“Medellín is potentially one of the catchiest pop songs ever written”

The online website for Classic FM – the UK’s only 100% classical music radio station in the UK – had a closer look at Medellín and published a proper musical analysis of what they call “a remarkably subtle and simple pop song, a neat method for Madonna to introduce us to the next phase of her chameleonic career.”

Here’s an oft-repeated maxim of the perfect pop composition: the simpler the song, the catchier it is. If that’s the case, then Medellín is, on paper at least, potentially one of the catchiest pop songs ever written.

There are just three (count ‘em) recognisable chords in the whole song: A flat major, G flat major, F flat minor. And while they’re not the most pleasant or comfortable for a pianist, that there are literally only three of them effectively puts the song on the same level of nightmarish catchiness as Sweet Home Alabama.

Pair that simplicity with Madonna’s surprisingly sensitive vocals and you have a far quieter pop song that you might expect for a highly-anticipated megastar return, a mood piece that has more in common with a Philip Glass miniature than it does with the souped-up reggaeton of Despacito.

Just when it seemed that the resurgence of Latin-flavoured pop music had peaked with Justin Bieber’s omnipresent remix of the Luis Fonsi original, it took an artist of Madonna’s experience to prove that, in the mainstream, there is still more to be done with this generic niche.

If Madonna’s latest reinvention of herself continues to display this much sensitivity, it could be one of her most interesting incarnations yet.

To read the full story, please visit Classic FM.