GLOBAL NO.1 - 30 YEARS AGO... Madonna is known for her blatant style- and taboo breaks. With the release of the lead single 'Like A Prayer' for the album of the same name, she came with really heavy guns: a 180 ° image turn-around from the blonde beast to a meekly brunette ... her music changed into an exalted, hymn-like and danceable sound with religious-controversial and provocative texts. But the big bone of contention was the music video, directed by Mary Lambert. It portrays Madonna as a witness to the murder of a girl by white supremacists. While a black man is arrested for the murder, Madonna hides in a church for safety seeking strength to go forth as a witness. The clip depicts a church and Catholic symbols such as stigmata. It also features a Ku Klux Klan-style cross burning, and a dream about kissing a black saint. The Vatican condemned the video, while family and religious groups protested against its broadcast. They boycotted products by soft drink manufacturer Pepsi, who had used the song in their commercial. The company canceled their sponsorship contract with Madonna, but allowed her to retain the fee. 'Like A Prayer' became, not least because of this rather unintentionally publicity through the condemnation of parent associations and church representatives, the world's biggest hit in 1989.

USA
Billboard Report (excerpt)
Khalid's 'Free Spirit' debuts at no.1 on Billboard 200
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
by Keith Caulfield & Gary Trust, Los Angeles

Khalid notches his first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as his 3rd release, Free Spirit, opens atop the tally. The set, released on April 5 through Right Hand / RCA Records,

starts with 202,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending April 11, according to Nielsen Music -- the fourth-largest week of 2019 for an album. Of that sum, 85,000 were in traditional album sales. Free Spirit’s start of 202,000 equivalent album units is the fourth-biggest week for an album in 2019, and the largest for a set by a male solo artist. The only bigger weeks logged in 2019 were the starting frames of Ariana Grande’s Thank U, Next (360,000), Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (313,000) and Backstreet Boys’ DNA (234,000). Of Free Spirit’s opening-week unit sum, 111,000 were in SEA units (translating to 146.9 million on-demand audio streams for the albums tracks), 85,000 were in album sales (boosted by a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer with his upcoming tour) and 6,000 were in TEA units. At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep dips from No. 1 in its second week on the tally,

earning 118,000 units (down 62%). Nipsey Hussle’s Victory Lap slips one rung to No. 3 with 63,000 units (down 5%), Grande’s Thank U, Next falls 3-4 with 47,000 units (down 12%) and Juice WRLD’s Death Race for Love is steady at No. 5 with 38,000 units (down 14%). Sara Bareilles’ Amidst the Chaos debuts at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, marking the singer-songwriter’s sixth top 10 effort. The set launches with 35,000 equivalent album units earned (of which 29,000 were in album sales). She previously visited the top 10 with What’s Inside: Songs From Waitress (No. 10 in 2015), The Blessed Unrest (No. 2, 2013), Once Upon Another Time (No. 8, 2012), Kaleidoscope Heart (No. 1, 2010) and Little Voice (No. 7, 2008). Post Malone’s beerbongs & bentleys is a non-mover at No. 7 with 31,000 units (down 1%). Country duo Brooks & Dunn returns to the top 10 for the first time in nearly a decade, as Reboot debuts at No. 8. The all-star collaborations effort features Brooks & Dunn covering their familiar hits with the likes of Kacey Musgraves, Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett. The album bows with 31,000 equivalent album units earned, with 21,000 of that sum in album sales. All told, Reboot marks Brooks & Dunn’s 10th top 10 album, and first since the 2009 greatest hits album #1s… And Then Some (No. 5; Sept. 26, 2009). With Brooks & Dunn’s 10th top 10 album, the act breaks out of a tie with Rascal Flatts for the most top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 among country duos and groups. Rounding out the new top 10 on the Billboard 200, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie’s Hoodie SZN and Drake’s Scorpion are stationary at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively, earning 30,000 units (down 1%) and 29,000 units (up less than 1%). Lil Nas X logs a second week atop the Billboard Hot 100 as "Old Town Road," now featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, who joined for a remix released April 5, reigns with a record-blasting streaming week. The track leads the Streaming Songs chart for a second frame with 143 million U.S. streams in the week ending April 11, according to Nielsen Music. The sum easily surpasses the prior mark, set when Drake's "In My Feelings" drew 116.2 million streams, as reflected on the chart dated July 28, 2018. (Both the remix and original version of "Road" count toward the song's singular chart placement.) "Road" also roars by 454% to 124,000 downloads sold in the week ending April 11, as it tops Digital Song Sales for the first time. That's the biggest weekly total since Drake's "God's Plan" debuted with 127,000 sold (Feb. 3, 2018). Airplay advances: "Road" additionally surges in radio airplay, entering the all-genre Radio Songs chart at No. 33, up 142% to 28.8 million audience impressions in the week ending April 14. Post Malone and Swae Lee's former one-week Hot 100 leader "Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)" is steady at No. 2, while Post Malone's solo single "Wow." rebounds 4-3 following its No. 2 peak. Grande's "7 Rings" slips 3-4 on the Hot 100 after eight weeks at No. 1, while topping Radio Songs for a second week (82 million, down 8%); Halsey's former two-week Hot 100 No. 1 "Without Me" holds at No. 5.