Like a Prayer (song) Performed in an energetic gospel version, Madonna and 36 of her back-up singers played the role of a choir and wore long robes, as images of a gothic church and Hebrew letters appeared on the backdrops. Jim Harrington from "The Oakland Tribune" gave the overall concert a negative review but stated that "It wasn't until the last two songs—"Like a Prayer" and "Celebration"—that the whole deal finally clicked". Timothy Finn from "The Kansas City Star" was particularly impressed with the backing choir, calling it "the best use of one since Foreigner's 'I Want to Know What Love Is". The performance
Like a Prayer (album) Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of three million units. After the advent of the Nielsen SoundScan era in 1991, the album sold a further 575,000 copies. "Like a Prayer" has sold over 4 million copies in the United States. In Canada, the album debuted at number two on the RPM Albums Chart on May 1, 1989. It remained on that position during four weeks, before dropping to the third position the week of May 29, 1989. The album was present for a total of 37 weeks on the chart, and was certified five times