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Madonna Helped Save Eurovision 2019 from Irrelevance
She was out of tune and Auto-Tuned, but her rebel heart still has a cause.
What would the arrival of a new Madonna album be without a bit of controversy on the side. Madame X, the 60-year-old singer’s 14th studio album and first since 2015’s Rebel Heart, arrives on June 14, and on Saturday, she finally inspired the pre-release outrage for which we’ve come to know and love or loathe her.
To be fair, the furor had been bubbling under ever since it was announced that she’d be performing at the 64th Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. Some deemed the location itself problematic, considering the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict over decades of what is essentially Israeli-fueled apartheid in the Holy Land. Much like Gladys Knight at the Super Bowl in February, Madonna placed herself in the firing squad of critics who accused her of essentially crossing the picket line.
Whether those accusations are warranted, it feels disingenuous to blast pop stars for ignoring P.C. considerations when we’re always telling them to stay out of politics and just shut up and sing. Madonna, true to rabble-rousing form, didn’t just shut up and sing during her performance of her old hit “Like a Prayer” and the new Madame X single “Future.”
