”Vulgar” marks the first collaboration between the singers Sam Smith and Madonna.

A rap-esque song which includes Arabic chords that characterised “Unholy”. It links the two songs and serves as a response to the negative reaction to Smith’s new material and image in the media, that arose from their song “Unholy”(featuring the German singer Kim Petras) and the following live performances and concert tour.

In a debate on the television program Piers Morgan Uncensored, the host described Sam’s performances as “disgusting and vulgar”. One of the detractors, Douglas Murray (who argued against Sam), also added that their performances were not original, saying “Madonna did this 40 years ago”. The entire interview went viral and is said to have inspired the song’s title and message.

Smith first teased this collaboration in a snippet with both of them verbalising their names “Sam and Madonna” with the tag “S X M”. On May 31, the artists announced that the effort was a single titled “Vulgar” and the song was released on June 9.