Madonna surprised fans in New York City last night (Thursday June 4), breaking out an impromptu set at Times Square. Check out fan footage and the full setlist below.
The unexpected set at the iconic location comes as the Queen of Pop is preparing to release her 15th studio album on July 3, the spiritual sequel to her landmark ‘Confessions On A Dance Floor’ record in 2005.
So far, she has shared two tracks, ‘I Feel So Free’ and ‘Bring Your Love’, the latter being a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, whom she joined in a surprise appearance at Coachella.
The set also comes as somewhat of a full circle moment for the singer, as the story goes that she was dropped off in a cab at Times Square in her early 20s, with just $35 in her pocket and looking to make it as a dancer.
Kicking things off with the two tracks from her forthcoming album, Madonna followed on with the live debut of third new single ‘Love Sensation’, which was officially released that same night.
From there, she went back to some of her earlier work, playing 2005 songs ‘Get Together’ and ‘I Love New York’ fully for the first time in 20 years.
She wrapped things up with fan favourite, ‘Hung Up’ – and all three of those latter tracks were fittingly taken from the first part of her ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’ album, which was released in November 2005 and marked her tenth studio album.
Madonna has been a longtime advocate for the LGBTQIA community, and the one-off show last night was put together in partnership with queer dating app Grindr. The singer has been working with the company regularly to promote her new record, and the surprise set also came in celebration of Pride Month.
Check out more footage and the complete setlist below.
Madonna played:
‘I Feel So Free’
‘Bring Your Love’
‘Love Sensation’ (Live debut)
‘Get Together’ (first full performance since 2006)
‘I Love New York’ (First full performance since 2006)
‘Hung Up’
‘Love Sensation’ was officially released last night, and in keeping with the theme of the album, is a club-ready anthem that sees Madge’s voice effortlessly work alongside a thumping electronic beat, ramping up towards a euphoric chorus.
“Love’s the reason why/ It’s a drug that I can’t stop taking/ Baby let’s get high/ Tripping up to the sky,” she sings. “I’m your love sensation, good vibration, love sensation.”
‘Confessions II’ will be Madonna’s first record since her 14th album ‘Madame X’, which arrived in 2019.
She has reunited with the producer of the original album, Stuart Price, whom she already revealed she had been working with back in December 2024.
“When Stuart Price and I first started working on this record, this was our manifesto: We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna explained.
“To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” she added. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions, pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
In the run up to the album release date, Kylie Minogue has responded to rumours of a Madonna collaboration on ‘Confessions II’, and Linda Perry has expressed her desire to produce for Madonna, describing her latest music as “weak” and “trying to compete with Charli XCX“.