Talk about an entrance! The iconic beat of “Vogue” filled the Lucas Oil Stadium to start off the 46th Super Bowl halftime show this past Sunday. Escorted to the stage by a throng of armor-clad, Romanesque men fanning her with giant feathers, Madonna appeared atop a throne.

Costumed in a part Roman, part Egyptian-style crown and outfit, the Queen of Pop hopped onto the stage and joined her dancers, who all wore a blend of S&M gear, gladiator helmets, jester hats and golden armor. Using very sophisticated technology, the floor around the stage had high definition videos of Madonna dancing on the cover of Vogue, along with various other animations. The successful execution almost made up for the fact that her entrance was the least original portion of the show, as Kylie Minogue’s latest tour was Greek mythology themed and contained variations of all of the styles displayed here.

The infamous “Vogue” choreography ended with the removal of her crown, and she began to sing her 2000 hit “Music.” Dancers donning designer Jeremy Scott’s music note-patterned Adidas track pants replaced the gladiators. These young men assisted Madonna in a half-cartwheel, then fell to the back as Madonna joined a strange cherub-man doing tightrope tricks in a toga.

None of this absurdity, however, could have prepared the audience for what was to come: LMFAO gently mashing up “Party Rock Anthem” with “Music” as the three sang with Madonna on top of Redfoo’s shoulders. And if that wasn’t enough, the whole stadium definitely got its fill of fantastic – albeit somewhat absurd – show¬–making when Madonna joined LMFAO for a very electric shuffle. By this point, the DJ deck animation going on in front of the stage was quite realistic, arguably one of the most successful visual effects attempted for the Super Bowl.

With the trendy tweet “I’m sixty and I know it” shortly after that performance (she’s 53, and probably the only person her age to rock that well), Madonna seemed to be enjoying herself during the most surprising collaboration of the evening. Her next performance, also a collaboration, was the most Super Bowl-themed song yet. Cheerleaders, led by Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. began chanting “Y-O-U you wanna? L-U-V Madonna!” Produced by Madonna herself and Martin Solveig (“Hello” ft. Dragonnette), “Give Me All Your Luvin’” is a cheer-pop anthem with a killer bass guitar line. The song is both a tribute to Madonna’s youth — she was a cheerleader in high school — as well as a critique of contemporary pop; it is no coincidence that the lyrics “every record sounds the same” came up so soon after she called Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” “reductive” during an interview.

A marching band toting snare drums and led by Cee–Lo Green segues “Give Me All Your Luvin,’” Madonna’s newest song, with a mini “Open Your Heart” / “Express Yourself” mashup song by the two. The quite meta, bouncing video projection of a football field on top the actual football field was then sucked into the stage as though it were a carpet, revealing a span of outer space. A very large choir took its place on the stage to accompany Cee–Lo and Madonna in singing “Like a Prayer” — arguably her most euphoric song. This last portion suffered from poor costume decisions; Madonna was the only person who looked good. She donned a large, black dress coat over her initial costume. The choir, on the other hand, resembled penguins, and Cee–Lo Green’s black sequin robe was a bad mix of Darth Vader, trash bag and drag queen.

Exiting in dramatic fashion, Madonna vanished into smoke at the back of the stage before delivering the final word of the line “I hear you call my name, and it feels like…home.” The stars in the video sequence then gathered to form the words “World Peace” and, as corny as it may be, it was a fitting reminder in a time of rising political tension.

If her past tours are any indication, Madonna’s upcoming world tour will also have four sections, four themes with songs remixed and re-interpreted to fit them. Considering that she sang four songs for the performance, perhaps it is apt to predict that her themes will be Greek-Egyptian-Roman, faux-Electronic Pop, Americana Anthem and Spiritual Euphoria.

One thing is certain: Madonna still makes very intelligent collaborative decisions, is aware of the curve and has come back once again to reshape it. Bearing in mind Lady Gaga’s declining popularity and the overwhelming Twitter support for this blonde bombshell who made Pop what it is today, 2012 may very well be the year of Madonna.