The song, “Flashdance…What A Feeling”, was originally recorded by Irene Cara in 1983
“Flashdance…What A Feeling” is the title theme from the 1983 film ‘Flashdance’. The song was co-written by British songwriter Keith Forsey (b.1948) and American singer Irene Cara (1959-2022), who also performed the track which was produced by Giorgio Moroder. It was released in March that year and topped the US singles chart and peaked at No.2 in the UK. Globally, it went to number one in a dozen territories and made the top ten in over twenty countries. The following year, “Flashdance…What A Feeling” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
“Flashdance…What A Feeling” was covered by Australian singer Marcia Hines (b.1953) in 1998 for her album “Time Of Our Lives”. It was released as a single in November and peaked at No.66 there and No.23 in New Zealand. Austrian group The Global Deejays covered the song in 2005, retitled “What A Feeling”. Their version was a top 40 hit across much of mainland Europe and hit No.44 in Australia.
Other versions of the song have come from ABBA tribute act Bjorn Again in 1993 (UK No.65), French singer Priscilla Betti in 2002 (Fr No.36), while in 2010, a sample of the song was used by American singer Jason Derulo for his track “The Sky’s The Limit”, which featured on his self-titled debut album and went to No.68 in the UK and No.22 in Australia.
But which version is the best? IRENE’s original, MARCIA HINES’ cover or GLOBAL DEEJAY’s retitled version?
Take a look at some of the other posts in this series and don’t forget to follow the playlist.
Talk About Pop Music 