Madonna’s reunion with producer Stuart Price on her career-spanning Celebration Tour ultimately opened the door to Confessions II, a follow-up to her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor.

Price, who produced the original album, returned as music producer for the 2023-2024 tour. Once the pair began working together in the studio again, the new project quickly came into focus: By their second session, Madonna had decided it was time to revisit the Confessions concept.

But Price stressed that the collaboration was never intended to be a simple recreation of their earlier work.

“It wasn’t about going backwards. It was about discovering new territory,” he told Billboard. “It reminded us how instinctive musical connection is, we enjoy making things together.”

Although both were conscious of what the first Confessions represented, Price said Madonna was not attempting to manufacture a sequel or duplicate something from her past.

A Different Kind of Dance Record

According to Price, the two albums draw from a shared creative energy while approaching the dance floor from markedly different perspectives.

He described the 2005 record as being centered on the freedom and release found through dance. Confessions II, by contrast, uses dance to explore “confrontation” as well as the acceptance and reclamation of self.

The creative process behind the music remained familiar despite the two-decade span separating the projects. Price said technology and the wider world had changed, but the pair continued to work by reacting to inspiration, the moment and laughter.

“She’s incredibly focused, curious and instinctive,” he said of Madonna. “There’s no sense of looking over your shoulder or second-guessing. You follow the idea and see where it takes you.”

Price also credited Madonna with transforming events from her life into expressive work, saying listeners can hear the sound of collaborators enjoying what they are creating.

He was not Madonna’s only partner on the album. Sabrina Carpenter, Feid, Martin Garrix, Stromae and Madonna’s daughter Lola Leon are all credited as guest artists.

Price, however, remained involved from the record’s early studio development through its transition to the stage. He joined Madonna for performances in Times Square, at the VMAs and in clubs in Amsterdam and London.

Confessions II went on to top the Billboard 200 and receive some of Madonna’s strongest reviews in years. Price said the enthusiastic fan response was not driven solely by affection for the original album.

“They’re connecting with something new, in the present,” he said. “And that’s really the whole point of this record.”

Madonna Turns to Her New York Beginnings

The album also draws from Madonna’s experiences as a struggling artist in New York City, with those memories helping shape the song “Danceteria.”

Andrew Watt, a co-writer and co-producer on the track, said he began discussing the now-closed Manhattan club Danceteria with Madonna because of his interest in New York music history. The venue was frequented in the 1980s by Madonna, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and others.

As Madonna told Watt about that period, he had her speak into a microphone over the track. She later took the idea home and wrote three pages recounting her origin story, material that developed into the Confessions II anthem.

Watt called the session “one of the coolest in-studio experiences of my life.” The producer, whose collaborators have included Paul McCartney, Post Malone and the Rolling Stones, also praised Madonna’s creative command.

“She wrote the book on being a pop star,” Watt said. “She is one of the greatest producers and songwriters of all time.”

ShowBiz Take

The significance of Confessions II lies in how Madonna and Price approached their reunion: not as an exercise in reproducing a successful 2005 record, but as an opportunity to use an established creative connection for a different moment.

The Celebration Tour brought the pair back together, yet the resulting album expanded well beyond that reunion. Its guest list, live performances and autobiographical material show a project moving between Madonna’s past and present without treating those periods as interchangeable.

That balance also explains Price’s distinction between nostalgia and current connection. Fans may have arrived with deep feelings about Confessions on a Dance Floor, but his account of the process positions Confessions II as a separate statement shaped by who Madonna is now.

What Happens Next?

Behind-the-scenes videos featuring Madonna, Price, Watt and Stromae offer a closer look at the album’s creation. Four additional behind-the-scenes episodes are scheduled for release on Thursday, Oct. 15.