Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts & Entertainment

Madonna Surprise Releases New Songs In Response To 'Artistic Rape' Leaks

183663953.jpg
Madonna attends the '12 Years A Slave' premiere on October 8, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

Pop icon Madonna has partially released her forthcoming album after leaks (unrelated to the Sony hack) she called "artistic rape" and "terrorism" put 13 unfinished demos on the Internet.The first six songs from Rebel Heart were released on iTunes (iTunes link) today, with more to come in February, according to The Guardian, before the full album is set to be released on March 10. On Wednesday, Madonna posted to her Instagram account her dismay over the leaked demos, saying in a now-deleted post:

This is artistic rape!! These are early leaked demo's half of which wont even make it on my album the other half have changed and evolved. This is a form of terrorism. Wtf!!!! Why do people want to destroy artistic process??? Why steal? Why not give me the opportunity to finish and give you my very best?

We understand your frustration, Madge, but oof. Jezebel has a screenshot of the post.Madonna later put up a more tempered message, thanking her fans who decided to respect her wishes and not listen to the leaked demos:

"I was hoping to release my new single 'Living For Love' on Valentine's Day with the rest of the album coming in the Spring. I would prefer my fans to hear completed versions of some of the songs instead of the incomplete tracks that are circulating. Please consider these six songs as an early Christmas gift," Madonna said on her official website. The six songs are titled, "Living For Love," "Devil Pray," "Ghosttown," "Unapologetic Bitch," "Illuminati," and "Bitch I'm Madonna," and feature production work from Kanye West, Avicii, and Diplo. "Bitch I'm Madonna" also features a guest appearance from rapper Nicki Minaj.

Rebel Heart, according to iTunes, will now have 19 tracks instead of the 13 that were originally leaked, though the remaining songs have yet to be named. Without diving too deep into Popjustice's lengthy rules over what constitutes a "full Beyoncé," it's safe to say that Madonna has pulled off the "partial Beyoncé."

If you want to get a free and legal taste of Rebel Heart, its opening track "Living Love," produced by Diplo, was posted on YouTube yesterday:

Sponsored message

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today