Next Friday, Madonna will drop her highly anticipated new LP Madame X, her first album in four years. In anticipation, the Queen of Pop has released a new single called “Dark Ballet” along with a visually stunning music video.
In the vein of her recent star-studded collaborations with Quavo and Diplo on “Future” and Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee on “Crave”, her brooding new single features rapper Mykki Blanco. The accompanying video, directed by Emmanuel Adjei, tells the story of Joan of Arc, as portrayed by Blanco.
“She fought the English and she won, still the French were not happy. Still they judged her. They said she was a man, they said she was a lesbian, they said she was a witch, and, in the end, they burned her at the stake, and she feared nothing. I admire that,” Madonna says in a statement..
The video closes with a message of inspiration from Blanco: “I have walked this earth, Black, Queer and HIV positive, but no transgression against me has been as powerful as the hope I hold within.”
In addition to “Future” and “Crave”, Madonna has supported her 14th studio album with the release of singles “Medellín” and “I Rise”. At the end of May, she also added a number of new dates to her “Madame X” tour.