Like A Virgin (song) - Live Performances

Live Performances

Madonna performed "Like a Virgin" at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984, where she appeared on stage atop a giant wedding cake dressed in a wedding dress, adorned with the infamous "Boy Toy" belt buckle, and veil. The climax of her risqué performance found her humping and rolling around on the stage. To this day, the performance is noted as one of the most iconic and biggest performances in MTV's history. The song has also been included in five of Madonna's eight concert tours. For The Virgin Tour in 1985, Madonna again donned wedding attire and performed a straight version of the song featuring a quotation from Michael Jackson's similar-sounding Motown-style single, "Billie Jean". Balloons floated out towards the audience as she rolled around the stage, carrying a wedding bouquet in her hand. The performance was included in the VHS release Live – The Virgin Tour recorded in Detroit, Michigan. In the 1987 Who's That Girl World Tour, the song was given a lighthearted comedic theme and included quotations from The Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)". Madonna took off her outfit piece by piece, until she was standing in a black corset, and ended the performance while flirting with a young male dancer who played her bridegroom. Two different performances of the song on this tour can be found on the videos: Who's That Girl – Live in Japan, filmed in Tokyo, Japan, on June 22, 1987, and Ciao, Italia! – Live from Italy, filmed in Turin, Italy, on September 4, 1987.

For the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, the song was re-invented with a middle-eastern arrangement and risqué choreography which found Madonna wearing a gold corset, while simulating masturbation on a red silk bed, accompanied by two male dancers who wore the infamous cone bras designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier. The performance garnered a lot of attention, particularly when police in Toronto, Canada, threatened to arrest Madonna and charge her with indecency unless she altered the performance. Madonna refused and the show went ahead unaltered. The threatened arrest failed to materialise. Two different performances were taped and released on video, the Blond Ambition – Japan Tour 90, taped in Yokohama, Japan, on April 27, 1990, and the Live! – Blond Ambition World Tour 90, taped in Nice, France, on August 5, 1990. During The Girlie Show World Tour in 1993, Madonna wore a tuxedo and adopted a Marlene Dietrich-like persona, singing the song with a thick German accent. She sang the word 'virgin' as '(w)irgin', while including a quotation from Dietrich's signature tune, "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)". The overplayed accent and three-quarter time signature gave the performance a sense of parody. Dietrich's look in the 1930 film Morocco inspired the whole performance. The performance was included on The Girlie Show – Live Down Under home video release, recorded on November 19, 1993 at Sydney, Australia.

In April 2003, while promoting her ninth studio album American Life, an impromptu acoustic performance of the song was done by Madonna at New York's Tower Records. Madonna's performance of "Hollywood" at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards recreated the 1984 performance of "Like a Virgin". The performance started with Britney Spears emerging from a giant cake singing the first few lines. She was later joined by Christina Aguilera and both of them writhed on the stage while singing. Madonna appeared on the cake dressed as a groom and sang "Hollywood", and ultimately kissed both Spears and Aguilera on the mouth. The performance was met with strong reaction from media.

During the Confessions Tour in 2006, the song was given a horse riding theme. Madonna wore a tight, black body suit, and performed the song atop a studded leather S&M carousel horse, while X-rays of her broken bones, the result of a horse-riding accident on her forty-seventh birthday, flashed on the screens behind her. The performance was included on The Confessions Tour live album, released in 2007. In 2008's Sticky & Sweet Tour, Madonna sang the song in Rome and dedicated the song to Pope Benedict XVI, commenting "I'd like to dedicate this song to the Pope, I know he loves me" and saying that she is a child of God. She asked the audience to sing with her. The song was again performed on the MDNA Tour during the Masculine/Feminine section of the show. The song was stripped down to a simple Burlesque-version played on the piano featuring elements of "Evgeni's Waltz" from the film "W.E.".