In the world of Madonna, everything was setting 2008 up as another victory lap. Not only did her 10th studio album “Confessions on a Dance Floor” restore her popularity, but it became the biggest hit in her career. Any doubt that she had the power to endure over 20 years after starting, it was brushed off with a flippant laugh. She may have had a few stumbles along the way, but there was reason to believe that the legend was going to continue producing hits, reinventing herself to keep up with the times. One can say that this was achieved with her next album “Hard Candy,” but that is to discredit that of everything she’s done, of every trend she’s chased, it’s one of her most dated and unmemorable albums (even “American Life” could at least be remembered as a “political” record).
Part of what made “Confessions on a Dance Floor” (and previously “Music”) was that she was not chasing the trends. She was still shooting for pop domination, but she was reflecting on a retro style that was more relevant to her past. It complimented her style very well. “Hard Candy” from the get-go is a record that sounds like a firm compromise, that she wasn’t giving her all this time around. Instead, she was going to hop on the trends of a very specific sound, and one that would cause critics to argue that she was pandering to urban markets.
It all started when Madonna listened to Justin Timberlake’s “FutureSex/LoveSounds” and felt inspired. While she had worked with a wide array of producers previously, often unknowns, she sought the producers who were most in-demand at that moment, especially Pharrell Williams and Timbaland. She gave them control over where her sound would go, allowing them to write her songs that she considered being unintentionally personal. This was going to be a record that sounded exactly like the moment, and Williams’ Neptunes style definitely remains an odd fit for the pop star.
While there have been songs in the past that have felt discordant, “Hard Candy” has the distinct issue of being a record that sounds exactly like its inspiration. It’s not just that Timberlake appeared on the big hit and lead single “4 Minutes.” It was that the percussion and urban beats all felt borrowed from other Top 40 songs that Timbaland had produced, such as Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous.” Any remnants that this was a Madonna record were difficult to fully recognize, and it was coming at a very interesting shift in her career.
The consensus has generally been that “Hard Candy” was a breaking point for the artist’s popularity. It wasn’t that she failed to sell records or bank on tours, but that everything after this point lacked a timelessness. The lead singles became less invigorating, their cultural impact failing. Whereas you can argue that “Hung Up” still is a fun dance song, nobody is rushing out to play “Give It 2 Me.” Why have that when Timberlake and Furtado are right there? Better yet, why not just enjoy Pharrell’s own music, including a fruitful solo career. There are so many better alternatives to this sound. Madonna would be able to skid by on her status, but chances of her having a significant hold on the zeitgeist, at least for her music, would be difficult.
In fact, the original name of the record was itself something that could’ve canceled Madonna’s career not even a decade later. Fascinated by the artwork The Black Madonna, she contemplated dressing up in blackface as a reference. She eventually turned down the idea when she realized that only a quarter of her audience would likely get it. While one for controversy, it also feels like a smart move on the grounds that it was blackface and it should’ve been an idea that never escaped the drawing board phase.
Then again, that’s as interesting as the record became. This isn’t like “Confessions on a Dance Floor” where her narrative could be bolstered by brilliant fashion choices or headlining Coachella. This was just a record that came and went, more impressive if you compare it to the rest of her career. It was weird that there ever would be a record that would feature Madonna collaborating with the likes of Kanye West. And yet, “Beat Goes On” exists.
The album’s title is supposed to be symbolic of the sound. She claims that every song is hard on the outside and soft in the middle. There is something sweet inside, but one has to crack the shell. Given that the subsequent world tour, Sticky & Sweet World Tour, played up the imagery, one can’t help but feel that she was going to play up the euphemistic nature of candy, making her most sexually explicit record since “Erotica.”
In fairness, there aren’t any songs about “the love below.” However, this feels like a shift for Madonna from the more straightforward pop to something more seductive. “Voices” feels like its lyrics are subliminally about S&M as she whispers about who has control. “Incredible” dwindles into a state of ecstasy as she yells over the track. While not nearly as confrontational, it felt like the gimmicks were coming back out, that this would be a Madonna who wasn’t afraid to exploit the fact that she was an older woman with agency. The years of trying to win over critics were over.
It was also a turning point for another specific reason. Having left Maverick Records, her departure from Warner Bros. was considered to be a big deal. After all, it had been a 25-year partnership that had given her a substantial amount of success. She wouldn’t be where she was without them. “Hard Candy” would be the last studio album for Warner Bros. before she shifted to her new home on Live Nation Artists. With that said, there was still a comprehensive greatest hits collection called “Celebration” in 2009, and a live recording from her Sticky & Sweet Tour. It was a bold move and maybe the one that she most needed to revive her career.
The only other major note for the album was that “4 Minutes” was supposed to be inspired by the AIDS documentary I Am Because We Are (2008). Then again, anyone who knows how the political album “American Life” turned out, they will know that this didn’t exactly turn out according to plan. Lyrically, it lacked that subtext, and the various videos and performances that followed never really emphasized why they had “4 Minutes” to save the world specifically from AIDS. In fact, the place that I mostly knew the song from was a Steve Carrell remake of Get Smart (2008)… during the closing credits. Nevertheless, it earned a Grammy Nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
While far from her first criticism, the record received initial flack for its shift in style. “Hard Candy” was accused of appealing to a more urban sound with many claiming that “Candy Shop” wasn’t a good song. Others accused the production of being too redundant or overwhelming. That didn’t stop the record from being a business as a usual hit, becoming her seventh number one album, putting her behind Barbra Streisand for most number-one debuts by a female artist. Elsewhere her songs were hits and would go on to become the 11th best-selling album of 2008 with four million copies sold worldwide.
Not bad for an album that had one of the stealthier releases so far. In a partnership with Samsung F400 in France, she agreed to have seven of the songs come preprogrammed on the phone. In other markets, Vodafone and Warner Music International made them exclusively available. Sony Ericsson had the album pre-loaded in 27 countries. MySpace would have the album available for streaming four days before the physical release. Finally, the Ugly Betty episode “Jump” would feature her music exclusively. She had a great way of getting her music everywhere, but like the phones they were on, they would eventually become obsolete, trading for a newer and better model.
What did Madonna have to prove at this point? Not a whole lot. It may have been the overall issue with everything that followed. Along with the blackface idea, she decided to get even more political this time around. It was largely inspired by the ongoing 2008 American Presidential Election where it became very clear really quickly that she didn’t like The Republican Party. She decided to speak out against then-nominees John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin. She gained controversy for these comments, especially as she made her love of Barrack Obama very clear upon his historical win.
This was apparent on the Sticky & Sweet Tour, which featured a not-so-subtle commentary on the election. During the number “Get Stupid,” she would do pictures of Mahatma Gandhi transforming into Obama. Meanwhile, she had Adolf Hitler transform into McCain. On the one hand, the hostility she felt towards Republicans made sense. 2008 was coming off of a divided run for The George W. Bush Administration. However, like the rest of “Hard Candy,” it hasn’t exactly aged well in recent years. During The Democratic National Convention in 2020, Obama’s then running mate Joe Biden (now running for president) made a significant effort to point out his ability to work with the now-deceased McCain on bettering the country. Suddenly that Hitler imagery becomes a little susceptible.
Of course, that’s how Madonna always has been. Her tour always was designed as a way to court attention, and this was no exception. She played in Italy and, during “Like a Virgin,” she made sure to make an erotic pass at Pope Benedict XVI. It was considered shocking. Then again, everyone likely forgot that this is the same institution that once boycotted KFC over objectionable content during the “Like a Prayer” era.
For what it’s worth, The Sticky & Sweet Tour was a major success for Madonna. It became the most successful tour for a solo artist in history. Grossing $282 million, it was further evidence that she could draw a crowd internationally. Along with a live recording later, it was a nice way to say goodbye to the record label that had been her home for her entire career. They don’t know what they were going to miss.
“Hard Candy” symbolized a changing of the guard for Madonna’s career. While it’s not the first one to find her working with obtuse collaborators, it was the moment where culturally she went from defining the moment to being part of it. She was still respected, but it was clear that anyone who had an issue with her outspokenness would only continue to find new ways to loathe her. After all, this was a return to her rowdy ways as she check-marked her targets whether they be sex, politics, or even religion. They were all there, finding the artist trying to appeal to the edgier, younger generation.
What may be the issue is that this sounds more like a Williams and Timbaland album than a Madonna one. There’s little distinction between even the singles, and they all suffered when compared to the Top 40 equivalent that these two producers had concocted. She still had vitality, but in some ways, she only had “4 Minutes” until it was all over, when she was more revered for who she collaborated with than any personal idea. This wasn’t the end of the highly produced hijinks, but it was around this time that they stopped being significant pop culture landmarks.
From here on out, I have no idea of what Madonna sounds like. For whatever reason, I’ve missed this period of her career and am as curious as I am scared. Will the final stretch be records that only sour (no pun intended) her legacy full of great music? Even “Confessions on a Dance Floor” suggests that she still had something to offer. With that said, “MDNA” does feature TWO songs with Nicki Minaj on it. If she’s trying to appeal to the young and hip crowd, she’s at least getting that right. The question now is if the lower album sales are parallel to album quality. I’m going to find out one of these days, for better or worse.
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