Rebel Heart
by Madonna
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
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  1. Mojo
    Mar 19, 2015
    60
    Rebel Heart is the first Madonna album for a while that's at least as much for listeners as it is for dancers. Sometimes this shines too hard a light on what she has to say. [Apr 2015, p.88]
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  2. NOW Magazine
    Mar 11, 2015
    60
    The album is surprisingly full of acoustic sounds and wistful balladry reminiscent of her 90s material, but it also plugs into a load of dark, restless and weird club rhythms with help from a coterie of in-demand producers.
  3. Spin
    Mar 10, 2015
    60
    Ultimately, even in the record's clunkier moments, it's gratifying to hear Madonna leaning defiantly (and gleefully) into what many would consider to be the less savory elements of her personality.
  5. The Observer (UK)
    Mar 9, 2015
    60
    The unseemly segments, where Madonna baits and gyrates, can be a hoot. When she acts her age, it is lacklustre and over-enunciated; lived-and-loved stuff trotted out in overblown ballads.
  6. PopMatters
    Mar 9, 2015
    60
    Rebel Heart is very much the first Madonna album that’s actually about Madonna with a majority of these tracks commenting on her own history and accomplishments with varying degrees of success.
  7. The Guardian
    Mar 5, 2015
    60
    Rebel Heart is that long because it is essentially two separate albums. One is wistful and thick with reflections on failed love affairs and intimations of self-doubt....The other offers dirty talk and defiant I’m-still-here snarls set to EDM-inspired productions, frequently the handiwork of Diplo. There’s obviously no reason why an album can’t contain both. But on Rebel Heart, the two don’t quite gel.
  8. Q Magazine
    Feb 25, 2015
    60
    Rebel Heart often strikes a more tentative note.[Apr 2015, p.100]
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  9. Uncut
    Feb 25, 2015
    60
    Rebel heart almost gets the balance right, but at 19 tracks, most in the industrial party-pop style of cheeseball producers Diplo and Avicii, there's simply too much going on. [Apr 2015, p.78]
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  10. Entertainment Weekly
    Mar 5, 2015
    58
    The funny, creative, outrageous Madonna we’ve known is still in here somewhere. It just takes a lot of patience to find her. [Adam Markovitz's review]
  11. Pretty Much Amazing
    Mar 2, 2015
    58
    At its best, Rebel Heart has an ease, and a long absent softness, qualities sorely missed since her last masterwork Music. For every godawful moment, which come and go with a sad frequency on Rebel Heart, there are glimmers of virtuosity buried within the overworked mess.
  12. Pitchfork
    Mar 13, 2015
    51
    Rebel Heart grows confusing and irreconcilably uneven as it progresses.
  13. Consequence
    Mar 26, 2015
    50
    Rebel Heart leans too steeply into too many trends at once, making it a scattered affair that flashes between drudgery and brilliance.
  14. New Musical Express (NME)
    Mar 4, 2015
    50
    Ultimately, Rebel Heart feels like a wasted opportunity.

Awards & Rankings

9
#9 Most Discussed Album of 2015
28
#28 Most Shared Album of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 822 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 643 out of 822
  2. Mixed: 72 out of 822
  3. Negative: 107 out of 822
  1. musicamor
    Mar 10, 2015
    10
    Rebel Heart is the best of both Madonna worlds, the sexual persona and the true romantic at heart. A true return to form for Madonna. LongRebel Heart is the best of both Madonna worlds, the sexual persona and the true romantic at heart. A true return to form for Madonna. Long live the Queen of pop.… Full Review »
  2. DevilPray
    Mar 10, 2015
    7
    Im soo happy that Madonna giving us music after 30 years. Love every song from this album, devil pray, unapologetic **** holy water andIm soo happy that Madonna giving us music after 30 years. Love every song from this album, devil pray, unapologetic **** holy water and ghosttown are my favorite, addicted should have been in deluxe too… Full Review »
  3. CreativeOne
    Mar 10, 2015
    0
    If you want to buy an album because 2 songs are good then this is the album for you. The EDM vs Hip hop feel is there in three songs in whichIf you want to buy an album because 2 songs are good then this is the album for you. The EDM vs Hip hop feel is there in three songs in which the beat switches from EDM to Hip hop a couple of times within each song. Also L4L sounds like she just built a new song on the same Chord Progression as Girl Gone Wild. Girl Gone Wild was not a hit why did she feel a remix to that song would be a hit. Ghosttown and Iconic are the best songs on the album. I hope they catch momentum. Anybody that tries to say to you that **** I'm Madonna is a good song is a flat out liar. With lyrics like:

    (We're jumping in the pool and swimming with our clothes on
    I poured a beer into my shoe and got my freak on
    The neighbor's pissed and says he's gonna call the Five-O
    If they show up then we are gonna give a good show)

    on that song, you can tell she is just trying to hard. Is Five-O still a thing?

    or on Devil Pray where she sings:

    (And we can do drugs and we can smoke weed and we can drink whiskey
    Yeah, we can get high and we can get stoned
    And we can sniff glue and we can do E and we can drop acid
    Forever be lost with no way home)

    is just mehhh... The song has a good beat. Better lyrics would have been nice. I still feel she is recycling music with this one too. Sounds too much like Don't Tell Me which had an amazing beat with great lyrics. This is a bad remix.

    I could continue with each song on Rebel Heart, but you get my point. It's a great remix album for hardcore Madonna fans, but there is nothing new here. Save your money.    … Full Review »
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