"
Express Yourself" was the second single by
American singer-songwriter
Madonna from her fourth studio album
Like a Prayer, and was released on
May 9,
1989 by
Sire Records. It also appears remixed on both the 1989 Japanese mini-album
Remixed Prayers and the 1990 compilation album
The Immaculate Collection. Another remixed version of the song appears on her 2009 greatest hits collection
Celebration.
Song information
"Express Yourself", written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, was released as a single on May 9, 1989. Of all of Madonna's songs, "Express Yourself" perhaps contains the clearest message. The song is one of female empowerment, urging women never to "go for second-best" and to put their love "to the test". Other interpretations are that the song is about masturbation as a substitute for sex with another person while the right partner comes along. This seems to be evident in phrases like "What you need is a big strong hand, To lift you to your higher ground, Make you feel like a queen on a throne, Make him love you till you can't come down".
"Express Yourself" was released in France only as a maxi-single due to the fact that the previous single "Like A Prayer" was still very successful there during the summer of 1989. The Warner Bros. plans were to skip "Express Yourself" in favor of "Cherish", without even serving the song to radio stations. However, French radios decided to play the song, which caused many stations to create their own edit versions of the song from the mixes featured in the maxi-single. The song was not eligible to chart in the French "Top 50" (France's official singles chart), for "Express Yourself" was only available under a limited amount of maxi-singles.
The song is similar in many respects to the Staple Singers' 1971 hit "Respect Yourself."
Chart performance
"Express Yourself" debuted at a high #41, the week of June 3, 1989, on the
Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, and was in the Top 10 by the week of July 1, 1989, rocketing 13-6 that week, and eventually spent two weeks in the runner-up spot beginning on July 15, 1989. "Express Yourself" was kept from the top spot by Simply Red ("
If You Don't Know Me By Now") and Martika ("
Toy Soldiers").
In Europe, the single was her sixth number one hit, reaching the summit on July, 1st 1989 and stayed at the top for three weeks. It also reached number one in Canada and Japan and the US saw it go to number two. It was generally a top-five hit around the world and reached number 5 in the UK and Australia.
Music video
left|thumb|150px|Madonna in the music video for "Express Yourself", portraying a masculine persona.The video was directed by
David Fincher and filmed in
April 1989 at
Culver Studios in
Culver City, California. It was based on the
Fritz Lang classic film
Metropolis. Its budget of $5 million made it the most expensive music video in history at the time it was made (the 3rd most expensive of all time).
"Express Yourself" world-premiered on May 17, 1989 on
MTV. The original video of "Express Yourself" that was played on TV back in the 80's was 5 minutes long and the audio used a remix created by Shep Pettibone, unlike the version contained on The Immaculate Video Collection, which is 4:28 and used the 7" version. Now, The original video of "Express Yourself" is available on "Celebration: The Video Collection. It ranked #10 on both
Rolling Stone magazine's "The 100 Top Music Videos" and
MTV's "100 Greatest Videos Ever Made" as well as #1 on
Slant Magazine's "100 Greatest Music Videos"
Madonna mentioned jokingly in a 1990 BBC interview that the main theme of the video and the cat metaphor represents that
"Pussy rules the world".
- Director of Photography: Mark Plummer
Live performance
In 1989, Madonna performed "Express Yourself" at the
MTV Video Music Awards. Madonna later went on to incorporate that choreography into her
Blond Ambition Tour in 1990, which featured a version based on the Non-Stop Express remix of the song and included lyrics from "
Everybody" during the introduction. Both performances were inspired by the
1989 musical adaptation of the 1927
silent film "
Metropolis".
She also performed a
Disco-styled "Express Yourself" during
The Girlie Show Tour in 1993. The performance begins with a distorted voice claiming "I'm gonna take you to a place you've never been before"; afterwards, Madonna descends from the ceiling on a giant
glitterball, wearing a blond afro wig and a classic Disco outfit. Then her two back-up dancers appear into the stage and the three women start singing the song together. The end of the performance is connected to the next song, "
Deeper and Deeper", which was also performed in a Disco style.
"Express Yourself" was included in the military segment of the
Re-Invention Tour in 2004.
In 2008, during the
Sticky & Sweet Tour, she performed "Express Yourself" as the request song in some of her shows. It eventually became one of the most requested songs.
Track listing and formats
US 7" Vinyl Single (Promo Only)- "Express Yourself" (7" Remix) – 4:35
- "Express Yourself" (Remix/Edit) – 4:50
US 7" Vinyl Single- "Express Yourself" (7" Remix) – 4:35
US 7" Vinyl Single "Back To Back Hits"- "Express Yourself" (7" Remix) – 4:35
US 12" Vinyl Maxi-Single- "Express Yourself" (Non-Stop Express Mix) – 7:57
- "Express Yourself" (Stop & Go Dubs) – 10:49
- "Express Yourself" (Local Mix) – 6:26
US 5" CD Single (Promo Only)- "Express Yourself" (7" Remix) – 4:35
- "Express Yourself" (Remix/Edit) – 4:50
- "Express Yourself" (Non-Stop Express Mix) – 7:57
- "Express Yourself" (Local Mix) – 6:26
Brazilian 12" Maxi-Single (Promo Only)- "Express Yourself" (Album Version) – 4:37
- "Express Yourself" (7" Remix) – 4:35
- "Express Yourself" (Non-Stop Express Mix) – 7:57
- "Express Yourself" (Stop & Go Dubs) – 10:49
UK 3" CD Single- "Express Yourself" (Non Stop Express Mix) – 7:57
- "Express Yourself" (Stop & Go Dubs) – 10:49
German 12" Vinyl Maxi-Single- "Express Yourself" (Non Stop Express Mix) – 7:57
- "Express Yourself" (Stop & Go Dubs) – 10:49
German 5" CD Single (Re-Issued)- "Express Yourself" (Non Stop Express Mix) – 7:57
- "Express Yourself" (Stop & Go Dubs) – 10:49
Japanese 3" CD Single- "Express Yourself" (Album Version) – 4:37
Japanese CD Mini-Album Remixed Prayers- "Like a Prayer" (12" Dance Mix) – 7:50
- "Like a Prayer" (12" Extended Mix) – 7:21
- "Like a Prayer" (Churchapella) – 6:05
- "Like a Prayer" (12" Club Version) – 6:35
- "Like a Prayer" (7" Remix Edit) – 5:41
- "Express Yourself" (Non-Stop Express Mix) – 7:57
- "Express Yourself" (Stop & Go Dubs) – 10:49
- "Express Yourself" (Local Mix) – 6:26
Charts
Certifications
Chart procession and succession
Cover versions
- The 1999 compilation Virgin Voices: A Tribute To Madonna, Vol. 1 features a cover version by Information Society.
- A hi-NRG/eurodance cover by Who's That Girl was released through Almighty Records during the 2000s. An audio sample can be heard on the official Almighty Records website.
