It's finally here. Madonna's first single from "M.D.N.A." was released to iTunes exclusively at 6 AM, and like a lot of people, here I was at 6, joyfully bouncing in my seat as the download progress bar filled up with that dark gray color: I was seconds away from getting all of Madonna's luvin'!
It must be stated that the official single mix doesn't differ much from the demo that leaked last year. The production is obviously fine-tuned and Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.'s vocals are added in, but other than that the structure of the song doesn't change. This is no "E.T." situation.
With that being said, "Give Me All Your Luvin'" is not Madonna's best single. It is, however, her most blatantly fun. While in past 2000-era singles like "Hung Up" or "4 Minutes" (if you have not heard these songs, look them up for your own well-being) Madonna sang in a sexy, concealed manner, in this track Madonna returns to what first made her famous. The flirty, honest, and downright fun vocal performance she lays on the track she and Martin Solveig produced is reminiscent of her older material. And when I say old, I mean old as in "Holiday" and "Like A Virgin."
"I hear you comin' and I don't wanna know your name," Madonna sings in a soft, friendly voice during the track's first verse. Her flirtatious vocals are intercut with the soon-to-be-legendary "L-U-V Madonna" and "Y-O-U You wanna?" cheerleader-esque chants delivered by none other than Miss Minaj and M.I.A.
"Don't play those stupid games 'cause I'ma different kind of girl. Every record sounds the same you've gotta step into my world," Madonna sings in the chorus or pre-chorus (technically it could be both) when the song's care-free production is at its best. There are soft-hitting synthesizer beats, winding synths, and those delicious bass strums in a frenzy behind Madonna's lush vocals.
The chorus is a clear kick-back to 80's: "Give me all your luvin', give me your love. Give me all your love today," Madonna sings backed by some retro-sounding production. It's almost euphoric.
After the second chorus one starts to wonder: "Are Nicki and M.I.A. just here to be cheerleaders?"
But then, in place of the vocal breakdown in the song's demo is a brand-new verse by the Harajuku Barbie herself. "I'm Roman. I'm a barbarian, I'm Conan. You was sleepin' on me, you was dozin'. Now move! I'm gonin'" she effortlessly raps. Although in my opinion her verse is too short, this performance by Minaj should be ranked among her best collabs. Such a great rapperette!
After that comes Madonna's bridge (same as in the demo) and then M.I.A. comes in. Her laid-back rapping style is such a contrast to Nicki's overzealous rapping style. "It's supersonic, bionic, uranium hit" she says during her verse. It's far from "Paper Planes" and closer to "XXXO."
Then Madonna comes back for another ecstatic, cheerleader-aided chorus and goes out with a bang!
I love this song because it's so unapologetically fun unlike most of the stuff on the radio. This song will definitely be bringing Madonna back to the top of the charts again. And throwing in Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. didn't hurt either.
What do you think of Madonna's new single? Would you buy it? Is it worth performing at the Superbowl? Comments greatly appreciated!
