1989Released
5:40

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Like a Prayer. By Songfacts®.

"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. Madonna and MTV were the big winners here. Those who thought she came off as a recalcitrant priss tended to be older, conservative folks who were far outside her target audience, and the kind of authority figures her fanbase (the same ones Pepsi was going after) despised. In defying her corporate suitor, Madonna showed that her art was more important than their money. Pepsi got the song for a day, but MTV (always a Madonna stronghold), got the rest of the run and benefited from the controversy as viewers tuned in to see what the fuss was about. Pepsi had two more commercials planned and was going to sponsor her Blonde Ambition tour, but they dropped all association with Madonna, who got to keep the $5 million. Her take (as told to Pandora): "I made a video and it made some people mad. Drank some Pepsi and called it a day."

Madonna wrote this with Patrick Leonard, who she teamed with for many of her hits in the late '80s. Madonna explained to Rolling Stone why her relationship with Leonard has proved to be so successful: "We're both from the Midwest, and deep down at our core, we're both geeks. He's melancholic, and he is a classically trained musician with an incredible sense of melody. We just hit it off from the start. We always come up with something interesting. We usually don't write frivolous songs, although we've done that, too. There's something magical about our writing."

The Andrae Crouch gospel choir sang on this, but they refused to appear in the video. Crouch was a pastor and musician who wrote many Sunday morning standards, such as "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power," and helped bring a gospel vibe to several pop hits. A year before his choir appeared in Madonna's hit, the group showed up on Michael Jackson's "Man In The Mirror," which Crouch also arranged. When Crouch examined the lyrics to "Like A Prayer," he approved of the religious imagery, with Madonna on her knees sending a prayer to the Lord above. Add in a church organ and Crouch's holy choir, and you've got yourself a gospel song approved by a famous pastor. Crouch realized his error when he saw plans for the sexually charged video and pulled his choir from the clip. A choir does appear, but they are miming the Crouch choir's vocals.

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Like a Prayer.
FKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
112BPM

Album

The album Like a Prayer is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Like a Prayer.
Sire/Warner Records
© 1989 Sire Records Company
℗ 1989 Sire Records Company

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