Madonna performed “Like a Virgin” at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984.
The performance took place at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on September 14, 1984. Madonna emerged from a giant wedding cake wearing a white wedding dress and famously sang while moving across the stage. The provocative staging helped make the ceremony an important event in MTV history.
“Like a Virgin” was released in 1984 as the title track of Madonna’s second studio album. The song became her first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and established her as one of the decade’s defining pop stars.
A common mix-up is confusing this performance with Madonna’s 1989 “Like a Prayer” video, which also became a major MTV-era cultural moment. The 1984 appearance was a live awards-show performance, not a music video.