Madonna Proclaims 'Queen Bitch' Status On MDNA

Madonna enlisted her legendary Ray of Light collaborator, William Orbit, for MDNA, which hits stores this week. And their kinship is clear on tracks like the hard-hitting "Gang Bang" to the lighter "Falling Free." "Her instincts are so solid," Orbit told about his longtime pal, who he says perfectly combines spontaneity with a keen sense of micro-managing. Those dual personalities were onhand during MDNA recording sessions. Madonna has previously said that working with him always leads to "magic" and the twosome once again whipped up tracks that should make Ray fans happy.

When Orbit spoke to us, he broke down several of their collaborations on the album.

He explained that the "light and experimental" recording session for "Some Girls" led to "a fierce kind of electro track. ... 'Here I am. I am awesome,' That's what it communicates to anyone, I am sure. She is just like queen bitch. ... We love her for that and she knows how to rule."

The song, he believes, really speaks to her biggest fans. "She certainly knows how to get [to] her subjects [and get] the most devotion out of them. I love to see that relationship between fans and Madonna. It's a rare thing, so proactive and that song really sums it up. It's got great lyrics. We had fun with the lyrics."

The less aggressive "Falling Free" is a ballad about connecting with someone and letting yourself go completely. "That was a real delight to do. I know Madonna really enjoyed singing it. She had a terrible cold the day she sang it actually, but she threw herself into it," he said. "Madonna sang that one beautifully and I was excited. A friend of mine, Laurie Mayer, wrote that beautiful melody. I think it was really special and different. The more ballads [Madonna] does, the better. Because no one can do ballads [the way she does]. She feels from the heart."

On the polar end of the spectrum is the incredibly dark "Gang Bang," which follows a woman getting her cronies together to seek bloody vengeance against someone who may very well be her ex-husband, Guy Ritchie. "[It's] aggressive," he said. "It's like she sang that off the bat. I mean that. She created it in the moment. And the lyrics were all there, but I think she fell into a character. It was actually a good day. It wasn't a dark day. There wasn't like aggression in the air. The demo created out of the blue pretty much. She loved the spirit of it. We were all dancing around the control room. ... It was a total atmosphere of spontaneity. Pretty good fun, but it's dark."