Madonna releases six songs — in wake of online leak

After Madonna learned that unfinished versions of her newest songs were leaked on the Internet, the superstar decided to give her fans an early Christmas present: She officially released six new tracks on Saturday, putting them up for sale on iTunes.

She hadn’t planned to release her “Rebel Heart” album that soon but was pre-empted by the online leak.

Turning to Twitter, Madonna wrote, “Happy early X-Mas!” and linked to where fans could go to buy the new songs.

The tracks immediately available for download include “Living for Love,” Devil Pray,” “Ghosttown,” Illuminati,” plus two others.

As for the online leak, Madonna posted on Instagram earlier in the week: “Thank you for not listening! Thank you for your loyalty. Thank you for waiting and if you have heard please know they are unfinished demos stolen long ago and not ready to be presented to the world.”

Leaks are nothing new for Madonna. In 2003, the singer’s website was defaced and every song off her “American Life” album was leaked online.