You might expect sober plaints from a singer devoted to motherhood, Kabbalah studies and activism for African AIDS orphans. But Hard Candy’s frenzied blast of hard beats and candy-coated grooves verifies that Madonna is still expressing herself on the dance floor.
The same could be said for Her Madgesty. Candy, arriving Tuesday, earned a four-star rave in Rolling Stone. Entertainment Weekly’s B+ review dubs it “an unpretentious, non-stop dance party.” First single 4 Minutes, featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, is the top-selling digital track (847,000 downloads) and a YouTube video sensation that has spawned endless fan spoofs and remakes — and prompted Madonna’s amusing “Message to YouTube” response. The superstar’s 11th and final studio album for Warner Bros. marks a transition to her monster deal with Live Nation. Announced last fall, the 10-year partnership, worth an estimated $120 million, entails recordings, touring, merchandise, online and fan club endeavors, DVDs, TV/film projects and sponsorships.
As CD sales plummet and the industry struggles for footing in the digital age, Madonna says she stepped into the future. “I have to feel optimistic,” she says. “Whenever there’s shift, things break down and people find new ways to operate. It’s a natural evolution, and you can’t fight it or feel sorry for yourself. Thank God, I don’t have to rely only on record sales. I know how to put on a show.”
Madonna plans to bring Hard Candy’s sweet and edgy grooves to the stage this fall. At 49, can she still cause a commotion? “Madonna may have made a deal with Live Nation, but that does not mean she’s the ubiquitous cultural icon she once was,” writes industry blogger Bob Lefsetz. “If (young fans) go to the show at all, it will be with their parents, as nostalgia. Give Radiohead and Trent Reznor props. They’re living in the now. Madonna is living in the 20th century.” But Geoff Mayfield, Billboard’s director of charts, says Madonna has legs. “She still has the ability to debut at No. 1,” he says. “She’ll tour longer than a lot of other pop artists might. She has a huge fan base. There are people that age I wouldn’t bet on, but I’d never bet against Madonna.” 
“People love to dance, even if they only rock back and forth,” Madonna says, explaining her refusal to abandon the genre on her new album. “It’s a primal force people are drawn to.”
