Madonna’s Celebration Greatest Hits tour is working its way across the USA after a string of European dates, and fans at the singer’s recent show in Boston got to hear a song that’s been missing from previous shows.

It’s the first time Madonna has delivered a tour focused on her big hits, usually she’s had a new album that has been the focus of the show. The set list includes 25 of her big hits, plus a further 15 are also worked into the show via snippets, mashups, and intros.

Usually in the middle of the show Madonna grabs a guitar and delivers an acoustic take on the Gloria Gaynor disco anthem I Will Survive. But at her recent shows she’s opted to share one of her own tunes- Express Yourself. 

Before she performed the song the singer spoke about how she’s loved having four of her six children on the tour with her, and the importance of found families.

“Family isn’t just what you’re born into, family is the family that you create.” the singer said to a round of applause.

The song was one of the singer’s biggest ever hits, but when you’ve got so many to choose from even massive hits might not make the final cut for a tour.

Express Yourself was the opening number of Madonna’s Blond Ambition Tour in 1990, and while she performed it on her subsequent The Girlie Show tour, it didn’t make the cut for 2001’s Drowned World tour.

In 2004 for the Re-Invention tour the song was back in the show, but it was nixed for the Confessions tour of 2006 and the Sticky and Sweet tour that ran through 2008 and 2009.

In 2012 when the MDNA tour hit the road Madonna combined the song with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, after many people pointed out the similarities between the two tunes. In 2016 the Rebel Heart tour headed down under -something Madonna’s only done twice in her career- but the song was not included.

So far there’s been no indication Madonna’s tour will head to Australia.

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