Album: Who’s That Girl (1987)
Songwriters/producers: Madonna/Patrick Leonard

For a such a commonly titled song, Madonna’s take does at least offer something a little different. Unlike her other contributions to the Who’s That Girl soundtrack, The Look of Love actually sounds like part of the score - Madonna could well be singing over what was previously just the moody character development background synth music apparently present in every film in the ’80s. In the context of the film, even if such a combination is entirely predictable, it’s an ideal accompaniment to the shots of a dejected Louden wandering the streets. But its slow-burn feel means the song is four minutes of not-particularly-intense brooding that never peaks - unlike a ballad. Not one of her more successful singles - despite reaching number 9 on the UK charts, it never saw a US release.

(at 0:27, the song’s appearance in the film, prior to Madonna’s rather stunning change of appearance in one of the film’s more ridiculous settings)

As with Causing a Commotion, there was no music video, but a promo clip of film footage was used in place, as well as the live performance from Ciao Italia - Live From Italy - a more vibrant, dynamic improvement on the studio recording.