Madonna just collaborated with The Weeknd and Playboi Carti on a danceable, R&B-infused pop track, “Popular,” and some fans are still in disbelief that the vocals on the song are really from the “Queen of Pop” herself.
On June 2nd, Madonna shared an image of herself with the other two musicians to promote the new song, which is featured on the soundtrack of The Idol, the controversial HBO original series starring The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) and Lily-Rose Depp.
In her caption, the 64-year-old Grammy winner wrote, “Cant get This Song Out of My Head!” and tagged her collaborators. As seen in the comment section, after hearing the track, some of Madonna’s devotees thought that she didn’t “sound like herself” when taking on her own verses or harmonizing with the other singers.
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Fans Divided Over Madonna’s New Sound on “Popular”
On the experimental new song, Madonna lends her signature soprano vocals over smooth synthesized beats. The “Like a Prayer” hitmaker, “Blinding Lights” singer and “Magnolia Rapper” all sing about a subject who longs to be popular, famous and remain in the spotlight.
In the comment section of Madonna’s Instagram post for her 18.9 million followers, one wrote, “Used to make better music. Now just copies everybody… stop with the auto tune.” Another added, “Stop pretending beeing 29 or 39 – this kind of sound is not you ……. But I guess its already too late …. Sorry to see & hear that…… my Madonna what happend.”
One other chimed in, disagreeing and commenting: “This is her smooth velvety vocals.” Others praised Madonna’s continual musical exploration into new genres and sounds, and reminded other fans just how much of an icon and legend the “Holiday” singer is. “Take your ageism somewhere else. It’s not welcome here!” one wrote regarding critics who stressed Madonna’s age.
One other concurred: “What would you have her sing?? Abba songs?? I think if you read what you wrote then you will realise you have a problem with your age.”
“Loving the soulful vibes” one wrote as another replied, “Collab of the century. I can’t believe my two faves made a song together, thank you Queen M and King Abel.” The Weeknd also recently released a visualizer for the song, which showed clips of The Idol cast and creators at Cannes Film Festival.
In the comment section for that, fans were much more in awe of the track, and the fact that the unexpected trio joined together on a new project. “The Weeknd and Madonna together is as equally unexpected as it is perfect,” one commented as another added, “This song has the perfect vibe between three different generations of artists and each of them brings their unique voice sound that makes this song a masterpiece!”
