It’s Oh So Quiet

Billboard’s Madonna-guru Keith Caulfield discusses the latest about Madonna’s new album and the two songs that recently leaked on the internet in his Ask Billboard column for October 05, 2007.

• To The Beat of Madonna’s Drum

Hi Keith,

It has been reported that a new R&B-based Madonna record would drop sometime in November, but it appears everything has been pushed back. I’ve heard both (of Madonna’s recently leaked tracks) “The Beat Goes On” and “Candy Shop” and they both sound like radio winners.
Do you know why Warner Bros. or Madonna’s camp may have postponed (the album’s release)? Is it possible that they are reconsidering the Justin Timberlake tracks (that he worked on with Madonna for the forthcoming album) since he is now seemingly on every single that comes out? (I love the guy but enough already.)

Is Madonna going to move on to another greatest hits package or a greatest remixes album instead?

Finally, does she have any plans to tour next summer while the kids are on summer vacation?

Hi Andrew,

Even though everyone thinks that Madonna’s forthcoming album was supposed to come out on a certain date, she, nor her record label, have ever publicly said when it was going to be released. And they still haven’t. As far as we know, Madonna is still working on the new album, which does not have a release date yet.

I personally disagree with your assessment of the radio-friendliness of the leaked tunes “The Beat Goes On” and “Candy Shop.” While I can admire some aspects of the former, the latter is simply not something that I think would work on the radio.

It is curious how the two leaked tracks were produced by Pharrell, yet, none of the songs she has worked on with Justin Timberlake or Timbaland have leaked. No word on any supposed retrospectives either. It’s all quiet on the Madonna front right now. Though, as with all things, plans change. Madonna could suddenly surprise everyone and drop a single on us next week.

• A short note from the Tribe Team (not to Keith, who is accurate and totally reading-worthy as ever, but to the over excitement of those who can’t wait for something new to be released – and are then happy to read something that matches their expectations – no matter if reliable or not).

Here on Madonna Tribe we’re always extremely careful when it comes to announce “tentative release dates”. Weirdly enough – exactly one year ago today, on October 6, 2006, speaking about Madonna’s plans for the next year, what we said about the successor of “Confessions On A Dance Floor” was: “we’ve been told tha there won’t be a new studio album of Madonna any time soon in 2007.” And mind you – we added that “any time soon” only to avoid causing a bigger stir.

“What we can for sure expect in 2007 are… more new books, which are something Madonna loves to write and putting together”, we wrote, and that is was honestly quite out of the blue at the time. Certainly not today, with four more English Roses books in the store and eight more coming out.

Madonna’s next album? Good things come to those who wait…