Madonna’s 5 Best Collaboration Songs
Madonna‘s songs are often forces of personality with no room for anyone else. However, when the Material Girl works with other artists, she tends to bring out the best in them. Here’s a look at five times she worked with legends.
1. ‘4 Minutes’
In the 2000s, Madonna released a pop/R&B hybrid album called Hard Candy. Who better to make pop&B than Justin Timberlake? In “4 Minutes,” Timberlake puts the Queen of Pop over the sort of beat he was putting out during the FutureSex/LoveSounds era. The Material Girl works surprisingly well in a new environment, even managing to have some vocal chemistry with the much younger Timberlake.
The taste of Hard Candy became bittersweet. “4 Minutes” became Madonna’s final bit hit. While she didn’t stay on top forever, her time in the limelight was spectacular.
2. ‘Me Against the Music’
In her 2023 memoir The Woman in Me, Britney Spears had plenty to say about “Me Against the Music.” “While we were rehearsing for the VMAs, I’d also had an idea for a collaboration,” she recalled. “In the Culver City studio, my team and I were sitting on silver metal folding chairs, talking about how the record company was lukewarm on my new song ‘Me Against the Music’ — a song I loved.
“I’d just done ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ on my last record, and Barry Weiss, who ran my label, wanted more songs like that,” she added. “But I was pushing for ‘Me Against the Music’ — hard.” Spears convinced her manager that the track should be a duet with Madonna and the rest is history.
3. ‘Give Me All Your Luvin”
“Give Me All Your Luvin'” is a collaboration between Madonna and two of the biggest female rappers of all time: Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. They steal the show from the Queen of Pop entirely, which is no small feat. Minaj’s verse, in particular, is pure fire.
The tune briefly charted on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s impressive that the track was a top 10 single that far into Madonna’s career. However, nobody talks about it today. That’s a shame because Minaj’s verse could be turned into a million different memes.
4. ‘Love Song’
In the 1980s, pop music became a lot more focused on image and sexuality than it ever had before. Madonna and Prince helped instigate that trend. The duo dueted on the Like a Prayer album track “Love Song.” It’s incredible to hear them sing together. It’s like hearing Chuck Berry perform with Elvis Presley or The Beatles put out a duet with The Rolling Stones.
If some of the song’s lyrics sound familiar, that’s because the Queen of Pop reused some of them in her hit “Hung Up.” In that way, “Love Song” eventually received some recognition. Price just had nothing to do with it.
5. ‘B**** I’m Madonna’
Sophie helped reinvent dance music in the 2010s, and her legacy is still being felt today. Madonna made one major collaboration with Sophie: “B**** I’m Madonna.” The tune is beyond stupid and has some of the worst lyrics of Madonna’s career. However, it’s also an absolute joy and makes me want to dance every time I hear it.
The tune has a certain chaotic energy that works. It’s also an example of Madonna being ahead of the curve, as the tune presaged the rise of hyperpop. “B**** I’m Madonna” isn’t going to inspire many covers but it’s a rush.
