a trend, like she did with Babyface, it sounds like their record, not hers. (Herald Sun, August 7 2008)

Agree or disagree with Darren's views? Let us know!

Madonna's first week sales

Madonna's Hard Candy debuted at #1 in the US with un-remarkable sales of 280,000. Mariah, whose recent album E=MC2 debuted with sales of over 463,000, must be celebrating with champagne. This is also a significant drop compared to first week sales of Madge's last studio effort Confessions On A Dancefloor which opened with 350,606 copies sold. Considering "4 Minutes" has been a bigger hit compared to "Hung Up" in the United States, this result is quite surprising.

Hard Candy sold 14,585 copies to debut at #1 on the Australian ARIA charts (having shipped 35,000 copies). Not a bad result, but not AMAZING either, especially for a superstar like Madonna. In comparison, Kylie's X sold over 16,000 copies in its opening week and Delta's self-titled third album last year sold 22,000 copies in its opening week.

The album has so far debuted at #1 in 18 countries. Will it have a lasting impact?

Track-by-track review: Hard Candy

After the brilliance of 2005's "Confessions On A Dancefloor", Madonna is back with her 11th studio effort "Hard Candy", and it's a flawed record. The moment I heard Madonna was gathering the hottest hit-makers of the moment to create a record that would give her urban cred, I was worried. Madonna has often been a mainstream trend-setter, plucking obscure producers (William Orbit, Mirwais, Stuart Price) to come out with a unique sound everytime, which would set her apart from the competition. Now it appears she's doing the opposite, desperate to mimic the likes of younger, more "hip" female popstars such as Nelly Furtado and Gwen Stefani. You can't help but feel this album represents Madonna's mid-life crisis as this attempt to be accepted by the younger generations reeks of desperation. Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Pharrel Williams are all on board, but instead of working together to create something fresh, innovative and daring, they have simply re-used their previous works and added Madonna's vocals. Madonna's albums have always felt personal to her but on "Hard Candy", she sounds detached as ever. Here's a track-by-track review:

Candy Store
Ja Rule did this in 2005. Like most of the material on this album, Madonna is 4 minutes too late (no pun intended...really). Dreadful lyrics (no Madonna, as much I love you, I don't want a piece of your turkish delight) on top of typical Pharrel production (not bad, but not a patch of his classic works with Britney and Gwen). It comes off sounding like a demo. I just hope this song is a piss-take, and that she's not actually taking herself seriously. There is something extremely disturbing about a 50 year old woman whispering "my candy is raw" multiple times. *Puts on "Erotica" to remember the days when Madonna could pull off hot and sexy so effortlessly*
2/5

4 Minutes
The first single in which Madonna provides guest vocals on a trademark Timbaland track. Justin proves why he's at the top of his game. Even though the lyrics are shit, his effortless, smooth vocal performance is pure class and saves "4 Minutes". With the two Tims are on board, this is the US hit Madonna has been having wet dreams over for years. Too bad it still can't get her to #1.
3/5

Give It 2 Me
My first thought: production sounds half-baked. Some great synths happening in the chorus. It's all safe fun, nothing remarkable. Apparently this is second single.
3/5

Heartbeat
Probably my favourite on the album. I love the weird vocal arrangements, and her high-pitched vocals in the bridge. Memorable chorus, lets pray this is a single. My only complaint is the breakdown in the middle in which Madonna pulls off her best Nelly Furtado impersonation *rolls eyes*.
4/5

Miles Away
Certainly not miles away from sounding like a more up-tempo cardboard copy of Nelly Furtado's "All Good Things Come To An End". It's nice enough, probably her best vocal performance on the record.
3/5

She's Not Me
The silky production of this electro-dance track is terrific. The verses are completely cringeful (she was stealin, stealin, stealin, and now you're feelin, feelin, feelin). The bridges and chorus are great though (although instead of "love you", a "fuck you in the shower", would have been a bit more interesting).
3.5/5

Incredible
Hmmm...the production sounds dated. I've definitely heard this track before, but can't put my finger on it. I like the verses, but the chorus is cheese galore.
2/5

The Beat Goes On
A 70s-style slow-groove from Pharrel. Nothing like the demo that leaked months ago, although it retains the hypnotic "on and on and on the beat goes on". One of the album's better tracks. Features a non-eventful Kanye West appearance.
4/5

Dance 2Night
Second Justin duet, although Justin lets Madonna take up more vocal time. Features the terrible lyric "you don't have to be rich and famous to be good"...um ok. The chorus is reminiscent of classic Michael Jackson. This track is actually very street-wise and "cool" in a retro kind of way. One of the better tracks in which Madge sounds in her element.
4/5

Spanish Lesson
DREADFUL. Worst song on the album in which Madonna attempts to teach us Spanish. Oh the pain, it doesn't get any cringier than this. How did this make the final cut!?
1/5

Devil Wouldn't Recognise You
A shameless re-hash of Justin's "What Goes Around (Comes Around)". An example of where Madonna sounds like a guest vocalist on someone else's track. It's not bad, I like it, but its not Madonna.
3/5

Voices
Album finishes on a serious, dramatic note. Decent track, not much to write on it.
3/5

So I've just heard the 30 second samples of Hard Candy

And I have to say I'm feeling a little more optimistic about this record! A couple of cuts sounds a bit naff (most notably the opening track "Candy Shop"), while others sound very promising ("Miles Away" and "Devil Won't Recognise You" in particular). Only a week to go!!!

M-dolla has 4 minutes to impress the US

Madonna is back with a new face, a new sound (Nelly Furtado left a message, she wants it back) and another adopted son, Justin Timberlake. Her new single "4 Minutes" (which should really be credited as Justin Timberlake feat. Madonna) sees M-dolla (I'm not joking, that's her official nickname for this album) suck the blood out of the hippest duo in the business - Timbaland and Justin - in an attempt to be liked by the US again. And it REEKS of desperation.

Once upon a time, Madonna created the trends (I said trends, not the actual genres!). Think back to "Music" in 2000, which bought about a wave of electro-pop from every pop chick under the sun. Well this time, she is jumping ON the bandwagon and she's around 2 years too late. "4 Minutes" isn't a bad track, it's fun, it will go off in the clubs, and the US will love it, but it's neither boundary-pushing nor innovative, which is what Madonna is most known for. Full credit to Justin whose effortless vocal performance saves the track. Unfortunately the same can't be said for Madonna, who offers one of the worst vocal performances of her career. The fact Justin sings more of the song than Madonna does is also a tad worrying.

The music video is great visually - but doesn’t go anywhere. At the start of it, you think there's some sort of storyline emerging, but it disappears without a trace, and all we are left with is Justin and Madonna busting some dance moves? I thought they were meant to save the world?



"4 Minutes" is out in Australia on April 21, facing competition from new singles from Jesse McCarntney, Leona Lewis and Rogue Traders. The single track listing is:
1. "4 Minutes"
2. "4 Minutes" [Bob Sinclar Space Funk Remix]
3. "4 Minutes" [Junkie Xl Remix]

News on album "Hard Candy" coming soon.

http://www.madonna.com