Like a Prayer (song) by "Billboard", "Like a Prayer" was voted the second best music video of the 1980s, behind only "Michael Jackson's Thriller". Scholars and academics have offered different interpretations of the music video and its story line. Allen Metz, one of the authors of "The Madonna Companion: Two Decades of Commentary", noted that when Madonna enters the church at the beginning of the clip, the line "I hear you call my name, And it feels like... Home" is played. The women of Italian East Harlem in New York call their Church as "la casa di momma" (Momma's House). In that respect, Metz
Like a Prayer (song) Prayer" debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number three on March 19, 1989. The next week it reached the top of the chart, and stayed there for another four weeks. It was present for a total of 22 weeks on the chart, and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 70,000 copies of the single. "Like a Prayer" was also the top-selling single in Australia in 1989. In New Zealand, the song had a similar run as in Australia, by debuting at number three on the RIANZ Singles Chart, and reaching number one