Dig These Discs : Music From Madonna's "Rebel Heart"

Madonna is hitting all the right notes this holiday season and her new music has gone to #1 in over 40 countries on iTunes charts around the world, including the U.S., with the release of six songs from her forthcoming album "Rebel Heart."

In seven of those countries she had multiple No. 1's. The single "Living for Love" is currently No. 1 in over 20 countries and in another staggering achievement for the Material Girl, all six songs have been in the top ten on iTunes in several countries.

The news of the surprise drop came when Madonna posted a link over the weekend of December 20 on Instagram announcing the release of the six songs as, "an early Christmas gift" to those that preordered the album.

"I was hoping to release my new single 'Living For Love' on Valentine's Day with the rest of the album coming in the Spring. I would prefer my fans to hear completed versions of some of the songs instead of the incomplete tracks that are circulating. Please consider these six songs as an early Christmas gift," commented Madonna.

Fans immediately went to iTunes and drove the songs to #1 around the globe. Instantaneously "Rebel Heart" exploded on social media with the album topping the Billboard Trending 140 Chart.

The six songs give listeners a sneak peek at Madonna's new album, from the first track, "Living For Love," yet another story about a perfect love that tumbled into the crapper. But this time, Madonna won't go down with it.

"First I loved you and I let you in, made me feel like I was born again/ You empowered me you made me strong, build me up and I can do no wrong," she sings, resolved to live for love, and stay strong, saying, "I deserve the best, and it's not you."

Her song "Devil Pray" has a Celtic vibe to it, and warns of the excesses of life and its consequences, with Madonna singing, "and we can do drugs and we can smoke weed and we can drink whiskey/ yeah we can get high and we can get stoned/ and we could sniff glue and we can do E and we can drop acid, forever be lost with no way home."

You can run and hide, but you won't find the answers that way. If you want to save your soul, you need to make the devil pray, she sings.

She gets somber in "Ghosttown," vowing to stay at his side even as everyone else runs away. The dance break follows, "when the world gets cold, I'll be your cover/ let's just hold onto each other. When it all falls, when it all falls down, we'll be two souls in a ghost town."

Madonna follows this with her sassy cut, "Unapologetic Bitch," which is pretty much what the title says. No apologies needed; this reggae-inspired song tracks a relationship that "almost killed me but I'm better off alone." She calls it what it is in the chorus, "you never really know how much you loved me 'til you lost me, did you? You never know how much your selfish bullshit cost me; fuck you." The dubstep break is a cool addition.

She name-drops everything from Prada to Gaga in "Illuminati," an electro track about shiny VIPs at a party. Madonna finishes up with some help from Nicki Minaj, in "Bitch I'm Madonna."

"We'll be drinking and nobody's gonna stop us/ and we'll be kissing anyone around us," she sings. Nicki and Madonna just wanna have fun dancing the night away under the flashing lights. This dubstep electro track is perfect for New Year's Eve.

"Rebel Heart" will be released in March 2015 on Interscope Records. Producers include Madonna, Diplo ("Living For Love," "Bitch I'm Madonna," "Unapologetic Bitch"), Kanye West ("Illuminati"), Billboard ("Ghosttown"), DJ Dahi and Blood Diamonds ("Devil Pray"). The album was recorded in London, Los Angeles and New York.