Why wasn't any of the latest albums of Madonna successful?

[Fita]

I know how hard ageism is on women (and men) so her being too old to make new music doesn't make sense as a justification. I'm talking especially about Rebel Heart and Madame X. The views their music videos on YouTube are extremely low and we're talking about Madonna, one of the most famous singers out there. Plus I don't see much recognizement from the public about those three albums - let's also include MDNA. 

What do you think happened? 

[Wendy Williams]

Because her 2009+ albums are stupid in 80%

I'm sorry, but I always liked only 3-4 songs from each album. There was no singing, but only talking with deep voice, terrible production, her image ridiculous. Where is <2008 iconic Madonna? She is awkward...

[RBFLOVESBRITNEY]

So i thought MDNA was good it has about 6 or so songs I liked on it.
 

Rebel Heart had to grow on me. I didnt like it at first at all. And about a year ago I did a re listen and it started to resonate with me a bit more. 
 

Madame X was GOD AWFUL and dont get me started on that tour.

All that being said I still think she has a few albums under her belt.

 

I SEE HER IN 10 DAYS!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

[Oprah Winfrey.]

It’s because she’s old. The gp isn’t supporting her. 

[Fab britney]

It’s just ageism tbh. Female pop stars have an expiration date unfortunately. At least it’s been that way since the early 10’s

[trip to my touch]

at least she tries hard. unlike the rolling stones...

but yeah eversince the last decade she seems not infallible anymore

[aleomg]

This is easy and hurtful to answer as a huge fan: she became a trend follower instead of a trend setter as she was before. 

The reason why she’s an icon is because she never chased the latest trend. We all miss that Madonna. 

The biggest thing she’s ever done for her true fanbase in the latest years is The Celebration Tour. A tour dedicated to her fans performing deep cuts and many fan favorites for the first time ever. 

[EduardoFoster]

Because labels still don’t know how to measure success in the streaming era.

Adult audience doesn't stream even 1/100 than kids do nowadays.

Labels still haven't figured out that there is value other than streaming and their strategy should revolve a lot more on number of listeners than number of streams.

[nux1989]

The dilemma of re-invent yourself or stick to your core.
I think Madge has always treated her albums seriously but it gets harder and harder for her to get the right/new character to play with.
Her last universal acclaimed era was Confession, which answers right into people's stereo type of her - a disco dolly, despite the fact that she hadn't release a dance-pop oriented album over a decade.
Her albums that follow are actually all in-time in genre.
Hip-hop ,EDM, and Latin-pop are all great in theory but doesn't sit right with images.
Madonna don't cater to new audiences and new genre don't cater to Madonna fans, therefore they didn't deliver and stick.

A fellow artist to, not at any negative means, compare with is Kylie.
Who, despite various images changes and career misstep, always stick to dance-pop.
And, as a result, gain her hard-core following in these reguards.

In the end, it's either right or wrong for an artist to handle their career, as long as they still got the passion.
 

[DiamondCircus]

It's all about the music, Cher has been having hits late in her career as have other 'older' artists.

Last Madonna album I actually liked was Confessions on a dancefloor, she hasn't delivered with the last albums. 

 

[Fita]

2 hours ago, aleomg said:

This is easy and hurtful to answer as a huge fan: she became a trend follower instead of a trend setter as she was before. 

The reason why she’s an icon is because she never chased the latest trend. We all miss that Madonna. 

The biggest thing she’s ever done for her true fanbase in the latest years is The Celebration Tour. A tour dedicated to her fans performing deep cuts and many fan favorites for the first time ever. 

I went to listen to Madame X now and I think she was actually pretty bold to stick with what she wanted, different genres while also talking about politics, democracy, it didn't sound as she was following trends. Some parts like the pre chorus of Medellin where they try to fuse the genres didn't work, but... Then it got me thinking that maybe those recent records of her are ahead of its time. I know in the future songs like Like a prayer, hung up, music, ray of light will be remembered for sure with glory. But who knows how tracks like God Control and others can sound like and be perceived in the future... What I know for sure is that Madonna is a brave, bold, rebel, strong woman.

Edited February 23 by Fita

[bbbsss]

The music isn’t good and her image comes off as try-hard and not as authentic anymore. Her last good album was “Confessions on a Dance Floor”. 

[princessmimi]

I think that its a combination of several factors:

1. Ageism

2. Sxism

3. The quality of her music went down after Confessions.

 

The only album I kinda like after that one is MDNA but even then, that album has become so dated.

Other than MDNA, the other albums after Confessions are horrible.

 

I would've loved to go to her Celebration tour (she's going to my city tomorrow)

but I couldn't get tickets and also tbh I'm more of a fan of her 80s music than her music after that.

 

 

[KrisJ]

Because she’s on old crow and her music and image in her later albums screams desperate and trying to stay young. 

Her tours are successful because of her 40+ year old fans and their nostalgia for her earlier music. 

[B In The Mix]

We cannot completely ignore ageism. First, her audience is adults, so we don't have extra time to stream like crazy. Older artists haven't adapted as well to the stream era. If you compare her new work to any icon from her era, it's either the same or they have inferior results. I'm not talking about the classics or the reinvention of the classics. Radio doesn't count as much nowadays, but it is a marketing and distribution platform. And American broadcasters only focus on young artists.

With that said, Madonna seems desperate to appeal to the younger generation and this affects her music. She always tries to look young, make music with young artists and forget about the people who are really interested in her music and career. I’m not saying she should behave like we normally expect of someone with her age, but most of the times, she seems forced and desperate.

If she tries to stay in the middle of the road, doing dance pop music, without trying this trap ****, like Kylie, or either make duets with new artists that has the same music style as her, like Elton John, she could succed more. But it’s Madonna. She never does what everybody do and she likes to provoque. At this point, it’s not working anymore.

Edited February 23 by B In The Mix

[ObsessedBritFan1]

I love Confessions. That was a timeless album. So, it's hard to rise over that pinnacle. 

I think MDNA is awesome! It's just wasn't "as good" as Confessions. 

Rebel Heart was different, but again, it was better than Confessions. 

Madame X, although experimental, felt lacklustre and forgettable in the long run. I only really loved Medellin, and that was a shocking grower! It was god-awful for the first few listens, lol. 

I just saw her Celebrations tour, lol. She didn't really perform Celebrations, but I loved Die Another Day, Ray of Light, and Open Your Heart. 

Here's to her next banger! 

[justin4britney]

I thought Rebel Heart was really solid. I definitely couldn’t get into Madame X. 

[Britneystanley]

IMHO 

 

the quality of music went down alot 

lead singles were not good enough 

she’s not paving the way anymore and has become largely irrelevant in recent years. 

Her age doesn’t bother me in all honesty, what bothers me is that she’s a bit naff now, her performances are cringe, her songs aren’t hits despite trying to get loads of features on them and she’s become more of a joke novelty than a credible artist. She obs doesn’t have to justify to anyone of her success but her success is in the past now. 
 

I always think when an artist dies, which of their songs will reenter the charts. Nothing in the last twenty years of her career will be on that list. 

[MikeHunt]

If ageism is the reason Madonna’s last two albums haven’t sold well, what’s the reason Christina Aguilera’s last four albums haven’t been as successful? 

[RBFLOVESBRITNEY]

@princessmimi its a combination of all 3.  But mostly its because she hasnt made a string bangers like she did prior theres more factors that go into that. Overall its night high quality madonna