Madonna performed an energetic version of " Express Yourself " during the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards . She started the performance by descending from a flight of stairs , wearing a pin-striped suit and a monocle . Later she removed the coat to reveal her bustier , and together with her backing singers Niki Haris and Donna De Lory , performed a dance routine called voguing . Ian Inglis , author of '' Performance and Popular Music : History , Place and Time '' noted that the historical importance of Madonna 's performance at the Video Music Awards was due to the televisual venue . Inglis explained that since Madonna 's performance was striking primarily as a high-energy , provocatively choreographed , dance production number , it went on to highlight the ' TV ' part of MTV , and in a way heralded her and the network as a cultural arbiter . On August 1989 , in order to promote the release of '' Like a Prayer '' in Japan , Warner Music released a remix extended play titled '' Remixed Prayers '' , which included several remixes of " Like a Prayer " and " Express Yourself " . It was released exclusively in Japan until July 1993 , when it was released in Australia to celebrate Madonna 's first visit to the country as part of her Girlie Show World Tour . The EP reached number 24 on the Oricon weekly albums chart and was present on the chart for five weeks
1989 MTV Video Music Awards
1989 MTV Video Music Awards
Like a Prayer (album)