According to AllMusic and '' The Daily Telegraph '' , the album consists of three main sounds : Latin music , trap music , and art pop . '' Madame X '' is Madonna 's most linguistically diverse album , sung in English , Spanish , and Portuguese . When dissecting the purpose of this album , she explained that it 's a love letter to multiculturalism . " Art belongs to everyone . It 's not a question of appropriating what other people do and taking it as your own . For me , it 's an homage to all the music that I 've listened to - and giving a platform and a voice to all of this incredible music that the rest of the world does n't really have the privilege to hear . " The album opens with " Medellín " , a Latin pop duet with Colombian reggaeton singer Maluma that depicts the pair longing for a trip to the song 's titular Colombian city while reflecting on their past struggles . Madonna revealed after '' Madame X '' was released that she decided to collaborate with Maluma after she realized that he loves horses , as she does . The following track , " Dark Ballet " , is an experimental pop song , featuring heavy use of Daft Punk-like vocoder and orchestral music , structured similarly to that of " Bohemian Rhapsody " . Additionally , the song features a sample of " The Nutcracker Suite : Dance of the Reed-Flutes " by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky . In an interview , Madonna revealed that the concept behind the song was influenced by one of her favourite films , '' A Clockwork Orange '' . She also revealed in the album ’s press release announcement that it was based on Joan of Arc 's life . In Madonna 's own words , " Joan of Arc fought the English and she won , still the French were not happy . Still they judged her . They said she was a man , they said she was a lesbian , they said she was a witch , and , in the end , they burned her at the stake , and she feared nothing . I admire that . " " God Control ” is an experimental disco song that blends together a gospel choir , gunshots and vocodored vocals . While describing the inspiration behind the song , Madonna stated that she wanted to incorporate elements of disco music from the late 70 's , as it reminded her of when she first moved to New York City and would frequently hang out at Studio 54 - a place where she felt liberated , as opposed to most nightclub attendees currently . It talks about standing up against authoritarianism and America 's feeble gun-control laws . Madonna further recounted the song 's theme as how “ Nowhere is safe any more – places where we used to go to dance and escape and have fun … or pray , or go to school … No public gathering is safe . I was thinking about Studio 54 , because I caught the end that wave – I moved to New York in 1979 that was the last year that Studio 54 was sort of in existence before co-founders Ian Schrager and Steve Rubel got arrested . And so , just the idea that those kinds of places , that used to bring people together , are no longer safe , is a really scary thought to me . And sad . People feel like gods when they have guns in their hands . ” The fourth track , " Future " , is a dancehall song featuring American rapper Quavo . Lyrically , it discusses how one 's viewpoint regarding the poor and underprivileged affects us on the long run . " Batuka " is heavily inspired by the music of Cape Verde , specifically Batuque . It features background vocals by The Batukadeiras Orchestra , a collective of all-female drummers , and its narrative is about commencing a revolution in an effort to defeat oppression . The sixth track , " Killers Who Are Partying " , is heavily inspired by fado and it features a Portuguese guitar accompanied by a minimal beat . According to Madonna , this was the first track she wrote for the record . While elaborating its topic , Madonna specified that it 's about her carrying the burden of all marginalized people . She further elucidated that " we have all these powerful men positioned in places all around the world who are celebrating and abusing their power while minorities are suffering , being degraded . The civil rights that we fought for the LGBTQ community , women 's rights , everything started to go backwards and I felt that it was really important to reflect my rage , my sense of betrayal . " Madonna also sings a few verses in Portuguese . " Crave " , is a midtempo pop and trap ballad featuring acoustic guitar , hand-clap beat , and guest vocals by American rapper and singer Swae Lee . Madonna stated in an interview backstage at the 2019 '' Billboard '' Music Awards that it was one of the first songs she wrote for the album and that she wanted to sing with a man on the track . On working with Swae Lee , Madonna said : " He 's really talented ... I think he 's a great writer , a great singer and he 's so cute . Cute 's important . " It paints the pair singing about an unreciprocated lover . The eight track , " Crazy " , is a soul-inflected track featuring a portuguese accordion . Lyrically , it portrays Madonna as a woman madly in love who refuses to get consumed by her feelings . This is the second song on the record to feature verses sung in Portuguese . " Come Alive " pays homage to the music of North Africa , specifically that of the Gnawa tribe . In the track , Madonna further unfolded that " there 's an interesting story about the shackles that the slaves wore so they could n't escape . Once they were free , they turned what enslaved them into music - and they made those krakebs . I wanted to bring that instrument back into the story . " The tenth track , " Extreme Occident " , features elements of morna and Indian music . Madonna is once more heard singing a few lines in Portuguese . Its subject matter centres around Madonna 's travels around the world searching for her own identity . " Faz Gostoso " , is a cover of the Brazilian-born Portuguese singer Blaya 's signature hit . It features guest vocals by Brazilian singer Anitta and it remains faithful to the original version 's funk style . Madonna felt it was pivotal to pay tribute to her Brazilian fans by singing in Brazilian Portuguese . According to the singer , it felt very different than Portugal 's Portuguese , so she had to relearn the language . Lyrically , it 's about engaging in an extramarital affair . The twelfth track , " Bitch I 'm Loca " , is a reggaeton song , and the second duet on the record with Maluma . Its lyricism explicitly details a one-night-stand , and it features Madonna singing most of her verses in Spanish . She revealed she had to undertake Spanish lessons prior to recording the track . " I Do n't Search I Find " , is a house-inflected track that heavily draws influence from Madonna 's own work with Shep Pettibone , namely " Vogue ” . It discusses Madonna at last attaining what she 'd been looking for all along in life . The fourteenth track , " Looking for Mercy " , displays one of Madonna 's most autobiographical and confessional lyrics . Contrarily to the previous song on the track list , she admits to feeling isolated , whilst pleading for empathy . " I Rise " , described as a " powerful and uplifting anthem " , deconstructs surviving and rising up from the adversities from the modern world . It contains a spoken intro taken from the speech of social activist , advocate for gun control Emma González , survivor from the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and co-founder of committee Never Again MSD , during an interview in February 2018 . The bonus disc of the deluxe 2CD release and the box set edition of the album feature 3 additional songs : " Funana " , " Back That Up to the Beat " and " Ciao Bella " . In " Funana " , an electropop track , Madonna ’s vocals have been heavily autotuned . She sings about idealizing a scenario of union and freedom while name-dropping several musical icons , such as Elvis Presley , Bob Marley , Whitney Houston , James Brown , Aretha Franklin , George Michael , David Bowie , Tupac Shakur , Freddie Mercury and Prince . In addition to these , she mentions Swedish DJ and former collaborator Avicii and Mac Miller . " Back That Up to the Beat " , an Alternative R&B track with elements of Indian music , is a reworked version of a leaked demo from Madonna 's previous album '' Rebel Heart '' . " Ciao Bella " , a dance-pop track , features uncredited vocals from Bissau-Guinean musician Kimi Djabate . Lyrically , it exhibits an introspective Madonna reflecting about life and its grueling circumstances
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
Madame X (album)