I like Living For Love (I like the 'Lord Lord lift me' demo the best). But sometimes I think about an alternate history where nothing got leaked and Madonna showed up at the Grammys in 2015 to perform this instead. I feel like a real moment might have happened.
For all the shit M got about "designer adoption" with David and Mercy back in the day, there's absolutely no denying she adores each and every one of her kids.
Give Me All Your Luvin' remains a horrifying choice for a lead single. Living For Love is regal as fuck, though the vocals are questionable at times.
The Thing About MDNA is that there are (imo) good options for second singles and third singles, but there's no one song that's jumping up and down and insisting on being the lead. You have a few "this will work, I guess..." choices but that's it.
As much as I... well, I don’t dislike it, but it’s not a favorite, either. But as much as I have feelings about GMAYL, it made sense as a “lead” considering the entire rollout hinged solely on the Super Bowl and not much else, since Madonna was off that stage and rehearsing for the tour the following week. In an alternate universe (the same one where MDNA’s mix/master wasn’t rushed), GMAYL would have been a one off for the event and M would have followed it up a few weeks later when the album was properly finished with “Girl Gone Wild” by premiering it with a performance at UMF, but oh well.
Living For Love is a better song than Give Me All Your Luvin, but I vastly prefer the latter. It’s bouncy, boppy, cheap trash, but it puts a smile on my face (these days) and the surf rock vibes are fab. The demo is my definitive version (ie - exactly the same as the final one minus Nicki and MIA who actually take away from the final product, removing that great original bridge). It’s my Girl Gone Wild - the song most fans admit is bad but really enjoy? Yeah Living For Love is just dull to me in comparison. It’s fine, and when I put on Rebel Heart it’s a good opener but I’m always quite glad it’s out the way.
Living For Love and Give Me All Your Luvin were tests for us OG fans dd. Lucky star Girl Gone Wild and Bitch I'm Madonna were both gorge.
Girl Gone Wild is nothing of the sort. GMAYL and GGW were a dreadful one-two punch and it’s only because the latter reminds gays of the sort of thing they’d hear on popper-fuelled holidays to Gran Canaria that it scrapes by in the fan consciousness. She pandered with that RuPaul final challenge budget video and it worked I guess. I use it on exercise playlists (Dada Life or Justin Cognito remixes...) but let’s not pretend like it’s some brilliant second single. It’s still trash.
I actually think she should have lead the campaign with Girl Gone Wild! Yes it’s not revolutionary but it’s fun and she looked hot in that video. Follow it up with I’m Addicted, Masterpiece, Falling Free and a remix package for Gang Bang.
