Thirty years ago, a blithe little song about fresh romance made pop music feel so shiny and new. Madonna was already something of a household name when "Like a Virgin" was released, on Nov. 6, 1984 (two months after we heard it for the first time at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards), but the song made her pop's impending queen. It gave Madonna her first No. 1 single, sitting atop the Billboard chart for six weeks.
Arguably still her most famous song, "Like a Virgin" is now a staple at wedding receptions, on the airwaves and on lists of controversial moments in popular culture. But you're much less likely to see Madonna perform a standard rendition of the classic today. Most of her tours have featured a remastered version, which means we've heard several wildly different iterations of the pop standard. Here's how "Like a Virgin" has evolved in the 30 years since it was released:
See our complete ranking of Madonna's singles here.
Arguably still her most famous song, "Like a Virgin" is now a staple at wedding receptions, on the airwaves and on lists of controversial moments in popular culture. But you're much less likely to see Madonna perform a standard rendition of the classic today. Most of her tours have featured a remastered version, which means we've heard several wildly different iterations of the pop standard. Here's how "Like a Virgin" has evolved in the 30 years since it was released:
See our complete ranking of Madonna's singles here.