The ostensible “romance” between Madonna and Tokischa has been brewing since, appropriately, Pride. Recreating her VMAs maneuver at a performance she called Finally Enough Love (to promote the remix album of the same name), one of the songs Madonna opted to rework for the show was 2005’s “Hung Up.” Which gave Tokischa the chance to live out her Britney/Xtina fantasies by kissing M in a far less white girl way. You know, in that very chaste, “tee-hee-hee, I’m just experimenting” kind of manner (see: Katy Perry). So it was that the two tongued the shit out of each other amid Marilyn Minter video backdrops for far longer than what was seen back in 2003.
Ever since that “performance” (or was it?), Madonna and Tokischa have appeared to be “thick as thieves” (holding hands here and making out there). And whether or not their affectionate displays are rooted in a “real” tryst or convenient publicity stunt to promote their new-old single, the point, for Madonna (and Tokischa), has always been to set tongues wagging about sexuality. Wanting to challenge why (even now) people are either bothered or “miffed” by the sight of two women together (especially two women of different races). In this case, however, it might be because there’s a Carol Aird/Therese Belivet dynamic at play.
M’s “antics” with women are, of course, nothing new, thanks to Sandra Bernhard being the “maiden” bisexual, long before Tokischa, who served as Madonna’s “constant companion” in such a way as to get everyone talking. Are they together? Are they just friends? Will they, won’t they? Such were the questions posed circa 1987, when Madonna’s then-husband Sean Penn was markedly absent from the picture (mostly because he was in prison for about a month of that year).
Madonna would thicken the “lesbian plot” in the early 90s when she “stole” club owner Ingrid Casares from Sandra Bernhard. The former dumped Sandra as she started getting a lot closer to M, with whom she’s still often photographed. It was during that timeline that Madonna and Sandra, once incredibly close, would drift apart, with most speculating that Madonna’s “embrace” of Ingrid was the reason. In 2021, Ingrid would declare that the real cause of the rift between Madonna and Sandra was allegedly far more puerile: a result of the latter not getting asked to be in the Sex book (side note: Ingrid was). Either way, Madonna has “found a new girl to pump” (to use her word selection from Truth or Dare) in Tokischa.
After working with Saucy “I Hated Rich People Until I Was One” Santana—who also made a cameo at her Finally Enough Love show—on a revamp of what is presently “Material Gworl,” “Hung Up on Tokischa” (though it could just as well be called “Hung Up on Linda,” as it’s a mash-up of the 2021 single, “Linda,” that Tokischa sang on with Rosalía, who M still has on her wish list of collaborators) seemed like the next logical choice for Madonna to officially record. Continuing her recent tradition of “remixing and revisiting” hits of her past (including multiple versions of “Frozen”), it’s yet another confirmation of Madonna being determined to get her music to a new generation and demographic.
Tokischa is clearly part of that plan. A plan that also includes the marketing brilliance of M getting hyper-sexual with her in public—for when one listens to “Hung Up on Tokischa,” the Dita on “Erotica”-sounding moans of Madonna contribute to the “raised eyebrow” factor that both parties wish to achieve. Not to mention how fitting the lyrics are for someone who might be in a new relationship (e.g., “Every little thing that you say and do/I’m hung up/I’m hung up on you”).
To enhance that “sensation” for listeners, Madonna and Tokischa are only too committed to role-playing as horny lovers with an outro that features the sensual declarations, “I’m so high, I think I love you” and “Te amo mamcita, I’m so high.” While Madonna and Tokischa’s “hot and heavy” rapport might not outlast the promotional cycle of this version of “Hung Up,” it’s sure to become a period that fans will never forget. As well as another notch on Madonna’s belt of female friends-turned-(potentially) sexual conquests.
