Madonna: Reinvention, or same ol' recipe?

Few pop stars, if any, have been able to pull off career makeovers like Madonna. Whether working with underground heroes or superstar producers, Madonna has had an uncanny ability to predict trends and react to mainstream hits.

With her new album “Hard Candy” due out on Tuesday, Madonna has returned with a new sound again. She’s jettisoned the Euro-dance that marked much of her recent works. Instead she turned to hit-makers such as Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. But is Madonna really doing anything all that new and different for her?

A little help from former teen idols? Before singing with Justin, Madonna smooched Britney. Urban producers? Before Timbaland, Madonna worked with Babyface. “Hard Candy” might be this year’s model, but it follows the same old Madonna formula.

Here, we take a look at some of Madonna’s key albums, launching with “Hard Candy” and ending with “Like a Prayer” in 1989, and examine the five or six hallmarks of a Madonna release. Hot collaborators? Check. Explosive branding? Check. And usually a controversy or two.

Click here to read more.

Photo courtesy Getty Images

Comments

[tomk]

It's not a "recipe," it's a formula. And in Madonna's world, everyone (well, everyone who counts) uses everyone else. That's entertainment I mean enlightenment!

[Mark Robert]

I don't understand why you say she is using a formula to promote her albums. Who don't you say it about someone like Mariah Carey instead? She's the one who has a formula and is desperate to sell albums. She is on EVERY TV shows begging viewers to go buy her stuff. Why don't you write an article about that instead?

[CandyHardness]

Madonna continues to astound! Who else from the 80's pop scene is still around, let alone as relevant and productive as she? "Hard Candy" proves that she is still top performer and artist. Exciting, inventive, fresh and yet familiar.
Can Mariah Carey - who seems stuck in her early-career mo of tde time warp, or Janet Jackson, who seems bored and out, even dare to compare - sadly, no!