This iconic movie track has had us dancing for our lives for over 40 years.
Released on April 2, 1983, “Flashdance…What a Feeling,” by the late Irene Cara, peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard chart on May 28, 1983.
Forever associated with the film ‘Flashdance,’ starring Jennifer Beals, the track was the lead single on Cara’s album. The song was released just before the film came out to drum up buzz, and spent 25 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
“The song was just right for both the movie and the moment – a time when Black pop music was reaching new commercial heights thanks to Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Prince and many more star artists,” Billboard.com said of the song in 2022, following the news of Cara’s death at age 63. The outlet also noted that the song’s success paved the way for other iconic soundtrack hits from movies like ‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Footloose.’
“Flashdance…What a Feeling” also won an Oscar for Best Original Song that year. Cara became the second person of color to win the prestigious award for that category.
Related: 1980s Dance Anthem From ‘Flashdance’ Was Inspired by a Slasher Film of the Same Name
“I knew when we were recording it that we had something special with the song,” Cara said in an interview for BBC Radio 2’s Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story,” per Billboard. “Some things you just feel, you know? You can’t really dissect it or analyze it. It’s a spiritual thing that you sense, and I did sense that I had something special with this song.”
Establishing the film’s soundtrack as one of the greats, another song from the movie, “Maniac” by Michael Sembello, also spent time on the Billboard chart.
Cara was no stranger to hit movie soundtracks before she recorded “What a Feeling,” though, as she also sang the title track to the 1980 film ‘Fame,’ which also enjoyed success on the Billboard chart.
She followed up “What a Feeling” with another dance-inspired song entitled “Breakdance” which made its way to to the Billboard charts in 1984.
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