SHE was 35 and in her prime when Smash Hits magazine published images of her parading the stage in a skimpy bra – and scoffed: “Calm down, grandma!”
But the cutting headline, which accompanied a review of her Girlie Show tour in 1993, did nothing to deter the uniquely stylish Madonna.
In a career spanning more than 40 years, she became the hottest female singer in the world, selling over 400million records.
But through it all, the Queen of Pop faced intense backlash over her appearance.
Critics have judged everything from her cone bra in 1990 to her Met Gala “bondage”-style outfit in 2016, when she was 57.
But now, as Madge prepares to return to the spotlight with her 15th studio album, she has done what many thought would never be possible.
Aged 67, she is finally cool again.
The Vogue singer confirmed this week that she will release her first record in seven years this July — a sequel to her 2005 smash Confessions On A Dance Floor.
The original, inspired by disco and Eighties electropop, shifted more than 10million copies.
It featured No1 singles Hung Up and Sorry, and ushered in a new era of dance music.
Now, Confessions On A Dance Floor: Part II is promising to be a continuation of the project.
And Madonna is still not letting her age define her fashion, posing in a blue leotard, fishnets, a silver jacket and shades in a defiant photo to promote the record.
A music insider said: “Madonna has locked in for this project and it’s not at all what you’d expect from any other woman who is nearly 70.
“It has roots in New York house music and rave culture and her record label believes it will usher in a whole new generation of fans.
“Confessions 1 showed Madonna at her coolest and, after straying into other genres on her last few albums, this feels wonderfully authentic.”
Madge is yet to release the album’s first single, but she has been steadily building a Gen Z fanbase, who have been discovering her back catalogue.
Last month, her 1985 chart-topper Into The Groove returned to the Top 20 after going viral on TikTok.
Cruz Beckham, KSI, Aitch and Sam Thompson were among those who shared videos of themselves dancing to the song 41 years after it was a No1 hit.
And she is heavily tipped to make a live return tonight at the buzziest festival of the year alongside one of the world’s hottest young pop stars, Sabrina Carpenter, 26.
The Espresso singer will headline the second weekend of Coachella in California and has extended her set by ten minutes, further fuelling industry whispers that Madge may join her on stage.
It would be the veteran pop star’s first performance there in 20 years. She delivered a memorable set in 2006 following the release of her first Confessions album.
Sabrina idolises Madonna as a blueprint for pop music — and there are suggestions they may have collaborated on a song.
In 2024, she paid tribute to Madge by attending the MTV VMAs in a vintage strapless gown previously worn to the Oscars by her musical hero in 1991.
Sabrina said of Madonna last year: “She’s so lovely and so exactly how you expect her to be — just, like, so magnetic.”
Many of the current crop of pop starlets have named Madonna as their top inspiration.
Dua Lipa has said her 2020 No1 album Future Nostalgia was heavily influenced by Madge, and she worked with her on a remix of her song Levitating.
Jade Thirlwall said last year: “She is one of the best pop stars we will ever get.”
In fact, Madge has such pulling power, supermodel Kate Moss, plus film stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Gwendoline Christie, are set to have cameos in her comeback music video.
It is a sea-change from previous generations who used Madge as a verbal punching bag.
When asked to name the most overrated person in pop, Lily Allen once said: “Madonna. She might have meant something once, but I don’t know many people my age who care.”
And Lady Gaga insisted she could not be compared to the megastar, explaining: “I play a lot of instruments. I write all my own music . . . I’m a producer. I’m a writer. What I do is different.”
On Wednesday, Madonna released a snippet of upcoming track I Feel So Free, which heavily samples the 1989 house tune French Kiss by Lil Louis.
The original features more than two minutes of sex noises — something which seems fitting for pop’s most notorious provocateur.
For Confessions II, Madonna has teamed up again with British producer Stuart Price, who was musical director on her 81-date Celebration Tour in 2023 and 2024.
Meanwhile, her boyfriend, former footballer Akeem Morris, 29, is regularly seen dancing and larking around with her in videos on TikTok, where her clips have been liked over 45million times.
Last month, Madonna was in Venice shooting for the second series of the Apple TV show The Studio, in which she will appear opposite Julia Garner.
But now it is full steam ahead with her music, after re-signing with Warner Records — her label for the first 24 years of her career.
Madonna said of her new album: “When Stuart Price and I first started working on this record, this was our manifesto: We must dance, celebrate and pray with our bodies . . . To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people.”
Gen Z will not know what has hit them . . .