28 Years Ago This Week: March 19, 1989, "Like A Prayer" Madonna's newly released single came in the charts at No3.

It wasn't every week that the biggest female artist on the planet released a brand new single - but 28 years ago this week, the Queen of Pop returned to the ARIA chart following an absence of more than 12 months. 

Madonna fans' prayers were answered this week in 1989

She wasn't the only star who'd risen to fame earlier in the decade to debut with a new song this week in 1989, but she was far and away the most successful of the artists returning to the chart with fresh material.

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart - week ending March 19, 1989

The best thing about Madonna's high debut was that it meant that The Proclaimers' days at number 1 were numbered. Yep, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" spent its fifth and final week atop the ARIA singles chart.

Number 3 "Like A Prayer" by Madonna
Peak: number 1

Between her 1984 breakthrough and the end of 1987, Madonna landed 17 hit singles on the Australian top 50 (including four number 1s). Then, no doubt aware that a backlash was inevitable unless she cooled it for a while, the biggest female recording artist on the planet released nothing for more than 12 months. It was just the latest move in a pretty faultless career path to that point - and one which ensured anticipation for the lead single from her fourth studio album was intense.
Musically, "Like A Prayer" was like nothing Madonna had released up until that point and was an even bigger stylistic reinvention than "Live To Tell" had been in 1986. Not only was it a more mature record than anything she'd put her name to before, but its gospel influences and big, bold sound made even naysayers sit up and take notice. "Like A Prayer" was Madonna proving she was more than just a provocative, midriff-bearing pop star. 

Not that she didn't still push people's buttons, which is where the music video for "Like A Prayer" came in. Stigmata, an African American Jesus-type figure, burning crosses and Madonna's dancing-cum-writhing in church... there were plenty of things to which religious conservatives could object. And they did. As a result of the furore, Madonna's much-hyped Pepsi commercial was pulled and she was banned by the Vatican. Naturally, it all just helped "Like A Prayer" become one of Madonna's biggest hits - and, in Australia, the highest-selling single of 1989, spending five non-consecutive weeks at number 1 between late March and mid-May. Now, that's how you stage a comeback.