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"Express Yourself" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer. It was written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray. Released as the record's secong single, the anthemic ode to female empowerment was originally a sonic homage to the ‘70s funk-soul of Sly & the Family Stone. For radio (and dance clubs) the song was completely overhauled into an electronic-pop banger via a now-legendary remix by Shep Pettibone, in a version that was immortalized on the 1990 greatest hits package The Immaculate Collection.
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 ($12.68 million in 2024 dollars), which made it the most expensive music video made up to then, and currently the third most expensive of all time. “Express Yourself” became a world-wide hit (it reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #5 on the UK singles chart, and #1 on the Billboard Dance chart) and a staple in Madonna’s live sets.
Musically, Madonna reworked themes from the song “Respect Yourself” by The Staple Singers, which was meant to be an empowering song for the African-American community during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Madonna flipped the song and created an empowering feminist song, creating a turning point in 1980s feminism.
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