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Express Yourself › Released

1989
Express Yourself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer (1989). It was released as the second single from the album on May 9, 1989, by Sire Records. The song was included on the greatest hits compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990), Celebration (2009) and Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022). "Express Yourself" was the first song that Madonna and co-producer Stephen Bray collaborated on for Like a Prayer. Written and produced by them, the song was a tribute to American funk and soul band Sly and the Family Stone. The main inspiration behind the song is female empowerment, urging women never to go for second-best and to urge their partners to express their inner feelings.

"Express Yourself"
Madonna wearing a striped skirt and a half-opened black jacket.
Single by Madonna
from the album Like a Prayer
B-side
"The Look of Love"
Released
May 9, 1989
Recorded
1988
Studio
Johnny Yuma (Burbank, California, U.S.)[1]
Genre
Dance-popdeep funk
Length
4:37 (album version)
4:00 (video/radio edit)
Label
SireWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
MadonnaStephen Bray
Producer(s)
MadonnaStephen Bray
Madonna singles chronology
"Like a Prayer"
(1989) "Express Yourself"
(1989) "Cherish"
(1989)

Music video
"Express Yourself" on YouTube
"Express Yourself" is an upbeat dance-pop and deep funk song that features instrumentation from percussion, handclaps and drum beats, while the chorus is backed by the sound of a horn section.[2] The lyrics talk about rejecting material pleasures and only accepting the best for oneself; subtexts are employed throughout the song. "Express Yourself" received positive reviews from critics, who applauded the gender equality message of the song and complimented the song for being a hymn to freedom and encouragement to women and all oppressed minorities. Commercially, the song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Madonna's eighth number-one hit on the European Hot 100 Singles chart. It also reached the top of the singles charts in Canada and Switzerland, and the top five elsewhere.

The accompanying music video, directed by David Fincher, was inspired by the Fritz Lang classic film Metropolis (1927). It had a total budget of $5 million ($11.8 million in 2022 dollars[3]), which made it the most expensive music video made up to then, and currently the third most expensive of all time. The video portrayed a city full of tall skyscrapers and railway lines. Madonna played the part of a glamorous lady and chained masochist, with muscular men acting as her workers. In the end, she picks one of them—played by model Cameron Alborzian—as her date. Critics noted the video's depiction of female sexuality and that Madonna's masculine image in the video was gender-bending.

"Express Yourself" has been performed on four of Madonna's world tours, and has been covered by the female leads of the Fox TV show Glee, who performed the song in the episode titled "The Power of Madonna". The song and the video are noted for their freedom expression and feminist aspects, and its postmodern nature entranced academics, by resisting definition. It has also left its mark on the work of subsequent pop acts, including the Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga.

Background
edit
"The message of the song is that people should always say what it is they want. The reason relationships don't work is because they are afraid. That's been my problem in all my relationships. I'm sure people see me as an outspoken person, and for the most part, if I want something I ask for it. But sometimes you feel that if you ask for too much or ask for the wrong thing from someone you care about that that person won't like you. And so you censor yourself. I've been guilty of that in every meaningful relationship I've ever had. The time I learn how not to edit myself will be the time I consider myself a complete adult."

—Madonna talking to Stephen Holden of The New York Times.[4]
"Express Yourself" was released as the second single from her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer, on May 9, 1989, with "The Look of Love", from the 1987 film soundtrack Who's That Girl, on its B-side.[5] When Madonna started work on Like a Prayer, she considered many options, and thought about the musical direction for it. She had certain matters on her mind, including her troubled relationship with her ex-husband Sean Penn, her family, her lost mother and even her belief in God.[6] Madonna thought about lyrical ideas for the songs on topics that, until then, were personal meditation, never to be shared with her public so openly and pointedly.[6] She came to the realization that as she and her fans were growing up, and it was time for her to move away from the teen appeal to wider audiences, and en-cash on the longevity of the album market.[7]