There wasn’t really any feud between Madonna and Charli XCX, and if you believed there was, you were a touch naive. Yet when Charli pushed Rock Music by declaring that the dance floor was dead, Madonna fired off a sly Instagram remark: “If your Dance floor feels dead … Maybe you’re playing the wrong music.” It seemed calculated to look that way, because by the time Wink Wink dropped, the two were hanging out, smoking and DJing together at a fashion show and its afterparty. Now, a joint project between them is finally in the mix.
In July, Madonna released the highly anticipated Confessions II, and its third single, “Danceteria,” takes its name from the early-’80s New York City club that played a pivotal role in her rise. The track incorporates a subtle interpolation of “Walk On The Wild Side” and nods to downtown legends such as Fab Five Freddy and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Madonna produced the song with Andrew Watt, Cirkut and Stuart Price. The “Afterhours Mix” featuring Charli XCX was teased recently with a playful Instagram reel.
Within Charli’s new verses, she traces her own origin story, giving shout-outs to A. G. Cook, SOPHIE, Le Couteau Jaune, and the Myspace era. “@madonna is the one who paved the way for us all,” Charli writes. “she did it before we even dared to think it. to work with you on this track, to step into your world, your process, your detail: it was all just brilliant. thank you for everything.”
The album version, the Harry Romero remix released last month, and this fresh Afterhours Mix are all compiled on a new CD single. Watch Madonna and Charli below.
“Danceteria,” you may recall, was voted Stereogum readers’ #1 Song Of The Summer.
On Sunday, Madonna will inaugurate the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards. It marks her first appearance at the ceremony in 23 years and would be a record-extending fifth performance overall. She also leads the nominations with 13.
