I think there are several amazing things about this performance. One: her athleticism is unreal at this time. To dance that vigorously for that long and not even be out of breath while singing is outstanding. Two, with the exception of a couple of wobbly notes, vocally she’s on point. Three, the choreography is fire. Yes, there are definitely masculine and feminine energies displayed throughout. She’s playing with gender her and questioning how women are ‘supposed’ to act in a relationship. When the male dancers are added later in the BM tour, it’s even clearer that she’s ‘in control’ in the relationship. The power is hers. Four, her early stage performances prove how she could command a stage with very little bells and whistles. All we have is a chair, a screen with a light behind her, some stairs, three mic stands and Nikki and Donna. That’s it. But this performance is stronger than most modern shows with huge screens and elaborate, multi-tier stages. Five, the first time M vogues on stage! And six, the ‘Yeah!’ At the end. Classic M.
You can tell she was running out of breath a little towards the end when she was singing the last chorus before going up the stairs. But it's a phenomenal performance and it's my favorite Madonna performance at the MTV VMAs.
Her vocal was 100% live. It’s usually easy to tell. I’m sure there was some playback during the chorus. Probably my favorite award show performance of hers. I remember watching when it first aired in 1989. I was 11.
Definitely live vocals all the way through from Madonna (and Nikki Harris and Donna Delory), with some extra layers in the chorus. A brilliant performance!
She raised the bar for VMA performances with this amazing extended act. Even included some special effects and she just loves a grand entrance with stairs.
This performance is just so cool ❤️ Madonna, Niki Harris and Donna DeLory were magic for a looong time 🥰 They were her back up singer on record and on Tour for many many years.
one of Madonna’s best live performances on TV. the background singers/dancers, Niki Harris & Donna DeLory. they performed with Madonna on albums, Concerts, and TV performances from 1987 through 2006. the gals complimented Madonna’s voice. diehard fans wished they would reunite in future!
The two girls are Donna DeLory and Nikki Harris, they danced and sang with her since the Who's That Girl tour. Nikki Harris sings the gospel part at the end of Like A Prayer, they both sang with her for years. Madonna has so much energy when performing, pretty much untouched by anyone. Be good for you to watch the entire Blond Ambition Tour...amazing
I absolutely love this performance and those are her backup singers: Nikki & Donna, they were with her for years, on albums, tours, videos and live performances. They were a power trio and wish they could reconnect again.
This is my favorite Madonna performance at the MTV VMA's. Yes, it's phenomenal because of her athleticism in her dancing and her live singing. Yes, she introduced Vogueing to the masses for the first time in this performance. React to her Blond Ambition Tour's performance of this song (preferably the show with her wearing the iconic ponytail in Japan, Houston or NJ) and all of its incarnations in all of her subsequent tours such as the Girlie Show, Reinvention Tour, MDNA Tour and Madame X Tour (which is sung a capella and only partially). React to all of her performances from TV and award shows, her concert tours and charity concerts please.
The preview for the mother of all modern tours, the Blonde Ambition Tour! It was such an event when MTV announced she will be performing. The outfit was also the start of a trend where women wore underwear as outerwear or just with a jacket. Very French.
Many have come close and it’s not dissing them but they don’t come near Madonna especially in the 80s she was huge. We hadn’t seen a female pop star like her before or since. There is just something about her that makes her performances amazing ❤
Now you have to react to the Blond ambition tour.The tour that won a Grammy award but please choose between Nice Or Barcelona concert!This tour is beyond amazing!
Great reaction to an amazing performance! She was introducing Voguing to the mass media in the 80's. Yes, we all know vogue started in the ballrooms in New York and she has made that aware but it was her that brough it to the forefront like nobody else. However, most of all, in this performance, Madonna was the full embodiment of a powerful in control woman. Happy International Woman's Day!
4:50 - 4:55 was the first introduction for what was to come with Vogue. You MUST react to Express Yourself live from The Blond Ambition Tour. This was a smaller scale of it. I love that you like the jacket grab too.
She said herself , the gays like myself are the reason she has become the largest selling artist of all time. It's in the Guinness Book of World Records. She mentioned the gays and said since day 1, we were her motivation. She doesn't have the best voice in the world or the most beautiful but she makes the voice and beauty work regardless. That's a queen there.
It is actually possible to praise Madonna WITHOUT insulting her vocal talent. People need to learn this skill. You don't say "Bowie doesn't have the best voice", instead you would just rave on and on and on about how great he is. Not with Madonna. She can't win. These fools don't realize that without HER VOICE, THERE IS NO MADONNA. I would puke for 100 years if Mariah Carey sings "Live to Tell". 🤢
2 amazing performances you really need to watch/react to is the opening number of The Confessions Tour and the opening number of The MDNA Tour!!! Your mind will be blown!! And if you should do a reaction video of them, please put them on RUclips! And thank you for all the Madonna reaction videos!! I'm always excited when you upload them.
Have you reacted to her 87’ Who’s That Girl Tour yet? It was her second tour and much more polished than her first ( and that was brilliant) but, it is so good and Nikki & Donna are on that tour, you’ll live it, I think.
One of her greatest live performances. And yes, her crotch grabbing really made the conservative folks out there break out their Bibles and pray. It was the best time. I was 17 at the time and I just remember how much controversy her music/performances brought. Little did we know at the time how much more she would bring us!! I am so happy I have been alive throughout her musical evolution!! And by the way, you want to see energy? Check out her CAUSING A COMMOTION live performance in Miami! Just WOW!!
Have you seen Blond Ambition Tour from 1990? It all comes together 😅❤ The crotch grab and so on had Religious America and even the Pope into hysterics 😂 She’s a Rebel. In Truth or dare you can see her manager trying to sort things out on Tour. 😅
If you enjoyed this, i would suggest to watch EY from the Blond Ambition Tour, it's the opening number and it's pretty much this performance but on steroids.
The look is quite similar to her iconic look in the "Blonde Ambition Tour" Anohter Madonna's iconic moment in MTV, was her first appearance there with ""Like a Virgin""...it was a mess because her dress broke and she started to roll through the floor, what it was really provocative back then... After the number her manager said to her: Girl, after that, tomorrow you'll be out or you'll be a superstar! Now we know the answer!
Hi, limited time to record stuff this week, so I'm focusing on Patreon. Thought I should open up the Patreon vaults though for those not on there. Here is a reaction from January. Unfortunately I had to hide the video to get it uploaded here, but it's still watchable! patreon.com/bridgethegapreactions
I could be wrong here but I seem to recall you were not particularly impressed with the album version when you did a reaction to the Like a Prayer album? I'm glad you're enjoying the track more now. Oh and all the vocals were live on this performance - Niki & Donna were the backing vocalists on the record too 🙂
I hate the album version of Express Yourself- it's bland. The single version has way more bass and ooomph, or the version on The Immaculate Collection.
Yes this was what everyone was talking about the next day and yes it was very scandalous at the time. “Niki & Donna” as they were known were a huge part of Madonnas career at this time. Madonna elevated them to be way more that just background singers. The white one Donna sounded a lot like Madonna so she could help pad Madonnas vocals and Nicki the black one added the soulful vocals that Madonna loved so much. Niki is actually the one singing those famous gospel riffs in the song “Like a Prayer” an actress was hired to do the part in the video because Niki had said “although I understand Madonna’s vision for this video me as a black woman I have an issue with burning crosses.” Yes this performance was the first time she debuted what she had learned in the gay voguing balls in New York City. We in the LGBT community lost our minds when our hero and biggest ally was actually voguing live on MTV!! ❤
It's actually really hard to bend backwards to pick up that jacket. Try it haha. And she has her singers and dancers with her there's no mistake who the star is, as she will be the one with blonde hair while they will have dark. She will have the pale skin whilst her dancers have darker skin tones. Look through her tours and its the one thing that remains the same..and alongside other artists...she stands out
This is like the total inverse of "Vogue," which was all about spectacle and pretense. This one is just pure performance and charisma. Not much going on aside from the stairs and the actual performers. She's definitely singing live - and pretty well given how much dancing she's doing. You can hear that there's a backing track for support, which is pretty standard to beef up the sound, especially for a dance performance like this one. Ironically, she did a similar version of this performance for the Blond Ambition Tour but lipped it - I think because it was the opening number and she commonly lips the opening number for whatever reason.
Donna Delory and Niki Haris. They began on The Who's That Girl Tour and did every album from Like A Prayer through Music and every tour until Drowned World Tour. This would be more or less the same performance for the Blond Ambition Tour and was choreographed by Vincent Patterson who did all of Michael Jackson's videos and tours from 82-88 and she wanted him because of he came up with the crotch grab and Willie Ninja the grandfather of voguing. She was filming Dick Tracy at the time and hadn't quite started working on BAT. Remember she's a classically trained professional dancer and that's what she went to NYC to be. The back lite beginning is how she began the whos that girl tour. They have to get the coat off the floor so they don't trip so why not exaggerate it? She's always singing the question is whether her mic is on or high in mix. Yes it was controversial. A lot of feminists at the time didn't like how she was using her sexuality to portray power.
You are correct about society at the time of this performance. Madonna planned to come to Salt Lake City, Utah for the Blond Ambition tour (I would have been able to talk my mom into it and damn I wish she had come. Utah (being a very religious state) told her they would only allow her to perform in SLC if she signed a contact agreeing to not grabbing her crotch. Michael Jackson has just came on tour to Utah and grabbed his crotch. So we all know Madonna was NOT going to promise she wouldn’t grab her crotch and decided Salt Lake City, Utah will NEVER be a city she tours. It sucks because I love Blond Ambition & even though I’ve seen a lot of her later tours, the Girlie Show is still my favorite tour she ever did & sadly at 12 almost 13 years old and my family being a single parent home with four kids, it was not something I could have flew to another city with my mother to ever see those tours.
This performance is some kind of a trailer for Blond Ambition Tour. EY is opening number with similar choreography and most iconic Madonna's outfit ever - cone bra and also with a group of sexy male dancers. But what I like on this performance is that is live. Blond ambition is lip synced.
Madonna isn’t the greatest vocally nor is she the best dancer, but she made her mark on music. In the 80’s Madonna was everywhere…there’s only one woman who made Madonna take notice and that was Whitney. I remember her Blonde Ambition tour, I watched and recorded. I was not happy when the tape broke. Even I can’t deny that Madonna sits on that throne as the best selling female artist of all time with over 330 million copies sold worldwide.
Name any other artist who can perform at this level consistently for decades?
How refreshing....all 3 microphones 🎤 ARE ON .....suck it haters
.
Madonna is for real
I think there are several amazing things about this performance. One: her athleticism is unreal at this time. To dance that vigorously for that long and not even be out of breath while singing is outstanding. Two, with the exception of a couple of wobbly notes, vocally she’s on point. Three, the choreography is fire. Yes, there are definitely masculine and feminine energies displayed throughout. She’s playing with gender her and questioning how women are ‘supposed’ to act in a relationship. When the male dancers are added later in the BM tour, it’s even clearer that she’s ‘in control’ in the relationship. The power is hers. Four, her early stage performances prove how she could command a stage with very little bells and whistles. All we have is a chair, a screen with a light behind her, some stairs, three mic stands and Nikki and Donna. That’s it. But this performance is stronger than most modern shows with huge screens and elaborate, multi-tier stages. Five, the first time M vogues on stage! And six, the ‘Yeah!’ At the end. Classic M.
Someone on Patreon described the "Yeah!" as a "verbal mic-drop", which I loved
@@bridgethegapreactions absolutely. It’s a fuck yah, girls, we did that. 🤣🤣🤣
I really miss the minimal numbers with only the girls or one or two dancers featured.
You can tell she was running out of breath a little towards the end when she was singing the last chorus before going up the stairs. But it's a phenomenal performance and it's my favorite Madonna performance at the MTV VMAs.
Her vocal was 100% live. It’s usually easy to tell. I’m sure there was some playback during the chorus.
Probably my favorite award show performance of hers.
I remember watching when it first aired in 1989. I was 11.
Definitely live vocals all the way through from Madonna (and Nikki Harris and Donna Delory), with some extra layers in the chorus. A brilliant performance!
"Dance and sing, get up, and do your thing" -- Everybody knows she ruled the VMA that evening
Madonna has always been a great performer. One of the greatest. I would argue she still is.
Madonna is the ULTIMATE female performer!!! She set the bar and set it high!!
👑👑👑❤❤❤
She raised the bar for VMA performances with this amazing extended act. Even included some special effects and she just loves a grand entrance with stairs.
The bit at 3:42 when they dance away from the mic stands towards the front of the stage is one of the coolest things I've ever seen .
The 1990 MTV Awards "Vogue" fan flip. Epic.
It’s so fun watching you become such a Madonna fan 😊
This performance is just so cool ❤️ Madonna, Niki Harris and Donna DeLory were magic for a looong time 🥰 They were her back up singer on record and on Tour for many many years.
one of Madonna’s best live performances on TV. the background singers/dancers, Niki Harris & Donna DeLory. they performed with Madonna on albums, Concerts, and TV performances from 1987 through 2006. the gals complimented Madonna’s voice. diehard fans wished they would reunite in future!
The two girls are Donna DeLory and Nikki Harris, they danced and sang with her since the Who's That Girl tour. Nikki Harris sings the gospel part at the end of Like A Prayer, they both sang with her for years. Madonna has so much energy when performing, pretty much untouched by anyone. Be good for you to watch the entire Blond Ambition Tour...amazing
You could re-play it five more times and I'd be right here watching! Sheer brilliance!
Blonde ambition has this energy entire concert. Unbelievable!!
I absolutely love this performance and those are her backup singers: Nikki & Donna, they were with her for years, on albums, tours, videos and live performances. They were a power trio and wish they could reconnect again.
This is my favorite Madonna performance at the MTV VMA's. Yes, it's phenomenal because of her athleticism in her dancing and her live singing. Yes, she introduced Vogueing to the masses for the first time in this performance.
React to her Blond Ambition Tour's performance of this song (preferably the show with her wearing the iconic ponytail in Japan, Houston or NJ) and all of its incarnations in all of her subsequent tours such as the Girlie Show, Reinvention Tour, MDNA Tour and Madame X Tour (which is sung a capella and only partially). React to all of her performances from TV and award shows, her concert tours and charity concerts please.
Absolutely fantastic performance even to this day!! I watched this as a kid and I was in love with Madonna
The preview for the mother of all modern tours, the Blonde Ambition Tour! It was such an event when MTV announced she will be performing.
The outfit was also the start of a trend where women wore underwear as outerwear or just with a jacket. Very French.
Many have come close and it’s not dissing them but they don’t come near Madonna especially in the 80s she was huge. We hadn’t seen a female pop star like her before or since. There is just something about her that makes her performances amazing ❤
Now you have to react to the Blond ambition tour.The tour that won a Grammy award but please choose between Nice Or Barcelona concert!This tour is beyond amazing!
Crazy to think that one of the best pop albums of all time (Like A Prayer) was ignored by the Grammys.
Great reaction to an amazing performance! She was introducing Voguing to the mass media in the 80's. Yes, we all know vogue started in the ballrooms in New York and she has made that aware but it was her that brough it to the forefront like nobody else. However, most of all, in this performance, Madonna was the full embodiment of a powerful in control woman. Happy International Woman's Day!
Every day is women's day on Bridge The Gap Reactions! (and gay men too, of course!)
Jody Watley has Voguing in her videos before this. Malcolm McLaren as well. But Madonna brought a huge audience to the form.
@taintedlife2618 I have a Jody Watley reaction ready to edit! Tonight or tomorrow hopefully
4:50 - 4:55 was the first introduction for what was to come with Vogue. You MUST react to Express Yourself live from The Blond Ambition Tour. This was a smaller scale of it. I love that you like the jacket grab too.
She said herself , the gays like myself are the reason she has become the largest selling artist of all time. It's in the Guinness Book of World Records. She mentioned the gays and said since day 1, we were her motivation. She doesn't have the best voice in the world or the most beautiful but she makes the voice and beauty work regardless. That's a queen there.
It is actually possible to praise Madonna WITHOUT insulting her vocal talent. People need to learn this skill. You don't say "Bowie doesn't have the best voice", instead you would just rave on and on and on about how great he is. Not with Madonna. She can't win. These fools don't realize that without HER VOICE, THERE IS NO MADONNA. I would puke for 100 years if Mariah Carey sings "Live to Tell". 🤢
2 amazing performances you really need to watch/react to is the opening number of The Confessions Tour and the opening number of The MDNA Tour!!! Your mind will be blown!! And if you should do a reaction video of them, please put them on RUclips!
And thank you for all the Madonna reaction videos!! I'm always excited when you upload them.
This performance was fantastic full of dancing and energy ,I love it ,love Madonna,Niki Harris and Donna delory ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
And still, no one gives more to a performance 🙌❤️
YEAH
Great performance. No bells and whistles just pure pop talent. Keep them coming handsome man ❤
Have you reacted to her 87’ Who’s That Girl Tour yet? It was her second tour and much more polished than her first ( and that was brilliant) but, it is so good and Nikki & Donna are on that tour, you’ll live it, I think.
My Favorite Express Yourself Live Performance. Iconic and the start to Blond Ambition ... "yeah"
Love the fact that she did the Vogue moves here (at 4'45") before Vogue was even released as the next single.
One of her greatest live performances. And yes, her crotch grabbing really made the conservative folks out there break out their Bibles and pray. It was the best time. I was 17 at the time and I just remember how much controversy her music/performances brought. Little did we know at the time how much more she would bring us!! I am so happy I have been alive throughout her musical evolution!! And by the way, you want to see energy? Check out her CAUSING A COMMOTION live performance in Miami! Just WOW!!
Same, I am so grateful to have been coming up during this time of music. Madonna, Prince and MJ and JJ were the template for Gaga, Taylor and Bey.
You MUST watch and react to 1991’s Truth or Dare documentary. MUST.
Have you seen Blond Ambition Tour from 1990? It all comes together 😅❤ The crotch grab and so on had Religious America and even the Pope into hysterics 😂 She’s a Rebel. In Truth or dare you can see her manager trying to sort things out on Tour. 😅
Nicki and Donna were the absolute BEST! The three of them together was magic 🔥
The Blond Ambition performance of "Express Yourself" makes this one look like a rehearsal.
If you enjoyed this, i would suggest to watch EY from the Blond Ambition Tour, it's the opening number and it's pretty much this performance but on steroids.
The look is quite similar to her iconic look in the "Blonde Ambition Tour"
Anohter Madonna's iconic moment in MTV, was her first appearance there with ""Like a Virgin""...it was a mess because her dress broke and she started to roll through the floor, what it was really provocative back then...
After the number her manager said to her: Girl, after that, tomorrow you'll be out or you'll be a superstar!
Now we know the answer!
Hi, limited time to record stuff this week, so I'm focusing on Patreon. Thought I should open up the Patreon vaults though for those not on there. Here is a reaction from January. Unfortunately I had to hide the video to get it uploaded here, but it's still watchable! patreon.com/bridgethegapreactions
❤❤❤❤
it was a teaser for the Blond Ambition Tour
Try the opening to the mdna tour.. it's incredible
My husband was there live
The moves they do make more since if you watch the live version from the Truth or Dare movie.. 👑
If You can Find It. Review the BLOND AMITION TOUR Opening Segment 1990!!!!!!!! love you're CANNEL.
I could be wrong here but I seem to recall you were not particularly impressed with the album version when you did a reaction to the Like a Prayer album? I'm glad you're enjoying the track more now. Oh and all the vocals were live on this performance - Niki & Donna were the backing vocalists on the record too 🙂
I hate the album version of Express Yourself- it's bland. The single version has way more bass and ooomph, or the version on The Immaculate Collection.
Yes this was what everyone was talking about the next day and yes it was very scandalous at the time. “Niki & Donna” as they were known were a huge part of Madonnas career at this time. Madonna elevated them to be way more that just background singers. The white one Donna sounded a lot like Madonna so she could help pad Madonnas vocals and Nicki the black one added the soulful vocals that Madonna loved so much.
Niki is actually the one singing those famous gospel riffs in the song “Like a Prayer” an actress was hired to do the part in the video because Niki had said “although I understand Madonna’s vision for this video me as a black woman I have an issue with burning crosses.”
Yes this performance was the first time she debuted what she had learned in the gay voguing balls in New York City. We in the LGBT community lost our minds when our hero and biggest ally was actually voguing live on MTV!! ❤
Those were her background singers Nikki Harris and Donna Delory. They were with her up until 2002 culminating with the Drowned World Tour.
Donna Delory also sang background at the Reinvention and Confession tours
@@MoodImIn77 True
Madonna is always self-referencing. Throughout her career, in every performance or music video, there are always references to her previous work.
It's actually really hard to bend backwards to pick up that jacket. Try it haha. And she has her singers and dancers with her there's no mistake who the star is, as she will be the one with blonde hair while they will have dark. She will have the pale skin whilst her dancers have darker skin tones. Look through her tours and its the one thing that remains the same..and alongside other artists...she stands out
That's a great insight, thank you!
This is like the total inverse of "Vogue," which was all about spectacle and pretense. This one is just pure performance and charisma. Not much going on aside from the stairs and the actual performers. She's definitely singing live - and pretty well given how much dancing she's doing. You can hear that there's a backing track for support, which is pretty standard to beef up the sound, especially for a dance performance like this one. Ironically, she did a similar version of this performance for the Blond Ambition Tour but lipped it - I think because it was the opening number and she commonly lips the opening number for whatever reason.
Donna Delory and Niki Haris. They began on The Who's That Girl Tour and did every album from Like A Prayer through Music and every tour until Drowned World Tour. This would be more or less the same performance for the Blond Ambition Tour and was choreographed by Vincent Patterson who did all of Michael Jackson's videos and tours from 82-88 and she wanted him because of he came up with the crotch grab and Willie Ninja the grandfather of voguing. She was filming Dick Tracy at the time and hadn't quite started working on BAT. Remember she's a classically trained professional dancer and that's what she went to NYC to be. The back lite beginning is how she began the whos that girl tour. They have to get the coat off the floor so they don't trip so why not exaggerate it? She's always singing the question is whether her mic is on or high in mix. Yes it was controversial. A lot of feminists at the time didn't like how she was using her sexuality to portray power.
You are correct about society at the time of this performance. Madonna planned to come to Salt Lake City, Utah for the Blond Ambition tour (I would have been able to talk my mom into it and damn I wish she had come.
Utah (being a very religious state) told her they would only allow her to perform in SLC if she signed a contact agreeing to not grabbing her crotch.
Michael Jackson has just came on tour to Utah and grabbed his crotch. So we all know Madonna was NOT going to promise she wouldn’t grab her crotch and decided Salt Lake City, Utah will NEVER be a city she tours.
It sucks because I love Blond Ambition & even though I’ve seen a lot of her later tours, the Girlie Show is still my favorite tour she ever did & sadly at 12 almost 13 years old and my family being a single parent home with four kids, it was not something I could have flew to another city with my mother to ever see those tours.
That is absolutely insane! Good on her for not signing it
you are alwaylys on about the GIRLS VOIICES but you demean Madonna
This performance is some kind of a trailer for Blond Ambition Tour. EY is opening number with similar choreography and most iconic Madonna's outfit ever - cone bra and also with a group of sexy male dancers. But what I like on this performance is that is live. Blond ambition is lip synced.
not paying anymore
Loved this apart from her awful hairstyle 😂❤
Madonna isn’t the greatest vocally nor is she the best dancer, but she made her mark on music. In the 80’s Madonna was everywhere…there’s only one woman who made Madonna take notice and that was Whitney. I remember her Blonde Ambition tour, I watched and recorded. I was not happy when the tape broke. Even I can’t deny that Madonna sits on that throne as the best selling female artist of all time with over 330 million copies sold worldwide.
stop demeanen Madonnas voicaols.