Tag Archives: Confessions II

Today in Madonna History: July 9, 2026

July 9, 2026 By in 2026, July Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On July 9, 2026, Madonna was announced as the cover star of upcoming issues of Japan’s INROCK and the UK’s Classic Pop.

The August 2026 issue of INROCK, Volume 512, was set to include a 16-page Madonna special, a centre-bound photo feature and a collectible pin-up. The feature examined Madonna’s feminist influence and the way it continued to shape a younger generation of artists.

For the cover, Madonna appeared with Sabrina Carpenter in a black-and-white image connected to the “Bring Your Love” visual campaign. It marked Madonna’s first INROCK cover in 18 years.

The double-cover issue, with Ariana Grande appearing on the reverse, was scheduled to reach Japanese newsstands on July 15, 2026. The announcement also arrived ahead of the Japanese domestic release of Confessions II on July 29, 2026 through Warner Music Japan.

Madonna also led Classic Pop Issue 107, dated August 2026. The issue featured a world-exclusive interview exploring her relationship with music, creativity and live performance.

Stuart Price also appeared in the issue, looking back on writing and producing Confessions on a Dance Floor with Madonna and sharing behind-the-scenes memories from the album’s creation.

The issue also included features on Dionne Warwick, Natalie Imbruglia, A Flock of Seagulls, The Specials, Laura Nyro, Kim Wilde, T’Pau and Marc Almond.

Today in Madonna History: July 7, 2026

July 7, 2026 By in 2026, July Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On July 7, 2026, Madonna released Confessions II: Grindr Edition, a new digital version of the album featuring audio from her June 4 surprise performance in Times Square, presented in partnership with Grindr.

The free pop-up concert was streamed live from Times Square through Grindr and featured new material alongside Confessions on a Dance Floor favourites. The partnership also included merchandise and a Grindr-exclusive picture disc.

The alternate editions were released digitally, with several appearing through the iTunes Store:

  • Confessions II — 16-track Deluxe Album
    The complete main album, featuring 16 continuously mixed tracks.
  • Confessions II: Icon Edition
    An expanded digital edition featuring the bonus song “Hot Sauce,” named after the Absolut Hot Sauce cocktail created for Madonna and Absolut’s Confessions II campaign. The cocktail was part of the Absolut Icon promotion, which featured Absolut and Tabasco drinks inspired by the album.
  • Confessions II: Film Edition
    A digital presentation built around the music and sequencing featured in Confessions II – The Film, the short visual project directed by TORSO.
  • Confessions II: Instrumentals
    Instrumental versions of the album tracks, placing the focus on the production, arrangements and continuous dance-floor mix.
  • Confessions II: Grindr Edition
    The newly released digital edition featuring six bonus live songs from Madonna’s Times Square performance: “I Feel So Free,” “Bring Your Love,” “Love Sensation,” “Get Together,” “I Love New York,” “Hung Up.”

The release brought one of the most visible moments of the Confessions II campaign into the album’s official digital catalogue.

Today in Madonna History: June 26, 2026

June 26, 2026 By in 2026, June Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

On June 26, 2026, LOS40 reported that a new FIFA Version of Madonna’s “Read My Lips” with Colombian artist Feid had been released as part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup music rollout.

Produced by Tainy, the new version was described as a shorter edit of the Confessions II track, blending Madonna’s dance-pop world with Feid’s urban sound, funk carioca influences and Spanish-language moments.

The collaboration had already been hinted at in Confessions II – The Film, but the FIFA version gave fans another unexpected piece of the album’s expanding universe one week before Confessions II was scheduled for release.

According to LOS40, the track appeared on the Bonus Edition of the official FIFA World Cup 2026 album, alongside new music connected to other major global artists.

For fans, “Read My Lips” becoming part of the World Cup conversation was another reminder that the Confessions II era was not unfolding in one lane. It was moving through clubs, fashion, Pride, television, film — and now the world’s biggest sporting stage.

Today in Madonna History: June 22, 2026

June 22, 2026 By in 2026, June Tags: , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On June 22, 2026, Interview Magazine published The Madonna Interview, a major new cover story photographed by Nadia Lee Cohen and styled by Mel Ottenberg.

The feature marked Madonna’s eleventh cover for Interview, more than any other star in the magazine’s history. Shot late at night on the outskirts of London, the editorial introduced a new character Madonna called Dee Dee — a hard-living, big-haired woman with prosecco in her hand and rock-and-roll in her bones.

Fashion was central to the story. Throughout the shoot, Madonna wore Gucci, Boucheron, 4element, What Katie Did, Wolford, Seymoure, Valentino, David Webb, Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello, Agent Provocateur Archive, and pieces from her own wardrobe.

In the interview, Madonna discussed the collapse of her planned biopic, her reunion with Stuart Price, the making of Confessions II, writing with Lourdes Leon, the importance of Danceteria, and the way her past continued to shape her current work.

She also connected the new album back to the original Confessions on a Dance Floor era, revealing that YSL boots and Gucci jackets from her archive were used for the Confessions II album shoot with Rafael Pavarotti.

For fans, the Interview cover story felt like more than another promotional stop. It was Madonna documenting her own mythology in real time: the clothes, the clubs, the collaborators, the losses, the memories and the music all becoming part of the same confession.

Read the full article here.

Today in Madonna History: June 12, 2026

June 12, 2026 By in 2026, June Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On June 12, 2026, Madonna and Absolut announced a new partnership for the Confessions II era.

The campaign, titled ABSOLUT ICON., brings together Madonna’s dance floor mythology with Absolut’s long history of art, fashion and pop culture collaborations.

For fans, the biggest visual detail is pure Confessions nostalgia: the campaign, shot by Ricardo Gomes, features Madonna wearing the iconic purple corset bodysuit she wore during her 2006 Grammy Awards performance and in the “Sorry” video.

The new creative was developed with Special Offer, the design team behind the Confessions II visual identity, making the partnership feel fully connected to the album’s world.

The announcement also highlights Madonna and Absolut’s longtime support of the LGBTQ+ community, with campaign placements planned in queer publications and along Pride parade routes.

With “Bring Your Love (Stuart Price Afterhours Mix)” also out today and Madonna & Graham announced for BBC One, the Confessions II era is officially having a very busy day.

Today in Madonna History: June 11, 2026

June 11, 2026 By in 2026, June Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

On June 11, 2026, Madonna fans celebrated the release of Grindr’s official director’s cut of her Times Square Pride pop-up concert.

The new edit offered a sharper look at the surprise performance, with improved footage and fixed audio compared with the original livestream. Staged in partnership with Grindr, the Times Square event helped push the Confessions II era further into the spotlight, blending Pride celebration, club culture and classic Madonna spectacle.

Grindr also expanded the moment with a dedicated Grindr x Madonna merch collection, including Confessions II shirts, hats and a Grindr-exclusive picture disc vinyl pre-order scheduled to ship the week of July 3, 2026.

The momentum continued beyond Times Square. Madonna was also scheduled to appear in Madonna & Graham, a BBC One special with Graham Norton, on June 26, 2026.

For fans, June 2026 felt less like a single Pride moment and more like a full Madonna campaign.

Today in Madonna History: June 9, 2026

June 9, 2026 By in 2026, June Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On June 9, 2026, news continued to spread that Madonna had been named the new global ambassador for KIKO Milano, fronting the Italian beauty brand’s new campaign, The KIKO Show.

The campaign’s question — “Have you met KIKO?” — feels perfectly Madonna: playful, glamorous, a little mysterious, and built around transformation.

The collaboration also arrives during Madonna’s Confessions II era, with reports noting that the campaign features a Stuart Price remix of “Bring Your Love,” Madonna’s new collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter.

For fans, there are some delicious details: Madonna reportedly wears pieces from her own Confessions Tour archive, along with archival YSL by Tom Ford styling. The campaign was photographed by Rafael Pavarotti, with creative direction by Drew Elliott, makeup by Marcelo Gutierrez, hair by Eugene Souleiman, nails by Naomi Yasuda, and set design by Mary Howard.

There is also a sweet full-circle feeling to the partnership. Madonna Louise Ciccone, the Italian-American Queen of Pop, fronting an Italian beauty brand during a new dance-pop era? That is not just a campaign — that is Madonna mythology doing what it does best.

The KIKO Show has begun.

And yes — we have met KIKO.