Considering Vogue hosts the annual Met Gala, Madonna could have sung "Vogue" for her surprise performance at the Monday, May 7 event, but she instead chose two songs that were even more fitting for the occasion. After the lights dimmed in the Great Hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC and the sound of church bells tolled, the pop star appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in a monastic robe, just like her backup dancers. Then the dancers tore Madonna's robe away to reveal the satiny white bustier she wore underneath. (The look could have been "Borderline" risqué, but Madge made it more chaste by covering her arms and legs with flowy, diaphanous fabric.)

Then, Madonna broke into song, singing her 1989 hit "Like a Prayer" before segueing into a cover of Leonard Cohen's 1984 classic "Hallelujah" — two picks befitting this year's theme "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination." As she sang, she walked among the A-list guests and then suddenly rose above them in what must have been a transcendent sight to behold.

And Madonna had another surprise in store for her fellow Met Gala attendees: She also performed a preview of "Beautiful Game," a song from her forthcoming 14th studio album. "It's a beautiful plan, but I'm not concerned," she sang. "It's a beautiful game that I never learned / You have taught me to shut my mouth, so I don't get burned / Keep your beautiful lies, 'cause I'm not concerned."

Earlier that night, the 59-year-old hit the Met Gala red carpet in a black Jean Paul Gaultier gown, accessorizing the haute couture ensemble with a black veil, bejeweled crosses, and rosaries. "Jean Paul was, to me, the perfect person to work with because we've had such a good history together," she told People. "And he's worked with me on so many shows, and Catholic iconography has been a really big part of my work. And he treats me like a queen." ("And she is," Jean Paul said with a laugh.) Well, this queen definitely gets our worship for her devotion to this year's theme!