Madonna turned to the studio when she found herself getting bored and depressed in Portugal.
The pop superstar recently ended a five-year music hiatus by announcing the release of her upcoming album Madame X, and during an MTV event in London on Wednesday (24Apr19), she explained the idea for the project came during a low time in her life following her move to Lisbon.
"I went there and I thought it was going to be super fun and adventurous but then I found myself just going to school and picking up the kids," she told host Trevor Nelson. "I got a little depressed. I had to make friends and meet people. So I started to meet people and go out a bit. I’m not like a go-er out-er per se. But I wanted to meet people."
Asked why she chose Lisbon, the 60 year old said, "My son wanted to be a soccer player. He was never going to have the right sort of training in America. We spun the globe and did a lot of research and found my top five academies for the boys to train, and Lisbon ended up being my favourite city of the options.
"That’s how I became a soccer mum. It’s a crazy story, I know, and it’s the last thing I would expect from a controversial girl like myself."
But one good thing came out of her Lisbon adventure - she met a lot of Portuguese musicians, who gave her new style of music to listen to: "I met people and most of the people I met were artists and painters. I started getting invited to people’s homes. They had things called living room sessions. Everyone would come and they would bring wine, they would bring food, sit around the table. Suddenly people would get up and start playing instruments and singing.
"I was like, 'Wait, what is going on here? Artists getting up, not getting paid and just doing it for the fun and the passion?'"
Madame X - Madonna's 14th album - will be released on 14 June (19). She dropped her video for new single Medellin, which features Colombian star Maluma, on Wednesday (24Apr19).
