Madonna is the Queen of Pop, and this is indisputable fact: she is the highest-selling female artist of all time, she is an icon across a multitude of genres, b*tch, she’s Madonna. The woman had generational hits across three decades, with records like 1998’s ‘Ray of Light’ and 2005’s ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’ maintaining her cultural relevance well into the 21st century. Now in 2026, ‘CONFESSIONS II’ aims to reinvigorate her image once more— this time, the Queen of Pop is finally showing her age.

For as essential as Madonna, as a figurehead, is to ‘CONFESSIONS II,’ it’s easy to see how the entire record has been written around her. The singer’s first proper foray into dance music in more than two decades takes the onus off of her completely, thankfully sparing us from the jarring vocal processing that throttled 2019’s ‘Madame X’ half to death: instead, Madonna is free to mumble her way through most of single ‘I Feel So Free,’ letting the track’s thumping house beats do the talking. It’s a decision borne out of a lack of confidence, but it’s probably a smart move nonetheless— even here, on an album full of instrumental breaks and guest features, ‘CONFESSIONS II’ is forced to bury its star beneath layers and layers of pitch correction and other effects. It’s no real surprise to hear that Sabrina Carpenter (a singer forty years her junior) completely stealing the show on ‘Bring Your Love,’ which is a certified highlight in the tracklist. When Madonna herself is forced into the spotlight, as she is on ‘Love Sensation’ and ‘Everything,’ the results unfortunately speak for themselves.

In sidelining its star, ’CONFESSIONS II’ fails to truly celebrate her lasting impact and legacy: what it’s more interested in being is a stylish dance record, a role it takes to… adequately. These tracks are obviously well-produced and put-together, but they betray a plainness, a timidness that clashes with the “freedom” and the “spiritual connection” Madonna is preaching throughout the album— the pulsing synths on ‘Good For The Soul’ and ‘Love Without Words’ are serviceable, but it’s hard to imagine a nightclub in 2026 that would celebrate these cuts. The songs are better enjoyed as sweet, nostalgic throwbacks to the original ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor,’ an idea the enthusiastic ‘Danceteria’ absolutely revels in. Taken at face value, most of these beats blend together into a mindless collection, save for the genuinely exciting work of Martin Garrix on ‘Bizarre’ and the hyper-stylised offerings of ‘School:’ those two tracks, almost exclusively, are the ones worth spinning on their own merits.

What we have here, then, is an album dependent on Madonna’s name and history, yet one that seems unable to truly capitalise on either— as we dive into the pop cuts that make up the other half of ‘CONFESSIONS II,’ its shortcomings only become harder to ignore. The Queen of Pop throws herself into a number of collaborative efforts across the tracklist, which is surely a good idea for an ageing superstar such as her: in practicality though, the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Lola Leon fit her style much better than Feid and Stromae do. It’s almost a rule, on this record, that guitars may only be used for the project’s worst tracks: the paper thin aesthetic of ‘Fragile’ and the jarring latin grooves of ‘Read My Lips’ are both unfortunate tangents Madonna forces us down, even when we wish she wouldn’t. Here, again, there are exceptions, as charming closer ‘L.E.S. Girl’ demonstrates. It’s just too little too late to save the album as a whole, unfortunately.

The sad truth is that we wouldn’t be discussing ‘CONFESSIONS II’ if it weren’t attached to one of the most iconic performers in modern music: if some no-name singer had come out with these bland cuts, do you really think the industry at large would take notice? Madonna is a legend, and one deserving of every ounce of praise ever sent her way— if this album is any indication though, her best days may be well-and-truly behind her.