The year was 1988. As she was preparing to release her iconic Like A Prayer album, Madonna (and her eyebrows) teamed up with the National AIDS Network for the Artists for Life PSA series that encouraged AIDS awareness.
Dressed in a black leather jacket and standing in the stairwell of what appears to be an inner city high school, the singer tells viewers:“Not having sex is one way to avoid AIDS. Not hanging out with people who shoot drugs is another. If you do have sex, use a condom.” Noted. Thanks, Madge.
Written and recorded with Patrick Leonard, Madonna and Jai Winding. Madonna's original demo was given to singer Marilyn Martin for her to record. The song was included on her 1988 album "This Is Serious". The song was also released as a single by Atlantic Records in 1988 but did not do very well.
"Spotlight", written by Madonna, Stephen Bray and Curtis Hudson, was originally recorded during the 1986 True Blue album recording sessions, but not included because it was too similar in composition and structure to "Holiday". When she decided to make 'You Can Dance', she asked Shep Pettibone to remix "Spotlight" to included it on the album. John "Jellybean" Benitez, who had recorded the original demo during the True Blue sessions, assisted Pettibone in remixing the song. Madonna has said that she was inspired by the song "Everybody Is a Star" by Sly and the Family Stone as the theme of the song.
The song was released commercially in Japan on April 25, 1988. "Spotlight" peaked at number 68 on the Oricon weekly singles chart, remaining on the chart for five weeks. It was also featured in the last of a series of Japanese TV commercials Madonna filmed for electronics company Mitsubishi.
Oh how I wish she would have released this as a single world wide. It would have probably pushed the 'You Can Dance' album into the top ten and I am sure 'Spotlight' would have fared well on the charts aswell. They could have used footage from the commercial above and incorporate scenes from the 'Who's That Girl' tour. What do you think?
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