Liner Notes · No. 033
"Like a Prayer" by Madonna: the B-side
Quick hall pass: the song that cost Pepsi a $5 million ad later made Deadpool and Wolverine ask permission in person. Here's the B-side.
📰 FAST FACTS
- The Deadpool & Wolverine choir track runs 2:33. Short. Like a prayer, not a sermon. (Film Music Reporter)
- Reynolds told the story of getting Madonna's blessing on SiriusXM, to Jess Cagle, on July 19, 2024. (Billboard)
- Sources disagree on which Italian date the 1990 tour lost. They all agree it lost one. (Wikipedia, Billboard)
On this record
TRACK 1 · The cameo
Deadpool asked nicely
In 2024, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and their director pitched Madonna in person. She gave them one note, and the scene got better.
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The pitch meeting: For a 2024 superhero movie, Ryan Reynolds, director Shawn Levy and Hugh Jackman went to Madonna in person and showed her the scene where "Like a Prayer" would play. Reynolds said Madonna doesn't just license the song, particularly that song. Two Hollywood action stars, auditioning for a pop star. Correct order of things.
The note: She watched the cut and gave them a specific note. Levy said it made the sequence better, and the team was back in a recording session within 48 hours to do it. Nobody has said what the note was. Thirty-five years after Pepsi blinked, she was still the one giving notes.
The soundtrack: In August 2024, Warner Records put out a three-track EP from the film: the original, a "Battle Royale" mix, and a Choir Version by the I'll Take You There Choir, the one from the film's climactic scene.
The choir room: Fourteen years earlier, Glee gave the song a whole episode, "The Power of Madonna," on April 20, 2010, and critics kept singling out its "Like a Prayer." Show choir: the only place a cardigan can feel this holy.
Now, a question for the people who skipped the movie.
Which 2024 movie had to get Madonna's personal approval, and a note, before it could use "Like a Prayer"?
No Googling. We'll know.
That's Side A. Flip the tape.
Side B is where it gets weird:
- The tour Pepsi stopped sponsoring, a Pope who told Italy to stay home, and a Super Bowl finale 114 million watched.
- Mad'House's Eurodance cover, the Glee version and a gospel choir taking it back to church.
- Madonna in 2026: Coachella with Sabrina Carpenter, a World Cup final and a #1 album.
Free, every Tuesday. One song, the story you never heard, and a 10-minute hall pass from the doomscroll. Already subscribed? Enter your email to unlock.
▶ SIDE B
TRACK 2 · The live one
A tour, a Pope, a Super Bowl and Coachella
Pepsi walked away from the 1990 tour, Italy saw a boycott call, about 114 million watched the Super Bowl version, and in 2026 it closed Coachella.
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The tour: The 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour was originally meant to carry Pepsi's name, and went ahead under a new title after Pepsi withdrew over the video. Critics still call its "Like a Prayer" her best live version. Pepsi's loss. Somewhere a marketing team is still explaining that one.
Italy: A Catholic association called for a boycott of the Rome and Turin shows, Pope John Paul II urged people not to attend, and one Italian date was lost.
The Super Bowl: On February 5, 2012, in Indianapolis, she closed the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show with "Like a Prayer," CeeLo Green and a gospel choir, and the words "World Peace" lit up the field. About 114 million people watched on average, more than watched the game. She wasn't singing live that night. Later that year, on the MDNA Tour, she did the same arrangement completely live. Receipts delivered.
Coachella: In April 2026, she surprised Sabrina Carpenter during Carpenter's weekend-two headline set. They did "Vogue," then closed with "Like a Prayer," a choir on stage. A song older than most of that crowd's parents' first car, and it still closed the night.
TRACK 3 · Cover watch
Eurodance, Glee and a gospel choir
Eurodance in 2002, Glee in 2010 and a gospel choir for Deadpool & Wolverine. Play them, then vote.
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- 2002 · Mad'House. A Eurodance cover that reached #2 on the Eurochart Hot 100 and sold about 326,000 copies in France alone. Proof that any song can survive a 2002 club remix. Barely.
- 2010 · The Glee cast. From "The Power of Madonna." A fan wiki lists peaks of #16 in the UK and #27 on the Hot 100. Not bad for a high school glee club with a suspicious number of 25-year-olds.
- 2024 · I'll Take You There Choir. The gospel-choir version made for the Deadpool & Wolverine climax, released by Warner Records in August 2024. The song started with a choir. Thirty-five years later, a choir took it back.
▶ WATCH THE CONTENDERS
Battle of the versions: which "Like a Prayer" wins?
Cast your vote. Results in the next issue. Choose carefully: we're judging you.
TRACK 4 · Where are they now
Where Madonna is now
A No. 1 album in July 2026 and the first World Cup final halftime show. No tour announced: hinted, not booked.
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The album: Confessions II, made with Stuart Price, came out on July 3, 2026, and debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and the UK albums chart.
The World Cup: On July 19, 2026, she headlined the first-ever FIFA World Cup final halftime show at MetLife Stadium with Shakira and BTS, opening with "Music." A halftime show at a soccer final. The Super Bowl has competition now.
Amsterdam: On August 1, 2026, her Club Confessions show closed the WorldPride Music Festival at AFAS Live, and Kylie Minogue joined her for a Confessions II track.
The tour: None announced. Her manager Guy Oseary told Variety "I'm not sure yet," and she has hinted at something bigger in summer 2027. Hinted. Not booked.
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