Are you ready for this?
So, here we go - our #2 song is...
#02 - VOGUE
Average: 9.5139 - Highest: 10 (x25), Lowest: 6 (x1 - ch... 
)
Writers: Madonna, Shep Pettibone
Producers: Madonna, Shep Pettibone, Craig Kostich
When Madonna was finishing promotion for
Like a Prayer, she was going to release "Keep It Together". To make sure it would do well on the charts, she and the producer Shep Pettibone (who would collaborate with her in the future, with
Erotica) decided to write a new song to use as its B-Side. Inspired by the underground gay scene, they ended up writing not just a B-Side or a single, but one of the best songs of all time.
The label was so impressed that they decided to use the song as the lead single off
I'm Breathless, the soundtrack for the film
Dick Tracy, in which Madonna interpreted Breathless Mahoney. It was a worldwide success, topping many charts, including the US and UK ones.
She performed it live many times. One of its most well-known performances is the one at the 1990 VMAs, where Madonna and her dancers were Marie Antoinette and her sassy court. She also performed it at The Blond Ambition Tour, in a relatively simple performance which features the original choreography, at The Girlie Show Tour, in an intricate, Middle-East-inspired performance, at The Re-Invention Tour, as its opening act, with Madonna doing some really interesting Yoga poses, and at The Sticky & Sweet Tour, where it was mixed with "Give It
To Me" (the one by Timbaland, not Give It 2 Me) and "4 Minutes". Recently, she also performed it majestically at the Super Bowl Halftime concert.
The video is one of Madonna's best, most infamous and most acclaimed. Heavily inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood and its icons, its amazing choreography features lots of moves from the "Vogue" style of dancing - this video was probably what mainly popularised it. What is that dance routine at the third chorus, by the way? Lord!
As you can see, the song and the video are some of the absolutely most important things Madonna did, and it wasn't just because of that that "Vogue" got a 10 from me - it's a GREAT song, full of different layers, interesting elements, cool references and, of course, some of the most memorable hooks ever. Almost perfection!
But that means we already have a #1 song. Yes, ATRL, I think you'll be glad to know that the winner of our Immaculate Singles rate is nothing less than...
#01 - LIKE A PRAYER
Average: 9.5556 - Highest: 10 (x27), Lowest: 6 (x1)
Writers: Madonna, Patrick Leonard
Producers: Madonna, Patrick Leonard
It was 1988 and Madonna had just turned 30. Of course that already brings some sadness by itself, but Madonna's mother had also died when she was 30 (and Madonna was 5). Fragilized by that and frustrated with the negative reception of
Who's That Girl and a play she was acting in, Madonna decided it was time to change some things, and that included her music. That's what inspired the album
Like a Prayer and its title song and lead single.
"Like a Prayer" was the first song to be worked for this album, and she wrote it and produced it with her previous collaborator Patrick Leonard. Inspired by Madonna's Catholic upbringing, she said the song was about a passionate girl "so in love with God that it is almost as though He were the male figure in her life" - this actually makes sense: its lyrics seem to describe some kind of religous experience, but plenty of times it feels like it can also be a sexual act ("I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there"). When released as a single, it was a massive success, topping charts all around the world (that includes the US and the UK).
She performed it many times - at The Blond Ambition Tour (right after that "Like a Virgin" performance where she simulates masturbation, remember? Right after that she dresses as a tormented nun... lol), at The Re-Invention Tour (as a part of the Acoustic segment) and at The Sticky & Sweet Tour (with a massive dance version of the song). I'm not a fan of the latter - maybe because of that hideous outfit. Oh, and there was also the Hope for Haiti concert, the Super Bowl Halftime Show, etc.
Where do I even start with the video? I mean, the woman kissed a black saint, got stigmatas in her hands, danced as a helpless ***** with a Gospel choir and then... then... IN FRONT OF BURNING CROSSES. I mean, they were ****ing BURNING CROSSES and it was ****ing 1989 (this is perhaps the best scene I've ever seen in a music video, by the way). Just imagine the shitstorm that she wanted it to cause. And yes, it did. The video was
highly controversial. Pepsi cancelled a deal with her because of it and took her commercial (which is great, by the way) out of air as soon as possible. The Pope banned her appearance in Italy. Religious groups all around the world were infuriated. When will your faves?
"Like a Prayer" is to this day deemed as one of the best songs of all-time, deservedly so. I love the way it mixes the sacred (the choir, for example) and the profane (that
wild guitar), the way her love for God turns into an unstoppable beast throughout the song. Masterfully made piece of music, that's what it is. 10 from me, of course.
