After nearly three weeks of diving into Madonna’s catalog, we’ve arrived at her most recent album, 2019’s Madame X. Released at the ripe old age (by music industry standards) of 61, this is one of the most stylistically interesting records of her career.
Madonna had been living in Lisbon, Portugal, for a couple of years when she was inspired to craft an album that featured not only the sounds of that country, but of the many cultures with which she had come into contact while there.
The result is a record that finds Madonna singing in Spanish and Portuguese, and features guest appearances by Colombian singer Maluma and Brazilian singer Anitta, as well as American rappers Quavo and Swae Lee.
The songs lean heavy on world music rhythms, at times sounding more like something you’d expect from M.I.A. than Madonna.
I wish I could say all of that experimentation and boundary-stretching works for me, but Madame X proved the hardest Madonna album to get through. While over the years I’ve come to appreciate the pop and dance genres she has mined for decades, I’ve never gotten into this kind of thing.
I do enjoy today’s track, the second single from Madame X, which successfully marries Madonna’s heartbreak pop balladry with trap beats. But the rest of this album just isn’t for me.
Madame X hit #1 on the Billboard 200, becoming the ninth Madonna album to do so (of the remaining five, three made it to #2). The days of multi-million album sales are behind not just Madonna but the industry in general, yet she has managed to find success on the charts into her 60s.
That concludes my deep dive into Madonna’s studio albums. Tomorrow I’ll wrap things up and offer my ranked order of these 14 albums.
I’m tired of being far away from home
Far from what can help, far from where it’s safe
Hope it’s not too late
Rush, rush, rush on you, love, love, loved on you
Love you like a fool, put my trust in you
[Pre-Chorus]
‘Cause you’re the one I crave
And my cravings get dangerous
The feelings never fade
I don’t think we should play with this
Said come, come give me strength
I don’t think we should wait for this
‘Cause you’re the one I crave
And my cravings get dangerous
[Chorus]
Ooh (Ooh), my cravings get dangerous
Ooh, I don’t think we should play with this
Ooh (Ooh), my cravings get dangerous
Ooh, I don’t think we should wait
[Verse 2]
‘Cause I’m just me (Yeah), that’s all I can be (Ooh)
Something real (Yeah), something I can feel
You know I just can’t change, this is how I’m made
I’m not afraid, take me to that place
[Pre-Chorus]
You’re the one I crave (Crave)
And my cravings get dangerous
The feelings never fade
I don’t think we should play with this
Said come, come give me strength
I don’t think we should wait for this
‘Cause you’re the one I crave
And my cravings get dangerous
[Chorus]
Ooh (Ooh), my cravings get dangerous
Ooh, I don’t think we should play with this
Ooh (Ooh), my cravings get dangerous
Ooh, I don’t think we should wait
[Verse 3: Swae Lee]
You’re on me, I don’t think you should wait (Wait)
You’re only one pull up away (Away)
You’re down to ride, you ride me like a wave (Ride, yeah)
I gave you a sensation (Ooh)
A loner, days we used to chase
It’s do or die, yeah, my love life can get crazy (Crazy)
It’s on the line, girl, you’re risking everything (Thing)
It’s over-X-rated
[Bridge]
Ran so far to try to find the thing I lacked and there it was
Inside (Side) of (Of) me (Me)
Ran and ran and ran so fast, a thing to last, and there it was
I hear (Hear) you (You) breathe (Breathe)
[Pre-Chorus]
‘Cause you’re the one I crave (Crave)
And my cravings get dangerous
The feelings never fade
I don’t think we should play with this
Said come, come give me strength
I don’t think we should wait for this
‘Cause you’re the one I crave
And my cravings get dangerous
[Chorus]
Ooh (Ooh), my cravings get dangerous
Ooh, I don’t think we should play with this
Ooh (Ayy, ooh), my cravings get dangerous
Ooh, I don’t think we should wait
[Outro: Swae Lee]
It’s on the line, girl, you’re risking everything
Meet Me In Montauk 
Hard to wrap my head around Madonna being in her 60s, but glad to see she is still stretching musical boundaries, even if it doesn’t always work.
It really is amazing how she kept reinventing herself and it is hard to believe she is in her 60’s!