London (REUTERS) — U.S. pop superstar Madonna, one of music’s richest performers, has attacked her fellow Americans for being obsessed with the “wrong values” such as getting rich and looking good.

Madonna told the Radio Times that Americans had opportunities people in other countries did not have but gotten caught up in superficial dreams.

“We as Americans are completely obsessed and wrapped up in a lot of the wrong values — looking good, having cash in the bank, being perceived as rich, famous and successful or just being famous,” Madonna told the television-listings magazine.

“It’s the most superficial part of the American dream, and who would know better than me? The only thing that’s going to bring you happiness is love and how you treat your fellow man and having compassion for one another.”

The interview coincided with the release this week of Madonna’s latest album “American Life.”

The album — her first in three years — received poor reviews and left many critics asking if pop’s most successful chameleon had lost her touch after 20 years at the top.

“American Life” comes hard on the heels of the biggest flop of her career as a movie actress — “Swept Away,” which was directed by husband Guy Ritchie and widely panned by critics and audiences alike.

But Madonna, who has embraced domestic bliss in Britain with Ritchie and her two children in recent years, brushed off the criticism.

“The critics have been writing me off for 20 years. That’s nothing new. As far as I know I still have plenty of fans and sell lots of records. Do I care what critics say about me? No, and I don’t read reviews.”