| "Flashdance... What a Feeling" | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Irene Cara | |||||||||||||||||||
| from the album What a Feelin' and Flashdance soundtrack | |||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | Love Theme from "Flashdance" (Instrumental) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Released | April 3, 1983 January 30, 2001 (re-released) |
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| Format | 12" single 7" single |
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| Recorded | 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Euro disco, synthpop | ||||||||||||||||||
| Length |
3:55 (7") 7:16 (12") |
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| Label | Casablanca | ||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Giorgio Moroder (music) Keith Forsey (lyrics) Irene Cara (lyrics)[1] |
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| Producer | Giorgio Moroder | ||||||||||||||||||
| Certification | Platinum (US) Gold (UK) |
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| Irene Cara singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||
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"Flashdance... What a Feeling" is a song from the 1983 film Flashdance, written by Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey, and Irene Cara, and performed by Cara.[1] Despite the title, the word "Flashdance" is never used in the lyrics; however, the line "In a flash, take a hold of my heart" refers to the movie's title. The instrumental backing tracks of the song made extensive use of synthesizers.
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In addition to topping the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Cara's only #1 hit and earning a platinum record in 1983, "Flashdance... What a Feeling" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song,[1] and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1984.
Giorgio Moroder originally recorded "Flashdance... What a Feeling" by Joe Esposito; Paramount Pictures asked Moroder to rework the song with a female artist to parallel the gender of the dancer who was the film's protagonist.
The song appears on the original soundtrack album of Flashdance, and Irene Cara's second solo album, What a Feelin'. Cara won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, in 1984 for her performance of the song. The song was also nominated for Record of the Year.
There are additional lyrics in the 12-inch single version of the song. The lines "If I only could take all the love that you give, and escape to a world crystal clear" precede the lines "Well I hear the music, close my eyes, feel the rhythm". There is also a second instrumental break with a guitar solo.
The song was the number three single of the year in 1983 on the Billboard year-end chart. In 2008, the song was ranked at #26 on Billboard's All Time Top 100, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Billboard Hot 100.[2]
In the UK, the song spent one week at number two on the chart dated July 5, 1983,[1] being kept from the top position by Rod Stewart's "Baby Jane." The song was the 25th best-selling single of 1983 in the UK.
The soundtrack album had the version that is usually played by radio stations. The song appears twice in the film, during the opening title sequence and as the backing for Alex's audition routine in the final sequence. Both of these versions were recorded specially for the film, and have different arrangements from the album version.
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report | 1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40[3] | 13 |
| European Singles Chart | 1 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Japanese Singles Chart | 1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart[1] | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles | 2 |
1983 In August, following the success of the English version in Japan, singer Miki Asakura released a popular Japanese language version, that was subsequently used as the theme for the TBS drama Stewardess Monogatari (A Stewardess' Story) starring Chiemi Hori.
1985 Céline Dion sang the song live and included it on her live album Céline Dion en concert.
1990 The Shadows did an instrumental version on the album Reflection.
1993 ABBA tribute group Björn Again recorded a cover of the song and released it as a single. It reached #65 in the UK Singles Chart.[1]
2001 Cara recorded a reworked version of "What a Feeling" with Swiss dance music artist DJ BoBo, winner of 10 World Music Awards. The duet featured new lyrics sung by DJ BoBo himself and reached No. 2 in Switzerland, No. 3 in Germany and No. 11 in Austria. The song was featured on DJ BoBo's album Planet Colors.
2002 Petra reached #44 on the French charts for Belgium with her remake entitled "What a Feeling".
2003 a hi- -NRG/eurodance cover by Karen Parry was released as a single.
2004 Swedish singer Charlotte Perrelli covered the song for her album Gone Too Long.
2006 a cover of the song by Australian pop group Young Divas was included on their debut album Young Divas.
2008 Serbian punk rock band Six Pack recorded a version on their cover album Discover.
2009 Mexican singer María José and Moenia covered the song for María Jose promotional cover songs tour of 1980s songs, also recorded a studio version.
2010 Reggae fusion singer Sean Kingston covered the song to promote his third studio album. The cover also contained some original lyrics.
2011 The X Factor (U.S. season 1) Top 10 finalist Drew Ryniewicz covered this song, in a slower version, for the Top 17 judge's cut on the first week of the live shows.
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