Track together, the recording of the song was notably highlighted by aĬonsiderable degree of strife between them. But in the grand scheme of However, despite Madonna and Leonard coming up with this Lyrically, the song was written by Madame X in the time span of about three This classic was written by Madonna alongside her regular collaborator, Patrick Leonard. Robinson and is also based on themes of ecstasy and racism. The visual features African-American film actor Leon The content of “Like a Prayer” and its video were influenced by Madonna’s own Catholic Known for directing some of the Queen of Pop’s iconic videos. Was done so under the direction of Mary Lambert. The music video, which was filmed in Hollywood, California, Lists include the ones compiled by Rolling Has been placed on a number of ‘greatest music videos’ lists.
In addition to winning the aforementioned award, the visual Nominated for another ( Video of the Year).Īnother interesting fact is that the 1989 MTV Video Music The video still went on to win a MTV Video Music Award inġ989 in the Viewer’s Choice category, as well as being Is considered to have contributed to its massive success as wellĪs the eponymous album it is featured on, which eventually topped the Billboard Ultimately the controversy which surrounded “Like a Prayer” Two commercials for them, and they were going to sponsor her forthcoming BlondĪmbition World Tour. Yet despite this official closure of the businessĪssociation, Madonna was still allowed to keep the entirety of her $5 millionĬontract fee. The Vatican’s efforts were particularly successful in termsĭue to the protests, Pepsi eventually terminated theirĬontract with Madonna. Under the agreement, she was to do an additional Which was directed Joe Pytka, was a completely-different piece than the actual Its subsidiaries. This is despite the fact that the Pepsi advertisement, Organizations, formally denounced the visual.Īnd one of the ways they did so was by boycotting Pepsi and Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) himself, as well as some other likewise The music video relies heavily on religious (particularlyĬhristian) and other controversial imagery. As such, the Vatican, inducing To the then-media standard of radio or MTV. The world, Madonna made history by being theįirst major artist to debut a song on a commercial as opposed In taking this approach in introducing “Like a Prayer” to Once again the same day the song itself was released. The actual music video itself made its debut the next March 1989, during the broadcast of the ultra-popular “The Cosby Show”. The full-length, two-minute version of the advert wasĮntitled “Make a Wish”. And it premiered approximately a week later, on 2 The tease happened during the broadcast of the 31 stAnnual The soft-drink company had used the track for a televisionĪdvertisement which they initially teased onĢ2 February 1989. Refusing to add the word “Pepsi” to the song as her superstar predecessors had done in Madonna agreed to use and actually premiere “Like a Prayer”Īs part of a sponsorship deal she had with Pepsi. They signed her despite her Music Video of “Like a Prayer” and Pepsi Deal List of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. Moreover Rolling Stone has placed the track on its Topped the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart in addition to music chartsįor example, “Like a Prayer” has been certified Platinum in the The song proved to be a great success for the songstress. Of Madonna’s live and compilation albums. “Like a Prayer” has since gone on to be featured on a number Single and title track from Madonna’s fourth album. The aforementioned labels released it as the lead Sire Records along with Warner Records released “Like a Conclusionīut all of those factors considered, at the end of the day it is Madonna who wrote “Like a Prayer”. And once again based on her own explanation, we can safely conclude that this is perhaps the Queen of Pop’s own personal version of a praise song. And in doing so, she is stating her willingness to share the aforementioned spiritually-based experience with him. And considering that the addressee throughout the rest of the song is God, using that same logic the statement itself doesn’t make much sense. Thus this is one part of the track in particular which listeners have interpreted as an allusion to romantic relations, as in Madonna’s pledge to sensually gratify her partner. Or perhaps another explanation is that the singer is addressing someone other than God during these particular parts of the song. Where the song becomes a little bit confusing is when Madonna states her desire to “take” the addressee “there”. Where “there” points to exactly isn’t specified but is likely a reference to the aforementioned experience.