Linda Perry Urges Madonna to Return to Vocal Power in Prospective Collaboration

In a Consequence video interview, Linda Perry named Madonna her top bucket-list collaborator and said she would welcome a studio session aimed at stripping back recent production trends to showcase Madonna’s voice.

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Linda Perry rose to fame with 4 Non Blondes’ 1993 signature hit “What’s Up?” and later earned five Grammy nominations for writing and producing Pink’s 2001 “Get the Party Started” and Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.” She has also worked with Adele, Celine Dion and Ariana Grande. Madonna, a seven-time Grammy winner, has been a pop-culture force since the early 1980s, known for continual reinvention.

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• Linda Perry: five Grammy nominations; 1993 signature hit “What’s Up?” with 4 Non Blondes.

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• Madonna: seven Grammy wins; 2005 *Confessions on a Dance Floor*; *Confessions II* due July 2024.

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• Notable credits: Pink’s “Get the Party Started” (2001), Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” (2002), production for Adele, Celine Dion, Ariana Grande.

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• Recent appearance: Madonna performed with Sabrina Carpenter at Coachella, April 2024.

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Perry praised Madonna’s role in empowering women and her willingness to experiment. She said a joint project would prioritize “the power of what her voice can do” over auto-tune or trend-driven production, envisioning an acoustic record with strings to highlight raw vocal talent.

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Perry argued Madonna’s recent releases rely heavily on auto-tune and electronic effects, making the music sound “weak” and suggesting she is “following the trends” and trying to compete with artists like Charli XCX.

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The prospect of a Perry-Madonna collaboration is notable because it would unite two influential figures from different eras of pop music, potentially drawing attention to vocal-centric production and underscoring Perry’s continued relevance as a songwriter-producer.

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• “She’s following the trends. She’s trying to compete with Charli XCX and this and that. Everything about her seems weak to me, and not powerful.” — Linda Perry, Musician and Producer

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• “So I would love to get that woman in a studio, slap her in the face a couple of times, and say, ‘Wake up, get back to who Madonna is and what you represent. You are a leader,’” — Linda Perry

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• “She’s one of the greatest. She taught women to be strong and be yourself, and I love how she just constantly was changing her sound,” — Linda Perry

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• “Madonna, call me when you’re ready to get back to your fucking strength, alright?” — Linda Perry

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Madonna will release *Confessions II* in July 2024, a sequel to her 2005 *Confessions on a Dance Floor*. Perry has not received a public reply but reiterated her invitation, leaving open the chance of a future studio partnership.

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