Zephyring 39 Years Ago, Madonna Unleashed Pure Poptastic Commotion
Zephyring 39 years ago, Madonna unleashed the poptastic “Causing a Commotion” as the second single from the Who’s That Girl motion picture soundtrack.
The Queen of Pop delivered thee kind of up-tempo dance-pop rush that wastes absolutely no time — pairing a heavy bassline, layered vocals and one of those bright, restless choruses that still sounds ready to explode out of a speaker.
Released in the U.S. on August 25, 1987, the track was written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, with additional production and mixing by Shep Pettibone.
Discover More
Madonna Caused Thee Commotion
Thirty-nine years later, this Who’s That Girl-era blast still sounds like peak late-’80s Madonna: loud, dramatic, dancefloor-ready and way too easy to underestimate.
Some links may be affiliate links. INYIM may earn from qualifying purchases.
And lyrically? The thesis ideas were not pulled out of thin air. Madonna later tied part of the song’s tension to her marriage to Sean Penn — turning relationship frustration into a full-blown pop sprint. Arguments, attraction, compromise, stubbornness… but make it dance.
On the Billboard Hot 100, “Causing a Commotion” eventually climbed all the way to No. 2, where it stayed for three weeks — first blocked by Michael Jackson’s “Bad” and then Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now.” It also hit No. 1 on Billboard’s dance chart.
And here’s the wild part: for a Madonna single this huge, there was no official music video. She was already out on the Who’s That Girl tour, so the live performance basically became the visual identity of the song.
That might be part of why “Causing a Commotion” gets weirdly treated like an underrated catalog cut even though it was, you know, a gigantic hit. It sits in that delicious late-’80s Madonna zone where everything was bold, dramatic, hyper-melodic and moving at full speed.
As of 2024, Billboard ranked it as Madonna’s 12th-biggest Hot 100 hit. It also remains her highest-charting U.S. single without an official music video.
Underrated? Technically. Forgotten? Absolutely not. Put it on loud and “Causing a Commotion” still does exactly what the title promised.
Revisit Madonna’s “Causing a Commotion” 39 Years Later
INYIM Media revisits Madonna’s 1987 Who’s That Girl single and one of thee brightest, most underrated dance-pop rushes of her late-’80s run.
Sources: Madonna.com; Rhino; Billboard chart history.
