popmusiclife: AUDIO: Madonna talks about M.I.A.’s Super Bowl middle finger

Madonna’s Super Bowl appearance went so smoothly for the pop superstar that she tells Ryan Seacrest she “was overwhelmed” during the performance of her hit “Like a Prayer.”

When she finished, “I started crying. I felt an incredible sense of warmth, love, and support,” said Madonna. “To see an entire stadium light up like candles it was like a religious experience.”

What Madonna was unaware of, until later, was M.I.A.’s middle finger gesture during “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” the new single with her and Nicki Minaj.

“I didn’t know about until I left; I had no idea,” Madonna said. “I found out about it in the elevator when I got into the car to go to the airport.”

“I was really surprised,” she continued. “I didn’t know anything about it. I wasn’t happy about it. I understand it’s punk rock and everything, but to me there was such a feeling of love and good energy, and positivity…it seemed negative. It’s such a teenager kinda, in a way, irrelevant thing to do in one respect. There was such a feeling of love and unity there. What was the point? It was just out of place.”

Watch Madonna’s full Super Bowl performance here.