Raging Bull: The Return of Madonna to the Mainstream at the Grammys

While Madonna may seem gone to those who don’t regularly keep up with her canon of work, last night’s Grammy performance of the first single from Rebel Heart, “Living For Love,” proves that Madonna has officially re-entered mainstream music consciousness. Her return to the aesthetic of the 1995 video for “Take A Bow” pervades the look and feel of “Living for Love,” toreador ensemble included.

Embracing the illuminati conspiracy theories with minotaur men wearing masks that personify “the mark of the beast,” Madonna appeared on stage in a red leotard with black sequins to sing one of her most anthemic songs to date. Mimicking the video (which she recently released via Snapchat and then segued onto YouTube), Madonna battles a circle of vicious half-men, half-bull types and comes out on top–literally.

Elevated to the ceiling on a suspended wire at the end of the performance, Madonna showed her detractors, fans and fellow musicians alike that she is still very much a force to be reckoned with. Plus, an introduction from Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj (both of whom M has collaborated with), being photographed with Taylor Swift and flashing her bum on the red carpet all served to prove that the persistent Queen of Pop was hard to ignore last night.