Madonna Introduces Confessions II Album with Short Film

Madonna on the Coachella 2026 stage (Instagram @madonna)

JAKARTA - Madonna is back on the path she mastered the most. Make people turn their heads. A day after staging a surprise concert in Times Square, New York, the 67-year-old singer appeared at the Tribeca Festival, Friday, June 5, to introduce her new album, Confessions II, through a 10-minute short film.

Adapted from People's report, Sunday, June 7, the film was screened at the Beacon Theatre before Madonna spoke with Anderson Cooper. The event was a warm-up for Confessions II, the album that is said to be the successor to Confessions on a Dance Floor, which was released in 2005.

The short film was directed by David Tori and Solomon Chase, the creative duo known as TORSO. It features footage of six early songs from Confessions II, including "I Feel So Free", "Bring Your Love", "Good for the Soul", "One Step Away", "Danceteria", and "Read My Lips".

As usual, Madonna did not come in a safe way. The film features wild, symbolic, and surprising scenes. There are scenes in the apartment, a raid on women in helmets carrying cameras, a laser network on a field, a minor car accident, to a hot dance party at a nightclub.

A row of stars also appeared as cameos, namely short appearances in the film. Julia Garner, Sabrina Carpenter, Kate Moss, Benedict Cumberbatch, Debi Mazar, Odessa A'zion, and Madonna's daughter, Lourdes Leon, appear in the film. Julia Garner had previously been prepared to play Madonna in the biopic film which was eventually canceled.

The film also pays homage to Madonna's early days in New York. One of the references is Danceteria, a legendary nightclub that was once an important place in the early stages of her career.

According to People, the film also includes references to the film Desperately Seeking Susan which was released in 1985 and the music video "Deeper and Deeper" from 1992. At the end of the film, Lourdes Leon appears and closes the scene with a sharp short sentence.

After the screening of the film, Madonna took to the stage with the two directors. Anderson Cooper was the moderator, replacing Jimmy Fallon, who was originally scheduled to host the event.

Madonna said the idea of making a short film came from her manager, Guy Oseary. He welcomed it because he had long loved cinema.

"I love the idea of making a film because I'm a lover of cinema," Madonna told People.

He also alluded to the changing times in the music video industry. "It was fun when there was only MTV and me. Those days are over," he said.

Madonna and her team worked on the project for six months. In one production session, they even recorded 15 cameos in just four hours.

In the discussion of about 30 minutes, Madonna also discussed the Times Square concert held a day earlier. The event attracted about 50,000 fans and was part of the Pride Month celebration.

He also talked about the length of his career in the music industry. "I often awkwardly talk about my peers, because almost all of them are dead," he said.

As a mother of six, Madonna admitted that she was happy to see her children grow creatively. She even joked, "I'm so glad they're not accountants."

Madonna also revealed that she and Lourdes Leon co-wrote the song "The Test" for Confessions II. She called the collaboration a "healing moment".

When asked for a message for the audience, Madonna replied in her typical style: take risks, stay curious, be more aware of your surroundings, put down your phone, and really connect with others.

Previously, Madonna had performed at the Tribeca Festival in 2008 while promoting the documentary I Am Because We Are, a film about orphaned children in Malawi in the midst of an AIDS crisis.

At the Times Square concert, Madonna performed a number of songs. Three of them are from Confessions II, namely "I Feel So Free", "Bring Your Love", and "Love Sensation". She also sang "I Love New York" and "Hung Up" from Confessions on a Dance Floor.

Confessions II is Madonna's first studio album since Madame X in 2019. The album is scheduled to be released on July 3, while the short film Confessions II will be released on YouTube on June 8.