Madonna has hailed fellow singer Justin Timberlake as the future of music, insisting his ambitious ways will ensure his music will top charts for years to come.

The Cry Me A River hitmaker impressed the queen of pop after collaborating on her latest smash hit 4 Minutes, helping the star produce her 11th number one album Hard Candy.

And the Material Girl singer admits she was drawn to work with the pop hunk because he understands the crazy ways of the music industry better than anyone else.

She says, "He's ambitious but not in an offensive way. He's incredibly responsible and he's good at what he does. I think he has a long future in front of him.

"He understands the insanity of being a pop star."