Madonna and daughter Lola Leon open up about their emotional collaboration on Confessions II

More than twenty years after the acclaimed Confessions on a Dance Floor, Madonna is back with the long awaited follow up. Confessions II, her fifteenth studio album, came out on Friday, July 3rd, and features sixteen tracks once again produced by Stuart Price, the man behind the original. The album was preceded by an extensive buildup: a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter that premiered at Coachella in April, a Grindr sponsored pop up show in Times Square in New York, and a promotional film featuring avant dance pop artists such as Arca, Shygirl and Honey Dijon. Critics have been enthusiastic, describing it as one of her stronger records, packed with dance tracks that evoke a sense of euphoria.

One of the most personal tracks on the album is The Test, a collaboration between Madonna and her 29 year old eldest daughter Lola Leon. The song was written by the mother daughter duo, produced by Stuart Price and rounded out with additional production work by Arca. During a live premiere on iHeartRadio and TikTok on Thursday, July 2nd, hosted by Bob the Drag Queen, the two spoke candidly about how the collaboration came together. Lola Leon said that it was her own idea to make music together. In her view, a mother daughter relationship holds a lot of unspoken things, both love and tension and emotions that are hard to put into words. Art, and music in particular, was her way of expressing those feelings, something that has always connected her to her mother.

Madonna described the writing process as a very magical moment and noted that they both had to be vulnerable. In the song she sings about the downside of her worldwide fame for her daughter: You didn't ask for all the flashing lights / I didn't think of how it could disturb / Or how it hurt / I wish I knew the pain I've caused / My butterfly was always being watched. Lola Leon, who experienced the Confessions on a Dance Floor era as a child when she was nine years old and is said to have been the inspiration behind Ray of Light, also shared that right before the recording session she dreamed about her late maternal grandmother. That dream shaped the emotional weight of the song. It was a way to honor her and to heal each other, Leon said.

Lola Leon, who also goes by her artist name Lolahol, released her debut single Lock and Key in 2022, followed by the EP GO. She was born in 1996 from the relationship between Madonna and dancer and personal trainer Carlos Leon, studied dance at the University of Michigan and graduated in 2018. When asked whether she found it nerve wracking to approach her mother about a collaboration, she said she was not really nervous. She added that Madonna is an intimidating person, but that because of that she herself is rarely intimidated by others.

Beyond its personal dimension, the album also has a broader family backdrop. Confessions II was partly inspired by the deaths of Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone and stepmother Joan Ciccone, both of whom passed away in late 2024. Alongside Sabrina Carpenter and Lola Leon, the album features collaborations with Feid, Martin Garrix and Stromae. A track called Danceteria references the legendary New York club where Madonna performed early in her career, alongside contemporaries like RuPaul and the Beastie Boys. Eight additional tracks have also been held back for what is expected to be a deluxe edition, including a full Arca collaboration titled What Will Save Me. Ahead of the official release, Madonna aimed for maximum reach: more than two hundred iHeartRadio stations across the United States broadcast the live premiere, while fans around the world could tune in through the TikTok channels of the platform itself, Madonna and iHeartRadio.