Not necessarily. Mine leaked, and Speak Now still did really well, although it's her worst era to date.

Not really. It depends. If the material is good I don't think it's a problem.

TTWE leaked and ruined its chance at a number 1

this literally just happened with madonna

Yes, look at the Lotus era.

Wasn't Part Of Me leaked MONTHS in advance?

It actually was a 2010 demo.

Which song?

No, BR leaked but it didn't ruin a thing.

Depends. Half of Kelly's album Stronger including the singles Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) and Dark Side leaked months before the album's release and yet the album sold over 1M in the US and Stronger (WDKY) became her commercially most successful hit.

So you think Madonna's next era wasn't due to start till around April/May next year?

Hell, even MY singles leaked and I'm slaying boo.