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Madonna performs the song ‘Medellin” with Maluma at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, aka the BBMAs, and she is sparing no expense. According to TMZ, Madonna has put in $5 million of her own money to make her performance a major spectacle. The Daily Mail reported that the cost has to do with hologram and CGI effects. The act is seven minutes long and the song is off of Madonna’s upcoming album “MadameX”.
An insider told The Sun that when it comes to the big BBMAs performance, “It’s one of the most ambitious performances ever attempted on live TV, and obviously a lot could go wrong. It will require perfect timing and positioning to make sure that she interacts properly with the computer-generated visuals, otherwise it won’t work at all. She’s just got to Vegas and has rehearsals at the MGM Grand to make sure it’s sensational and makes the splash she’s hoping for … She wants to make sure her performance is the big talking point of the night and nothing short of brilliant.”
“MadameX” is Madonna’s 14th studio album and will be her first album released since 2015. According to Vulture, Madonna is singing on “MadameX” in Portuguese, English, and Spanish.
When Maluma hit the red carpet at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, he spoke with E! News and talked about how quickly the collaboration with Madonna came. He said that they met at the MTV Video Music Awards last year and then she hit him up to be a part of her song. Now, the two are performing at shows together and Maluma said he’s so thankful and blown away by the fame.
In addition to Maluma, there are other artists reportedly singing on Madonna’s new album and they are Migos’s Quavo, Swae Lee from Rae Sremmurd, and singer Anitta, as reported by Vulture. Below is the deluxe track list for “MadameX”.
1. Medellín (with Maluma)
2. Dark Ballet
3. God Control
4. Future (ft. Quavo)
5. Batuka
6. Killers Who Are Partying
7. Crave (ft. Swae Lee)
8. Crazy
9. Come Alive
10. Extreme Occident (on deluxe version only)
11. Faz Gostoso (ft. Anitta)
12. Bitch I’m Loca (ft. Maluma)
13. I Don’t Search I Find
14. Looking for Mercy (on deluxe version only)
15. I Rise
As for the title of Madonna’s upcoming album, she explained in an Instagram video, “I decided to call my record Madame X. Madame X is a secret agent traveling around the world. Changing identities. Bringing light to dark places.”
Madonna has been out of the spotlight for a while. She previously stated on Live With Kelly and Ryan that she’s been living overseas and has become “a soccer mom”. Clearly, Madonna is ready to get back into the public eye in a big way. And, when it comes to her big price tag for her BBMAs performance, there are several artists who have put in their own money for performances and productions. Michael Jackson has done it, for example. Another artist who has contributed financially to his own projects is Nick Lachey. When he was struggling as a solo artist, married to Jessica Simpson at the time, he debated whether or not he should put in his own money to perfect one of his music videos. And, he decided to go for it.