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Hard Candy (Madonna album)
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| Released | April 18, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
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| Genre | Dance-pop | |||
| Length | 56:22 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
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| Singles from Hard Candy | ||||
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Hard Candy is the eleventh studio album by American singer Madonna. In October of 2007, Madonna announced her departure from longtime label Warner Bros. Records, and signed a $120 million, ten-year 360 deal with entertainment company Live Nation. This deal would encompass all future music-related businesses, including touring, merchandising and associated sponsorship agreements, among other things. After the release of her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005), Madonna became interested in the work of singer Justin Timberlake. She hired him for her eleventh studio album ―which would be her last with Warner Bros.― alongside rapper Timbaland, producer Nate "Danja" Hills, and recording duo The Neptunes, made up of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. A dance-pop album with urban elements, it includes participation from rapper Kanye West. The singer described the songs as autobiographical, with innuendo-laden lyrics that focus mostly on love, revenge, sex and music. The title Hard Candy refers to the juxtaposition of toughness and sweetness, while the cover artwork depicts Madonna as a boxer.
Following a series of leaks and rumors, Hard Candy was released on April 18, 2008. Prior to its release, several telecommunications companies pre-loaded the album, its songs and singles, onto their phones. This made Madonna one of the first major artists to release and promote an album using mobile technology. Reviewers reacted ambivalently towards Hard Candy. Some praised its dance-oriented nature, while others were critical of its producers and their input, as they felt it was too similar to their past work with other singers. There were also those who perceived a lack of involvement from Madonna's part, and referred to Hard Candy as the album in which she, "stopped creating trends and began following them". Despite this, it was a commercial success, topping the charts in 37 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, and Japan. It was the eleventh best-selling album in 2008, and has sold more than four million copies worldwide.
Three singles were released from the album. Lead single "4 Minutes" was an international success, reaching the first spot in 21 countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom. In the US, it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Madonna her 37th top ten single. Follow-up "Give It 2 Me" became the singer's 39th number-one on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart. To promote the record, Madonna offered small concerts at New York's Roseland Ballroom, and Paris' Olympia hall. She also headlined the BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. Hard Candy was further promoted on the Sticky & Sweet Tour, Madonna's eight concert tour. It began in Cardiff on August 2008, and ended over a year later in Tel Aviv. With a gross of US$411 million ($583.7 in 2023 dollars[1]), it became the second highest-grossing tour in history at the time.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
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