Songoftheday 8/28/16 - Come on girls do you believe in love, cause I've got something to sing about it and it goes something like this...

"Express Yourself" - Madonna
from the album Like A Prayer (1989)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 11

Today's song of the day comes from Madonna, who had just released the most provocative music video up to that point for the gospel-pop anthem "Like A Prayer" in the spring of 1989. The second release from the same-titled album was another slice of uplifting dance-pop, "Express Yourself". This time, the video was a bit "safer", though it did sport her flashing her lace bra and grabbing her crotch in Michael Jackson-style. The song, written and produced by Madonna with Stephen Bray, has since become one of her most loved singles. While the original was a brass-infused album version, MTV mostly played the video using the Shep Pettibone remix, which removed the horns and admittedly campy background deep-vocals and added more bass...

"Express Yourself" became the second top-10 hit from Like A Prayer, reaching the runner-up spot in July of 1989. The song also crossed over to Billboard's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") chart, peaking at #12. The 12" remix single (including Pettibone's take) topped the dance club play chart for three weeks. Internationally, the song went to #1 in Canada, Italy, Switzerland, #3 in Germany, #5 in the UK, #7 in France, and top 10 in most of the rest of the world. The video would win three MTV Music Video awards in technical categories, and took Best Video at the Billboard Video Awards.

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


Madonna first performed the song live at the MTV Music Video Awards in 1989, proving without a doubt that she didn't need any extravagant production to bring down the house...

Here's the full Pettibone "Non Stop Express Mix" that topped the club chart for three weeks...

...and now for the legend in concert - first on her Blonde Ambition tour (the last one I saw live), which also used the Pettibone treatment...

For her Girlie Show concerts, she went in a disco route in 1993...

She brought out some hunky dancers as "soldiers" on her Reinvention shows...

On the 1999 tribute album Virgin Voices, 80s new wavers Information Society covered the song...

 Back in 2008, the first American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, used "Express Yourself" for her audition...

In 2010, "Express Yourself" was included in the hit show Glee's "Power Of Madonna" episode, and was part of the EP that topped the American albums chart...

Lastly, back to Madge on her MDNA tour in 2012, where she gave a wink to the controversy at the time surrounding Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" cribbing from this song, and of course ending with her putting in "She's Not Me" from Hard Candy...

Up tomorrow: An incorporated kid plays sadly.