It’s no secret that Demi Lovato is on a fiery streak of domination lately, slaying the game with her empowering new album, Confident, her self-esteem boosters and her always-flawless style. But the arrival of her new music video may just be the 23-year-old’s fiercest move yet.

On Thursday night (Oct. 22), Demi quietly and unceremoniously released a video for “Waitin’ for You,” a dark track fueled by revenge fantasy and featuring a guest verse from L.A.-based rapper Sirah. Just listening to the song is enough to get you fired up, but Demi ups the ante in the vid, becoming the living embodiment of badassness as she sings, “I won’t back down, knuckles out, guard in my mouth, hungry for the next round/ I’ll be waitin’ for ya.”

Demi’s first two videos from the Confident era — the upbeat “Cool for the Summer” and the cinematic “Confident” — were big, glitzy productions, but “Waitin’ For You” is refreshingly raw and understated. She’s fresh-faced, sporting damp hair and a simple jacket emblazoned with the word “Confident” on the back. The black-and-white clip includes several close-ups of her face and hands, letting us know this girl’s ready to step into the ring (Figuratively, of course. We think.)

What ultimately makes this video her most powerful yet, though, is its personal tie-in to Demi’s past. Throughout the clip, you can see it’s set in some kind of schoolyard, and the final frame gives you the exact location: Cross Timbers Middle School in Grapevine, Tex., a.k.a. the place Demi once left because of intense bullying from her peers. Returning to the school — and ultimately strutting confidently away from it — is Demi’s “look how far I’ve come” moment, giving her closure and guaranteeing she has the last word when it comes to people who’ve crossed her.

Consider this your warning: Don’t mess with Dem.