Express Yourself

This funk-pop sing-along was the second single from Madonna's fourth album, Like a Prayer. The track was a top-five hit in most of the world, peaking at #2 in the US and #5 in the UK. It also topped the charts in several countries, including Canada, Italy, Japan, Switzerland and also the Eurochart Hot 100.

The song was written and produced by Stephen Bray and Madonna. Bray originally met Madonna during her pre-stardom when she attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to study dance. The pair went to New York together and became part of the band The Breakfast Club. Madonna soon left but Bray continued as their drummer and in 1987 they had a hit with "Right On Track." When Madonna obtained her recording contract with Sire Records, she continued collaborating with Bray and they wrote some of the Material Girl's biggest hits of the 1980s including "Into the Groove" and "True Blue."

The song is one of female empowerment, urging women never to "go for second-best." Madonna explained (as quoted in the book, Madonna 'talking': Madonna in Her Own Words): "The ultimate thing behind the song is that if you don't express yourself, if you don't say what you want, then you're not going to get it. And in effect you are chained down by your inability to say what you feel or go after what you want."