Although reports (and video) surfaced of Madonna’s steely demeanor toward Sam Smith as he approached the stage to perform “Unholy” with Kim Petras at the 2023 Grammy Awards, it appears their backstage photos together were more illustrative of the things that were to come. And have now arrived in the form of “Vulgar,” released to coincide with Pride Month. What’s more, if anyone had listened to Madonna’s speech before introducing Smith at the Grammys instead of obsessing over her appearance, they might have heard her when she said, “Here’s what I’ve learned after four decades in music. If they call you shocking, scandalous, troublesome, problematic, provocative or dangerous [flashes her leg], you are definitely onto something.”
Madonna, thus, has been onto something from the start, causing clutched pearls from the moment she rolled around in a wedding dress on the stage of the inaugural MTV VMAs with her underwear showing in 1984. And yet, she knows that the newest generations of controversy-starters must continue the cycle if the barrier-breaking she’s done already is to endure. So it was that she added in her speech, “I’m here to give thanks to all the rebels out there forging a new path and taking the heat for all of it. You guys need to know, all you troublemakers out there, you need to know that your fearlessness does not go unnoticed. You are seen, you are heard and, most of all, you are appreciated.”
That’s certainly more than anyone offered up as consolation to M at the height of her media backlash from 1992 to 1993, after releasing the erotic hat trick of the Sex book, Erotica and Body of Evidence. All taken together as a “done solely for shock value” unit, the press had a field day with mocking her and writing her off as going “too far,” being overexposed and, yes, vulgar. Although Madonna would put her clothes back on for 1994’s Bedtime Stories persona, she was not exactly going “gentle into that good night,” offering up “Human Nature” as a defiant, “fuck all y’all” single. An unapologetic clapback at her critics, Madonna sardonically sings, “Did I say something wrong?/Oops, I didn’t know I couldn’t talk about sex (must’ve been crazy)/Did I stay too long?/Oops, I didn’t know I couldn’t speak my mind (what was I thinking?).” In the video that accompanies it, she pointedly appears in a black leather catsuit and wields a riding crop to complete her Erotica-referencing S&M aesthetic. This being why it’s also a very deliberate nod to “Human Nature” that Sam and Madonna should abbreviate their names to S&M on the single’s artwork. The video’s theme of repression and stiflement—literally trying to box Madonna in—is also something that Smith can relate to these days.
Elsewhere on “Human Nature,” there’s her whispered incantation of a mantra, “Express yourself, don’t repress yourself”—the words to live by she’s been imparting to the masses from the beginning (complete with another hit single that built the message into the title, 1989’s “Express Yourself”). After all, Madonna spent too much of her youth living in a repressed Catholic environment before fleeing Michigan and going to New York to finally become her uncensored self. Without fear of being shamed or told to “act like a lady.” This was largely because she found her family in gay men such as Christopher Flynn, Martin Burgoyne and Keith Haring—all of whom would die of AIDS. Madonna’s ingratiation into gay club culture (first via Flynn in Detroit) is inarguably what set the tone for her entire discography, starting with the sweltering, sensual “Everybody,” which was literally “made” by the club’s (Danceteria) reaction to it.
While most—especially those in the mainstream—would turn their backs on the gay community as AIDS ran rampant, Madonna shored up her efforts to publicize awareness. Unfortunately, a new generation of gays has largely tried to reject Madonna and balk at her continued existence, as though forgetting that she was the original epitome of what it meant to be a “good ally.” Smith, it appears, has not let that go unnoticed or forgotten in collaborating with Madonna on “Vulgar.” A song that has its own roots in Smith being condemned for his recent “persona” as a “they/them.” His identification as non-binary was announced in 2019, when he stated, “After a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out…” As the rollout of Gloria began, it was clear they meant what they said—and that it was too much for someone like Piers Morgan to bear. Indeed, the inspiration for “Vulgar” was a result of Morgan decrying Smith’s Gloria the Tour costumes, chief among them a “Satan outfit” and fishnets. Morgan was quick to compare Smith’s “attention-grabbing” antics to what Madonna has been doing all along—and no, Morgan is not a fan of her either…nor is he a fan of anyone but himself.
Morgan also went so far as to bring on a gay commentator for, of all rags, The Sun and The New York Post. So it was that Douglas Murray confirmed what Morgan wanted to hear by saying, “I think Sam Smith’s a person of limited talent myself.” This also being the same rhetoric that has been used on Madonna for most of her career. Well-aware of it from the outset, Madonna addressed it in Truth or Dare by telling her backup singers, “I know I’m not the best singer and not the best dancer, but I’m not interested in that. I’m interested in pushing people’s buttons, and being provocative and political.” An interest that has remained steadfast to this day. So it’s only natural that she should take an additional interest in Sam Smith’s case, defending him from trolls like Morgan on “Vulgar” by announcing, “If you fuck with Sam tonight, you’re fucking with me/So watch what you say or I’ll split your banana/We do what we wanna, we say what we gotta.”
Her fierce protection of Smith channels a statement she would give many decades after losing so many gay friends: “I didn’t feel like straight men understood me. They just wanted to have sex with me. Gay men understood me, and I felt comfortable around them.” And she certainly seems to feel comfortable around Sam if “Vulgar” is any indication. Giving Britney’s British accent on “Scream & Shout,” Madonna alludes to her own canon by singing, “Let’s get into the groove, you know just what to do/Boy, get down on your knees ’cause I am Madonna”—that last reminder being a nod to her playful 2015 single, “Bitch I’m Madonna.” Not to mention her love of mixing the sacred with the profane by urging someone to get down on their knees. For you can both pray and give head in that “pose.” But, as Madonna once admitted, “When I get down on my knees, it is not to pray.”
The pulsing, rhythmic beat—clearly inspired by ballroom culture—is co-produced by Smith, ILYA, Cirkut, Omer Fedi and Ryan Tedder. Although clearly designed to be “TikTok length” (for Madonna is nothing if not adaptable to the trends of whatever time she’s in), the duo gets their point across in the under three-minute timeframe via lyrics like, “Vulgar is beautiful, filthy and gorgeous/Vulgar will make you dance, don’t need a chorus/Say we’re ridiculous, we’ll just go harder/Mad and meticulous, Sam and Madonna.”
There’s no denying that the theme of “Human Nature” is all over this track. And, considering Smith has been doing a cover of it during the encore portion of Gloria the Tour, it seems likely that “Vulgar” will either replace it, or be added into the encore mix. Either way, these are two bitches who are most definitely not sorry for any perceived “vulgarity.” Besides, they’re not your bitch, don’t hang your homophobic shit on them.
[…] Genna Rivieccio Source link […]