Open Your Heart

Open Your Heart is Madonna’s song released as a single in November, 1986 and included in her third studio album True Blue. The song written by Madonna, Gardner Cole and Peter Rafelson and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard rushed into US charts and became number one already in December, 1986.

Originally Open Your Heart was written for Cyndi Lauper in a rock/pop style, but was never played for her. Later Madonna and Partic Leonard recorded it having added their lyric and own baseline, which changed the song style into a rock/dance. The song is a provocation as many other Madonna’s songs. In the Extended Version of the song one can hear Madonna’s extra vocal and her defiant question: “Well, are you gonna go out with me or not? What’s the matter, you scared of me or something?”

The music video for the single Open Your Heart was shot at Echo Park in Los Angeles, California and directed by Madonna’s then-husband Sean Penn and Jean-Baptiste Mondino, who later also worked on Madonna’s videos for Justify My Love (1990), Human Nature (1995), Love Don’t Live Here Anymore (1996), Don’t Tell Me (2000) and Hollywood (2003). The video shows Madonna portraying a dancer who befriends a young boy. Open Your Heart video was nominated for MTV Music Awards and ranked #37 on VH1’s 50 Sexiest Video Moments.

Open Your Heart achieved peak position in the United States, it also was successful in the United Kingdom, where it was number four for three weeks and in Australia, where it achieved sixteenth position. In 1987 the album True Blue won two American Music Awards, and where among others Madonna performed Open Your Heart single.

Except English version there was also recorded Spanish version of the song titled Abre Tu Corazón by Venezuelan rock singer Melissa. This version was released in March 1986 on Melissa III album. Thus Melissa’s version was released first, though it was Madonna who recorded the song first.

Madonna performed her Open Your Heart single on her Who’s That Girl Tour in 1987 - she used the song to open the tour. Later in 1990 the singer included her top hit in Blonde Ambition Tour. And in 2001 Drowned World Tour Madonna used song’s tune just as a brief musical interlude.