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 (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