The dawning of a new Madonna era is upon us, as Madonna teased a snippet of her new album on Instagram yesterday, along with some tantalizing sneak-peeks at some of the accompanying visuals. She has christened her new album ‘Madame X’ and it sounds like an absolute return to what Madonna does best: evocation, provocation, and titillation.
The shape-shifting nature of her chameleonic ways seems to be the focus here, which may be the smartest way to move ahead in our fractured pop world. Madonna’s always been about the mask, transforming into a new guise every few years, shedding her skin like a snake and revealing a fresh set of fantastical scales.
So much of the problematic nature of her public persona might be attributed to people wanting her image to align precisely with the person she is. The truth is, we all wear masks. We are also different people as we evolve and grow. Madonna embraces this and it makes some of us uncomfortable. We want our idols to remain who they are when we first worshipped them. Some won’t ever get beyond Madonna as faux-virgin material girl. And some of us have left that all behind.
I’m ready for the next adventure. Bring it on, Madame X.
