Madonna says her daughter Lourdes “Lola” Leon spent years avoiding a musical collaboration with her because she worried people would think she was benefiting from her mother’s fame.
During a Friday, June 26 appearance on Graham Norton’s BBC Radio 1 show, the pop icon spoke about family, her upcoming Glastonbury set, and a new song she has made with her 29-year-old daughter for her forthcoming album, Confessions II, due out July 3.
Madonna said the collaboration was not something Leon had always been comfortable with, explaining that her daughter had long been cautious about working together publicly.
“She approached me,” Madonna said. “She’s been very reticent to work with me, she doesn’t want to be perceived as my daughter taking advantage of her privilege.”
She also praised Leon’s musical ability, saying her daughter’s vocals outshine her own.
“She has a much better voice than I do,” Madonna said.
According to Madonna, the song grew out of emotional issues that had lingered for years. In the interview, she described how Leon had struggled with resentment during her teenage years while growing up in the public eye.
“She had been, through her adolescence, struggling with those feelings for a long time,” Madonna explained. “She came to me, she said ‘Let’s write a song together, I think it will be a healing experience.’ And you say what you want to say, and I’ll say exactly what I want to say.”
Madonna said she was delighted when Leon first suggested the idea.
In a recent Interview magazine conversation, Madonna said the song with Leon was one of several deeply personal moments that helped shape the album. She said the track began after Leon approached her about writing together as a way to heal their relationship, and that the experience made it feel like the right time to make the record. Madonna also said the album was inspired by family trauma, grief, and the return to the dance-floor sound that defined her 2005 release Confessions on a Dance Floor.
Outside of music, Leon has built a modeling career, appearing in campaigns for Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty, Burberry, Marc Jacobs, Swarovski, and Mugler. She has also continued developing her own sound; in May, she released the single “T-Shirt” under the name Lola Leon, further signaling that she is carving out her own path apart from her mother’s legacy.
Madonna has previously said the project felt especially significant because of everything going on in her life while she made it. The album is being positioned as a sequel to Confessions on a Dance Floor, and her official store listings show both a 12-track vinyl edition and a 16-track deluxe CD planned for release the week of July 3.
She also said in Interview that the track with Leon was part of the emotional center of the album, alongside songs about family loss and transformation. Another line in the record, Madonna revealed, was inspired by her late brother Christopher Ciccone.
Madonna shares Leon with ex-boyfriend and fitness trainer Carlos Leon. She has previously written about her eldest daughter in her music as well, including the song “Little Star” from her Grammy-winning 1998 album, Ray of Light.
Confessions II is due to be released on July 3.