"Open Your Heart" by Madonna

#1 Alert!

Song#:  2962
Date:  12/06/1986
Debut:  51
Peak:  1 (1 week)
Weeks:  18
Genre:  Dance-Pop



Pop Bits:  Madonna's third album True Blue was keeping pace with her previous LP Like a Virgin with its first three singles hitting the Pop Top 10. The question now was if True Blue could match the four Top 10's generated by Like a Virgin. This next single was selected for the task and not only did it accomplish the feat, it did it in an even better way by becoming Madonna's fifth #1. Just prior to this single's debut, the album had just dropped out of the Top 10. After this song started to get airplay, the former #1 rebounded back into the Top 10 and got up to #6. By February of '87, the album would be certified for sales of 4 million. It would eventually go over the 7 million mark.

ReduxReview:  Although "True Blue" was a good buffer single between the dance-pop of this song and "Papa Don't Preach," there was just no doubt this was going to be a bigger hit. The driving groove of this tune along with its meaty production and hooky chorus set it apart from other tracks on the album. The peep show-themed video certainly was a bonus as well. I thought this was the obvious choice for a third single, but I guess the label wanted to showcase a different sound and feel before unleashing this one.  Still, it became a well-deserved #1 hit.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) This song was written by Gardner Cole and Peter Rafelson. They originally intended it for Cyndi Lauper (with the title "Follow Your Heart"), but the tune never made it to her camp. Instead it ended up over with Madonna who liked the tune. Madonna made various lyric changes, which got her a writing credit, and she and producer Patrick Leonard produced it in a dance-pop style that fit Madonna. However, Madonna's version could nearly be called a remake. Somehow, the song ended up in the hands of Venezuelan singer Melissa (Griffiths) who recorded a Spanish version titled "Abre Tu Corazón." Although she recorded the song after Madonna did, she released hers on an album titled Melissa III in March of '86, three months prior to Madonna's True Blue hitting the streets.  2) The video for this song was hugely popular on MTV and resulted in three MTV Music Video Award nominations. The young boy featured in the video was Felix Howard, who had been a child model. Later on, he became a songwriter and his tunes were picked up by artists like the Sugarbabes (UK female vocal group), Sia, Kylie Minogue, and Amy Winehouse (a track on her 2003 debut album Frank). That experience led him to becoming the head of A&R at EMI in the UK.

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