Can Madonna Make Comeback in Lady Gaga-Dominated World?

Pop veteran is looking to reestablish herself in a changed pop landscape as she locks in a new album deal

Lady Gaga has been hogging all the headlines lately—not only scoring Grammy nominations but also earning Forbes' title for 2011's top-earning woman in the music biz.

So what's a Material Girl to do?

Well, with the official announcement today that Madonna has signed a new, three-album deal with Interscope Records, 2012 is shaping up to be an auspicious and likely huge year for the Queen of Pop.

Madonna has completed work on the first album under the arrangement, which the label plans to drop sometime in late March. It's her first set of new tunes since 2008's Hard Candy. And in case you need reminding of Madonna's star power, her tour in support of that album was the highest-earning ever for a solo artist, grossing $408 million.

The still-untitled new album's first single, "Gimme All Your Luvin'," goes out to radio stations the last week in January—just ahead of Madonna's heavily hyped headlining appearance at the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show on Feb. 5. (The song actually leaked last month, annoying Madge to no end.)

The agreement with Interscope was hatched by Madonna's manager Guy Oseary and Live Nation Entertainment, with whom she signed a multi-faceted deal with in 2007 that included new music, tours, merchandising, fan club/website, DVDs, as well as music-related film and TV projects.

Before that, the 53-year-old performer's previous label home was Warner Bros. records, which released Hard Candy.

Despite the urban flavor and collaboration with the likes of Justin Timberlake and Kanye West, the album only spawned one runaway hit single and failed to achieve platinum status in the U.S. (just her second album to do so, joining 2003's American Life), though it was a big hit overseas.

Even if Madonna isn't quite as popular as she's been in the past, she has a hell of a knack for staying in vogue.

Case in point: W.E.

The film, her second effort behind the camera about the affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, may have gotten savaged by the critics, but it did score the entertainer two Golden Globe nominations this morning, for Best Original Song and Best Original Score.

In other words, even if her movie career isn't on fire, she's still a music force to be reckoned with.

Gaga, you're on notice!