The Queen of Pop is coming back to West Hollywood! Well, sorta…
Warner Records is opening a Confessions II pop-up in West Hollywood’s Design District this weekend, and it’s bringing the new Madonna album to life on Melrose Avenue. The pop-up runs July 3-5 at 8471 Melrose Ave., open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Confessions II continues Madonna’s 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor, and she’s back working with producer Stuart Price for the sequel. The pop-up is presented by Warner Records in collaboration with Please & Thank You, an experiential and VIP partner to the music industry that handles touring experiences, sponsorships, premium ticketing, meet-and-greets and merchandise programs for major artists. Eddie Meehan, the company’s CEO, said the partnership is “another step toward a future where fan experiences are more than something attached to a ticket purchase.” He said fan experiences are becoming “part of a lifestyle that connects artists and fans every day.”
Inside the pop-up fans will find exclusive Confessions II merchandise across vinyl, CDs and cassettes. There’s the Grindr Exclusive Picture Disc. Luxe and Standard vinyl and CD editions. The pop-up will also premiere the TikTok Exclusive vinyl variant, plus immersive photo opportunities throughout the space.
This isn’t West Hollywood’s first taste of the queen’s confessions. You might remember Madonna’s late night, or should we say — early morning made appearance at The Abbey back in April. M helped to make Abbey owner Tristan Schukraft’s birthday party one to remember. What’s a little spanking between friends?
Schukraft said her music had been playing there since it opened in 1991. Her reply: “Legend.” Guests that night were sipping on ABSOLUT cocktails, part of the vodka brand’s new run as Confessions II’s official partner.
Speaking of sipping cocktails, ABSOLUT’s deal with Madonna ties into a campaign called “ABSOLUT ICON,” featuring the singer in the purple corset she wore during her 2006 Grammy Awards performance and in the “Sorry” music video, shot by photographer Ricardo Gomes. Madonna said the album is rooted in the idea of “the dance floor as a ritualistic space” where people connect. Caroline Begley, vice president of marketing at Pernod Ricard USA, called the record’s release “a cross-generational milestone.” The partnership includes new cocktails built around ABSOLUT’s TABASCO-flavored vodka, among them the ABSOLUT Confessions Cosmo and an espresso martini riff called Ex-spresso Yourself. ABSOLUT donated to GLAAD, pointing to its own history advertising in LGBTQ+ publications since the early 1980s.
Amoeba Hollywood is hosting its own free, all-ages listening party Friday, July 3, starting at 5 p.m., with a photo backdrop, giveaways and an in-store raffle at 5:30 p.m. for turntables, slipmats, apparel and posters. Fans who buy the album in person during the party get a free turntable slipmat while supplies last. Between the pop-up, the album drop and the cocktail rollout, West Hollywood has three separate reasons to mark the Fourth of July weekend this year.
Confessions II is Madonna’s 15th studio album and her first collection of new material since 2019’s Madame X. Lead single “I Feel So Free” already hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance Digital Song Sales chart.
Fireworks overhead. A cocktail in hand. Madonna on the dance floor. Happy Birthday America!
If you are reading this and you are a Madonna fan, I encourage you to pop by, as I did this afternoon! No line no attitude just fun photo ops and good vibes. Chill team working there and cool merch in a plush setting!