Madonna on Madonna :: Confessions From a Dance Floor Goddess

On Tuesday, April 29, turn off your car alarms, lock up your dogs and hide your precious glassware.

Every few years, Madonna releases a new album. And on that day, the high-pitched shrieks heard round the world will emanate from every gay man, Gen-X girl and occasional, interloping straight man ("I’m just buying it for my girlfriend!") who line up like cattle on the dance floor to see what the Divine Miss M is delivering next.

In 2008, prepare to crunch on "Hard Candy." The album is Madonna’s swan song for Warner Bros. Records, the label she’s leaving for an industry-shattering, $120 million and 10-year deal with Live Nation Inc (virtually guaranteeing her fans another decade of delight). It’s also her final release before her big 50 birthday this summer, a milestone that will not only kick off a summer/fall concert tour but is sure to incite the prerequisite VH1 retrospectives on the unparalleled longevity, reinventions and pop cultural impact of her career.

When she arrived with her first single in 1982, few would have predicted that disco dolly would still be churning hits almost three decades later: Hard Candy’s" first single, "4 Minutes" featuring Justin Timberlake, has already ascended to the No. 3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

Getting an interview with one of the world’s most famous women is a daunting task. But Madonna, forever the queen of personal evolution, has always revealed herself in the most obvious place: her music. For insight into her development, her growth and her mind at any given moment of her booty shaking life, one needs to look no further than the lyrics she’s penned.

Join EDGE writer Scott Kearnan as he traces the journey of Madonna, in her own words, one evolutionary album at a time. Click here for the full story.