page_title: Keep It Together (song)
section_title: Live performance
hierarchical_section_title: Keep It Together (song) / Live performance
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo Taken By a Fan During One of The Concerts of 1990
context_page_description: "Keep It Together" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fourth studio album Like a Prayer. It was released on January 30, 1990 by Sire Records as the sixth and final single from the album in the United States, Canada and Japan. Written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, the main inspiration behind "Keep It Together" was Madonna's relationship with her family—whom she dearly missed after her divorce from actor Sean Penn. The song was dedicated to American funk and soul band Sly and the Family Stone. The lyrics deal with the realization of how important Madonna's family has been to her life. A pop, funk and deep funk song consisting of an upbeat rhythm and groove, "Keep It Together" features instrumentation from percussion, banjo and a conga.
  In the United Kingdom and some other countries, "Dear Jessie" served as the final single from the album and "Keep It Together" was not released there. Some critics compared "Keep It Together" to the work of Sister Sledge, especially their song "We Are Family". The song was a commercial success, reaching a peak of number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian charts, while topping the dance chart in the United States.
context_section_description: Madonna has performed the song only on her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, where it was the closing song of the set list. The staging of the performances was inspired by the 1971 science fiction film, A Clockwork Orange. The shows featured an introductory verse from "Family Affair" by Sly and the Family Stone. Madonna wore an all-black ensemble involving a cage vest, the longline bra, skintight shorts, knee-pads and a bowler hat. Her getup was a nod to actress Liza Minnelli in the film Cabaret. The performance started with her dancers appearing on the stage, with chairs on their back. Madonna appeared in their middle and started doing push-ups on the stage. She started singing "Family Affair", then midway through the song, changed to "Keep It Together". During the intermediate music, Madonna and her dancers performed an intricate choreography with the chairs. At the end, all the musicians, dancers and collaborators came to say good-bye to Madonna. The singer was left alone on stage to finish with a powerful repeat of her line "Keep people together forever and ever".
  In an interview with Stephen Holden from The New York Times, Madonna explained the significance of the performance: "Finally, right when you think I'll end [the concert] on a happy note, I come out with my family to do a Bob Fosse-meets-'Clockwork Orange' rendition of 'Keep It Together'. It's the show's ultimate statement about the family, because we're absolutely brutalizing with each other, while there's also no mistaking that we love each other deeply." Author Lynne Layton complimented the performance, saying that "as in her double attitude to materialism, femininity, and everything else, what marks the performance is not that Madonna is in control, but that she is open about the pros and cons of family life and obviously echoes the experience of many." Her thoughts were shared by John LeLand from Newsday, who complimented the aerobics performed onstage by Madonna and her dancers. Conversely, author Allen Metz commented that although the performance was tightly choreographed, the overall feel was marred due to the song's own "shortcomings". Greg Kot from Chicago Tribune felt that the addition of lines from "Family Affair" underlined the "home-is-where-the-heart-is" theme of "Keep It Together". Louis Virtel from The Backlot praised the performance of the song, stating that it served as the "perfect concluding performance." Two different performances were recorded and released on video: the Blond Ambition – Japan Tour 90, filmed in Yokohama, Japan, on April 27, 1990, and the Blond Ambition World Tour Live, filmed in Nice, France, on August 5, 1990. It was also shown on the HBO special titled Madonna Live! – Blond Ambition World Tour, and was added in her 1991 documentary, Truth or Dare.
caption: Madonna performing "Keep It Together" as the final song of the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour.
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