“Like a Prayer” is, narrowly, Madonna’s most covered song. Aside from its quality as a song, its popularity might have to do with how it was the first hit of hers to break with her ’80s sound, giving it a little bit more of an immediately apparent timeless quality than the synth-driven hits of the ’80s.
Katie Gavin is the lead singer of the American indie-pop trio MUNA. She recently released her debut solo album and went on SiriusXM to promote it with a live cover of “Like a Prayer.” Gavin sings and plays acoustic guitar but the cover is not technically acoustic as she is accompanied by another guitarist playing electric with pedal effects.
Because it’s just two people, the cover is much sparser than the original. Gavin is mostly very faithful to the song, though she performs it a slower tempo, giving the song a statelier feel than the original. Gavin plays her guitar arpeggio finger-style until about halfway through, when she starts strumming, given the performance a little more momentum.
The contrast from the original is all in what this cover lacks: the organ, the choir, the propulsive bass and percussion. It feels a bit like a different song, as Gavin’s folky performance cuts out the gospel and funk and leaves just the vocal melody accompanied by minimal instrumentation.
