Madonna’s praise for Self Esteem

At first glance, they seem a generation apart, as well as millions in personal fortunes.

Anston and America don't seem hugely affiliated.

But dig a little deeper and you'll find a rich vein of artistic kinship.

Madonna burst on to the 1980s scene with a mission: to take control of her image, voice, and business.

From “Like a Virgin” to “Human Nature”, she challenged not only industry norms but societal assumptions about what women could say, wear, and sing.

Self Esteem continues this lineage, voicing the same defiance with 21st-century urgency and a slice of South Yorkshire straight talking.

In songs like “I Do This All The Time” and “Moody”, the former Wales High School pupil articulates modern womanhood with raw candour.

Routinely, she challenges sexism, shame, and social pressure through lyrics that read like manifestos.

She’s Madonna’s spiritual daughter.

Suddenly, the relationship has a tangible new basis, too.

Madonna, at 66 years of age, was in London a few days ago and decided to take in one of Rebecca's theatrical presentations of her new album ‘A Complicated Woman’ at London’s Duke Of York’s Theatre.

The shows preceded the release of her debut album with Polydor, which is the follow-up to her Mercury and BRIT-nominated ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ in 2021.

Madonna, who has a home in Wiltshire, posted on Instagram that she'd had a great weekend: "Spending time with friends and family, watching Chelsea lose to Legia Warszawa...and seeing an incredible artist named @selfesteemselfesteem perform!"

That will have been music to 38-year-old Taylor's ears.

Four years ago, Rebecca based her live shows on Madonna’s ‘Blonde Ambition’ tour and has been a fan of hers for years.

Madonna's tours were always multimedia spectacles: crucifixes, gender play, religious iconography, and political jabs wrapped in dance and glitter. Self Esteem’s shows echo this spirit, with choreographed routines, spoken-word interludes, and a stage presence that feels closer to immersive theatre than traditional gigs.

Sometimes Rebecca is jarringly honest.

She told papermag.com: “For years my therapist has been trying to say that there is me and then there's Self Esteem, but I used to be like, ‘No, it's all me! It's all me!

"If I'm in a coffee shop, I'm really shy. I'm socially anxious. And I mostly don't say what I mean - still. I can go back all into my childhood, and my parents are conflict-averse people, and that passed to me very strongly."

Like Madonna she is not afraid of bearing her innermost thoughts.

Both artists share a profound connection with LGBTQ+ audiences, too.

Madonna’s early activism during the AIDS crisis and continual allyship made her a generational icon.

Rebecca proudly continues that inclusive tradition, inviting her 'queer' fanbase not just to listen, but to be seen.

Ultimately, what ties Madonna and Self Esteem together is a shared belief that pop music can be powerful, political, and unapologetically female.

Decades apart, yet soulfully aligned.