She’s back! And back. And back. And back. And back! Madonna debuted her alter ego Madame X, as well as her new tune “Medellin” featuring Maluma, at the Billboard Music Awards on Wednesday, May 1, and her performance got viewers buzzing.
Madge, 60, kicked off the act lying down on the stage. Seconds after she began singing, four holograms of the superstar herself, dressed in different costumes, started to appear and dance with the real-life flesh version. The holograms wore the same duds Madonna did in the video for “Medellin,” which debuted on April 24.
The performance, which cost a rumored $5 million because of the technology involved in creating the holograms and CGI, divided at-home viewers, with some rolling their eyes at what they thought were less than impressive graphics.
https://twitter.com/MarcMarkley/status/1123781796452294662
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I’m just going to say it.. Sharknado has better animation than Madonna’s holograms #BBMA
— TJ (@tjshubert) May 2, 2019
But not everyone hated Madge’s high-tech return to the stage.
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.@Madonna #BBMA everyone else can just go home now.
Madonna just slayed all yo asses.
?❤️???
— jezebell (@Jezebelly) May 2, 2019
Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
Madonna slayed at the Billboard Music Awards with holograms and MALUMA
Looking way way way hotter than you
(PS: Your fave could never!)#MadameX #Medellin #OneTwoChaChaCha #Madonna #Maluma #Bbmas— Zorian Cross (@ZorianCross) May 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/madonnadailyxox/status/1123768878927159298
After her performance, Madonna told Billboard that she started prepping “many, many, many months ago” to get things just right. “It was a long time ago because the technology had to be explained to me because I couldn’t figure it out. … And there were options!”
https://twitter.com/billboard/status/1123805855173029890
She also revealed why she named her upcoming 14th album Madame X. “It’s the name given to me when I was 19 and I first moved to New York, by a woman I looked up to and admired,” Madonna explained, later saying that the woman was the late celebrated dancer Martha Graham. “She gave me that name because she said she couldn’t recognize all my different personas because I kept changing the way I looked. So, and that was in the beginning of my career when I didn’t think about who I was or who I should be. I was experimenting. And so I felt like I had come full circle, and gave the record that name because I’m in the same frame of mind.”
On April 13, Madonna also explained her new alter ego and all of her various personalities:
— Madonna (@Madonna) April 13, 2019
Madame X is scheduled to drop on June 14.
