Madonna and daughter Lourdes “Lola” Leon sing about how living in the spotlight affected their turbulent relationship on the pop star’s new song, “The Test.”
“Little star / I tried to put you on a pedestal / You didn’t ask for all the flashing lights / I didn’t think of how it could disturb,” Madonna sings in the first verse.
She continues: “Or how it hurt / I wish I knew / The pain I’ve caused / My butterfly / Was always being watched.”
In the chorus, the pair mention 29-year-old Leon being in her famous mom’s shadow.
“I know they tried to put us to the test / We’re not the same, but I’m treading on your footsteps / Sometimes I think you wish I’d go away / But my shadow stays and it’s okay to be yourself,” they sing.
But in the second verse, Leon expresses her love for Madonna.
“A hand tenderly reaching to me / You are my reason to be / Or what I want, or look like / What I wear, all the clothes on my back,” Leon sings.
“And what I attract / I trace the line of what you have sewn / Keep my own design / Make it a landscape / Make it alive,” Leon’s lyrics add.
“The Test” is the 15th track off Madonna’s new album “Confessions II” released Friday.
The first lyrics of the song, “Little Star,” is also the title of Madonna’s 1998 song from her seventh album, “Ray of Light,” that she dedicated to her eldest child.
Leon — whom Madonna shares with ex Carlos Leon — teased the collaboration a few days ago on Instagram by posting a throwback photo of the mother-daughter holding hands, alongside a collection of the heartfelt lyrics.
In a recent Interview Magazine story, Madonna revealed Leon approached her about writing the song “as a way to heal our relationship.”
“It was a really important moment, and it solidified the idea that now is the time to make this record,” the Grammy Award winner shared.
Leon previously opened up about her strained relationship with her mom in a 2021 interview with the same outlet.
“My mom is such a control freak, and she has controlled me my whole life,” she stated. “I needed to be completely independent from her as soon as I graduated high school.”
Leon, who said she paid for her own college tuition, also insisted she doesn’t “get any handouts in my family.”
She did, however, acknowledge she “grew up with extreme privilege” being Madonna’s daughter.
