The title arrived from the fact that the album tracklisting consists of light-hearted and happy songs in the beginning, and progresses to much darker melodies and lyrics describing personal feelings and commitments.

Songs on the album sample and reference the music of other dance-oriented artists like ABBA, Donna Summer, Pet Shop Boys, the Bee Gees and Depeche Mode, as well as Madonna's 1980s output.

Madonna decided to incorporate disco-influenced elements in her songs while trying not to remake her music from past, instead choosing to pay tribute towards artists like the Bee Gees and Giorgio Moroder.

It was then that she turned to Stuart Price who had served as musical director on her two previous concert tours and co-wrote one song on American Life.

She elaborated: I was running back and forth, literally, from the editing room with [the documentary's director] Jonas Akerlund to working with Stuart, who was also mixing the music in the film.

The first three songs that were written for the album were "Hung Up", "Sorry" and "Future Lovers"[3] In an interview with Billboard, Madonna commented that the recording process was a give-and-take situation.

Confessions on a Dance Floor is primarily a dance-pop,[9][10] nu-disco,[10][11] and EDM[12][11] album, which is structured like a nightly set composed by a DJ.

[14] References of other disco-influenced acts, including Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, and Daft Punk, were also used on the album, as were the disco hits of Parisian DJ Cerrone.

[8] In reality, the song was named after the featured vocalist Yitzhak Sinwani, who sang portions of the Yemenite Hebrew poem Im Nin'alu in the track, as well as references to the Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac.

In "I Love New York" (written at the time of American Life), she praises the city where her career began and replies to negative comments made by George W.

The song received critical appreciation amongst reviewers, who suggested that the track would restore the singer's popularity, which had diminished following the release of her 2003 album American Life.

[35] "Hung Up" became a worldwide commercial success, peaking atop the charts of 41 countries and earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records along with the album.

[40][41][42] However, in the United States, the song was less commercially successful due to underplay on radio, but managed to reach the top of Billboard's dance charts.

It revels in the delights of wilfully plastic dance pop in an era when lesser dance-pop artists – from Rachel Stevens to Price's protege Juliet – are having a desperately thin time of it.

[65] Christian John Wikane from PopMatters commented that the album "proved that Madonna, approaching 50 years-old, is a vital force in the ever-expansive landscape of popular music.

"[66] Joan Morgan from The Village Voice noted that "[w]ith Confessions on a Dance Floor, Madonna at long last finds her musical footing.

Easily dance record of the year, Confessions is an almost seamless tribute to the strobe-lit sensuality of the '80s New York club scene that gave Madge her roots, which she explores with compelling aplomb.

"[68] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine was impressed with the album and said that "Madonna, with the help of Price, [...] has succeeded at creating a dance-pop odyssey with an emotional, if not necessarily narrative, arc — and one big continuously-mixed F you to the art-dismantling iPod Shuffle in the process.

However, he opined that "Confessions on a Dance Floor won't stand the test of time like her glorious early club hits, but it proves its point.

[69][70] Despite being released late in the year, Confessions on a Dance Floor was ranked by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) as the sixth biggest-selling album of 2005 worldwide, with sales of 6.3 million.

[92] It became Madonna's ninth number-one album, and has sold 1,360,000 copies as of November 2020, according to the Official Charts Company, while being certified quadruple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

[100] Across Europe, the album peaked at number one in Austria, Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

[115] Mike Nied from Idolator praised Confessions on a Dance Floor as one of the most influential pop albums of the decade and dubbed Madonna as a "timeless trendsetter" and "creative genius".

[116] According to Michael Arceneaux from NBC News, it is "arguably her last great, impactful album; it's the last time she still felt truly forward-thinking, even if it looked back sonically.

[119] Justin Myers from the UK Official Charts Company commented: "An 'imperial phase' is when a pop star is at the pinnacle of their career, shifting stacks of records, having big hits, selling out arenas, owning the radio and being generally unavoidable and untouchable.

"[120] Calling her the "Mother of Reinvention", Jim Schembri from The Age wrote a detailed article of Madonna's impact with Confessions on a Dance Floor: [The album] went straight to No.

In a firmament that eats up artists like popcorn and where chart success is as fleeting as Jessica Simpson's attention span, Madonna remains an inspiring, intimidating beacon of permanence.

[121] With the Confessions on a Dance Floor era, Madonna broke several world records and the album resuscitated her music sales and popularity,[66] after the critical and commercial disappointment of American Life.

[122] In the United Kingdom, Confessions on a Dance Floor became one of the fastest selling albums ever, with first week sales of 217,610 copies according to the Official Charts Company.

[123] Also, Madonna earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "oldest artist to simultaneously top the UK singles and album charts".