Madgalene today shares a new track “Hot Shot,” with a Flashdance-meets-Britney-meets-Bob Fosse-inspired video. Magdalene is the closest thing we’ve got to the performance of pop drama since Madonna marathons on 1980s and 90s MTV.
While the previous single “Lucky Girl” paints the dancer as God and men as her followers, and “Sensitive” leans into the perpetual sacrifice that all women give, with consistent imagery of crucifixion, “Hot Shot” is here to cause a proverbial bar fight, or a black swan-esque rivalry set in a paparazzi-laden desert, with the video acting as a bombastic take on the classic pop star in the dance studio trope. Inspired by Bob Fosse, Madonna, and Flashdance, this video is Magdalene’s cathartic release, as she dances out her woes and heartbreak.
Of the track, Magdalene says, “Hot Shot is a diss track in its purest form. A party anthem about getting hurt so badly that the only thing to do about it is hit the dance floor and try and forget. Pulling from artists like Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue and Madonna the song is as much confessional as it is POP.”
It’s hard to grasp that Magdalene has only released a few singles (see “Radio,” “Delusional”), as the polish on the production lends itself to a much more storied catalogue. That’s the magic of Magdalene – you get all of the juice from the Encyclopedia of Pop steeped deep within her music. The blueprint is so clearly envisioned and executed, but with a fresh-squeezed finish. Inspired by the indisputable greats like Madonna (“she is Mother”), Dirrty Xtina, Blackout-era Britney, and the peak days of naughty noughties club-pop, Magdalene places just as much weight in her appreciation for her own mother, who raised her to don True Religion while bumping Portishead and No Doubt in a vintage Escalade.
In this artistic iteration and under previous names, Magdalene has performed and toured with Current Joys, Surf Curse, Brutus VIII, and has played shows with Momma and just wrapped up shows at SXSW where she shared stages with CDSM, Catcher, and more, while more recently sharing the stage with NYC’s pop prince Jack Powers. The bridge that she is building between the underground NY rock scene to the grandeur of pop history is clearly indicative of the future
Magdalene doesn’t go by that name by any accident; not only did her own mother name her after Mary Magdalene, but as an artist she is highly attuned to the depth of meaning. Given that there’s often very little return on all the sacrifices a musician makes to entertain and provide a delusional escape, she’s got no time to do anything but make that sacrifice for pop stardom. She’s put it all on the line, and there’s so much more to come.
