On July 3, Madonna will let us hear her 'Confessions II'

After wiping her Instagram and teasing her new album, Madonna has now released details of Confessions II, the long-awaited sequel to her 2005 album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, or, as a press release puts it, a "continuation."

The album, due July 3, is available for preorder on multiple formats, including CD, vinyl and cassette. She's shared a snippet of a trancy song in which she whispers, "Thanks for coming. Sometimes I like to just hide in the shadows. Create a new persona. A different identity. I can be whoever I want to be. Honestly, I wish I could be like other people and just not care. But out here, on the dance floor, I feel so free."

We then hear a male voice say, "Oh, by the way, it all started like this."

In a statement, Madonna recites lines that are said to be the lyrics of one of her new songs, "One Step Away": "People think that dance music is superficial, but they’ve got it all wrong. The dance floor is not just a place, it’s a threshold: A ritualistic space where movement replaces language.”

She continues, "When [producer] Stuart Price and I first started working on this record, this was our manifesto: We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies. These are things that we've been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices."

"After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space," she continues. "It’s a place where you connect —with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It's about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people."

Confessions II is Madonna's first album of new material since 2019's Madame X.