Open Your Heart (4:12)

“Open Your Heart” is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the fourth single from her third studio album True Blue on November 12, 1986 by Sire Records. It has since appeared remixed on the compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration (2009). Written originally as a rock ‘n roll song, Madonna changed it to a dance-pop genre. Lyrically it is a love song telling about innocent feelings of boy meets girl romance and Madonna expressing her sexual desire.

The song was well-received by critics and achieved commercial success worldwide topping the chart in U.S., thus making it Madonna’s fifth Billboard Hot 100 number-one single. The music video, however, visualised a different concept of the song. Madonna played an exotic dancer in a peep-show club, who befriends a little boy and escapes from there. It was critically acclaimed for portraying a completely opposite perspective of “voyeuristic male gaze and object”, and depicting innocence rather than sexual overtones, although the entry of a child in a strip club was negatively criticized. The video was an homage to actresses Liza Minnelli and Marlene Dietrich.
The song has been performed by Madonna in two of her world tours – 1987’s Who’s That Girl World Tour, and 1990’s Blond Ambition World Tour, where Madonna wore her infamous conical bra during the song.