Madonna: 'My retarded songs become hits'

Rex Features

Madonna has revealed that she thinks her "most retarded" songs are the ones that become hits.

The 51-year-old told Rolling Stone that she struggles to spot future chart-toppers when recording an album and is always surprised by which tracks achieve commercial success.

She said: "I've never been a good judge of what things are going to be huge or not. The songs that I think are the most retarded songs I've written, like 'Cherish' and 'Sorry' - a pretty big hit off my album Confessions on a Dance Floor - end up being the biggest hits.

"'Into the Groove' is another song I feel retarded singing, but everybody seems to like it."

The star also heaped praise upon singer Justin Timberlake, who she duetted with on worldwide hit single '4 Minutes'.

She added: "Justin is a brilliant songwriter. I mean, 'What Goes Around... Comes Around?' Brilliant. I thought it would be a challenge to work with him. He's sort of a Cary Grant. I love him. I love working with him."

Madonna's ex-husband Guy Ritchie was recently criticised by campaigners for a disability group after he branded her "retarded".