Vulgar

Single

Artist: Sam Smith and Madonna
Digital release: 9 June 2023
Label: Capitol
Genre notes: Commonly described as EDM / trance-influenced
Writers: Sam Smith, Madonna, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Ryan Tedder, Omer Fedi, Henry Walter and James Napier.

Vulgar pairs Madonna with Sam Smith for a short, sharp burst of club-theatre provocation. Built around fashion, attitude and defiance, the track is less interested in subtlety than in stance. It arrives dressed for impact, all elbows, latex and raised eyebrows.

As a Madonna collaboration, Vulgar sits outside the archive/remix category but still belongs in the wider 2020s singles map. It continues Madonna’s long habit of using pop as a space for posture, friction and self-invention. Not every track needs to be subtle; sometimes the point is the stomp.