Hard Candy
by Madonna
User Score
7.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 562 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 398 out of 562
  2. Mixed: 89 out of 562
  3. Negative: 75 out of 562

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  1. IanR
    May 25, 2008
    3
    As a huge Madonna fan, I'm disappointed. Never has she sounded more bored and more like a guest on her own songs. Enlisting the help of Timbaland and Timberlake reeks of desperation, and this half-baked effort contains no Madonna classics and only a handful of tolerable songs. Her worst studio effort without question.
  2. Justin
    Apr 29, 2008
    0
    She's now old enough to be a grandma, which is why her childish need for attention and shock is so pathetic... and thanks again for ruining Guy Richie's career.
  3. Muddsjr
    Jun 29, 2014
    2
    People seem to have forgotten that this is the maker of Like A Prayer, Ray of Light, Music...
    I appreciate Madonna likes to change styles with each album she does.. but I simply cannot see anything as stunning and emotionally charged as the mentioned work she has previously done in this album...
  4. MichaelK
    Oct 6, 2008
    1
    Creativity is a word out of madonna's vocabulary. The album is irritating, futile, hypocritically innocent and all in one: show of. Is the worst of a
  5. mathewd.
    Apr 30, 2008
    3
    There are only about 3 or 4 good songs thanks to her team of producers. Nothing original here. It all sounds what's been on the radio for the past few years. What would Madonna have done through her career without the great record producers she's hired.
  6. J.D.
    Apr 30, 2008
    3
    Atrocious by anyone's standards. Is incredibly sad to hear her get down to this kind of mess she has been able to avoid for so long.
  7. JohnS
    Apr 30, 2008
    1
    Not great. The songs are all generic. She's too old to be singing these kinds of songs.
  8. svc.
    May 1, 2008
    3
    First album where it doesn't sound like Madonna is calling the shots. She should be ahead of the curve, not following it. No stand out tracks. No intelligence. No good. (And I am a fan).
  9. Chris
    May 1, 2008
    1
    Queen of reinvention is desperate. Maybe two ok tracks at best.
  10. WilliamV.
    May 2, 2008
    2
    it seems Timbaland makes all albums looks like the same thing. For me, Hard Candy is a more pop "loose". Terrible. Madonna is a good singer, but she doesn't need to put sexuality in evidence all time. This is soooo boring. Missing "Erotica" so much.
  11. Magnolia
    May 5, 2008
    2
    The biggest disappointment of the year! Young stars, such as Adele, Duffy, Estelle and even Britney released much and much better albums. What a shame for Madonna!
  12. MichaelS
    Apr 26, 2008
    2
    Wow, this is her worst album! :| R.I.P Madonna.
  13. JoeP.
    May 1, 2008
    3
    Just one decent song(4 minutes).
  14. MickaP
    May 2, 2008
    3
    This album sucks! Disappointing doesn't even begin to describe it!
  15. EinarJ.
    May 3, 2008
    3
    You must be joking.
  16. JoeB
    May 8, 2008
    3
    Very disappointing...this cd feels forced, like Madonna knows as it goes along that it's just not working...her collaborators have too much leeway, and they're terrible. Timberlake's 4 Minutes is putrid, and why do hip-hop artists feel the need to repeat names a dozen times in songs??..."Madonna...Madonna....Madonna..." so lame it's laughable....Madonna needs to grab Very disappointing...this cd feels forced, like Madonna knows as it goes along that it's just not working...her collaborators have too much leeway, and they're terrible. Timberlake's 4 Minutes is putrid, and why do hip-hop artists feel the need to repeat names a dozen times in songs??..."Madonna...Madonna....Madonna..." so lame it's laughable....Madonna needs to grab the reigns again, these Bozo's ruined this effort. I have no problem with a misstep, I haven't disliked anything from her before this, but I guess her big mistake was letting over-rated drecks take over her album entirely.… Expand
  17. Karen/Brent
    Apr 29, 2008
    1
    Dire one down.
  18. CraigSa.
    Apr 30, 2008
    3
    Such an ordinary album. She uses the same lame gimmicks such as Timberland as a producer, that everyone uses. If those gimmicks had any real talent we might get a good album, instead we get the same mediocre music that floods our bland airwaves and dance floors the last couple years.
  19. DomoR.
    May 1, 2008
    2
    Production values are superb but the music itself is oddly soulless and vapid. Madonna at 50 is sounding like a 14 year old squeeze box boy toy wannabe, with her nasally register spewing really bad lyrics full of adolescent motivation. Hey, Madonna, grow up already. Cut a record with your brother in law Joe Henry and cut back on all the attempts to be trendy. This album is already 18 Production values are superb but the music itself is oddly soulless and vapid. Madonna at 50 is sounding like a 14 year old squeeze box boy toy wannabe, with her nasally register spewing really bad lyrics full of adolescent motivation. Hey, Madonna, grow up already. Cut a record with your brother in law Joe Henry and cut back on all the attempts to be trendy. This album is already 18 years old, sounding ever so much like a downgrade of Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation. Sure, some of it is danceable but once the music ends, and believe it's ended on this disc, there's nothing but the sound of a vacuous cash register.… Expand
  20. LukeR.
    May 19, 2008
    1
    Not impressed- she can do much better than that.
  21. B
    May 3, 2008
    3
    One word - ew.
  22. GinaB.
    May 3, 2008
    1
    I'm a big Madonna fan, but this cd is truly disappointing. Somehow I feel like this cd should have been called, "How Madonna Lost Her Groove". Her voice was emotionless throughout, and appeared drowned by the overproduced tracks. I'm hoping that with her next cd, Madonna will do Madonna.
  23. ThomasW
    Sep 14, 2008
    0
    Wrost album of the year. Bye bye Madonna...
  24. Steven
    Apr 23, 2008
    3
    Blech! I cannot stand Madonna fighting for attention against Pharrell's production. I enjoy both of them, but definitely not together. Hard Candy, in my opinion, is Madonna's single-largest misstep.
  25. Parkus
    Jun 24, 2008
    0
    Awful. Vile artwork. Simple melodies and dire lyrics.
  26. ChrisS.
    Jul 31, 2008
    2
    I really tried hard to like this album, but failed. The songs are just so simple, and forgettable. What in God's name does the whole "boxer" costume have to do wtih "Hard Candy"? However, I have to praise Madonna a little bit, because not many of her fellow senior citizens have the energy to do what she does.
  27. owenrw89
    Dec 10, 2016
    2
    Terrible album. Not just in terms of her own catalogue, but by other artist's catalogues too. This was the first time Madonna was following the trend, instead of setting it. Timbaland's production was fated to date, and it did (within about 6 months). Most of the tracks contain little melody or dance-ability. It somehow sounds very expensive yet cheap and nasty at the same time. The onlyTerrible album. Not just in terms of her own catalogue, but by other artist's catalogues too. This was the first time Madonna was following the trend, instead of setting it. Timbaland's production was fated to date, and it did (within about 6 months). Most of the tracks contain little melody or dance-ability. It somehow sounds very expensive yet cheap and nasty at the same time. The only thing that saves this album from being a total dud, are a few select tracks that have Madonna's true sound/feeling - "Miles Away" & "Give It To Me".… Expand
  28. Seasz
    Apr 14, 2012
    3
    I'm a huge Madonna fan and i loved Confessions, but I'm really dissapointing with this album, the lyrics are generally stupids and She sounds tired, hopefully her next album will be much better.
  29. All_ButTrU4
    Aug 24, 2022
    0
    Hard Candy is a serviceable . The album is irritating.Atrocious for an artist of her calibre. So dissapointing

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Most Discussed Album of 2008
31
#31 Most Shared Album of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. Blender
    80
    It's fun to hear here negotiate the contours of Top 40 pop for the first time since "Like A Prayer," without any European house music hose-head gumming up the pleasure and catharsis with mediative schmaltz. [May 2008, p.73]
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  2. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    Candy finds her dropping her Kabbalah string on the dance floor and readopting an American accent to offer up an unpretentious, nonstop dance party.
    Read full review
  3. Observer Music Monthly
    80
    Whenever Hard Candy threatens to get boring, something always happens to recapture your interest, but the three songs in which Madonna actually seems to forge a genuine connection with her musical helpmeet leave the rest of the album in the shade.
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