Like a Prayer (album) one album in his or her career whose critical and commercial success becomes the artist's magic moment; for Madonna [...] "Like a Prayer" was. [Madonna] pushed onwards as an artist, using her creative wit to communicate on another level, musically." Kenneth G. Bielen, author of "The Lyrics of Civility: Biblical Images and Popular Music Lyrics in American Culture", wrote that with the album Madonna began to be seen as a serious artist; "Five years earlier, she was a dance-pop 'Boy-Toy'. With "Like a Prayer", she proved she was an artist who could think with more than her body". Thomas Harrison
Like a Prayer (album) platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for shipments of 500,000 copies. In the United Kingdom, "Like a Prayer" debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, on April 1, 1989. It remained on this position for two weeks and a total of 72 weeks on the chart. The album was certified four times platinum on February 1, 1995 for shipments of 1,200,000 copies. In France, the album debuted at number one on the French Albums Chart on April 9, 1989, staying there for two weeks, then descending down the chart, having spent a total of thirty-six weeks