"Freedom! '90" (also known simply as "Freedom!") is a song written, produced, and performed by George Michael, and released on Columbia Records in 1990.
The "'90" added to the end of the title is to prevent confusion with a hit by Michael's former band Wham!, also entitled "Freedom". The song's backing beat is a sample from James Brown's song "Funky Drummer".
It was the third single taken from Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990), though released as the second single from the album in the US and Australia. "Freedom! '90" was one of a few uptempo songs on this album.
It was a major hit and peaked at No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song refers to Michael's past success with Wham!, yet also shows a new side of himself as a new man, who is more cynical about the music business than he had been before.
Michael refused to appear in the music video for the song and cast a group of supermodels to appear instead. It went into heavy rotation on MTV and was remastered for the 2017 documentary, George Michael: Freedom.
On 30 October 2020 it premiered on YouTube in 4K for its 30th anniversary.[3] Michael performed this song, alongside his 2012 single "White Light", during the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.
In 2021, Rolling Stone placed "Freedom! '90" at number 126 in their list of "500 Best Songs of All Time".