Madame X

I started getting invited to people's homes and they have things called living room sessions. So everyone would congregate. People would bring wine, they would bring food, sit around the table. And then suddenly musicians would get up and start playing instruments and singing fado music and morna music and samba music. I was like, 'Wait. What's going on here? Like artists just get up and perform and you don't get paid and they're just doing it for fun and love and passion? Madonna relocated to Lisbon, Portugal in 2017, seeking a top football academy for boys for her son David, who wanted to become a professional soccer player. However, she later found her life becoming relatively dull, so she decided to meet artists, painters, and musicians. One of the first musicians Madonna met in Lisbon was a man named Dino D'Santiago, who she said introduced her to a great many more musicians in the area, including the Batucadeiras, a collective of drummers who she collaborated with on the track "Batuka" on this album. Believing "music is the soul of the universe", she felt connected to her new influences, so she then decided to record an album based on her musical experience in the Portuguese city, which she referred to be "a melting pot of culture musically, from Angola to Guinea-Bissau to Spain to Brazil to France to Cape Verde". During the period while the album was being worked on in Portugal, where she lives, Madonna posted short video clips and images chronicling her work on the album. French producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï, who has previously co-produced three of Madonna's albums, Music (2000), American Life (2003) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005), was confirmed to be one of the key producers for Madame X. Mike Dean, who co-produced Rebel Heart (2015), was also enlisted in the album's production. In February 2019, Maluma uploaded a picture on his Instagram account with Madonna in a studio. In her interview with Vogue Italia, Madonna divulged that her album was due for release in 2019. On April 14, 2019, she posted a series of teaser clips on her Instagram account, revealing Madame X as the album title. Title, artwork, and themes In a one-minute teaser uploaded to Madonna's official Instagram and YouTube accounts, Madonna declares herself as "Madame X", an alter-ego her album is named after, which is also the title of a 1908 play written by Alexandre Bisson. The video opens with Madonna singing, "The thing that hurt the most was that I wasn't lost...I wasn't lost..." She then elaborates that Madame X features different personas and characters: Madame X is a secret agent. Traveling around the world. Changing identities. Fighting for freedom. Bringing light to dark places. She is a dancer. A professor. A head of state. A housekeeper. An equestrian. A prisoner. A student. A mother. A child. A teacher. A nun. A singer. A saint. A whore. A spy in the house of love. I am Madame X. The character of Madame X frequently exhibits an eye patch, a trait that Madonna later elaborated on an interview for the Today Show to be a "cover up" for a wound. Madonna claims that she was given the name of the album at the age of 19 by her then dance teacher Martha Graham. According to Madonna, Graham said "I'm going to give you a new name: Madame X. Every day, you come to school and I don't recognize you. Every day, you change your identity. You're a mystery to me." The album artwork features a close-up of the Madame X persona, with the title etched across her ruby red lips to give the illusion of her mouth being sewn shut. Mike Wass from Idolator called it an "already-iconic artwork" and compared the imagery to that of Frida Kahlo. It is used in most of digital and physical formats of the album, except the digital deluxe and box set, both of which feature another photograph of blonde Madonna. Composition According to AllMusic and The Daily Telegraph, the album consists of three main sounds: Latin music, trap music, and art pop. Madame X is Madonna's most linguistically diverse album, sung in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Critical reception Professional ratings Aggregate scores Source Rating Metacritic 72/100 Review scores Source Rating AllMusic 4/5 stars The Guardian 4/5 stars musicOMH 4.5/5 stars NME 4/5 stars Q 4/5 stars Rolling Stone 3/5 stars The Telegraph 3/5 stars The Times 4/5 stars Madame X received a weighted score of 72 out of 100 from review aggregate website Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 17 reviews by music critics. Critics highlighted the album’s eclectic production and multicultural influences. However, there was mild criticism aimed at Madonna's processed vocals. The response from fans and listeners was overwhelmingly positive, as it currently has a 9.1 Metacritic user score, indicating universal acclaim.