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Like a Prayer (song)
"Like a Prayer" is a song by American singer Madonna from her 1989 fourth studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's lead single on March 3, 1989, by Sire Records. Written and produced by both Madonna and Patrick Leonard, the song heralded an artistic and personal approach to songwriting for Madonna, who believed that she needed to cater more to her adult audience.
"Like a Prayer" is a pop rock, dance-pop, and gospel song that also incorporates elements of funk. It features background vocals from a choir and also a rock guitar. The lyrics contain liturgical words, but they have been interpreted by some people to have dual meanings of sexual innuendo and religion. "Like a Prayer" was acclaimed by music critics upon release and was a global commercial success, becoming Madonna's seventh No. 1 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, topping the Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks and also topping the charts in many other countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom. Rolling Stone listed "Like a Prayer" among "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
The accompanying music video for "Like a Prayer", directed by Mary Lambert, shows Madonna witnessing a white woman being sexually assaulted and subsequently killed by a group of white men. While a black man is arrested for the crime, Madonna hides in a church for safety, seeking strength to go forth as a witness. The video depicts a church and Catholic imagery such as stigmata. It also features the Ku Klux Klan's burning crosses and a dream sequence about kissing a black saint. The Vatican condemned the video, while family and religious groups protested against its broadcast. They boycotted products by soft drink manufacturer Pepsi, who had used the song in their commercial. Pepsi canceled their sponsorship contract with Madonna, but allowed her to retain the $5 million fee.
"Like a Prayer" has been featured on six of Madonna's concert tours, most recently on The Celebration Tour. The song has been covered by numerous artists. Along with the parent album, "Like a Prayer" was a turning point in Madonna's career, with critics starting to acknowledge her as an artist rather than a mere pop star. "Like a Prayer" was included on Madonna's greatest hits compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990), Celebration (2009) and Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022).
Madonna had not recorded any music throughout most of 1988. Following the critical and commercial failure of back-to-back big-budget films, Shanghai Surprise (1986) and Who's That Girl (1987), she acted in the Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow. However, the unfavorable reviews once again caused her discomfort. Her marriage to Sean Penn ended, leading to the couple filing for divorce in January 1989. Madonna had also turned 30, the age at which her mother had died, and thus the singer experienced more emotional turmoil. Madonna commented in the March 1989 issue of Rolling Stone that her Catholic upbringing struck a feeling of guilt in her all the time:
"Once you're a Catholic, you're always a Catholic—in terms of your feelings of guilt and remorse and whether you've sinned or not. Sometimes I'm wracked with guilt when I needn't be, and that, to me, is left over from my Catholic upbringing. Because in Catholicism you are born a sinner and you are a sinner all of your life. No matter how you try to get away from it, the sin is within you all the time."
Madonna also understood that as she was growing up, so was her core audience. Feeling the need to attempt something different, she wanted the sound of her new album to dictate what could be popular in the music world. Madonna had certain personal matters on her mind that she thought could be the musical direction of the album. For the title track, the singer chose topics that until then had been personal meditations never shared with the general public. She perused her personal journals and diaries, and began considering options. Madonna recalled, "What was it I wanted to say? I wanted the album to speak to things on my mind. It was a complex time in my life."
"I think there was a point when we realized that it was the title track, and the lead track, and it was going to be a powerhouse. It became obvious that there was something unique about it. And that somehow we made this thing work: with its stopping and starting, and a minimalistic rhythmic thing, and the verses, and these bombastic choruses, and this giant choir comes in. This is ambitious, you know?"
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Like a Prayer (song)
"Like a Prayer" is a song by American singer Madonna from her 1989 fourth studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's lead single on March 3, 1989, by Sire Records. Written and produced by both Madonna and Patrick Leonard, the song heralded an artistic and personal approach to songwriting for Madonna, who believed that she needed to cater more to her adult audience.
"Like a Prayer" is a pop rock, dance-pop, and gospel song that also incorporates elements of funk. It features background vocals from a choir and also a rock guitar. The lyrics contain liturgical words, but they have been interpreted by some people to have dual meanings of sexual innuendo and religion. "Like a Prayer" was acclaimed by music critics upon release and was a global commercial success, becoming Madonna's seventh No. 1 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, topping the Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks and also topping the charts in many other countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom. Rolling Stone listed "Like a Prayer" among "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
The accompanying music video for "Like a Prayer", directed by Mary Lambert, shows Madonna witnessing a white woman being sexually assaulted and subsequently killed by a group of white men. While a black man is arrested for the crime, Madonna hides in a church for safety, seeking strength to go forth as a witness. The video depicts a church and Catholic imagery such as stigmata. It also features the Ku Klux Klan's burning crosses and a dream sequence about kissing a black saint. The Vatican condemned the video, while family and religious groups protested against its broadcast. They boycotted products by soft drink manufacturer Pepsi, who had used the song in their commercial. Pepsi canceled their sponsorship contract with Madonna, but allowed her to retain the $5 million fee.
"Like a Prayer" has been featured on six of Madonna's concert tours, most recently on The Celebration Tour. The song has been covered by numerous artists. Along with the parent album, "Like a Prayer" was a turning point in Madonna's career, with critics starting to acknowledge her as an artist rather than a mere pop star. "Like a Prayer" was included on Madonna's greatest hits compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990), Celebration (2009) and Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022).
Madonna had not recorded any music throughout most of 1988. Following the critical and commercial failure of back-to-back big-budget films, Shanghai Surprise (1986) and Who's That Girl (1987), she acted in the Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow. However, the unfavorable reviews once again caused her discomfort. Her marriage to Sean Penn ended, leading to the couple filing for divorce in January 1989. Madonna had also turned 30, the age at which her mother had died, and thus the singer experienced more emotional turmoil. Madonna commented in the March 1989 issue of Rolling Stone that her Catholic upbringing struck a feeling of guilt in her all the time:
"Once you're a Catholic, you're always a Catholic—in terms of your feelings of guilt and remorse and whether you've sinned or not. Sometimes I'm wracked with guilt when I needn't be, and that, to me, is left over from my Catholic upbringing. Because in Catholicism you are born a sinner and you are a sinner all of your life. No matter how you try to get away from it, the sin is within you all the time."
Madonna also understood that as she was growing up, so was her core audience. Feeling the need to attempt something different, she wanted the sound of her new album to dictate what could be popular in the music world. Madonna had certain personal matters on her mind that she thought could be the musical direction of the album. For the title track, the singer chose topics that until then had been personal meditations never shared with the general public. She perused her personal journals and diaries, and began considering options. Madonna recalled, "What was it I wanted to say? I wanted the album to speak to things on my mind. It was a complex time in my life."
"I think there was a point when we realized that it was the title track, and the lead track, and it was going to be a powerhouse. It became obvious that there was something unique about it. And that somehow we made this thing work: with its stopping and starting, and a minimalistic rhythmic thing, and the verses, and these bombastic choruses, and this giant choir comes in. This is ambitious, you know?"