MADONNA HAS RETURNED with what critics have dubbed her best album in 20 years.

The new album was pitched as a sequel to 2005′s Confessions on the Dancefloor which included popular hits like Hung Up and Sorry.

It was Madonna’s most successful album of the decade and topped the charts in 40 countries.

Since then her albums have failed to reach the same success and received mixed reviews.

Her last one, Madame X, did not perform well globally and was criticised for overuse of autotune.

The subsequent tour sparked controversy with widespread cancellations, a phone ban for the audience and (although, in fairness, this one was beyond the singer’s control) an early termination of the tour due to the pandemic.

Her new album, Confessions II, has been praised as a triumph for the pop star and one which has ‘’revitalised her music’’.

Structured as a non-stop club mix, the singer described the album as a return to her roots.

“That’s how I started. I was a dancer. Dancing is in my DNA,” she said in a BBC interview with Graham Norton.

What has the reaction been like?

As expected, the release of Confessions II has sparked a huge reaction worldwide especially with the global impact of the first Confessions album.

Pitchfork labelled the album as the star’s ”most impressive yet” and that she was ”back in peak form with a fresh and honest dance record”.

Over in the UK, the Guardian’s Alex Petridis also rated it four out of five stars. He described the album as a ”nostalgic dancefloor trip”and praised the ”vivid vignettes of life in 80s New York”.

Similarly, the BBC praised the album’s authentic return to the club aesthetic of the era and remarked that “he doesn’t even bother to reference current dance trends”. It named Charli XCX and PinkPantheress as contemporary artists that represent this style of music.

Across reviews, the main criticisms were the album’s length (nearly 64 minutes) and the absence of a standout hit. As Petridis said, Confessions II lacked ”an undeniable, solid-gold pop banger along the lines of Hung Up”.

Alongside the nostalgia, the album was applauded for its emotional depth and personal testimony. Notably, it included tributes to the singer’s late brother, Christopher, with the song Fragile.

For Variety, the ”most poignant” moment was The Test, a duet with daughter Lourdes Leon. The song referenced the 1998 hit Little Star, written by Madonna as a lullaby for her daughter.

Rolling Stone, said Madonna had found a ”non-stop groove” and described Confessions II as her ”musical autobiography”.

Instead of a music video, Madonna produced a 14-minute short film that accompanied the album. Confessions II- The Film took inspiration from the first six songs and starred a host of famous faces from Kate Moss to Benedict Cumberbatch.

It gained considerable attention and was watched over one million times in its first 24 hours on YouTube.

While Madonna has yet to announce a Confessions II tour, she hinted that plans are ongoing.