MADONNA - LIKE A PRAYER
Life Is A Mystery, Everyone Must Stand Alone
I Hear You Call My Name
And It Feels Like Home
When You Call My Name It's Like A Little Prayer
I'm Down On My Knees, I Wanna Take You There
In The Midnight Hour I Can Feel Your Power
Just Like A Prayer You Know I'll Take You There
I Hear Your Voice, It's Like An Angel Sighing
I Have No Choice, I Hear Your Voice
Feels Like Flying
I Close My Eyes, Oh God I Think I'm Falling
Out Of The Sky, I Close My Eyes
Heaven Help Me
When You Call My Name It's Like A Little Prayer
I'm Down On My Knees, I Wanna Take You There
In The Midnight Hour I Can Feel Your Power
Just Like A Prayer You Know I'll Take You There
Like A Child You Whisper Softly To Me
You're In Control Just Like A Child
Now I'm Dancing
It's Like A Dream, No End And No Beginning
You're Here With Me, It's Like A Dream
Let The Choir Sing
When You Call My Name It's Like A Little Prayer
I'm Down On My Knees, I Wanna Take You There
In The Midnight Hour I Can Feel Your Power
Just Like A Prayer You Know I'll Take You There
Just Like A Prayer, Your Voice Can Take Me There
Just Like A Muse To Me, You Are A Mystery
Just Like A Dream, You Are Not What You Seem
Just Like A Prayer, No Choice Your Voice Can Take Me There
Just Like A Prayer, I'll Take You There
It's Like A Dream To Me
SONG FACTS
Writer(s): Madonna , Patrick Leonard
Producer(s): Madonna, Patrick Leonard
"Like A Prayer" Was The First Song By A Major Artist To Be Used In A Commercial Before Being Released To Stores Or Radio Stations. With The Cola Wars Heating Up, Pepsi Signed Madonna To A $5 Million Endorsement Deal, Which Included A Two-Minute Commercial That Would Debut This Song. The Spot, Overseen By Pepsi's Ad Agency Bbdo, Was Called "Make A Wish," And Showed Madonna Watching An 8-Year-Old Version Of Herself And Doing Some Jubilant Street Dancing.
The Commercial Was Promoted In A 30-Second Spot That Aired During The Grammy Awards On February 22, 1989 (Yes, A Commercial For A Commercial). Then On March 2, It Aired On Prime Time Television Worldwide, Including In America Where It Was Seen On The Cosby Show. The Pepsi People Claimed That 250 Million Viewers Saw The Ad, And That They Were Clearly The Choice Of The Younger Generation, As Their Partnerships With Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, And Now Madonna, Demonstrated. The Commercial Was Clever And Innocent, And The Song Was Also A Winner, Clearly Destined For #1 With Such An Auspicious Debut.
The Song Was Released The Next Day And Instantly Added To Radio Playlists Around The World. It Was Also Added On Mtv, But Instead Of Creating A Video That Was An Extension Of The Commercial, Madonna Hijacked It. Instead Of An 8-Year-Old Girl At A Birthday Party, We See Madonna Witness A Brutal Crime And Take Refuge In A Church. She Shares An Interracial Kiss, Gets Stigmata On Her Hands, And Dances In Front Of Burning Crosses. Predictably, Religious Groups Were Outraged, With The American Family Association And The Vatican Condemning It. Pepsi, Facing A Boycott, Dropped Madonna And Never Again Aired The Commercial.
The Song Also Became A Chart-Topper In Several Other Countries.
This Won The Viewer's Choice Award At The 1989 Mtv Video Music Awards.
The Video Was Shot In California And Directed By Mary Lambert, Who Had Worked On Videos For "Borderline," "Like A Virgin" And "Material Girl." The Commercial Was Shot In Arizona And Directed By Joe Pytka, Who Had Previously Worked With Pepsi On A Michael Jackson Commercial.
Madonna Had Recently Divorced Actor Sean Penn When This Was Released. The Cover Of The Single Was Drawn By Her Brother, Christopher, And Contained The Letters "Mlvc", With A "P" Falling Away. They Represented Madonna's Initials, "Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone," With The "Penn" Falling Away.
The Album Was Released In March 1989. It Was Eagerly Anticipated By Madonna's Fans, Since Her Last Album, The Remix Collection U Can Dance, Came Out In November 1987.
Madonna's Original Idea For The Video Was To Have Her And The Black Saint-Figure Shot In The Back.
This Appears On The Soundtrack Of The 1999 Drew Barrymore Movie Never Been Kissed.
Madonna And Pat Leonard Originally Envisioned This Song With A Latin Flair, Complete With Bongos And Latin Percussion, But Quickly Scrapped The Idea In Favor Of Religious Elements Like A Church Organ And Choir.
Madonna Credits Ex-Husband Sean Penn For Helping Her Address Personal Issues And Bring More Of Herself To Her Music: "He Was Extremely Influential In Encouraging Me To Reveal That Side Of Myself," She Told Interview Magazine In 1989.
By 2016, Any Lingering Hostility Between Madonna And Pepsi Was Forgotten As Her Song "Express Yourself" Featured In A Commercial That Aired During The Super Bowl. In The Spot, Janelle Monáe Dances Through Different Scenes Representing Music Through The Generations And How Pepsi Was A Part Of It.