View source for Flashdance... What a Feeling

{{Short description|1983 single by Irene Cara}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Flashdance...What a Feeling
| cover      = Flashdance... What a Feeling by Irene Cara U.S. vinyl 7-inch Side A.jpg
| caption    = Side-A label of US 7-inch vinyl release
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Irene Cara]]
| album      = [[What a Feelin']] {{noitalic|and}} [[Flashdance (soundtrack)|Flashdance: Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture]]
| B-side     = {{hlist|"Love Theme from ''Flashdance''" (instrumental)|"Found It"}}
| released   = March 1983
| recorded   = Early 1983
| length     = {{Duration|m=3|s=55}}
| genre      = 
* [[Pop music|Pop]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metroweekly.com/2015/07/the-50-greatest-pop-songs-of-the-80s-nos-20-11/|title=The 50 Greatest Pop Songs of the '80s, Nos. 20-11|work=Metro Weekly|date=July 9, 2015|access-date=February 23, 2016}}</ref>
* [[dance-pop]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Gerard|first=Chris|date=July 7, 2015|url=https://www.metroweekly.com/2015/07/the-50-greatest-pop-songs-of-the-80s/|title=The 50 Greatest Pop Songs of the '80s|work=[[Metro Weekly]]|access-date=May 22, 2023}}</ref>
* [[post-disco]]<ref name= "Breihan 2020">{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Irene Cara's "Flashdance… What A Feeling|website= [[Stereogum]] |date= July 15, 2020 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2091350/the-number-ones-irene-caras-flashdance-what-a-feeling/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= ...“Flashdance… What A Feeling” works as powerful evidence that disco never really went away.|accessdate= July 27, 2023}}</ref>
| label      = {{hlist|[[Casablanca Records|Casablanca]]|[[Al Coury#Network Records label|Network]]}}
| composer   = [[Giorgio Moroder]]
| lyricist   = {{hlist|[[Keith Forsey]]|Irene Cara}}
| producer   = Giorgio Moroder
| prev_title = My Baby (He's Something Else)
| prev_year  = 1982
| next_title = [[Why Me? (Irene Cara song)|Why Me?]]
| next_year  = 1983
| misc       = {{External music video|{{YouTube|ILWSp0m9G2U|"Flashdance... What a Feeling"}}
}}
}}

"'''Flashdance... What a Feeling'''" is a song from the 1983 film ''[[Flashdance]]'' with music by [[Giorgio Moroder]] and lyrics by [[Keith Forsey]] and the song's performer, [[Irene Cara]]. The song spent six weeks at number one on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and topped the charts around the world. It was awarded Gold certification by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] for sales of one million copies and won the [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Academy Award]] and [[Golden Globe for Best Original Song|Golden Globe]] for Best Original Song and earned Cara the [[Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance]]. In 2023, the song was chosen by the [[Library of Congress]] for inclusion in the [[National Recording Registry]].

Moroder had been asked to score the film, and Cara and Forsey wrote most of the lyrics after they were shown the last scene, in which the main character dances at an audition for a group of judges. They felt that the dancer's ambition to succeed could act as a metaphor for achieving any dream a person has and wrote lyrics that described what it feels like when music inspires someone to dance. The song was used for that scene as well as during the opening credits.

The song was the first single to be released from the [[Flashdance (soundtrack)|soundtrack album]] and received positive reviews. Because ''Flashdance'' was going to be released in mid-April of that year, [[Casablanca Records]] released the single in March to market the film. The unexpected success at the [[box office]] resulted in stores across the US selling out of both the single and its parent album just days after ''Flashdance'' was in theaters. 

The success of the song made it clear to Cara that she was not receiving royalties stipulated in her recording contract, and she took legal action against her label in order to be compensated. The backlash that she claims she suffered in retaliation for filing a lawsuit left her feeling shut out of the entertainment industry as she struggled to find work. Although she began receiving royalties for the recordings she made for them, the label and its owner declared bankruptcy and claimed that they were unable to pay her the $1.5{{nbsp}}million settlement she was awarded by a Los Angeles Superior Court.

==Background and writing==
[[File:Giorgio Moroder (2).jpg|thumb|right|180px|Giorgio Moroder ''(pictured in 2007)'' wrote the music for the song.]]After winning the [[Academy Award for Best Original Score]] in 1979 for ''[[Midnight Express (film)|Midnight Express]]'', [[Giorgio Moroder]] worked with ''Flashdance'' producer [[Jerry Bruckheimer]] on the 1980 film ''[[American Gigolo]]'', and Bruckheimer contacted Moroder in 1982 to see if he would be interested in composing the music for the new film, which told the story of Alex Owens, a young woman who dreams of becoming a ballerina and must overcome her fear of auditioning before a panel of judges. Despite his lack of interest due to other commitments,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-giorgio-moroder-pitchfork-festival-disco-20140717-story.html| title= Giorgio Moroder is back in business |work=[[Chicago Tribune]]| date= 17 July 2014 |publisher= Chicago Tribune Media Group |access-date=December 28, 2019|quote=At first I was not interested, because I was so busy with some other stuff. I was in the studio day and night.}}</ref> Moroder came up with some music that was "a very rough sketch".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7817625/giorgio-moroder-djing-david-guetta-weeknd| title= Legendary Producer Giorgio Moroder Talks DJ'ing Advice From David Guetta and His Love For The Weeknd| date= 5 June 2017|publisher=[[Eldridge Industries]]|access-date=December 28, 2019}}</ref> He thought it might fit the project well<ref name = "Moroder">{{cite video|people=Moroder, Giorgio|title=Flashdance: Music and Songs (''bonus feature from'' Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition)|medium=DVD|publisher=Paramount |date=2010}}</ref> and sent it in before filming began.<ref name = "Bruckheimer2">{{cite video|people=Bruckheimer, Jerry|title=Flashdance: Music and Songs (''bonus feature from'' Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition)|medium=DVD|publisher=Paramount |date=2010|quote=Maybe 6 to 8 weeks before we started filming, he sent this little demo in, and it was "What a Feeling".}}</ref> The demo was the music for what became "Flashdance... What a Feeling",<ref name = Bruckheimer2/> but Moroder did not agree to composing the score until after seeing a video of a rough cut of the film,<ref>{{cite interview|last=Moroder|first=Giorgio|subject-link=Giorgio Moroder|title =Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2|work =[[BBC Radio 2]]|publisher =[[BBC]]|date = May 20, 2013|quote= The word was out that ''Flashdance'' could be a little bit of a soft porno because nobody knew what 'flashdance' means [sic]. So I wasn't really sure if I wanted to do it, but I said, 'Jerry, I'm going to watch the movie, and if I like it, I'll do it.' So I got the tapes{{nbsp}}… And, in fact, I watched it, and I loved it. And I said, 'Jerry, I absolutely want to do it.'}}</ref> which completed shooting on December 30, 1982.<ref name=afi>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57962-FLASHDANCE?sid=d9d8f680-1ae0-4b35-bcdf-c5ebb0a605d8&sr=10.351932&cp=1&pos=0 |title=AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Flashdance |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=afi.com |publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|access-date=April 16, 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318202357/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57962-FLASHDANCE?sid=b31142c2-fede-4c65-a962-48aa31d1c38d&sr=10.352514&cp=1&pos=0|archive-date=March 18, 2021}}</ref> He then delegated the writing of the lyrics to his session drummer, [[Keith Forsey]], who started on the task by himself<ref>{{cite interview|last=Forsey|first=Keith|subject-link=Keith Forsey|title =Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2|work =[[BBC Radio 2]]|publisher =[[BBC]]|date = May 20, 2013|quote=''Flashdance'' with Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer was one of the movies that showed up, and Giorgio said, "OK, write the lyrics. Off you go." So I jumped into the back room, which was the drum room, and started collecting lyrics.}}</ref> but later received help from [[Irene Cara]].<ref>{{cite interview|last=Cara|first=Irene|subject-link=Irene Cara|title =Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2|work =[[BBC Radio 2]]|publisher =[[BBC]]|date = May 20, 2013|quote=Giorgio thought it best that I co-write it with Keith.}}</ref> She described Forsey as "very personable, just a sweetheart. He was very funny. We definitely clicked."<ref name = "Cara">{{cite interview|last=Cara|first=Irene|subject-link=Irene Cara|title =Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2|work =[[BBC Radio 2]]|publisher =[[BBC]]|date = May 20, 2013}}</ref>

Cara received her big break in 1980 in the role of Coco Hernandez, a student at the [[High School of Performing Arts]], in the movie ''[[Fame (1980 film)|Fame]]''. The soundtrack album included two chart hits that Cara recorded: the [[Fame (Irene Cara song)|title song]], which got as high as number 4 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], and "[[Out Here on My Own]]", which peaked at number 19.<ref name = "hot">{{Harvnb|Whitburn|2009|p=158}}.</ref> When the record label for the soundtrack, [[RSO Records|RSO]], went out of business, one of its executives, [[Al Coury]], convinced her to join his newly-formed Network Records,<ref name = sixteenth88>{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=88}}: When RSO shut down, Coury decided to launch his own label. Cara could have written her own ticket at any record label in the world. Instead, she signed with Coury.</ref> and the title track from her first album there, ''[[Anyone Can See]]'', reached number 42 on the Hot 100 during a run of 18 weeks that began in November 1981.<ref name = hot/>  She was working on an album and looking for a producer in early 1983 when she was contacted by [[Paramount Pictures]] to provide lyrics for the new soundtrack song.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Birch|first=Ian|date=June 23, 1983 |title=Flashdance: The Song|url=https://archive.org/details/smash-hits-23-june-6-july-1983/page/n7/mode/2up |magazine=[[Smash Hits]]|location=London|publisher=[[Emap]] |access-date=April 17, 2021|quote= I was in California, working on an album and trying to find a producer. Paramount Pictures called me out of the blue and said that Giorgio Moroder, who was writing the music, needed some lyrics. I agreed to help out.}}</ref> Although Moroder had shown interest in working with her once she had success with ''Fame'', she was reluctant about being compared to another singer he had produced, [[Donna Summer]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Grein|first=Paul|date=March 10, 1984|title=Grammy Caps Year of Success, Frustration for Cara|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|location=New York|publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc.| page=54|quote= Cara says she held off from working with Summer's longtime producer Giorgio Moroder until ''Flashdance'' and the subsequent ''What a Feelin{{'}}'' album in an effort to avoid comparisons with Summer. "Giorgio approached me right after 'Fame.' The only reason I didn't go with him at the time was all the comparisons."}}</ref> "But with 'Flashdance[… What a Feeling],'" Cara explained, "we were thrown together by Paramount."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Grein|first=Paul|date=March 10, 1984|title=Grammy Caps Year of Success, Frustration for Cara|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|location=New York|publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc.| page=54}}</ref>

{{quote box|quote= We used dance as a metaphor for{{nbsp}}... attaining anything in your life that you want to accomplish.|source= – Irene Cara on writing the lyrics with Keith Forsey<ref name = "metaphor">{{cite interview|last=Cara|first=Irene|subject-link=Irene Cara|title =Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2|work =[[BBC Radio 2]]|publisher =[[BBC]]|date = May 20, 2013|quote=We used dance as a metaphor for, you know, attaining anything in your life that you want to accomplish.}}</ref>|width=23%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}Cara and Forsey were shown the last scene of the film, in which Alex auditions, to have a sense of what the lyrics should be.<ref>{{cite interview|last=Cara|first=Irene|subject-link=Irene Cara|title =Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2|work =[[BBC Radio 2]]|publisher =[[BBC]]|date = May 20, 2013|quote= They didn’t show us the entire film. They just showed us the scene they wanted the song to go into, which was the big finale dance scene, so that’s all I really had to go on.}}</ref> They were then driven from the screening to Giorgio's studio to record the song and, during the trip, were able to come up with most of the words that Cara would sing.<ref>{{cite interview|last=Cara|first=Irene|subject-link=Irene Cara|title =Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2|work =[[BBC Radio 2]]|publisher =[[BBC]]|date = May 20, 2013|quote= I mean, we jumped into the cab. I don’t remember them sending a car for us, so we jumped in a cab. And by the time we got back to Giorgio’s studio, I would say 80% of the song was written.}}</ref> She said, "I had no idea what the movie was about or anything. It did seem to me to have a similar look in regards to ''Fame'', so I figured, well, this is another performing arts film."<ref name = Cara/> She told Forsey that she thought the lyrics should describe the feeling of dance and credits him with coming up with the lyric that inspired the working title for the song, "Dancing for Your Life".<ref>{{Harvnb|Bronson|2003|p=573}}: I came up with the original idea about talking about the feeling of dance. Keith elaborated on it, saying, "dancing for my life."</ref><ref>{{cite interview|last=Cara|first=Irene|subject-link=Irene Cara|title =Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2|work =[[BBC Radio 2]]|publisher =[[BBC]]|date = May 20, 2013|quote=[the title] wasn't "Flashdance[…What a Feeling]". It was "Dancing for Your Life".}}</ref> She explained how the song became "a metaphor about a dancer, how she's in control of her body when she dances and how she can be in control of her life"<ref name = "Bronson">{{Harvnb|Bronson|2003|p=573}}</ref> and how that particular art form could represent any goal someone has.<ref name = metaphor/> Moroder felt that the lyric "what a feeling" was right for the story<ref>{{cite interview|last=Moroder|first=Giorgio|subject-link=Giorgio Moroder|title =Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2|work =[[BBC Radio 2]]|publisher =[[BBC]]|date = May 20, 2013|quote= I loved it. I feel the lyric, "what a feeling", sounds perfect for the movie.}}</ref> but tried persuading them to incorporate the title of the film into the lyrics; the closest they could come to doing that was to use the two words that formed the title in separate lines of the song, such as, "In a flash it takes hold of my heart".<ref>{{cite interview|last=Cara|first=Irene|subject-link=Irene Cara|title =Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2|work =[[BBC Radio 2]]|publisher =[[BBC]]|date = May 20, 2013|quote=Giorgio came in and said, "Well, look, if you want it to be nominated, you better put the word ''Flashdance'' in there somewhere." So, uh, which we never quite did. We just kind of put the word "in a flash it takes hold of your heart" was the best we could do. We couldn’t actually just say ''Flashdance''. It didn’t work in anything to say ''Flashdance''.}}</ref> It was only after the song was completed with the title "What a Feeling" that "Flashdance…" was added "to get some extra promotional mileage" out of it.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Lichtman|first=Irv|title=Paramount Pictures Works To Help Sell Soundtracks|date= August 6, 1983|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |location=New York|publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc.|page=55}}</ref>

The song is in the [[Key (music)|key]] of [[B-flat major|B♭ Major]] and has a [[tempo]] of 122 beats per minute.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.karaoke-version.com/custombackingtrack/irene-cara/flashdance-what-a-feeling.html |title=Flashdance...What a Feeling - Irene Cara - Custom Backing Track |publisher=Karaoke Version |access-date=June 28, 2017}}</ref> Cara's voice spans from the tonal nodes of F<sub>3</sub> to D<sub>5</sub>.<ref name="sheet">{{cite web|url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0048842#ProductDetails|title=Irene Cara 'Flashdance What a Feeling' Sheet Music|date=14 February 2005|publisher=Musicnotes.com. [[Alfred Music Publishing|Alfred Publishing]]|access-date=June 27, 2021}}</ref>

==Recording==
Moroder had produced Summer's hit "[[Heaven Knows (Donna Summer song)|Heaven Knows]]", which featured [[Brooklyn Dreams]] vocalist [[Joe Esposito (singer)|Joe "Bean" Esposito]], and had Esposito record a vocal demo of "Flashdance... What a Feeling".<ref>{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title='Good Old Disco' Still Works for Moroder|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|location=New York|publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc. |date=October 29, 1983| page=6}}</ref> Moroder would have had Esposito do the final recording, but Paramount wanted somebody who was well known.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title='Good Old Disco' Still Works for Moroder|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|location=New York|publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc. |date=October 29, 1983| page=6|quote=I would have liked him to do the song for the film, but the film company wanted to have a bigger name.}}</ref> The film's producers also felt the singer of the song should be female.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tampabay.com/remember-that-other-song-from-the-flashdance-soundtrack--me-neither/2127238/ |title=Remember that 'other' song from the 'Flashdance' soundtrack? ... Me neither |last=Wuench |first=Kevin |date=June 18, 2013 |publisher=[[Tampa Bay Times]] |access-date=January 27, 2019|quote= Little known is that Esposito recorded the original version of 'Flashdance… What a Feeling', but the song was rerecorded by Irene Cara after the producers thought the song should be sung from the female perspective.}}</ref> Cara stipulated in her agreement to write the lyrics that she would be the one to sing the song,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.songwriteruniverse.com/irene-cara-interview-2018.htm |website=songwriteruniverse.com|title=Special Interview With Pop Legend Irene Cara, Co-Writer & Singer Of The #1 Hit "Flashdance…What a Feeling" And Star Of The Movie, ''Fame''|last=Kawashima |first=Dale |date= May 24, 2018 |access-date= April 16, 2020|quote=And I said, 'Well, you know, I’m not in this movie. I’ll agree to sing the theme song if I also write it.'}}</ref> and Moroder thought "she did absolutely fantastic work."<ref>{{cite interview|last=Moroder|first=Giorgio|subject-link=Giorgio Moroder|title =Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2|work =[[BBC Radio 2]]|publisher =[[BBC]]|date = May 20, 2013}}</ref> She wanted to do more than one take, and he felt her third crack at it was her best.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7817625/giorgio-moroder-djing-david-guetta-weeknd| title= Legendary Producer Giorgio Moroder Talks DJ'ing Advice From David Guetta and His Love For The Weeknd| date= 5 June 2017|publisher=[[Eldridge Industries]]|access-date=December 28, 2019|quote= With Irene, I personally knew exactly what to do, but sometimes the artist will say, 'I want to redo it,' and you can’t say, 'No, no, you can{{'}}t.' The second time, I don’t think she improved it that much, but the third time, especially towards the ending, she brought in more emotion and it elevated it.}}</ref>

{{quote box|quote= When you first heard it, you said, 'It{{'}}s a hit.'|source= – Jerry Bruckheimer<ref name = "Jerry">{{cite video|people=Bruckheimer, Jerry|title=Flashdance: Music and Songs (''bonus feature from'' Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition)|medium=DVD|publisher=Paramount |date=2010}}</ref>|width=20%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}They completed recording the song in a few days, and the movie studio liked what they heard.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rosen|1996|p=275}}: 'It was an easy one to record,' Moroder says. 'It only took two or three days, and we had a very good response from Paramount.'</ref> On the ''Special Collector's Edition'' DVD release of ''Flashdance'' from 2010, Bruckheimer said, "When you first heard it, you said, 'It{{'}}s a hit.' It’s one of those things you just heard, and you just couldn’t get it out of your head. And it just got us all so excited. We kept playing it over and over and never got tired of it. To this day, I’m not tired of that song.<ref name = Jerry/> Cara also had a good feeling about it: "I knew when we were recording it that we had something special with the song. 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."<ref name = Cara/>

==Critical reception==
{{listen
|type=music
|filename=Flashdance... What a Feeling.ogg
|title=Irene Cara - "Flashdance... What a Feeling"
|description=The transition from "crooning synthesizer background music" to "a hard disco beat"
}}
"Flashdance…What a Feeling" received predominantly positive reviews at the time of its release and has continued to do so. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine proclaimed that the song was "the best showcase for Cara's vocal talents since she first came to '[[Fame (Irene Cara song)|Fame]]' three years ago. The spirited Giorgio Moroder tune has the same kind of yearning optimism as that initial hit."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Billboard's Top Single Picks—Pop|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|location=New York|publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc. |date=April 2, 1983| page=55}}</ref> ''Cash Box'' concurred, "This should be the vehicle Cara has been searching for since her 'Fame' debut. Moroder's hook is powerful, the arrangement well sculpted. Strong stuff."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=April 2, 1983|title=News & Reviews: Singles – Black Contemporary|magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc.| page=8}}</ref> ''[[Record Mirror]]'''s Betty Page predicted, "Huge hitsville, USA... Next year's Grammy, Oscar... winner, no doubt."<ref>{{cite magazine|last= Page |first= Betty|title= Irene Cara: "Flashdance... What A Feeling" |magazine= [[Record Mirror]] |date= June 4, 1983 |volume= 30 |issue= 23 |page= 10 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/43604134534/in/album-72157670649126057/ |access-date=1 April 2022}}</ref> Maureen Rice of ''[[Number One (magazine)|Number One]]'' magazine admitted, "I really like this", and described it as "a perfect radio record".<ref>{{cite magazine|last= Rice |first= Maureen|title= Irene Cara: "Flashdance... What A Feeling" |magazine= [[Number One (magazine)|Number One]] |date= June 4, 1983  |issue= 5 |page= 37 |url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/47935569813/in/album-72157708766438317/|access-date=1 April 2022}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' [[pop music]] critic [[John Rockwell]] wrote that the song, "sung by Irene Cara in a manner directly evocative of her big hit, 'Fame,' still possesses a buoyant energy of its own."<ref>{{cite news|last=Rockwell|first=John |title=Film Scores On Disks|date=May 1, 1983|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|location=New York|department=Section 2|page=23}}</ref> The editors of ''[[CD Review|Digital Audio]]{{'}}s Guide to Compact Discs'' described the song as "a blend of crooning synthesizer background music and a hard disco beat," and concluded, "These effects and Cara's enthusiastic voice make this an impressive song."<ref>{{Harvnb|Canale|1986|p=148}}.</ref>

In their retrospective reviews, [[AllMusic]] labeled the song as one of their Album Picks from the ''Flashdance'' soundtrack,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/flashdance-original-soundtrack-mw0000193797|title=Flashdance – Original Soundtrack|publisher=[[Allmusic]]|accessdate=May 23, 2021}}</ref> Cara's ''[[What a Feelin']]'' album,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/what-a-feelin-mw0000649951|title=What a Feelin' – Irene Cara|publisher=[[Allmusic]]|accessdate=May 23, 2021}}</ref> and the 1994 ''[[Casablanca Records]] Story'' compilation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/casablanca-records-story-mw0000119055|title=Casablanca Records Story – Various Artists|publisher=[[Allmusic]]|accessdate=May 23, 2021}}</ref>

==Release and commercial performance==
Since ''Flashdance'' was to be released on April 15, 1983,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Ressner|first=Jeffrey|date=May 7, 1983|title=Polygram Gears Up Push For ''Flashdance'' LP|magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc.| page=10}}</ref> Cara's recording was made available as a "scout" [[Single (music)|single]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Hall|Neale|2010|p=216}}: Paramount followed the usual route of releasing the title track as a scout single succeeded by the release of the soundtrack album thereafter.</ref> in March<ref>{{Harvnb|White|1990|p=40}}.</ref> as a way of getting the attention of the target audience for the film,<ref>{{Harvnb|Smith|1999|p=49}}: Since 1960, the conventional wisdom about soundtracks is that they should be released about four to six weeks before the film's general release in order to give the music an opportunity to work its way up the charts and circulate the film's title in radio and retail markets. The same generally holds true for theme songs and music videos. In theory, a so-called scout single generates positive buzz for the film, which in turn creates consumer interest in the film's theme song and soundtrack album.</ref> but [[Paramount Pictures]] had doubts that the movie would do well at the box office.<ref>{{Harvnb|Eszterhas|2010|p= 171}}: "Paramount had so little faith in ''Flashdance'' that the studio sold off 30 percent of its own potential profit to a private investors group. We all knew, of course, that studios only did that with movies that they were absolutely certain would stiff."</ref> Bruckheimer explained that Casablanca's parent company, [[Polygram]], "only shipped 60,000 [copies of the soundtrack album], so they really had no faith in the record."<ref>{{cite video|people=Bruckheimer, Jerry|title=Releasing the Flashdance Phenomenon (''bonus feature from'' Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition)|medium=DVD|publisher=Paramount |date=2010}}</ref> The May 7 issue of ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' magazine, however, reported on the surprise success of the film, noting that by Tuesday, April 19, retailers were reporting that all ''Flashdance'' merchandise was gone.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Ressner|first=Jeffrey|date=May 7, 1983|title=Polygram Gears Up Push For ''Flashdance'' LP|magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc.| page=18|quote= Retailers told us that every store in the country had sold out of every piece of ''Flashdance'' product.}}</ref> Paramount planned to have the film's director, [[Adrian Lyne]], take parts of scenes from it to create music videos for songs from the soundtrack, including Cara's contribution,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Ressner|first=Jeffrey|date=May 7, 1983|title=Polygram Gears Up Push For ''Flashdance'' LP|magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc.| page=18|quote= Paramount has enlisted Adrian Lyne, the director of the motion picture, to edit outtakes from the film into four music videos to be shown on MTV: Music Television, other youth-oriented cable shows, in-store at various record retail outlets and dance clubs. The quartet of videos highlights the songs "Manhunt," performed by Karen Kamon; "Imagination," by Laura Branigan; "Maniac," belted out by Michael Sembello; and Cara's title tune.}}</ref> which would also be used in all subsequent radio and television ads for the film as a way for potential ticket buyers to "identify the motion picture".<ref name = "push">{{cite magazine|last=Ressner|first=Jeffrey|date=May 7, 1983|title=Polygram Gears Up Push For ''Flashdance'' LP|magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc.| page=18}}</ref>

In the April 2, 1983, issue of ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine, "Flashdance…What a Feeling" began a run of 25 weeks on the [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]],<ref name = hot/> which included 14 weeks in the top 10, making it the longest-running top-10 single of 1983.<ref>{{Harvnb|Whitburn|2000|p=461}}</ref> The May 28 ''Billboard'' marked its first of 6 weeks as the most popular song in the US,<ref name = Bronson/> and it also went to number one in Australia,<ref name = Australia/> Canada,<ref name = "canada"/> Denmark,<ref name = Denmark/> [[1983 in Japanese music|Japan]],<ref name = Japan/> New Zealand,<ref name = "newzealand"/> Norway,<ref name = "norway"/> South Africa,<ref name = SouthAfrica/> Spain,<ref name = Spain/> Sweden,<ref name = "sweden"/> and Switzerland<ref name = "switzerland"/> and made the top five in Austria,<ref name = "austria"/> Finland,<ref name = Finland/> Ireland,<ref name = "ireland"/> the UK,<ref name = "uk"/> and West Germany.<ref name = "westgermany"/> It debuted on ''Billboard'''s [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]] chart in the April 30 issue and got as high as number 4 during its 24 weeks there.<ref>{{Harvnb|Whitburn|2007|p=41}}.</ref> In the May 7 issue it made its first appearance on their list of the most popular [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|Black Singles]] in the US and spent 5 of its 22 weeks there at number 2 (behind "[[Juicy Fruit (song)|Juicy Fruit]]" by [[Mtume]], which only reached #45 on the Hot 100).<ref>{{Harvnb|Whitburn|2004a|p=102}}.</ref> The May 7 issue also began the 18 weeks that the 12-inch remix spent on their [[Dance Club Songs|Dance/Disco Top 80]] chart, 3 of which were in the top spot.<ref>{{Harvnb|Whitburn|2004b|p=50}}.</ref> On [[Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1983|''Billboard''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1983]], it came in at number 3.

On June 17, the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] awarded the single Gold certification for achieving sales of one million copies,<ref name = riaa/> and on July 1, the [[British Phonographic Industry]] issued Silver certification to it for shipment of 250,000 units.<ref name = bpi/> Also on July 1, [[Music Canada]] awarded the single both Gold and Platinum awards for reaching the 50,000 and 100,000 thresholds for units shipped, respectively, and the Double Platinum award was issued on January 1, 1984, after reaching the 200,000 mark.<ref name = musiccanada/> Later that month, ''Billboard'' reported that sales in Japan were over 700,000.<ref name="japansales">{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1984/1984-01-21-Billboard-Page-0009.pdf#search=%22flashdance%20japan%22|title=International Repertoire Explosion Keys Upturn in Japanese Market|magazine=Billboard|first=Shig|last=Fujita|page=9|date=January 21, 1984|access-date=November 2, 2020}}</ref> In France, sales have also reached the one million mark for Platinum certification.<ref name="France">{{cite web|title=Les Certifications depuis 1973: Singles|url=http://www.infodisc.fr/Chanson_Certifications.php|publisher=Infodisc.fr|access-date=August 31, 2020}} (In the box labeled "Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste", type the letter "I". Arrow down the list to "Irene Cara" and click OK.)</ref>

==Film context==
Film scholars who have commented on ''Flashdance'' in essays have highlighted the relationship between the song and Alex's story. "Flashdance... What a Feeling" is heard over the opening credits of the film as a young woman rides her bike through the streets of Pittsburgh just after sunrise and then continues as work goes on in a steel mill. In his dissertation on film musicals about dance, John Trenz explained that the song functions as our way into the story since no other introductory information, such as the bicyclist's identity, is provided on the soundtrack.<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Trenz |first= John|date= August 8, 2014|title= 'Insubordinate' Looking: Consumerism, Power And Identity And The Art Of Popular (Music) Dance Movies|type= PhD|publisher= [[University of Pittsburgh]]|url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/22714/1/trenzjj_etdPITT2014.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2021|quote= We follow Alex to the steel mill where she works as welder. However, the film has not yet formally introduced Alex as a character. No representational communication within the film’s [[diegesis]] has taken place. Communication only takes place through the sequence of images set to the song, which is personifying the images.}}</ref> The mill workers use machinery that represents the "world made of steel, made of stone" that Cara sings about,<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Trenz |first= John|date= August 8, 2014|title= 'Insubordinate' Looking: Consumerism, Power And Identity And The Art Of Popular (Music) Dance Movies|type= PhD|publisher= [[University of Pittsburgh]]|url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/22714/1/trenzjj_etdPITT2014.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2021|quote=The song is still playing over the sequence and the interior of the mill seems to pulse with mechanical machinery to the rhythm, reflecting, in physical form, the symbolic significance of the lyrics, "In a world made of steel, made of stone".}}</ref> and we are shown several of them at work while the song continues. As the chorus is heard for the last time to finish presenting the opening credits, the worker that the film keeps cutting back to is wearing a welding helmet with Alex printed on the front. The welder removes the protective gear to reveal that Alex is female, and she shakes her hair loose from the helmet and catches her breath. With the film's unveiling of its main character, Trenz wrote, "The gender revelation seems to punctuate the song's lyrics, 'What a feeling! Being’s believing, I can have it all.'"<ref name = "Trenz">{{cite thesis|last=Trenz |first= John|date= August 8, 2014|title= 'Insubordinate' Looking: Consumerism, Power And Identity And The Art Of Popular (Music) Dance Movies|type= PhD|publisher= [[University of Pittsburgh]]|url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/22714/1/trenzjj_etdPITT2014.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2021}}</ref>

In the February 1984 issue of ''[[Jump Cut (journal)|Jump Cut]]'', Kathryn Kalinak delineated an instance in which the lyrics coincide with Alex's dialogue. Alex is uncomfortable when her boyfriend Nick sees her dancing outside of her work setting, but her job performing onstage to contemporary music in a bar is a different kind of presentation where the audience means nothing to her.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kalinak|first=Kathryn|date=February 1984|title=''Flashdance'': The dead end kid|url=https://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC29folder/Flashdance.html |journal=[[Jump Cut (journal)|Jump Cut]]|issue=29|pages=3–5|access-date=May 30, 2021|quote=But interestingly enough for the women who perform it, flashdancing constitutes a kind of non-performance. Ignoring the audience, they dance for each other and for themselves. Alex(andra) is embarrassed when her boyfriend, Nick, catches her dancing in an unguarded moment, but the ogling at Mawby's leaves her unfazed}}</ref> When Nick asks why she seems so comfortable in front of the bar patrons, she explains, "I never see them. You go out there, and the music starts, and you begin to feel it. And your body just starts to move. I know it sounds really silly. But something inside you just clicks, and you just take off. You're gone. It's like you're somebody else for a second." This freedom she describes is reflected in the lyrics, "When I hear the music, close my eyes, feel the rhythm wrap around, take ahold of my heart, what a feeling."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kalinak|first=Kathryn|date=February 1984|title=''Flashdance'': The dead end kid|url=https://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC29folder/Flashdance.html |journal=[[Jump Cut (journal)|Jump Cut]]|issue=29|pages=3–5|access-date=May 30, 2021|quote='I never see them. You go out there, and the music starts, and you begin to feel it. And your body just starts to move. I know it sounds really silly. But something inside you just clicks, and you just take off. You're gone. It's like you're somebody else for a second.' Echoing the lyrics of the film's title song, 'Flashdance… What a Feeling,' Alex celebrates the physical liberation of the dance: 'When I hear the music, Close my eyes, feel the rhythm Wrap around, take ahold of my heart, What a feeling!'}}</ref>

The song is heard again during Alex's audition at the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance and Repertory as the recording that she brings to play while she performs, but Trenz pointed out that, instead of functioning as an introduction to the character as it did during the opening credits, the song is now Alex's means of interpreting her story through dance.<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Trenz |first= John|date= August 8, 2014|title= 'Insubordinate' Looking: Consumerism, Power And Identity And The Art Of Popular (Music) Dance Movies|type= PhD|publisher= [[University of Pittsburgh]]|url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/22714/1/trenzjj_etdPITT2014.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2021|quote= In a sense, Alex is finally reflected in the movie as the interpreter of her own story (her song) through dancing. The song remains the same as it was in the opening sequence but the reflection of the image is defined by the physical expression of her body in dance.}}</ref> He averred that "she inhabits the song and reproduces an expression of her story by dancing to it and signifying the music and being the significance of its lyrics at the same time."<ref name = Trenz/> Since this is an audition to measure her skill as a dancer and not judge an acting performance, the song provides a unique function for the two audiences witnessing the audition. For the judges in the film, she is translating the artistry of the song, which symbolizes this applicant reaching the goal of being considered for admission.<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Trenz |first= John|date= August 8, 2014|title= 'Insubordinate' Looking: Consumerism, Power And Identity And The Art Of Popular (Music) Dance Movies|type= PhD|publisher= [[University of Pittsburgh]]|url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/22714/1/trenzjj_etdPITT2014.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2021|quote=From the position of the selection committee, Alex gives presence to the song as art, and therefore, they see it as non-representational. But it also signifies Alex’s ability to be evaluated as a real dancer.}}</ref> The film audience, however, can now interpret the song as her story,<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Trenz |first= John|date= August 8, 2014|title= 'Insubordinate' Looking: Consumerism, Power And Identity And The Art Of Popular (Music) Dance Movies|type= PhD|publisher= [[University of Pittsburgh]]|url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/22714/1/trenzjj_etdPITT2014.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2021|quote= Because she is dancing as herself rather than as a character in a show, the song is also representational of her story for the film audience.}}</ref> making it more than just a soundtrack hit.<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Trenz |first= John|date= August 8, 2014|title= 'Insubordinate' Looking: Consumerism, Power And Identity And The Art Of Popular (Music) Dance Movies|type= PhD|publisher= [[University of Pittsburgh]]|url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/22714/1/trenzjj_etdPITT2014.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2021|quote=Alex’s performance signifies 'Flashdance' as representational of her story rather than as a track exclusive to the movie and which its producers are selling to the audience.}}</ref> Trenz wrote, "The narrative allows the film audience to read the sequence as expressive of her story in association with the song while the reactions of the committee seem to signify the resolution expressed by the song – that Alex can make it happen and have it all."<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Trenz |first= John|date= August 8, 2014|title= 'Insubordinate' Looking: Consumerism, Power And Identity And The Art Of Popular (Music) Dance Movies|type= PhD|publisher= [[University of Pittsburgh]]|url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/22714/1/trenzjj_etdPITT2014.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2021}}</ref>

{{quote box|quote="Everything that we feel about Alex's success as a dancer through her performance and the music is hijacked… so that our 'feeling' about success, performance, and dance is conflated with romance, surrender, and the loss of independence."|source= – Film lecturer Gary Needham describing how the film's transition from Alex's audition to her reunion with Nick changes the meaning of the song<ref name = "Needham">{{Harvnb|Needham|2016|p= 322}}.</ref>|width=23%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}In his essay, "Reaganite Cinema: What a Feeling!", Gary Needham, a senior lecturer in film at the [[University of Liverpool]], provided a different interpretation of the ending of ''Flashdance'' because of the way the song is used. In contributing momentum to the audition performance, the tempo of "Flashdance... What a Feeling" combines with the editing and choreography of the scene in such a way to make it clear to the audience that Alex has earned her happy ending.<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|2016|p= 322}}: The gradual acceleration and momentum of this scene in terms of performance, music and editing and the fact that it does not even have to be spoken that she has won over the conservatory make for a truly uplifting moment that takes the audience to the giddy highs of plenitude.</ref> The song continues to play when she bounds down the steps outside of the Conservatory and rounds the sidewalk to find Nick and her dog Grunt waiting to greet her afterward, but the meaning of the song changes. During the audition, it exists in the world created by the film and conveys the success that has been her goal,<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|2016|p= 322}}: The "true" ending of ''Flashdance'' is the point at which we realize Alex has won over the audition panel with her energetic performance to "What a Feeling." The music at this point is established as [[diegesis|diegetic]], since Alex brings along the record and we see her play it as part of her audition.</ref> but because it continues on the soundtrack as her joyous reunion with Nick is presented, Needham argues, "Everything that we feel about Alex's success as a dancer through her performance and the music is hijacked… so that our 'feeling' about success, performance, and dance is conflated with romance, surrender, and the loss of independence."<ref name = Needham/> The politics of the film shift from the idea that a woman can thrive on her own to one in which she relies on a relationship to survive,<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|2016|p= 322: In a single cut we see Alex run out of the Conservatory and into the waiting arms of Nick, and only then does the film end on a freeze-frame of the couple and the credits begin. It is in that single cut from interior to exterior, from audition to romance, from the loss of an independent life to one of coupledom and financial dependence where ''Flashdance'' does make its politics known.}}</ref> which, "echoed in the lyrics 'What a Feeling', secures her a place in a traditional, appropriately feminine, patriarchal system."<ref name = Needham/>

==Live performances==
Some of Cara's appearances to promote "Flashdance…What a Feeling" included programs where performers would [[lip sync]] to the hit recording of their song, such as ''[[American Bandstand]]'', where she appeared on the April 30, 1983, broadcast.<ref>{{cite episode| title =Irene Cara/Felony| series =American Bandstand| series-link =American Bandstand| air-date =April 30, 1983| season =26| number =28}}</ref> This sort of performance on the ''[[Solid Gold (TV series)|Solid Gold]]'' episode from that same date allowed her to show off some of her own moves alongside the Solid Gold Dancers.<ref>{{cite episode| title =Marilyn McCoo & Rex Smith Show 30| series =Solid Gold| series-link =Solid Gold (TV series)| air-date =April 30, 1983| season =3| number =30}}</ref> When she returned for their 1983 year-end countdown to perform the song again, she only lip synched through the first chorus, after which she sang live to a remix as a group of breakdancers performed.<ref>{{cite episode| title =Solid Gold Countdown 83| series =Solid Gold| series-link =Solid Gold (TV series)| air-date =February 15, 1984| season =4| number =53}}</ref> In 2013, she commented, "This ''Solid Gold'' performance of "Flashdance..." was one of the most memorable for me. It included all the great pioneers of breakdancing and I got to perform the long version of the song!"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bljvEw8u74 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/5bljvEw8u74 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title= Irene Cara – Flashdance 1983 – What A Feeling|last=Cara |first=Irene |date=May 31, 2013 |website=[[YouTube]] |publisher=[[Google LLC]] |access-date=May 27, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1984, she also incorporated her training as a dancer into a lip sync performance of the song at the [[American Music Awards of 1984|11th Annual American Music Awards]] on January 16.<ref>{{Cite episode |title= 11th Annual American Music Awards|episode-link=American Music Awards of 1984|series=American Music Awards|series-link=American Music Awards|network= [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] |date=January 16, 1984}}</ref> Vocal performances included the ''[[Fame Looks at Music '83]]'' television concert that was broadcast on January 28, the [[26th Annual Grammy Awards]] a month later, on February 28,<ref>{{Harvnb|O'Neil|1999|p= 361}}.</ref> and the [[56th Academy Awards]] on April 9, where she was joined onstage by 44 boys and girls from the [[National Dance Institute]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Wiley|Bona|1996|p=638}}.</ref> The song became a part of her first concert tour, which began at the end of the following summer.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Boyd|first=Michael|date=September 8, 1984|title=Talent In Action: Irene Cara|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|location=New York|publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc.| page=51}}</ref>

==Awards and accolades==
As a single, "Flashdance…What a Feeling" earned Cara the [[Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance|Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female]],<ref>{{Harvnb|O'Neil|1999|p=362}}.</ref> and a nomination for [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year|Record of the Year]].<ref name = "O'Neil">{{Harvnb|O'Neil|1999|p=361}}.</ref> As part of the [[Flashdance (soundtrack)|''Flashdance'' soundtrack]], it gave her and all of the songwriters who contributed to the album the [[Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media|Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special]],<ref>{{Harvnb|O'Neil|1999|pp=367–368}}.</ref> and she was also nominated alongside all of the other performers on the soundtrack for [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]].<ref name = O'Neil/> "Flashdance…What a Feeling" won the [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Academy Award]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Wiley|Bona|1996|p= 1143}}.</ref> and [[Golden Globe for Best Original Song|Golden Globe]]<ref>{{Harvnb|O'Neil|2003|p=474}}.</ref> for Best Original Song and was also nominated in that category at the [[BAFTA]] Film Awards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/awards.php?award_id=bafta&year=1984|title=BAFTA 1984: British Academy Film Awards (Movies from 1983)|access-date=March 6, 2020}}</ref> It also contributed as a whole or in part to three [[American Music Awards|American Music Award]] nominations: [[American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album|Favorite Pop/Rock Album]], [[American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Song|Favorite Pop/Rock Song]], and [[American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist|Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist]] for Cara.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1984/amas.htm|title=11th American Music Awards|access-date=March 4, 2020}}</ref>

In 1998, "Flashdance... What a Feeling" came in at number nine on ''Billboard'' magazine's list of the top 10 soundtrack songs,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Top 10 Soundtrack Songs|date=September 19, 1998|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|location=New York|publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc.| page=36}}</ref> and on the [[Songs of the Century]] list compiled by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] in 2001, the song was listed at number 256.<ref name = hot/> In 2004, it finished at number 55 on [[AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Songs]] survey of top tunes in American cinema, and in 2008, the song was ranked at number 26 on ''Billboard''{{'}}s All Time Top 100, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.<ref>{{cite magazine|url= http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-30.shtml/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913205956/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-30.shtml/|archive-date=September 13, 2008|title=The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs (30-21) |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date =June 27, 2021}}</ref> When ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine ranked the 20 Greatest Best Song Oscar Performances in 2016, Cara's appearance at the [[56th Academy Awards|1984 Academy Awards]] was listed at number 20.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/20-greatest-best-song-oscar-performances-20160223/|title=20 Greatest Best Song Oscar Performances|last1=Portwood|first1=Jerry|last2=Ehrlich|first2=David|last3=Fear|first3=David|website=rollingstone.com|publisher=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date =March 7, 2020}}</ref> In 2018, [[Insider Inc.|Insider]] included the title song on its list of 35 of the most iconic movie songs of all time, generously adding that it "has a special place in pop culture history."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insider.com/best-movie-songs-2018-6|title=35 of the most iconic movie songs of all time|last=Tschinkel|first=Arielle|date=June 19, 2018|website=insider.com|publisher=[[Insider Inc.]]|access-date=March 5, 2020}}</ref> That same year, it came in at number 34 on ''Billboard'''s list of the "600 most massive smashes over the [Hot 100]'s six decades",<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary|title=Hot 100 Turns 60|author=<!--Not stated-->|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc.|access-date=March 4, 2020}}</ref> and in 2019, the magazine ranked the song at number 11 on its list of the Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs by Women.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-hot-100-songs-by-women|title= Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs by Women|author=<!--Not stated-->|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date= 30 November 2017|publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc.|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191113011331/https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-hot-100-songs-by-women|access-date=March 8, 2020|archive-date= November 13, 2019}}</ref>

"Flashdance... What a Feeling" was selected by the [[Library of Congress]] for preservation in the [[National Recording Registry]] in 2023, based on its "cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage."<ref>{{cite web |title=2023 National Recording Registry selections |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/registry-by-induction-years/2023/ |website=Library of Congress |access-date=12 April 2023}}</ref><ref name="loc2">{{cite web |title=National Recording Registry Inducts Music from Madonna, Mariah Carey, Queen Latifah, Daddy Yankee |url=https://newsroom.loc.gov/news/national-recording-registry-inducts-music-from-madonna--mariah-carey--queen-latifah--daddy-yankee/s/5a91b115-3825-4a5f-a702-35940b4de958 |website=Library of Congress |access-date=12 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
{{quote box|quote="I never realized that what seemed so logical a decision at the time would cost me so much."|source= – Irene Cara on suing her record label for unpaid royalties two decades earlier, in 1985<ref name = "Guinn89">{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=89}}</ref>|width=23%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}In addition to being available on the [[Flashdance (soundtrack)|soundtrack album]], "Flashdance... What a Feeling" was included on Cara's follow-up [[LP record|LP]], ''[[What a Feelin']]'', which was produced by Moroder. As she promoted the new hit singles from that album at the end of 1983 and through the first half of 1984, she was also busy collecting awards for her soundtrack hit, but the good fortune was tainted by the feeling of being cheated by her record company. Even with this recent success,<ref>{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=89}}: When Cara finally realized she wasn't getting paid for her first album or for the ''Flashdance'' soundtrack,… she decided to speak up.</ref> she had only been paid $183 in royalties from Network Records<ref>{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=93}}: in the years with Coury, a period that included the recording of ''Anyone Can See'' and ''What a Feelin{{'}}'', she had been paid a total of $183 in royalties.</ref> and demanded an explanation from Coury, who "tried to appease her with gifts and promises."<ref name = Guinn89/> By the end of 1984 she still had only received $61,343<ref name = "legal">{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Cara Takes Legal Action Against Coury, Network|date=June 1, 1985|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|location=New York|publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc.| page=76}}</ref> and decided to hire entertainment lawyers to get the money that her contract said she was due and also to help her break free from the label.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=89: Cara consulted her agent and hired a team of entertainment lawyers… She wanted her share of the record-sales profits that were stipulated in her contract with Coury, and she wanted to leave Network Records.}}</ref> Years later she said, "I never realized that what seemed so logical a decision at the time would cost me so much."<ref name = Guinn89/>

In 1985 Cara filed a lawsuit against Al Coury Inc.<ref name = "bankruptcy">{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=95}}</ref> and Network Records seeking $10{{nbsp}}million in [[Punitive damages|punitive]] and approximately $2{{nbsp}}million in [[compensatory damages]], claiming, among other things, that Coury withheld $2{{nbsp}}million in composing and recording deals involving "Flashdance... What a Feeling".<ref name = legal/> The treatment she received in the entertainment industry from that point on, however, caused her to suspect that Coury initiated a smear campaign to ruin her career.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=90}}: He—they—made sure there were consequences. Big time. Coury and all his mogul buddies. He basically made sure I'd never record again. They blacklisted me.</ref> She claims that they warned the other record labels of her lawsuit so that no one would sign her<ref>{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=90}}: They sent out letters to all the labels saying they were in a legal battle with me and don't dare sign her.</ref> and that people who once welcomed her—from producers and casting agents to the staff at restaurants and other favorite establishments around [[Los Angeles]]—now wanted nothing to do with her.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=91}}: Film producers wouldn't return her calls… 'Casting people who once adored me now quickly escorted me out of their offices,' she says. 'Restaurants and hangout spots I frequented and felt comfortable in now looked at me with disdain.'</ref> There was even talk that her career had been destroyed by drug addiction.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=91}}: Rumors swirled mercilessly about rampant drug use, spreading the notion that, in her early twenties, this great talent already had been hollowed out.</ref> When Network Records folded, Coury went to work for [[David Geffen]], whom Cara is certain also took part in vilifying her.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=92}}: After his Network Records began to founder, Coury went to work for the record label owned by David Geffen, one of the most powerful people in the entertainment business, and Cara became convinced that Coury had enlisted Geffen in his vendetta against her.</ref>

The original team of lawyers that Cara hired had argued in her lawsuit that Network was not a functioning label instead of simply making a case for fraud,<ref>{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=90}}: The phalanx of entertainment lawyers she hired decided not to make a case for fraud, arguing instead that Network was not a functioning label.</ref> so she tried several other firms when the case was no longer going anywhere before she found Tom Nunziato, an attorney who got things moving again.<ref name = "Guinn">{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=93}}</ref> "She was obviously strung out and upset, but she was very credible," Nunziato recalled.<ref name = Guinn/> "She was impressive. I'm a contingency lawyer, and ninety percent of a contingency case is the believability of your client, assuming the facts are there."<ref name = Guinn/> Because the statute of limitations had run out on claiming fraud, he had to focus on it as an accounting matter, but Cara would finally be able to make her case before a jury.<ref name = Guinn/>

In 1993, after concluding that Cara's career was damaged as a result of the treatment she received, a Los Angeles County Superior Court awarded her $1.5{{nbsp}}million<ref>{{Harvnb|Guinn|Perry|2005|p=94}}.</ref> for misaccounted funds.<ref name = bankruptcy/> No case was allowed to be made for punitive damages, however,<ref name = bankruptcy/> and Nunziato explained how actually getting the money was more complicated: "Because only the corporations [Al Coury Inc. and Network Records] were sued back in the beginning and not the individuals, the corporations just declared bankruptcy; supposedly they used all the money to pay attorneys… Irene was vindicated by the jury, but the legal system kind of fell down, and there was no way to compensate her."<ref name = bankruptcy/> She did, however, begin earning royalties for her Network recordings almost a decade after her last chart hit in 1984.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kawashima|first=Dale|date=May 24, 2018|url=https://www.songwriteruniverse.com/irene-cara-interview-2018.htm|title=Special Interview With Pop Legend Irene Cara, Co-Writer & Singer Of The #1 Hit 'Flashdance…What a Feeling' And Star Of The Movie Fame|website=songwriteruniverse.com|accessdate=January 30, 2021}}</ref>

==Track listings==
{{Track listing
| headline = 7-inch single / mini CD single
| title1 = Flashdance... What a Feeling
| writer1 = {{hlist|[[Giorgio Moroder]]|[[Keith Forsey]]|[[Irene Cara]]}}
| length1 = 3:55
| title2 = Love Theme from ''Flashdance''
| note2 = instrumental by [[Helen St. John]]
| writer2 = Moroder
| length2 = 3:26
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 12-inch single 
| title1 = Flashdance... What a Feeling
| note1 = remix
| writer1 = {{hlist|Moroder|Forsey|Cara}}
| length1 = 7:15
| title2 = Found It
| writer2 = {{hlist|Cara|Frank Floyd}}
| length2 = 4:20
}}

==Credits and personnel==
From the liner notes for the 1997 CD release of ''[[What a Feelin']]'':<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=What a Feelin'|author=Unidisc Music|others=[[Irene Cara]]|date= 1997 |type= CD booklet |publisher= [[Unidisc Music]]|id=SPLK-7299|location=Pointe Claire, Quebec, Canada}}</ref>
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* Irene Cara – lead vocals
* [[Joe Esposito (singer)|Joe Esposito]] – backing vocals
* Stephanie Spruill – backing vocals
* Maxine Willard Waters – backing vocals
{{col-break}}
* [[Richie Zito]] – guitar
* [[Keith Forsey]] – drums
* [[Sylvester Levay]] – keyboards; arranger
*Giorgio Moroder – producer
{{col-break}}
*[[John Benitez|John "Jellybean" Benitez]] – remixing (12-inch single)
*Brian Reeves – engineer
*Mike Frondelli – engineer
*Dave Concors – engineer
{{col-end}}

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1983)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Argentina ([[CAPIF]])<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzhEAAAAIBAJ&dq=canciones+mas+populares+la+opinion&pg=PA10&article_id=1473,3708531|title=Las canciones más populares en América Latina|newspaper=[[La Opinión (Los Angeles)]]|language=es|access-date=September 30, 2024|date=November 21, 1983}}</ref>
| 5
|-
! scope="row"| Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name = "Australia">{{cite book |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |edition=illustrated |location=St Ives, N.S.W. |publisher=Australian Chart Book |year=1993 |page=54 |isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
| 1
|-
{{single chart|Austria|4|artist=Irene Cara|song=Flashdance ...What a Feeling|rowheader=true|refname = "austria"|access-date=December 10, 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Flanders|22|artist=Irene Cara|song=Flashdance ...What a Feeling|rowheader=true|ref name = "Belgium"|access-date=December 10, 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|1|chartid=6299|rowheader=true|refname = "canada"|access-date=January 23, 2018}}
|-
{{singlechart|rowheader=true|Canadaadultcontemporary|1|chartid=6237|accessdate=July 16, 2024}}
|-
! scope="row"| Chile ([[UPI]])<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzhEAAAAIBAJ&dq=canciones+mas+populares+la+opinion&pg=PA10&article_id=1473,3708531|title=Las canciones más populares en América Latina|newspaper=[[La Opinión (Los Angeles)]]|language=es|access-date=September 30, 2024|date=November 21, 1983}}</ref>
| 2
|-
! scope="row"| Colombia ([[UPI]])<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XThEAAAAIBAJ&dq=la+opinion+canciones+mas+populares&pg=PA10&article_id=6185,6209135|title=Las canciones más populares en América Latina|newspaper=[[La Opinión (Los Angeles)]]|language=es|access-date=September 30, 2024|date=December 5, 1983}}</ref>
| 2
|-
! scope="row"| Denmark ([[IFPI Danmark|IFPI]])<ref name = "Denmark">{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1983/BB-1983-09-17.pdf |title=Hits of the World |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |volume=95 |issue=38 |date=September 17, 1983 |page=78<!-- 60 in PDF file --> |issn=0006-2510 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| Finland ([[Suomen virallinen lista]])<ref name = "Finland">{{cite book |last=Pennanen |first=Timo |title=Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 |language=fi |edition=1st |location=Helsinki |publisher=[[Otava (publisher)|Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-951-1-21053-5}}</ref>
| 2
|-
!scope="row"|France ([[Institut français d'opinion publique|IFOP]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=TOP Hebdo – 3 décembre 1983 |url=http://www.top-france.fr/html/hebdo/cadre.htm |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=www.top-france.fr}}</ref>
|1
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|2|song=Flashdance|rowheader=true|refname = "ireland"|access-date=January 24, 2021}}
|-
!scope="row"|Italy (''[[Musica e dischi]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php|title=Classifiche|work=[[Musica e dischi]]|language=it}} Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Irene Cara".</ref>
|1
|-
! scope="row" | Japan ([[Oricon]])<ref name = "Japan">{{cite web | url=http://nendai-ryuukou.com/article/015.html | script-title=ja:歴代洋楽シングル売り上げ枚数ランキング | author=オリジナルコンフィデンス | publisher=年代流行 | accessdate=October 29, 2017 | language=ja}}</ref>
|1
|-
{{single chart|Dutch40|13|artist=Irene Cara|rowheader=true|access-date=January 24, 2021}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|17|artist=Irene Cara|song=Flashdance ...What a Feeling|rowheader=true|access-date=December 10, 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|1|artist=Irene Cara|song=Flashdance ...What a Feeling|rowheader=true|refname = "newzealand"|access-date=December 10, 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Norway|1|artist=Irene Cara|song=Flashdance ...What a Feeling|rowheader=true|refname = "norway"|access-date=December 10, 2017}}
|-
!scope="row"|Portugal (''Música & Som'')<ref name="Portugal">{{Cite web |date=15 December 2016 |title=VENDAS DE DISCOS EM PORTUGAL: Top Música & Som 1980-1984 |url=http://topdisco.blogspot.com/2014/12/top-musica-som-1980-1984.html |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=VENDAS DE DISCOS EM PORTUGAL |lang=pt}}</ref>
|1
|-
! scope="row"| South Africa ([[Springbok Radio]])<ref name = "SouthAfrica">{{cite web |url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(C).html |title=SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts C |website=The South African Rock Encyclopedia |access-date=September 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901215916/http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(C).html |archive-date=September 1, 2018}}</ref>
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| Spain ([[Productores de Música de España|AFYVE]])<ref name = "Spain">{{cite book |last=Salaverrie |first=Fernando |date=September 2005 |title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 |language=es |edition=1st |location=Madrid |publisher=[[Sociedad General de Autores y Editores|Fundación Autor/SGAE]] |isbn=84-8048-639-2}}</ref>
| 1
|-
{{single chart|Sweden|1|artist=Irene Cara|song=Flashdance ...What a Feeling|rowheader=true|refname = "sweden"|access-date=December 10, 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Switzerland|1|artist=Irene Cara|song=Flashdance ...What a Feeling|rowheader=true|refname = "switzerland"|access-date=December 10, 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|2|artist=Irene Cara|artistid=19628|rowheader=true|refname = "uk"|access-date=January 24, 2021}}
|-
!scope="row"|Uruguay ([[UPI]])<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZDhEAAAAIBAJ&dq=la+opinion+canciones+mas+populares&pg=PA10&article_id=1435,7492357|title=Las canciones más populares en América Latina|newspaper=[[La Opinión (Los Angeles)]]|language=es|access-date=September 30, 2024|date=December 12, 1983}}</ref>
|align="center"|2
|-
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|1|artist=Irene Cara|rowheader=true|access-date=December 10, 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|4|artist=Irene Cara|rowheader=true|access-date=December 10, 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboarddanceclubplay|1|artist=Irene Cara|rowheader=true|access-date=December 10, 2017}}
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|Hot Black Singles]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/irene-cara/chart-history/bsi/|title=Irene Cara Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=January 24, 2021}}</ref>
|align="center"|2
|-
! scope="row"| US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' Top 100 Singles<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19830528.html |title=Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending May 28, 1983 |work=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]] |access-date=September 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911042511/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19830528.html |archive-date=September 11, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' Black Singles<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cashboxmagazine.com/archives-r/80s_files/19830730R.html |title=The Cash Box Top 100 Black Contemporary – Week ending July 30, 1983 |work=Cash Box |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=January 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130043120/https://cashboxmagazine.com/archives-r/80s_files/19830730R.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| 3
|-
{{single chart|West Germany|3|songid=963|artist=Irene Cara|song=Flashdance ...What a Feeling|rowheader=true|refname = "westgermany"|access-date=December 10, 2017}}
|-
!scope="row"|Zimbabwe ([[Zimbabwe Music Awards|ZIMA]])<ref>Kimberley, C. ''Zimbabwe: Singles Chart Book''. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000</ref>
|8
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2022)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Japan Hot Overseas (''[[Billboard Japan]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=d_and_a_overseas&year=2022&month=12&day=12|title=Billboard Japan Hot Overseas – Week of December 7, 2022|website=[[Billboard Japan]]|language=ja|access-date=December 7, 2022}}</ref>
| 10
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1983)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://i.imgur.com/860ttad.jpg |title=National Top 100 Singles for 1983 |issue=497 |date=January 2, 1984 |journal=[[Kent Music Report]] |via=[[Imgur]]}}</ref>
| 2
|-
! scope="row"| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://austriancharts.at/year.asp?cat=s&id=1983 |title=Jahreshitparade Singles 1983 |website=austriancharts.at |language=de |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref>
| 2
|-
! scope="row"| Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.6699&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.6699.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.6699 |title=The Top Singles of 1983 |magazine=RPM |volume=39 |issue=17 |date=December 24, 1983 |page=10 |issn=0315-5994 |via=Library and Archives Canada}}</ref>
| 4
|-
! scope="row"| New Zealand (RIANZ)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/annual-singles/1983-12-31 |title=Top Selling Singles of 1983 |publisher=[[Recorded Music NZ]] |access-date=January 24, 2021}}</ref>
| 4
|-
! scope="row"| South Africa (Springbok Radio)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/sahits_1983.html |title=Top 20 Hit Singles of 1983 |website=The South African Rock Encyclopedia |access-date=December 26, 2018}}</ref>
| 9
|-
! scope="row"| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hitparade.ch/charts/jahreshitparade/1983 |title=Scweizer Jahrehitparade 1983 |website=hitparade.ch |language=de |access-date=January 24, 2021}}</ref>
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| UK Singles (OCC)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top 50 Singles of 1983 |magazine=[[Music Week]] |location=London |date=December 25, 1983 |page=25 |issn=0265-1548}}</ref>
| 27
|-
! scope="row"| US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref name="BB-1983-12-24">{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1983/BB-1983-12-24.pdf |title=Talent Almanac 1984 – Top Pop Singles / Top Black Singles / Top Adult Contemporary Singles / Top Dance/Disco Singles/Albums |magazine=Billboard |volume=95 |issue=52 |date=December 24, 1983 |pages=TA-18, TA-22, TA-26<!-- 65, 69, 73 --> |issn=0006-2510 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>
| 3
|-
! scope="row"| US Adult Contemporary (''Billboard'')<ref name="BB-1983-12-24"/>
| 17
|-
! scope="row"| US Dance/Disco Top 80 (''Billboard'')<ref name="BB-1983-12-24"/>
| 7
|-
! scope="row"| US Hot Black Singles (''Billboard'')<ref name="BB-1983-12-24"/>
| 15
|-
! scope="row"| US ''Cash Box'' Top 100 Singles<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1983YESP.html |title=The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1983 – Top 100 Pop Singles |work=Cash Box |date=December 31, 1983 |access-date=September 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922135816/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1983YESP.html |archive-date=September 22, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| US ''Cash Box'' Top 100 Black Contemporary Singles<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives-r/80s_files/1983YESR.html |title=The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1983 – Top 100 Black Contemporary Singles |work=Cash Box |date=December 31, 1983 |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=January 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129151450/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives-r/80s_files/1983YESR.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| 20
|-
! scope="row"| West Germany (Media Control)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/single-jahr/for-date-1983 |title=Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1983 |language=de |publisher=Offizielle Deutsche Charts |access-date=January 24, 2021}}</ref>
| 7
|}

===All-time charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1958–2021)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-hot-100-singles/|title=Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs|magazine=Billboard|access-date=January 13, 2023}}</ref>
| 38
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|title=Flashdance|artist=Irene Cara|type=single|award=Platinum|number=2|certyear=1984|relyear=1983|refname="musiccanada"|access-date=November 25, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|title=Flashdance|artist=Irene Cara|type=single|award=Platinum|certyear=2021|id=14055|access-date=June 27, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|title=Flashdance...What a Feeling|artist=Irene Cara|type=single|award=Platinum|certyear=1983|relyear=1983|certref=<ref name = France/>|salesamount=1,300,000|salesref=<ref name="topfrance1984">{{cite web|url=http://www.top-france.fr/html/45tours/45t1984.htm|title=TOP – 1984|work=40 ans de tubes : 1960–2000 : les meilleures ventes de 45 tours & CD singles|author=[[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique]] (SNEP)|editor=Fabrice Ferment|access-date=February 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818173609/http://www.top-france.fr/html/45tours/45t1984.htm|archive-date=August 18, 2017|language=fr|via=Top-France.fr|oclc=469523661|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|title=Flashdance|artist=Irene Cara|type=single|award=Gold|certyear=2023|relyear=1983|access-date=May 16, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|title=Flashdance (What a Feeling)|artist=Irene Cara|type=single|award=Platinum|certyear=2024|relyear=1983|id=12044|note=sales since 2009|access-date=February 13, 2024}}
{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Japan|artist=Irene Cara|title=Flashdance|nocert=true|salesamount=700,000|relyear=1983|salesref=<ref name = japansales/>}}
{{Certification Table Entry |region=Spain|type=single|award=Platinum|certyear=2024|artist=Irene Cara|title=Flashdance... What A Feeling|accessdate=February 13, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Irene Cara|title=Flashdance|award=Silver|relyear=1983|certyear=1983|id=2298-6215-1|refname= "bpi"|access-date=August 31, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Irene Cara|title=Flashdance|note=2011 Digital re-release|award=Gold|relyear=2011|certyear=2024|id=19774-6215-1|access-date=March 8, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|title=Flashdance|artist=Irene Cara|type=single|award=Gold|certyear=1983|relyear=1983|refname= "riaa"|access-date=August 31, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true}}

==Marcia Hines version==
{{Infobox song
| name       = What a Feeling
| cover      =
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Marcia Hines]]
| album      = [[Time of Our Lives (Marcia Hines album)|Time of Our Lives]]
| released   = November 29, 1998
| recorded   = 1998
| studio     =
| genre      = [[Dance-pop]]
| length     = 3:25
| label      = [[Warner Music Group|WEA]]
| writer     =
* Giorgio Moroder
* Keith Forsey
* Irene Cara
| producer   =
* Ian Richardson
* [[Nick Coler]]
| prev_title = Give It All You Got
| prev_year  = 1994
| next_title = Makin' My Way
| next_year  = 1999
}}

American-Australian singer [[Marcia Hines]] recorded a version of the song titled "What a Feeling" in 1998. It was released as the lead single from her ninth studio album, ''[[Time of Our Lives (Marcia Hines album)|Time of Our Lives]]'' (1999).

===Track listing===
*'''CD single'''	
#"What a Feeling" – 3:25
#"What a Feeling" (12″ Mix) – 5:30
#"What a Feeling" (Discothèque Remix) – 7:07
#"What a Feeling" (Easy Skanking Mix) – 5:57
#"What a Feeling" (Freakazoid Dub Mix) – 6:35
#"What a Feeling" (Extended Mix) – 5:23
#"I Got the Music in Me" – 4:38

===Charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1998–1999)
! scope="col"| Peak<br/>position
|-
! scope="row"| Australia ([[ARIA Charts|ARIA]])<ref>{{cite book |last=Ryan |first=Gavin |title=Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 |location=Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia |publisher=Moonlight Publishing |year=2011}}</ref>
| 66
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|23|artist=Marcia Hines|song=What a Feeling|rowheader=true|access-date=January 24, 2021}}
|}

==Global Deejays version==
{{Infobox song
| name       = What a Feeling (Flashdance)
| cover      = Global Deejays - What a Feeling (Flashdance).png
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Global Deejays]]
| album      = Network
| released   = 2005
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| genre      =
| length     = 6:06
| label      =
* Superstar
* Plaque
| writer     =
* Giorgio Moroder
* Keith Forsey
* Irene Cara
| producer   =
* Konrad Schreyvogl
* Florian Schreyvogl
| prev_title = [[The Sound of San Francisco]]
| prev_year  = 2005
| next_title = Don't Stop (Me Now)
| next_year  = 2006
| misc       = {{External music video|{{YouTube|w2ohwM9iO6k|"What a Feeling (Flashdance)"}}
}}
}}

In 2005, Austrian [[house music]] group [[Global Deejays]] covered "Flashdance... What a Feeling" on their album ''Network'', retitled "What a Feeling (Flashdance)".

===Track listings===
*'''Austrian, German and Australian CD maxi single'''
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Progressive Follow Up Radio Version) – 3:14
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Clubhouse Radio Version) – 3:32
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Pop Radio Version) – 2:46
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Clubhouse Mix) – 6:11
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (G.L.O.W's Feelin' Da Vox Mix) – 6:25
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Progressive Follow Up Mix) – 5:29
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (OSX Version) – 6:02

*'''French CD maxi single'''
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (House Radio Edit) – 3:33
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Progressive Follow Up Radio Version) – 3:14
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Pop Radio Version) – 2:46
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Clubhouse Mix) – 6:11
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Progressive Follow Up Mix) – 5:27

*'''Belgian CD maxi single'''
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Progressive Follow Up Radio Version) – 3:14
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Clubhouse Radio Version) – 3:32
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Pop Radio Version) – 2:46
#"What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Progressive Follow Up Mix) – 5:29

*'''German and Italian 12-inch single'''
:A1. "What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Clubhouse Mix) – 6:07
:A2. "What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (G.L.O.W's Feelin' Da Vox Mix) – 6:25
:B1. "What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Progressive Follow Up Mix) – 5:28
:B2. "What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (OSX Version) – 6:02

*'''French 12-inch single'''
:A. "What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Clubhouse Mix) – 6:11
:B. "What a Feeling (Flashdance)" (Progressive Follow Up Mix) – 5:27

===Charts===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

====Weekly charts====
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2005)
! scope="col"| Peak<br/>position
|-
{{single chart|Australia|44|artist=Global Deejays|song=What a Feeling (Flashdance)|rowheader=true}}
|-
! scope="row"| Australia Dance ([[ARIA Charts|ARIA]])<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.aria.com.au/issue804.pdf |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080222222438/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20050820-0000/issue804.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-02-22 |title=ARIA Dance – Week Commencing 25th July 2005 |journal=[[The ARIA Report]] |issue=804 |page=13 |date=July 25, 2005 |access-date=January 24, 2021 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
| 8
|-
{{single chart|Austria|14|artist=Global Deejays|song=What a Feeling (Flashdance)|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Flanders|28|artist=Global Deejays|song=What a Feeling (Flashdance)|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Wallonia|29|artist=Global Deejays|song=What a Feeling (Flashdance)|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|CIS|9|artist=Global Deejays|song=What a Feeling (Flashdance)|songid=2524|rowheader=true|access-date=October 6, 2021}}
|-
! scope="row"| Czech Republic ([[International Federation of the Phonographic Industry|IFPI]])<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ifpicr.cz/radio.htm |title=Oficiální Česká Hitparáda – Pro týden 34/2005 |language=cs |publisher=[[International Federation of the Phonographic Industry|IFPI ČR]] |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050830100521/http://www.ifpicr.cz/radio.htm |archive-date=August 30, 2005}}</ref>
| 7
|-
{{single chart|France|18|artist=Global Deejays|song=What a Feeling (Flashdance)|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Germany|16|songid=86829|artist=Global Deejays|song=What a Feeling (Flashdance)|rowheader=true|access-date=March 3, 2020}}
|-
{{single chart|Hungarydance|1|year=2005|week=23|rowheader=true|access-date=January 24, 2021}}
|-
! scope="row"| Hungary ([[Association of Hungarian Record Companies|Editors' Choice Top 40]])<ref>{{cite web |title=2005/29. heti Editors' Choice Top 40 slágerlista |url=https://slagerlistak.hu/editors-choice-radios-jatszasi-lista/2005/29 |publisher=[[Association of Hungarian Record Companies|MAHASZ]]|language=hu|access-date=May 8, 2025}}</ref>
| 38
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|35|artist=Global Deejays|song=What a Feeling (Flashdance)|rowheader=true}}
|-
! scope="row"| Netherlands ([[Tipparade]])<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.top40.nl/global-deejays/global-deejays-what-a-feeling-flashdance-18623 |title=Global Deejays – What A Feeling (Flashdance) |language=nl |publisher=[[Dutch Top 40]] |access-date=January 24, 2021}}</ref>
| 6
|-
! scope="row"| Russia Airplay ([[TopHit]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tophit.com/chart/top/radio/hits/ru/weekly/20050603-20050609|title=Top Radio Hits Russia Weekly Chart: Jun 9, 2005|publisher=[[TopHit]]|access-date=April 24, 2024}}</ref>
| 4
|-
{{single chart|Switzerland|45|artist=Global Deejays|song=What a Feeling (Flashdance)|rowheader=true}}
|}
{{col-2}}

====Year-end charts====
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2005)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| CIS (Tophit)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tophit.ru/ru/best-music-2005 |title=Лучшие песни и музыка за 2005 год |publisher=[[Tophit]] |access-date=October 6, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006143938/https://tophit.ru/ru/best-music-2005 |language=ru}}</ref> 
|56
|-
! scope="row"| France (SNEP)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://snepmusique.com/les-tops/le-top-de-lannee/top-singles-annee/?annee=2005|title=Tops de L'Année {{!}} Top Singles – 2005|language=fr|publisher=[[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique]]|access-date=January 21, 2021}}</ref>
| 100
|-
! scope="row"| Russia Airplay (TopHit)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tophit.com/chart/top/radio/hits/ru/annual/2005|title=Top Radio Hits Russia Annual Chart: 2005|publisher=[[TopHit]]|access-date=April 24, 2024|archive-date=April 21, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421190640/https://tophit.com/chart/top/radio/hits/ru/annual/2005|url-status=live}}</ref>
| 45
|}
{{col-end}}

==Other cover versions==
* [[Björn Again]] released a version of the song as a single in 1993, which reached number 65 on the UK Singles Chart.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/28196/bjorn-again/ |title=Björn Again {{!}} full Official Chart History |publisher=Official Charts Company |access-date=January 24, 2021}}</ref>
* Swiss singer [[DJ BoBo]] released a version as a duet with [[Irene Cara]] in 2001, which reached number two in Switzerland, number three in Germany, number 10 in Spain, and number 11 in Austria.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hitparade.ch/song/DJ-BoBo-&-Irene-Cara/What-A-Feeling-4569|title=DJ BoBo & Irene Cara – What A Feeling|website=hitparade.ch|language=de}}</ref>
* French singer [[Priscilla Betti]] released a French version of the song named "Cette vie nouvelle" as the second single from her debut album ''[[Cette vie nouvelle]]'' (2002). It peaked at number nine in France and number 36 in the [[Wallonia|Walloon]] region of Belgium.<ref>{{cite web|title=Priscilla – Cette vie nouvelle|url=https://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Priscilla&titel=Cette+vie+nouvelle&cat=s|website=lescharts.com|access-date=July 15, 2015|language=fr}}</ref>
* [[Marie Picasso]] covered the song in 2007, peaking at number 54 on the Swedish singles chart.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Marie+Picasso&titel=Flashdance+...+What+A+Feeling&cat=s |title=Marie Picasso – Flashdance ... What A Feeling |website=swedishcharts.com |access-date=February 14, 2014}}</ref>
* Extensive samples of Cara's version are included in [[Jason Derulo]]'s 2010 single "[[The Sky's the Limit (song)|The Sky's the Limit]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/chartblog/2010/11/jason_derulo_-_the_skys_the_li.shtml |title=Jason Derulo – 'The Sky's The Limit' |publisher=BBC |date=November 19, 2010 |access-date=May 7, 2015}}</ref>
* [[Lea Michele]] and [[Jenna Ushkowitz]] covered the song for the television series ''[[Glee (TV series)|Glee]]'' in the [[Glee (season 3)|season three]] episode "[[Props (Glee)|Props]]". The single was released May 25, 2012, and charted at number 145 in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Erica|last=Futterman|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/glee-recap-what-a-feeling-178157/ |title='Glee' Recap: What a Feeling |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=May 16, 2012 |access-date=June 25, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210701045657/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/glee-recap-what-a-feeling-178157/|archive-date=July 1, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK2012.HTM |title=Chart Log UK – 2012 + Weekly Updates + Sales 2012 |website=Zobbel.de |access-date=January 24, 2021}}</ref>
* A 2024 television commercial for [[T-Mobile US|T-Mobile]] [[Wireless broadband|Home Internet]] features [[Zach Braff]], [[Donald Faison]], and [[Jason Momoa]] singing a version of the song with lyrics about wireless broadband Internet access. During the commercial, they dance in a routine reminiscent of "Flashdance" (the full edit of the commercial includes a version of the iconic "water splash" moment and an appearance by [[Jennifer Beals]]), and at the end Faison pulls Braff's shirt down on one shoulder like Beals wore hers in the movie.<ref>{{cite web |title=That T-Mobile Home Internet Feeling |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVeCwSWNLrM |website=YouTube | date=5 February 2024 |publisher=T-Mobile |access-date=23 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bennet |first1=Ella |title=Jason Momoa Teams Up with 'Scrubs' Duo for a Melodic T-Mobile Commercial at Super Bowl 2024 |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/entertainment-celebrity/jason-momoa-teams-up-with-scrubs-duo-for-a-melodic-t-mobile-commercial-at-super-bowl-2024/ar-BB1i81Tm |website=MSN |publisher=UBJ |access-date=24 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Steinberg |first1=Brian |title=Jason Momoa Joins Zach Braff and Donald Faison for 'Flashdance' Remix in T-Mobile Super Bowl Ad |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/jason-momoa-zach-braff-donald-faison-t-mobile-super-bowl-commercial-flashdance-1235897489/ |website=Variety |date=5 February 2024 |access-date=24 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lacques |first1=Gabe |title=Jennifer Beals was in 'heaven' shooting T-Mobile's 'Flashdance' Super Bowl commercial |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/Ad-Meter/2024/02/05/jennifer-beals-flashdance-tmobile-super-bowl-commercial/72464043007/?utm_source=ground.news&utm_medium=referral |website=USA Today |publisher=Gannett |access-date=24 May 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s#1983 (Kent Music Report)|List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s]]
* [[List of RPM number-one singles of 1983]]
* [[List of number-one singles in 1983 (New Zealand)]]
* [[List of number-one songs in Norway]] ([[VG-lista 1964 to 1994]])
* [[List of number-one singles (Sweden)]]
* [[List of number-one hits of 1983 (Switzerland)|List of number-one singles of the 1980s (Switzerland)]]
* [[List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1983]]
* [[List of number-one dance singles of 1983 (U.S.)]]
{{clear|right}}

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{{Reflist}}

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==External links==
* {{YouTube|xuHwv07G3qE|Irene Cara - Flashdance... What a Feeling}}

{{Flashdance}}
{{Irene Cara}}
{{Marcia Hines}}
{{Priscilla Betti}}
{{DJ BoBo}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for "Flashdance... What a Feeling"
|titlestyle = background: lightblue
|list1 =
{{AcademyAwardBestOriginalSong 1981–1990}}
{{Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song}}
}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flashdance What A Feeling}}
[[Category:1983 songs]]
[[Category:1983 singles]]
[[Category:1998 singles]]
[[Category:2001 singles]]
[[Category:2005 singles]]
[[Category:Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songs]]
[[Category:Best Original Song Golden Globe–winning songs]]
[[Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles]]
[[Category:Casablanca Records singles]]
[[Category:Film theme songs]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance]]
[[Category:Irene Cara songs]]
[[Category:Björn Again songs]]
[[Category:Marcia Hines songs]]
[[Category:Marie Picasso songs]]
[[Category:DJ BoBo songs]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Australia]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Denmark]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Norway]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in South Africa]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Spain]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Sweden]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Switzerland]]
[[Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Giorgio Moroder]]
[[Category:Songs about dancing]]
[[Category:Songs involved in royalties controversies]]
[[Category:Songs written by Giorgio Moroder]]
[[Category:Songs written by Irene Cara]]
[[Category:Songs written by Keith Forsey]]
[[Category:Warner Music Group singles]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings]]