Madonna Starts Recording New Album

Madonna's next record is finally underway! She started recording the album over the July 4 weekend, according to her manager.

Guy O'Seary tweeted the big news yesterday: "It's official.. Madonna's 1st day in the recording studio for the new album... Very exciting.. Happy 4th of July..."

O'Seary had earlier tweeted, "She has a good idea on which producers she will be working with." There's no information yet on who they might be, although one person rumored to be involved is David Guetta.

The choice of producers is a big deal, since Madonna's sound has varied greatly over her career based on which producers she has chosen to work with, from William Orbit's electronica on 'Ray of Light' to Stuart Price's pure dance leanings on 'Confessions on a Dance Floor' to Timbaland's hip-hop touch on 2008's 'Hard Candy' (her last new album).

'Hard Candy' was one of Madonna's least commercially successful releases, producing only the hit '4 Minutes' with Justin Timberlake. She's rebounded before, following-up the disappointing 'American Life' with the more well-received 'Confessions on a Dance Floor.'

It's likely that Madonna's next record won't come out until 2012 at the earliest. In the meantime, a new graphic novel called 'Female Force: Madonna' will be released next month.

Watch the Madonna 'Hung Up' Video