Hung Up great song but glad it didn't win to be honest, now backing Like A Prayer to win, but would be happy if Frozen got there

Love is a bird, she needs to fly

 

 

| 02 // Frozen // Ray of Light // 9.78 (6: regina, 7: joe. // 11: nickf1, luciano, omie, jonjo, jay, gezza, jay, cassandra, robswift, jsilv, aled, haus, oliver, riser, 10: casey, adamaloud, liamk, triangles, mikemyers, lexc, tyler, gavindeejay, dandy, randomfurlong, leww, niallminogue, gooddelta, mr_aly, liam )

 

It was actually a fairly big jump between the #3 and this top 2. The lead single from Madonna's 7th studio album, is your second favourite and almost went all the way. A bit of a dark horse throughout the competition, it is widely acknowledged as one of her absolute greats, but it never seems to get the vocal support or attention of the two songs that surround it here. A mid-tempo ballad, it follows the style of a lot of its parent album, in that it is dark, atmospheric and brooding. Highly cinematic, this is revealed also through the accompanying music video, set in a Californian desert, whereby Madonna assumes a witch-like figure that shape-shifts into various animals. The video is engrossing, Madonna has never looked so mysterious and captivating - probably my #1 video from her! Reaching the #1 in the UK it was also a commercial success and helped to lay the foundations for the album which was at the time one of her most experimental and deep.

 

The song talks of an emotionless entity, frozen in time and space, and ultimately the desire to free this trapped person from themselves. Before producing the album, Madonna began looking into spiritualism and starting to step out of her own body and look at the world differently. In the song, Madonna is the temptress, vying to strengthen her bond with the mysterious lover, and she came to this through a longing to create a "tribal, lush, romantic" sound. She did this perfectly. Claiming that the song is about "Retaliation, revenge, hate, regret... it's just about people in general" helps us to understand the emotion behind the song. Madonna is not angry, she is just reacting to those that have wronged her. A beautifully constructed and sung piece of art, it is a long-standing masterpiece and firmly deserves its silver position. Beaten narrowly to the top spot, the song managed to amass huge support and very little disdain here. It seems our hearts are warmed to Madonna's chilling tones.

I hear your voice, it's like an angel sighing

 

 

| 01 // Like A Prayer // Like A Prayer // 9.84 (5: leww // 11: robswift, jay, jonjo, .cdc., dandy, jark, randomfurlong, niallminogue, gooddelta, liam, pippa, 10: joe., adamaloud, liamk, sweetcandy, triangles, fgiboy, mikemyers, oliver, haus, lex, jsilv, aled, tyler, cassandra, gavindeejay, gezza, ultraviolence, simon, titty, johnkm, regina)

 

And so we reach the peak and pinnacle of Madonna's career. You have voted 'Like A Prayer' your favourite single from the queen of pop!!

 

The lead single from her fourth studio album, and marking the move from 80s funcentric Madonna to the darker, more mature side she turned to in the 90s, this came at the cusp of both. A personal and spiritual song, made moreso by the roaring choir gospel that spreads throughout it, merged with the dark instrumental and almost menacing sound it carries through. A commercial success, it became her 7th #1 in the US as well as topping the charts in the UK and across the globe. The legacy the song left behind speaks for itself. Often cited as Madonna's defining moment and one of the most iconic songs/videos and moments in music history it cemented her as the legend she was to become. The song is about channeling the love that people have for God into human form. It does this through using the act of prayer as a sexual experience but it makes sense without the religious side too and stands the test of time as a glorious love song about everything that should be right in a relationship. It is at the same time deeply personal, but also an anthem for anyone in love.

 

The song merges religion with sex and can be seen to be one of her most controversial moments, particularly in its visuals that caused an absolute storm. Hugely controversial, but spot on with its message, the video has gone on to become one of the most highly rated/talked about/iconic videos of all time. Witnessing the murder of a girl by white supremasists, and the impending arrest of a black man, Madonna seeks shelter in a church and reveals herself as a witness to the event. In the video, she uses catholic imagery as a means of exploring her love; the black saint in the church, is the wrongly accused man and her desire to set him free matches her desire to be with him. It explores the duality of religious and sexual ecstasy. It merges dreams with reality and you're never quite sure whether what you are witnessing is real or fantasy. A hugely accomplished video that has had critics and fans alike rattling their brains trying to pick apart every little detail of its intricate plot and subtext, it is a world of ideas and concepts crammed into 5 glorious minutes. It was naturally met with opposition, mainly from religious groups who deemed it blasphemous, particularly the burning crosses and the desire that Madonna expresses among the religious symbols around her. Away from this controversy, the video ends positively and the beauty shines through.

 

A wonderful song, so complex, yet simple at the same time. Quintessentially Madonna through its complex lyrics, soaring vocals, tense instrumentation, controversial subject matter and above all, damn catchy sounds. So there we have it *.* Have your prayers been answered?

I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art.

-x-

01 | Like A Prayer

02 | Frozen

03 | Hung Up

04 | Vogue

05 | Ray of Light

06 | Sorry

07 | La Isla Bonita

08 | Papa Don't Preach

09 | The Power of Goodbye

10 | Into The Groove

11 | Express Yourself

12 | Beautiful Stranger

13 | Jump

14 | Celebration

15 | Material Girl

16 | Open Your Heart

17 | Don't Tell Me

18 | Get Together

19 | Borderline

20 | Like A Virgin

21 | Music

22 | Holiday

23 | Live To Tell

24 | Die Another Day

25 | Justify My Love

26 | Cherish

27 | Nothing Really Matters

28 | Lucky Star

29 | You'll See

30 | Crazy For You

31 | Drowned World/Substitute For Love

32 | 4 Minutes

33 | Hollywood

34 | True Blue

35 | Give It 2 Me

36 | Burning Up

37 | Secret

38 | Rain

39 | Who's That Girl

40 | What It Feels Like For A Girl

41 | Human Nature

42 | Miles Away

43 | Nothing Fails

44 | Dress You Up

45 | American Life

46 | Erotica

47 | Deeper and Deeper

48 | Take A Bow

49 | I'll Remember

50 | Girl Gone Wild

51 | Oh Father

52 | Bedtime Story

53 | Masterpiece

54 | American Pie

55 | Don't Cry For Me Argentina

56 | Causing A Commotion

57 | Angel

58 | This Used To Be My Playground

59 | Love Profusion

60 | You Must Love Me

61 | Give Me All Your Lovin'

62 | Bad Girl

63 | Everybody

64 | Keep It Together

65 | Dear Jessie

66 | Turn Up The Radio

67 | Hanky Panky

68 | Fever

 

-x-

01 | Confessions on a Dancefloor

02 | Ray of Light

03 | Like A Prayer

04 | True Blue

05 | Music

06 | Like A Virgin

07 | American Life

08 | Erotica

09 | Madonna

10 | Bedtime Stories

11 | Hard Candy

12 | MDNA

Done *.*

 

Thank you to all that rated, read & commented throughout this. Apologies it took a tad longer than expected but hope you enjoyed it.

 

Definitely been an experience and a half reliving her career and i've loved doing this, so thanks again!!

Two amazing songs,

 

What would I have had to have given Like a Prayer if I gave Frozen 11 for Frozen to have won?

 

In reality I would have given it 8 or 9.

 

Frozen is a wonderful and my favourite Madonna song. Love the strings, the percussion, the filtering, Orbit was reaching his peak on this. Very brave first single when they could have gone with the pop gold of Ray of Light.

 

Given that Confessions took the album crown (which I wouldn't have predicted) I'm surprised that Hung Up didn't take the single crown.

 

Great countdown. I've often under appreciated Madonna.

I'd have chosen Frozen out of the two but LAP is amazing too, great commentary as well Bal, loved the countdown.

Thanks so much for doing this, Bal! I've thoroughly enjoyed your commentary and the discussion. <3

There really couldn't be any other winner. Hung Up is my favourite Madonna song but Like A Prayer is so close, and it's probably the song that most people would associate her with more than anything else. Incredible song and video.

 

Love Frozen too, very beautiful song and a worthy runner-up. Thanks for hosting this Bal, I've really enjoyed the in-depth analysis and commentary and it really just reminds me what an incredible artist she is (and how sad it is that her star finally appears to be fading, I can only hope for yet another COAD style re-invention at some point).

I clearly got my scores muddled, as Frozen is one of my favourites, I didn't mean to give it a 7. Mess.

 

Thanks so much for doing this though, it was great!

HausofKubrick that was a great countdown :wub: thank you for taking all the time for that, been a great read!

 

Smashing winner :heart:

 

La Isla Bonita was robbed :ph34r:

There really couldn't be any other winner. Hung Up is my favourite Madonna song but Like A Prayer is so close, and it's probably the song that most people would associate her with more than anything else. Incredible song and video.

 

Love Frozen too, very beautiful song and a worthy runner-up. Thanks for hosting this Bal, I've really enjoyed the in-depth analysis and commentary and it really just reminds me what an incredible artist she is (and how sad it is that her star finally appears to be fading, I can only hope for yet another COAD style re-invention at some point).

 

Odds are the next album SHOULD be a corker! The rule generally is every third Madonna album is incredible (Like A Prayer 4th, Ray Of Light 7th, Confessions 10th).

LAP is utterly incredible, a one of a kind song. So so so iconic and amazing and just... :wub: Totally worthy winner.

 

Thanks for this Bal, and for forcing me into a bit of a Madonna love in over the past fee weeks :D

Amazing countdown Haus, even if I haven't commented that much, I have read and loved absolutely all of it

Your effort for this was amazing :wub:

Odds are the next album SHOULD be a corker! The rule generally is every third Madonna album is incredible (Like A Prayer 4th, Ray Of Light 7th, Confessions 10th).

 

She still seems to be chasing trends, as seen on Hard Candy and MDNA, which is what worries me - Diplo, Avicii...everyone else has pretty much been there, done that.

 

She used to be the one to establish trends. Like A Prayer and Ray Of Light were very much not like anything else around at the time. And even for a dance record, COAD was a pretty bold statement seeing as the big dance style at the time was looped house 80s rehashes.

'Like a Prayer' is definitely a worthy winner (even though 'Hung Up' should have slayed it). Classic Madonna - as Haus says in the last sentence of the commentary, it's everything a Madonna song should be. So joyous, you can't help but want to clap and sing along during that final chorus. :dance:

 

'Frozen' is a bit like what 'Confide in Me's is for Kylie - there's no song in the rest of her discography that sounds like it at all! Dark and haunting, really it quite the masterpiece.

 

Thank you ever so much for compiling and hosting Haus, your service has been brilliant and I've found the results have been delivered in the right amount of time. :heart:

Odds are the next album SHOULD be a corker! The rule generally is every third Madonna album is incredible (Like A Prayer 4th, Ray Of Light 7th, Confessions 10th).

Generally the two in between each AREN'T UTTER CACK though

Absolutely brilliant top 2! As I sadi on the previous page, her best two, bar none. I prefer that order too, but I kind of wanted the underdog ('Frozen') to win, just because it'd have been much less predictable. But LAP is a corker.

 

Thanks SO much for taking the time and effort to do this Bal! It was great to actually listen to her complete singles discography and now I can firmly say I actually like a fair amount of her songs as opposed to a handful, like I always thought I did.

ugh at the winner :( its decent enuff but

A well deserved winner, such a fantastic and iconic song, but Frozen is great also, thanks for this, it has been a blast and has inspired my upcoming ultimate kylie rate on this forum will be just as great as this