MC's Music Lounge: “Bring Your Love” by Madonna, Sabrina Carpenter is an instantly catchy dance haven

The Devil Wears Prada 2 has been all over the place for the last couple of weeks. There’s even a pair of red heels that walk across your screen when you type the film into Google. It opened to a whopping $217 million worldwide in its opening weekend box office, and there’s also a star studded soundtrack attached to the film. After the music from the first movie proved to be pivotal to capturing the film’s message and feel, you can tell there was special attention paid to the new soundtrack. Plus, a few tie-ins with the queen of pop herself and two of her musical daughters.

When those first notes of “Suddenly I See” started playing during the opening credits to the first film, KT Tunstall couldn’t have known that she would be associated with the movie for the rest of her career. She recently acknowledged this in a few interviews, but she’s not the only artist whose music became connected to the movie. Two of Madonna’s songs are played in the first film, “Vogue” and “Jump”. Both songs are used in key moments of Andy’s time at Runway, with “Vogue” as the song to represent her assimilation into the fashion world. “Vogue” of course was played in the earlier trailers to the sequel with the Bette Davis Dub remix in the actual film - it was a no-brainer, really. The fact that this sequel happens to be coming out at the exact same time that Madonna is launching a new album feels like the stars aligning. She got the message too, because a new promo clip with her and Anna Wintour is playing in theatres before the movie. The real-life Miranda Priestley and the Queen of Pop, speaking about the new music Madonna has made to succeed “Vogue”. “Bring Your Love” with Sabrina Carpenter starts to play with the release date to the album flashing on screen. This is the “something new” she proudly states. While the new song isn’t in the actual film, the connection at the start of the movie is the perfect way to incorporate both Madonna’s classics and new music in the DWP universe. From Coachella to the movie theatres, “Bring Your Love” has already been listened to more than any songs from M’s last album.

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Gaga and Madonna’s first connection came when they appeared on SNL together in 2009, and it felt like mother and daughter were joining for what would become the first of many projects. Instead, an almost decade-long feud came about until their truce at the 2019 Oscars. Now, their paths cross again albeit not directly, but The Devil Wears Prada 2 is the sixth degree of separation between two queens who will forever be linked in the eyes of pop fanatics. The family lineage is very much alive in the Prada universe. Gaga delivers three new songs to the soundtrack including “Shape of a Woman”, “Runway” and “Glamourous Life”. Meryl Streep mentioned in a new interview how she just gave Gaga a call after she came to mind for the pop star needed in the film. For a second I thought how cool it was that she could just call Gaga, and then I realized, oh ya, she’s Meryl f-cking Streep.

Next week, a rumoured deluxe version of Madison Beer’s debut album is expected to hit. This week, we’ve got Madonna with Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, Isaiah Rashad with SZA, Duran Bernarr with Khalid, and Melanie C. Plus, Bieber’s music continues to take over Tik Tok.

Listen on…

MC’s PICKS OF THE WEEK

“Bring Your Love” by Madonna, Sabrina Carpenter

In case you all hadn’t noticed, I become insufferable during a Madonna album campaign. I get especially excited when the music slaps and this one with Sabrina is a dance haven. It’s instantly catchy, perhaps the most pop leaning song she’s released since Rebel Heart. Sabrina’s soft tone sounds perfect with Madonna’s now deeper voice, and to me, this song is as much Sabrina’s moment as it is M’s. Sabrina’s been having a wild year and she’s also in the unique position of helping to introduce Madonna to a much younger group of music listeners. The song is already one of the most added songs at pop radio this week and it became Madonna’s highest streaming debut… ever. It’s beautiful to see it resonating with the public, but also, it’s just a really fun song and a great addition to M’s iconic discography. There are references to “Express Yourself” when the girls call to each other… “you got something you want to say about it”? And then the obvious similarity to songs like “Vogue” and “Deeper and Deeper” when it comes to the 90s house of it all. There’s even a little disco in there – it IS Confessions II after all. It also happened to help me get to the finish line during my half-marathon race over the weekend. I can confirm that “Bring Your Love” helped me keep pushing at the 15^th km – add it to your running playlists.

“Shape of a Woman” by Lady Gaga

One of Gaga’s gifts is the ability to craft the perfect pop song about strength and empowerment – all with a glittery production. “Shape of a Woman” is the right song to accompany a film like The Devil Wears Prada 2 because it celebrates women. “Take me to my grave because I found God in the shape of a woman” is such a quintessentially Gaga lyric, yet it still blows my mind how f-cking genius her songwriting skills are. Yes, I am a fan; in fact, I’m a little monster. But go to one of her shows and you tell me she isn’t one of the greats. This entire era of Mayhem that she is coming out of is still present on this track, so much so that many fans have placed it on their own respective playlists blending it into the Mayhem album. I can already picture the iconic drag queen performances that will ensue from this song. There’s also the connection to one of the songs of Mayhem “Shadow of a Man” that little monsters say makes “Shape of a Woman” its response. Gaga does love an ongoing storyline, just look at “Telephone” with Beyoncé. We’re still waiting for part two ladies! Maybe on act iii? Anything is possible… who would’ve imagined we’d be getting a The Devil Wears Prada sequel? Beyoncé, your move.

“BOY IN RED” by Isaiah Rashad, SZA

The visualizer to “BOY IN RED” is simple yet pointed. Two women share a joint in the back of a pick-up truck as they drive through a sea of mountains. For those of you reading who are fans of SZA, you know that our girl loves herself an herbal refreshment and this is the exact type of song that she would spark up to. It’s weird, it’s a little eccentric, and a little hazy, but it works with the sound of both artists. This song isn’t one that the average music listener will understand but for those who like to paint a photo with their mind as they listen, it’s for you. I close my eyes and I can picture a desert evening with friends doing dumb sh-t. Lyrically it’s about a guy who loves a girl so much that he’s willing to be “just friends” if that’s the only way he can have her… he just wants to be around her. Very high school, but I found myself getting lost in it. Isaiah and SZA are both signed under Top Dawg Entertainment and have been collaborating on various songs over the years; I’m talking since 2014. Since those humble beginnings, SZA has jumped into the stratosphere becoming one of the most commercially successful artists of the 2020s, so it’s always nice when she continues to record music with the artists who were by her side when she wasn’t the star she is today.

“soft.” By Durand Bernarr, Khalid

This smooth track is synth-heavy and allows for a beautiful blend of Durand and Khalid’s soulful vocals that make it feel like you’re floating in air when you press play. Durand’s vocals are so immaculate he can probably out-sing every major artist out right now. What I love about his vocals on this song is that he takes a more laid-back approach and it compliments Khalid’s more vibey tone well. It’s also especially special to be living in a time where two Black queer male artists can come together to create a commercial R&B track without the need to make it feel like a niche performance. It’s music for the soul - music for everyone. That may seem like the norm today, but when I was growing up, finding artists like this was rare – never mind two on the same track. To think of how many young queer kids are going to be growing up with such great influences makes my heart soar. Durand is giving classic soul man of the 80s with the leg lean on his album cover that artists like Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson and Luther Vandross made famous on their respective single and album covers. That leg lean has now become an R&B staple. It’s a bold move on Durand’s part to get his name in the conversation with those artists but he certainly has the talent to make his case.

“Drum Machine” by Melanie C

Melanie C is embracing her Sporty Spice alter-ego to the best of her ability on her newest album. She first announced Sweat six months ago when she released the lead single of the same name, opting for an 80s workout aesthetic, and a club-ready sound that is reminiscent of Diana Ross and The Village People. It’s as if she finally realized that if the actual Spice Girls won’t get back together, who’s to say she can’t be “sporty” on her own? Now that the album is out, it’s filled with bangers of a similar vein including the single “Drum Machine” which is the perfect addition to your cardio playlists. The pounding kick drums that pulsate through the speakers instantly draw you in and feel like exactly what you’d expect the Sporty Spice of the 90s to be singing today. Melanie, who has openly spoken about her rave days pre-Spice Girls, has made the music that she was wanting to hear back when she was a raver in her early 20s, albeit with a more contemporary twist. “Drum Machine” is a song about finding a connection that makes you feel alive and want to believe in love again. All while making you want to sweat out those feelings on the dance floor. It’s been a very fruitful musical comeback season for Sporty Spice. Mel C is easily the member with the most successful solo music career, and her latest album Sweat is anticipated to become her highest charting solo effort ever. Her debut record Northern Star reached #4 on the UK albums chart in 1999, and Sweat is anticipated to reach #2 on the upcoming iteration of the chart. This of course was aided by her recent reunion with Mel B “Scary Spice” during a promotional gig in Leeds where the ladies performed “Spice Up Your Life” together, which is pretty much the closest we’re ever going to get to a Spice Girls reunion. Now that’s what I really really want.

MC’s VIRAL PICK

“EVERYTHING HALLELUJAH” by Justin Bieber

Social media has been an ongoing rush of Bieber content ever since his performances at Coachella. Luckily for him, it isn’t just his rich catalogue of throwbacks that has picked up traction. The track “EVERYTHING HALLELUJAH” from SWAG II has completely taken over the last few weeks. During his Coachella set, Justin used this song to shout out his wife Hailey, attaching her name to the chorus with a “hallelujah” next to it. Leave it to Gen Z and now all other generations to take this and turn it into a TikTok trend where users use the sound with a clip outlining all the things they are grateful for with a “hallelujah” next to it. The variations of clips range from emotional and heartfelt, to funny and downright childish, and everyone from Kylie Jenner to Drew Barrymore has taken part. But that’s what happens when something reaches the masses which in turn is the exact point of Justin’s headlining performance. The promotion for his entire SWAG era was almost exclusively online. There aren’t even physical variants of the album available for purchase and it’s been almost a year since the album came out. Clearly Justin understands his audience because you tell me another album that has barely been promoted in person and is getting viral hits long after its release. Regardless of what your thoughts are on Bieber’s performance style, these numbers and achievements are very impressive.

@katseyeworld EYEKONS hallelujah, everything hallelujah 🩷 #KATSEYE ♬ EVERYTHING HALLELUJAH - Justin Bieber

@leamichele
hallelujah
♬ EVERYTHING HALLELUJAH - Justin Bieber

@bailey.zimmerman Grateful for so many things… HALLELUJAH🥹❤️ #musictok #countrymusic #hallelujah ♬ EVERYTHING HALLELUJAH - Justin Bieber

The song is currently ranking at #7 on the TikTok top 50 songs chart and has ranked in over one million sound uses, outperforming the previous singles from the album, “DAISIES” and “YUKON”. Justin is one of those artists who has the ability to appeal to the masses in ways that many of the artists coming out today are not able to do – some may even argue he’s the last of his kind. He’s 17 years removed from his debut with “One Time” and his success has not only not diminished, it’s actually deepened, well beyond teen stardom. Hallelujah.

The 2026 “MC’s MUSIC LOUNGE” Spotify playlist is live. You can add it here to keep up to date with my weekly picks throughout the year.