Like a Prayer (song) Age" observed that from "Turkey to El Salvador to anytown USA, around 500 million eyes [were] glued to the screen. Leslie Savan from "The Village Voice" noted that the commercial qualified as a "hymn to the global capabilities of the age of electronic reproductions; it celebrates the pan-cultural ambitions of both soda pop and pop star." The day after the Pepsi commercial premiered, Madonna released the actual music video for "Like a Prayer" on MTV. Religious groups worldwide including the Vatican immediately protested the clip, saying that it contained blasphemous use of Christian imagery. They called for the national boycott
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