"Living for Love" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her thirteenth studio album, Rebel Heart (2015). It was written and produced by Madonna, Diplo and Ariel Rechtshaid, with additional writing from MoZella and Toby Gad. Originally intended for a Valentine's Day 2015 release, the song was rush-released as the lead single from the album on December 20, 2014, by Interscope Records, after demos recorded for the album leaked on to the internet. An EDM, diva house, disco and electropop track on which Madonna experimented with different musical genres, "Living for Love" contains instrumentation from percussion and piano by singer Alicia Keys, along with a gospel choir. Madonna composed the track as a break-up song, however she wanted to deviate and make the lyrics as uplifting in nature, talking about counteracting negative thoughts with positive responses.
"Living for Love" received positive reviews from critics, who praised its rhythm and lyrics, comparing it to her earlier works. They also considered the song a step-up from her last two lead singles. In the United States, it failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100, but became Madonna's 44th number-one hit on the Dance Club Songs chart, tying her with country singer George Strait as the act with most number-one singles on any Billboard chart. Although United Kingdom's BBC Radio 1 decided not to play it, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 26, becoming Madonna's 71st top-forty single, extending her record as the female artist with the most top-forty UK singles. "Living for Love" reached the top-twenty of the charts in Finland, Hungary, Israel, Japan and Lebanon, but was commercially unsuccessful in other nations.
An accompanying music video was directed by the French duo Julien Choquart and Camille Hirigoyen, together known as J.A.C.K., and was released in February 2015. The storyline incorporates mythological elements and shows Madonna as a matador, fighting her dancers dressed like minotaurs in a red circular stage. It had numerous costume changes, and was critically appreciated for its empowering theme and transcending gender roles. Madonna first performed the song in a similar matador theme at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards; it became the most-watched moment of the night. The second performance was at the 2015 Brit Awards, which made headlines due to the singer's wardrobe malfunction causing her to be pulled down a flight of stairs that made up part of the stage. Alternate versions of "Living for Love" were performed on Le Grand Journal, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and on Madonna's 2015–16 Rebel Heart Tour.
Comments