Flashdance (soundtrack)

Last updated
Flashdance: Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture
Flashdance.soundtrack.jpg
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedApril 11, 1983 [1]
Recorded1981–1983
Genre
Length36:52
Label
Producer
Singles from Flashdance: Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture
  1. "Flashdance... What a Feeling"
    Released: March 1983
  2. "Maniac"
    Released: May 1983
  3. "Lady, Lady, Lady"
    Released: October 1983
  4. "Manhunt"
    Released: April 1984

Flashdance: Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 1983 film Flashdance , which tells the story of Alex Owens (played by Jennifer Beals), a welder and exotic dancer who dreams of becoming a professional ballerina. The nightclub performances by Alex and her co-workers and other set pieces involving training and auditioning provided opportunities to present the songs that would make up the soundtrack album. The film's music supervisor, Phil Ramone, made selections that he felt were the best fit for their respective scenes, and composer Giorgio Moroder contributed additional tracks in the process of scoring the film. One of his contributions, "Flashdance...What a Feeling" by Irene Cara, was released as a single in March 1983, weeks before the film's April 15 release, and eventually spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The soundtrack was released on April 11, 1983 by Casablanca Records. [2]

Contents

When the film became a surprise success, the soundtrack sold out within days, and the record company was left scrambling to fill orders that totaled half a million copies. Music videos for some of the songs on the soundtrack were then put together using scenes from the film, and the next single, "Maniac" by Michael Sembello, had one of these promotional video clips shown regularly on MTV and also reached number one on the Hot 100. Because Flashdance distributor Paramount Pictures had success with a film that had no star power and received unfavorable reviews from critics, the use of the cable channel as a means of promoting films through music videos and advertising became the major new marketing strategy for motion picture studios.

Despite lukewarm reviews from critics, the soundtrack spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 and has been certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), while selling 20 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best selling albums of all time. Its music garnered nine Grammy Award nominations, including an Album of the Year nod for all of the artists on the album, and won three, one of which was for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special that went to all of the songwriters credited. Cara received high acclaim for "Flashdance...What a Feeling", winning the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, and both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song with Moroder and her co-lyricist, Keith Forsey. The vocalists who had singles released from the soundtrack album all continued to work with the same producers for their next or, in most cases, first albums of solo material, only to varying degrees of success.

Background and development

Giorgio Moroder composed the Flashdance score. Giorgio Moroder (2).jpg
Giorgio Moroder composed the Flashdance score.

Flashdance producer Jerry Bruckheimer had collaborated with Academy Award-winning composer Giorgio Moroder on the 1980 film American Gigolo and sent him the script for the story of welder-turned-dancer Alex Owens as soon as he had received it to give him a sense of the music they were looking for. [3] Despite his lack of interest due to other commitments, [4] Moroder came up with some music that was "a very rough sketch". [5] He thought it might fit the project well [6] and sent it in before filming began. [7] The demo was the music for what became the song "Flashdance... What a Feeling", [7] but Moroder still had not committed to the project by the end of filming. The title of the film suggested that the subject matter might be somewhat racy, [8] so he told Bruckheimer he would decide after watching the film. [8] He received a rough cut on videotape that he enjoyed and did agree to compose the score. [9] He also delegated the writing of the demo lyrics to Keith Forsey, who later received help from Irene Cara. [10]

The film's music supervisor, Grammy-winning producer Phil Ramone, selected several of the other songs to be heard in the film and helped in deciding where they would be best put to use, [11] but director Adrian Lyne was especially insistent upon using another demo they had received. He said, "One of the tunes I'd heard had a kind of a chime in it, that kind of 'bing-bong-bing-bong-bing-bong', like that, and I said, 'Let's use that. Let's use that as a kind of a motive, as a kind of a driving thing for a dance.'" [12] That song, "Maniac", had very few lyrics to go with it, but Lyne had grown so accustomed to working with it during production that Ramone and the song's co-writer and performer, Michael Sembello, quickly went to work on giving it all of the necessary finishing touches. [13]

Phil Ramone was Flashdance's music supervisor. Phil ramone.jpg
Phil Ramone was Flashdance's music supervisor.

In his 2007 autobiography Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music, Ramone wrote, "For a musical to be successful there has to be a reason for each song." [14] When he was interviewed for the Special Collector's Edition DVD release of Flashdance in 2010, he said, "I think all of the songs had a place," [15] and one example he described was the Shandi Sinnamon track, "He's a Dream". The first dance sequence in the film presents Alex at her nighttime gig performing a dance routine that involves having water splash down onto the stage, and Ramone saw how that particular song, in which Sinnamon contributes some growling and moaning to her first-person account of being approached by an attractive man in a bar, was a good fit for such an extreme dance number. He said, "The creative side of this was to do something bizarre to get your attention, so 'He's a Dream' is, like, totally off the wall." [16]

For another scene in which a dancer wearing an umpire's mask does a backflip off of a brick wall, Ramone wanted something equally bold. [17] Two college students had sent him the song "Manhunt", and he was unaware that his production assistant arranged for the demo to be sung by his soon-to-be-wife, Karen Kamon. [18] "I wouldn't have suggested that she audition; I didn't think that mixing business and family would be a smart move." [19] Kamon never thought the song would make the final cut of the film, [20] let alone that she would be performing it on Solid Gold a year later. [21]

Ramone is credited as one of the songwriters on Laura Branigan's contribution to the album, "Imagination", and she acknowledged him for giving it what she described as "a little more of a New York sound. It has one foot on the curb and one in the street". [22] When it came to writing a ballad for Alex's soul-searching moments before her big audition, however, he asked Kim Carnes for a contribution, and she co-wrote and performed "I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is". [23] The only track on the album that was not completed for use in the film was by Donna Summer. Moroder and Pete Bellotte produced "Romeo" in 1981 for her I'm a Rainbow album, which went unreleased until 1996. [24]

Summer's "Heaven Knows" partner, Brooklyn Dreams vocalist Joe "Bean" Esposito, contributed another ballad, "Lady, Lady, Lady", which interweaves Alex's maturation and her budding relationship. [25] Moroder also had Esposito record a vocal demo for "Flashdance... What a Feeling" but did not have the final say as to who would record the version to be used in the film. [26] He said, "I would have liked him to do the song for the film, but the film company wanted to have a bigger name." [26] Cara's agreement to write the lyrics hinged on being the one to sing the song, [27] but the film's producers had their own reasons for ruling out a male singer in that they felt that "the song should be sung from the female perspective." [28] Esposito did, however, record the background vocals for the song with Stephanie Spruill and Maxine Willard Waters. [29] Years later he said, "I remember everyone just going through the motions when all of the songs for the Flashdance soundtrack were being recorded. I don't think any of us thought it would be the success that it was." [30] He also admitted that he felt lucky to have been on the album at all and that his duet with Summer would not have been enough for him to be considered for something that was expected to do well. [31] "I think it was only because no one thought the movie was any good, and as a result, didn't pay any attention to who was going to be on the soundtrack." [30]

Branigan had the distinction of having two songs included in the final cut of the film, the second being her 1982 hit single "Gloria", which was not included on the soundtrack album. Other artists whose recordings are listed in the closing credits but did not make the final track selection include Joan Jett and the Blackhearts ("I Love Rock and Roll"), The Jimmy Castor Bunch ("It's Just Begun"), and The London Symphony Orchestra (Lee Holdridge, conductor) ("Adagio in G Minor" by Remo Giazotto). A selection from Bizet's Carmen , "Avec la garde montante", was used in the scene in which Alex mimics a traffic cop but was uncredited.

Release and promotion

Polygram only shipped 60,000 [copies of the soundtrack], so they really had no faith in the record.

– Producer Jerry Bruckheimer

The soundtrack was released on April 11, 1983 by Casablanca Records to unexpected success. [2] The first public showing of the film before opening day hinted at how well the audience would respond to the soundtrack. Ramone received a call from Paramount Pictures executive Dawn Steel, who breathlessly exclaimed that audience members at the screening were dancing in the aisles. [32] Paramount, which distributed Flashdance on April 15, 1983, [33] did not think it would do well at the box office [34] after many requests they made of Lyne to shorten the film before the release date from its original length of 140 minutes. [35] As a result, Bruckheimer explained, "Polygram only shipped 60,000 [copies of the soundtrack], so they really had no faith in the record." [36] During the opening weekend, he and his fellow Flashdance producer, Don Simpson, watched a series of young audience members go from the movie theater where it played in Westwood to a nearby record store to purchase the album. Copies of the soundtrack at that store sold out that day and took a few weeks to restock. [37]

By Tuesday, April 19, retailers were reporting that all Flashdance merchandise was gone, [38] so the push was on to get more records in stores. "Polygram took orders for over 500,000 copies of the album in 10 days, making it eligible for gold status after the 60-day certification period required by the Recording Industry Association of America." [39] Paramount took advantage of the music's popularity by using Cara's version of "Flashdance... What a Feeling" in all subsequent radio and television ads for the film as a way for potential ticket buyers to "identify the motion picture" and also using the "What a Feeling" portion of the title in print ads. [40] One studio executive described the soundtrack album as the "backbone" of the film's marketing campaign. [40]

Singles and videos

In March, [41] Cara's recording of "Flashdance... What a Feeling" became the "scout" single for the film—sent to radio stations and record stores ahead of the release of the movie and soundtrack. [42] It made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 in the issue of the magazine dated April 2, 1983, and spent 25 weeks there, six of which were at number one. [43] It also spent five weeks at number two on their list of the most popular Black Singles in the US [44] and got as high as number four on their Adult Contemporary chart that spring. [45] At the same time, the twelve-inch remix spent three weeks in the top spot on the magazine's Dance/Disco Top 80 chart. [46] Cara made promotional appearances to perform the song on April 30 telecasts of both American Bandstand [47] and Solid Gold . [48]

The May 7 issue of Cash Box reported on the surprise success of the film and Paramount's plan to have Lyne take parts of scenes from it to create music videos to be shown on the cable channel MTV as well as on television programs and at other venues featuring such clips. [49] The studio explained that dance clubs at the time were more and more likely to have videocassette recorders and large projection screens for showing music videos and sometimes even video jockeys presenting them. [50] The five songs chosen for the videos were the Cara single along with "Maniac", "Manhunt", "Romeo", and "Imagination", [51] and two [52] of the five were listed on the reports that MTV provided to Billboard and Cash Box that indicated what videos were in rotation on the cable network. Sembello's "Maniac" made its first appearance there in the May 21 issue of each publication, [53] [54] while Summer's "Romeo" debuted on the playlist in both publications a week later. [55] [56]

Of its four Billboard chart runs, "Maniac" made its first appearance on the Hot 100 in the June 4 issue and spent 22 weeks there, two of which were in the top spot. [57] It also made it to number six on the Dance/Disco Top 80 [58] and number 34 on both the Top Rock Tracks [59] and Adult Contemporary [60] charts. Billboard's Chartbeat column bemoaned the latter appearance as a "sign of the times", noting that "AC clearly isn't just for Anne Murray anymore." [61] Sembello performed the song on Solid Gold on June 18 [62] and American Bandstand on September 10. [63] Although "He's a Dream" was not released as a single, Sinnamon made a promotional appearance to perform the song on Solid Gold on September 24. [64]

The third single released from the soundtrack, Esposito's "Lady, Lady, Lady", peaked at number 86 during its two weeks on the Hot 100 in October of that year [65] and number 36 over the course of four weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart that began in Billboard's November 12 issue. [66] Kamon's "Manhunt" was released as a single in April 1984 [67] but did not reach any of the Billboard charts [68] [69] [70] [71] despite her Solid Gold appearance on May 19 of that year. [21]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [72]
Robert Christgau B− [73]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [74]

At the time of its release, New York Times pop music critic John Rockwell narrowed down the two best features of the album to the title track and Moroder, noting, "Had he composed the entire score, it might have had a convincing unity, since his work with repetitive rhythms and synthesizer textures retains a distinctive appeal." [75] He lamented, however, that "the LP is really a potpourri, and too much of the music here is in the glossy, corporate dance-rock idiom that gluts the airwaves these days." [75] Although the Kim Carnes track, "I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is", rose above the rest for him as "vaguely affecting", [75] he felt the tone of the film had a negative impact on the songs, writing, "by and large the music serves to remind anyone who's seen the film of its most cynical aspects." [75]

Robert Christgau was also disappointed in the lack of focus: "Ten different singers collaborate with half a dozen producers to collapse a myriad of pop polarities onto one all-inclusive rock-disco concept soundtrack." [73] While he did give the album a grade of B−, he found the project to be quite generic: "Tenors and contraltos, guitars and synthesizers, lust and love, ballads and DOR--all are equal as these mostly undistinguished, mostly quite functional artistes proceed through their mostly undistinguished, mostly quite functional material." [73] He also attributes the focus on dance music to the theme in the film that dancing is a passion that Alex must express. "Concept: the overinsistent beat, which signifies how compulsively they seek a good time that retains shreds of both meaning and ecstatic release." [73]

Stereo Review critic Phyl Garland was much more appreciative of the effort, especially with regard to the "exceptionally spirited performances" and the "notable crispness and sonic brilliance, with synthesizer effects that are at times positively haunting." [76] He had specific praise for Shandi, writing that her "taunting treatment of 'He's a Dream' is notable for its gutsy relish." [76] He also pointed out, "There are some dogs tucked into the corners—Donna Summer's hiccupped 'Romeo' left me cold, and Cycle V is absurd chanting 'Soo-duce me tonight'—but in general I like the crackling energy of this album." [76]

Accolades

The music from the Flashdance soundtrack was nominated for nine Grammy Awards and won three: Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, which went to Cara for "Flashdance... What a Feeling", [77] Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special, which went to all of the songwriters credited on the album, [78] and Best Instrumental Composition, which went to Moroder for "Love Theme from Flashdance". [79] The performer of that instrumental track, Helen St. John, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, [77] and Sembello was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, [77] and Song of the Year with songwriting partner Dennis Matkosky. [77] Cara and Sembello also each received nominations for Record of the Year for their respective hits, [80] and they joined Branigan, Carnes, Esposito, Kamon, St. John, Sinnamon, Summer, and "Seduce Me Tonight" performers Cycle V in the nomination for Album of the Year. [80]

"Flashdance... What a Feeling" and "Maniac" were both nominated in the Academy Award [81] and Golden Globe [82] categories for Best Original Song, the former nominee winning the Moroder-Forsey-Cara songwriting team statuettes at both ceremonies. [81] [82] Moroder also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score [82] and was nominated in the same category at the BAFTA Film Awards, [83] and the title track was also nominated for the Best Original Song BAFTA. [83] The music video for "Maniac" was awarded Best Editing at Billboard magazine's Video Music Awards, [84] and the soundtrack also garnered three American Music Award nominations: Favorite Pop/Rock Album, Favorite Pop/Rock Song for the title track, and Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist for Cara. [85]

In 1998, "Flashdance... What a Feeling" came in at number nine on Billboard magazine's list of the top 10 soundtrack songs, [86] 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. [43] In 2004, it finished at number 55 on AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema, and in 2011, Time magazine included the album on its list of the "Top 25 Movie Soundtracks". [87] When Rolling Stone magazine ranked the 20 Greatest Best Song Oscar Performances in 2016, Cara's appearance at the 1984 Academy Awards was listed at number 20. [88] In 2018, 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." [89] 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", [90] 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. [91]

Commercial performance

In the United States, the album debuted on Billboard magazine's Top LPs & Tape chart in the issue dated April 30, 1983, [92] and spent 78 weeks there. [93] In contrast to the 60,000 copies that were initially shipped to stores, the magazine reported in its May 21 issue that one-day sales to that point had crested at 140,000. [94] The Recording Industry Association of America awarded the album both gold and platinum status on June 17, 1983, [95] and the June 25 issue marked its ninth week on the chart [96] and its first [96] of two consecutive weeks [97] as the number-one album in the US, temporarily supplanting Michael Jackson's Thriller . [96] The soundtrack was certified five-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 12, 1984, for shipments of five million units and received its next award for reaching six million on June 21, 1996. [95]

In Canada, the soundtrack made its first appearance on RPM 's 100 Albums chart on the issue dated May 7, 1983, [98] and peaked at number two on June 11, [99] spending 72 weeks on the chart. [100] It was certified nine-times Platinum in Canada on December 17, 1985, denoting shipments in excess of 900,000 units. [101] [102] It debuted on the UK Albums Chart on July 2, 1983, and peaked at number nine, spending 30 weeks altogether on the chart. [103] It was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on September 21, 1983, denoting shipments of 100,000 units. [104] In Japan, the album became the biggest-selling album of 1983, spending ten weeks at the number-one position. [105] [106] The soundtrack also reached number one on the album charts in Australia, [107] Austria, [108] Germany, [109] Norway, [110] Sweden, [111] and Switzerland, [112] where it also was certified four-times Platinum, [113] denoting shipments of 200,000 units. [114] Other Gold and Platinum certifications included Finland (81,000 units), [115] France (100,000), [116] Germany (500,000), [117] Hong Kong (20,000), [118] and Spain (100,000). [119] In 2011, Time magazine's list of the "Top 25 Movie Soundtracks" reported that sales of the album had reached 20 million copies. [87]

Legacy and influence

No one at Paramount Pictures really expected Flashdance to usher in a whole revolution in film marketing.

– The Rolling Stone Review: 1985

Ramone's logic of having a reason for each song did not go unnoticed in the industry. Gary LeMel, the senior vice-president of music at Columbia Pictures, described the way the tone of the songs in Flashdance matched the images onscreen as "the beginning of the new consistency" in soundtracks. [120] This focus on the matching of sound and image was serendipitous as well. The simultaneous successes of the film and soundtrack were a watershed moment in the entertainment industry in that many of its experts suddenly became aware of the added value of the two-year old MTV cable channel as a promotional tool for movies through use of music videos and commercial advertising. Danny Goldberg, contemporary music consultant to 20th Century-Fox for feature films, said, "It started with Flashdance," [121] and MTV's vice president of programming, Les Garland, concurred. "Flashdance was the picture that brought all the [movie] studios into the music video field." [122] Writing for The Rolling Stone Review: 1985, Marianne Meyer acknowledged the release date of the film as the turning point: "The new age began in April 1983. No one at Paramount Pictures really expected Flashdance to usher in a whole revolution in film marketing." [123]

Ticket sales during the opening weekend of a film have been seen by the industry as a strong indicator of the picture's success or failure, [124] and Goldberg opined in an essay in Billboard that if there is no box-office draw for a release, then a music video can stir interest in the potential audience for the movie more than any of the other options available. [125] Frank Mancuso, who was the president of the motion picture division at Paramount, said the studio's approach was to "make music one of a picture's main cast elements, especially when, as in the case of Flashdance, the actors are not that well known," [126] so the studios would be reliant on hit singles for the star power the film was lacking. As LeMel explained to Variety, music video outlets, such as MTV, provided the perfect fit since the twelve to twenty-five year-olds that those outlets want for viewers is the same demographic that Hollywood goes after. [127] Paramount vice president Gordon Weaver marveled that the young MTV audience was "a godsend," [128] and a marketing executive for another studio credited the distributor for this expansion of marketing strategy: "Paramount didn't know what they had [with Flashdance], but they knew where to sell it. The MTV buys allowed them to aim a shotgun directly at their target, instead of scattering buckshot through a general TV approach." [129]

The extensive exposure that the "Maniac" video received from MTV and other outlets helped Paramount plug the film for free instead of paying the several million dollars of commercial time for the standard television advertising exposure needed to get the same result. [130] Weaver described this approach as "invisible marketing." [51] Flashdance went on to be the third highest-grossing film of 1983 in the US [131] despite having unknown actors and receiving bad reviews, so the new priority for studio marketing departments became evaluating how practical it would be to include popular music in the projects they were looking to release in order to receive similar benefits from such outlets. [132] "Blame it on Flashdance," averred Time magazine's film critic, Jay Cocks, with regard to the seeming infiltration of the video clip trend into movie packaging. [133] "The Flashdance phenomenon was a confluence of good commercial instincts and some savvy guesswork, and now that Hollywood has found a new formula, indeed helped create one, it will not let go," he argued, citing music video directors moving into feature films and a slate of releases due in 1984 that incorporated contemporary music. [133]

Aftermath

Some of the artists with singles from the soundtrack included their contributions on follow-up albums on which they chose to continue working with the producer of their Flashdance recording, and for some, the soundtrack provided the career momentum to record an entire album as a solo vocalist for the first time. In the case of Esposito, that meant being the "featured" vocalist on the album Solitary Men, on which Moroder was the main artist and producer in addition to co-writing most of the new tracks (as did "Lady, Lady, Lady" lyricist Forsey). [134] Sembello opted to continue working with Ramone as the producer for his debut LP, Bossa Nova Hotel , which afforded him two more US chart hits: the number 34 Hot 100 entry "Automatic Man" [57] and "Talk", which reached number 25 on the Adult Contemporary chart. [60] While Kamon did stick with her "Manhunt" producer and life partner Ramone to helm her 1984 album Heart of You, [135] her soundtrack song was not among the nine included on it, despite having been released as a single earlier in the year.

The film's title song arguably gave Cara the biggest career boost that any of the soundtrack artists would gain from their own contributions. Moroder produced her next album, which included their recent hit and shortened the song's title for the name What a Feelin' , and Moroder also wrote the music for seven of the 10 new tracks. One of the seven, "Why Me?", also reunited Cara with co-lyricist Forsey and was released as the first new single from the album later that year, reaching number 13 on the Hot 100. [43] Three more pop chart entries came from the album: "The Dream (Hold On to Your Dream)", which was recorded for the soundtrack of D.C. Cab and peaked at number 37, the number 8 entry "Breakdance", and a ballad that got as high as number 78, "You Were Made for Me". [43]

As these chart hits kept Cara in the spotlight into the first half of 1984 when she was receiving various awards for "Flashdance... What a Feeling", her success was bittersweet. [136] Her belief was that she was not being sufficiently compensated for the recordings she had made since signing with Network Records, and she eventually filed a lawsuit against the label and Al Coury, Inc. over the issue. [137] A Los Angeles County Superior Court awarded her $1.5 million in 1993, [138] but because the defendants declared bankruptcy, [139] her win was "largely a symbolic one." [138] She did, however, begin receiving royalties for her work. [140]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)PerformerLength
1."Flashdance... What a Feeling"
Irene Cara3:53
2."He's a Dream"
Shandi Sinnamon3:28
3."Love Theme from Flashdance"Moroder Helen St. John 3:27
4."Manhunt"
  • Doug Cotler
  • Richard Gilbert
 Karen Kamon 2:36
5."Lady, Lady, Lady"
  • Moroder
  • Forsey
 Joe Esposito 4:09
Total length:17:33
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)PerformerLength
1."Imagination"
 Laura Branigan 3:35
2."Romeo"
 Donna Summer 3:13
3."Seduce Me Tonight"
  • Moroder
  • Forsey
 Cycle V 3:31
4."I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is"
Kim Carnes4:36
5."Maniac"
  • Sembello
  • Dennis Matkosky
Michael Sembello4:04
Total length:18:59

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [141]

Charts

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Flashdance
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Brazil—240,000 [167]
Canada (Music Canada) [102] 9× Platinum900,000^
Finland—81,635 [115]
France (SNEP) [116] Gold1,000,000 [168]
Germany (BVMI) [117] Platinum500,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [118] Platinum20,000*
Italy—200,000 [169]
Japan—1,061,000 [170]
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [119] Platinum100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [113] 4× Platinum200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [104] Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA) [95] 6× Platinum6,000,000^
Venezuela—148,000 [171]
Yugoslavia—67,635 [172]
Summaries
Worldwide—20,000,000 [87]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Flashdance</i> 1983 American romantic drama film by Adrian Lyne

Flashdance is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer, Alex Owens, who aspires to become a professional ballerina, alongside Michael Nouri, who plays her boyfriend and the owner of the steel mill where she works by day in Pittsburgh. It was the first collaboration of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, and the presentation of some sequences in the style of music videos was an influence on other 1980s films including Footloose, Purple Rain, and Top Gun, Simpson and Bruckheimer's most famous production. It was also one of Lyne's first major film releases, building on television commercials. Alex's elaborate dance sequences were shot using body doubles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giorgio Moroder</span> Italian composer and music producer (born 1940)

Giovanni Giorgio Moroder is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance music. His work with synthesizers had a large influence on several music genres such as hi-NRG, Italo disco, synth-pop, new wave, house and techno music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irene Cara</span> American singer and actress (1959–2022)

Irene Cara Escalera was an American singer and actress who rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film Fame, and for recording the film's title song "Fame", which reached No. 1 in several countries. In 1983, Cara co-wrote and sang the song "Flashdance... What a Feeling", for which she shared an Academy Award for Best Original Song and won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Sembello</span> American musician

Michael Andrew Sembello is an American singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flashdance... What a Feeling</span> 1983 single by Irene Cara

"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 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 and 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.

<i>Scarface</i> (soundtrack) 1983 soundtrack album by various artists

Scarface: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album featured on the 1983 American crime film, Scarface, which was directed by Brian De Palma. Composed by Italian producer Giorgio Moroder, the vinyl soundtrack was released on December 9 of the same year through MCA Records. The album features music created by Moroder, who wrote and produced all of the tracks. Scarface counts with the collaboration of multiple singers, including Paul Engemann, Debbie Harry, Amy Holland, Elizabeth Daily, among other artists. The soundtrack received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score at the 41st Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maniac (Michael Sembello song)</span> 1983 single by Michael Sembello

"Maniac" is a song from the 1983 film Flashdance that was written by Dennis Matkosky and its performer, Michael Sembello. The original idea for the song came to Matkosky while watching a news report on a serial killer, which inspired gruesome lyrics that he and Sembello expanded upon after finding a 1980 horror film with the same name. When Flashdance director Adrian Lyne grew attached to the demo of the song used during filming, his music supervisor Phil Ramone requested lyrics more appropriate for their story of a dancer and worked with Sembello to produce a new version for the soundtrack. The new recording was used for a scene in which protagonist Alexandra Owens trains rigorously at home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Together in Electric Dreams</span> 1984 single by Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey

"Together in Electric Dreams" is a song by the British singer and composer Philip Oakey and Italian composer and producer Giorgio Moroder. It was written by Oakey and Moroder and recorded for the original soundtrack of the film Electric Dreams (1984). It later formed part of the joint album Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder, released in 1985.

Keith Forsey is an English pop musician and record producer.

<i>What a Feelin</i> 1983 studio album by Irene Cara

What a Feelin' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Irene Cara. Released on November 2, 1983, this album is a continuation of the work that Cara began with producer Giorgio Moroder on the soundtrack to the 1983 film Flashdance. The dance-pop song she co-wrote with Moroder and Keith Forsey for the film, "Flashdance... What a Feeling", went to number one on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 and foreshadowed the style of this album, which was unlike her R&B-heavy debut. Although Cara was more accustomed to composing music, she relinquished most of those duties to Moroder here and shifted much of her songwriting focus to lyrics.

<i>Bossa Nova Hotel</i> 1983 studio album by Michael Sembello

Bossa Nova Hotel is the 1983 debut album of rock singer/guitarist Michael Sembello. The album was a continuation of the work that Sembello began with producer Phil Ramone on "Maniac," which became a number one US pop hit after it was featured in the film Flashdance and on its soundtrack album. Bossa Nova Hotel peaked at number 80 on the US album chart and included the soundtrack hit in addition to two more chart entries, "Automatic Man" and "Talk."

<i>American Gigolo</i> (soundtrack) 1980 soundtrack album by Giorgio Moroder

American Gigolo is the soundtrack album to the 1980 film of the same name, starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. The music was composed and performed by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder and was released worldwide on the Polydor label. It peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart. All the cuts from the soundtrack also went to number two for five weeks on the disco/dance charts.

Karen Ichiuji-Ramone, known by her stage name Karen Kamon, was an American singer and actress.

<i>D.C. Cab</i> (soundtrack) 1983 soundtrack album by Various artists

D.C. Cab: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1983 film D.C. Cab. The producers selected artists for the album who were popular with a young, black audience, and the popularity of one of the film's stars, Mr. T, prompted the film's distributor to release the film four months earlier than planned. D.C. Cab performed poorly at the box office, and the soundtrack peaked at number 181 on the album chart in Billboard magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Why Me? (Irene Cara song)</span> 1983 single by Irene Cara

"Why Me?" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey, and the song's performer, Irene Cara, that was the first official single to be released from Cara's 1983 album, What a Feelin', making it the follow-up to the songwriting trio's previous project for Cara, "Flashdance... What a Feeling". This new collaboration, however, was described as having more of a hard rock edge and had lyrics that conveyed the difficulties in a relationship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breakdance (song)</span> 1984 single by Irene Cara

"Breakdance" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder, Bunny Hull, and the song's performer, Irene Cara. Moroder's obsession with the dance hit "Rockit" by Herbie Hancock fueled his composition of the music, and Cara was inspired by the street performers she saw growing up in the South Bronx to write lyrics about what was then called breakdancing. Released in March 1984, it was the third single that originated on her What a Feelin' LP and her first to make the top ten in the US since the album's title track went to number one almost a year earlier. "Breakdance" also charted in several other countries and had a dance remix that was also well received.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Were Made for Me (Irene Cara song)</span> 1984 single by Irene Cara

"You Were Made for Me" is a song written by Eddie Brown and the song's performer, Irene Cara. It was the fourth and final single that originated on her 1983 LP What a Feelin' and the only ballad included on it. While Giorgio Moroder had written the music for most of the songs on the album, Cara is credited as the composer on "You Were Made for Me". Whereas the previous singles spawned dance remixes and did well on the pop and R&B charts, "You Were Made for Me" had its biggest success on the Adult Contemporary charts in the US and Canada. It was also her last chart hit in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automatic Man (song)</span> 1983 single by Michael Sembello

"Automatic Man" is a song written by Michael Sembello, David Batteau, and Danny Sembello that was the first official single to be released from the 1983 album Bossa Nova Hotel by Michael Sembello. It reached number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dream (Hold On to Your Dream)</span> 1983 single by Irene Cara

"The Dream (Hold On to Your Dream)" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte, and the song's performer, Irene Cara, for the 1983 film D.C. Cab. Although not included on initial pressings of Cara's What a Feelin' LP, the decision to release the film four months earlier than originally slated prompted an arrangement for her album to be reissued with the song. A slightly different version (more noticeable in the intro) was also included on the film's soundtrack album; an edited version was released on the 7-inch single, and the 12-inch single included a much longer dance remix.

References

  1. ↑ "Flashdance Motion Picture Soundtrack". Giorgio Moroder. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "FLASHDANCE". Giorgio Moroder. Archived from the original on 2023-08-11. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  3. ↑ Bruckheimer, Jerry (2010). Flashdance: Music and Songs (bonus feature from Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition) (DVD). Paramount. I called him when I got the script in, and I said, 'We got the script. I'm gonna send it to you. It has all these songs that we need to have done.'
  4. ↑ "Giorgio Moroder is back in business". Chicago Tribune . 17 July 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2019. At first I was not interested, because I was so busy with some other stuff. I was in the studio day and night.
  5. ↑ "Legendary Producer Giorgio Moroder Talks DJ'ing Advice From David Guetta and His Love For The Weeknd". Billboard . Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  6. ↑ Moroder, Giorgio (2010). Flashdance: Music and Songs (bonus feature from Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition) (DVD). Paramount. I thought, 'Maybe this piece fits in.'
  7. 1 2 Bruckheimer, Jerry (2010). Flashdance: Music and Songs (bonus feature from Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition) (DVD). Paramount. Maybe 6 to 8 weeks before we started filming, he sent this little demo in, and it was "What a Feeling".
  8. 1 2 Moroder, Giorgio (May 20, 2013). "Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2". BBC Radio 2 (Interview). 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.
  9. ↑ Moroder, Giorgio (May 20, 2013). "Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2". BBC Radio 2 (Interview). And, in fact, I watched it, and I loved it. And I said, "Jerry, I absolutely want to do it."
  10. ↑ Cara, Irene (May 20, 2013). "Electric Dreams: The Giorgio Moroder Story, Episode 2". BBC Radio 2 (Interview). Giorgio thought it best that I co-write it with Keith.
  11. ↑ Moroder, Giorgio (2010). Flashdance: Music and Songs (bonus feature from Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition) (DVD). Paramount. With the ideas of Adrian Lyne, how to cut the movie, came the idea of Jerry and Don, how to put the right song in the right place. And Phil Ramone, of course, was extremely helpful. In fact, he picked quite a lot of the songs.
  12. ↑ Lyne, Adrian (2010). Flashdance: Music and Songs (bonus feature from Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition) (DVD). Paramount.
  13. ↑ Ramone, Phil (2010). Flashdance: Music and Songs (bonus feature from Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition) (DVD). Paramount. Here's a song that Michael Sembello had written: 'Just a steel town girl on a Saturday night,' and then, 'She's a maniac'. That's about all he had written. At the end of it, Adrian Lyne, the director, had gotten used to it, and they said, 'OK, this is gonna stay in the picture.' So he and I scrambled and finished what was a little demo made in a cottage-type studio.
  14. ↑ Ramone & Granata 2007 , p. 235.
  15. ↑ Ramone, Phil (2010). Releasing the Flashdance Phenomenon (bonus feature from Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition) (DVD). Paramount.
  16. ↑ Ramone, Phil (2010). Flashdance: Music and Songs (bonus feature from Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition) (DVD). Paramount.
  17. ↑ Ramone, Phil (2010). Flashdance: Music and Songs (bonus feature from Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition) (DVD). Paramount. I just used it because I knew when this girl was gonna climb up the wall and do a somersault with a baseball mask and then go into this dance, we needed something ridiculous.
  18. ↑ Ramone & Granata 2007 , p. 237:"But Ken Topolsky—my production assistant at the time—saw Karen's potential and snuck her into the studio to do the demo of 'Manhunt.'"
  19. ↑ Ramone & Granata 2007 , p. 237.
  20. ↑ Ramone & Granata 2007 , p. 237:"At the time she cut the demo, Karen was pregnant with our son BJ. There was a greater chance that the song would be cut from the movie; Karen never thought she'd be coming back in her eighth month to record her final vocals."
  21. 1 2 "Marilyn McCoo Show 33 Grammy Special". Solid Gold. Season 4. Episode 33. May 19, 1984.
  22. ↑ Grein, Paul (April 16, 1983). "Branigan Is Ready To Roll After Debut's Rocky Climb". Billboard. New York. p. 86.
  23. ↑ (1992) Gypsy Honeymoon: The Best of Kim Carnes by Kim Carnes [CD booklet]. New York: EMI Records 077779822324.
  24. ↑ Howard 2002 , p. 180.
  25. ↑ Moroder, Giorgio (2010). Flashdance: Music and Songs (bonus feature from Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition) (DVD). Paramount. It reflects a little bit the idea that this girl now is a lady, and it's a very romantic song.
  26. 1 2 "'Good Old Disco' Still Works for Moroder". Billboard. New York. October 29, 1983. p. 6.
  27. ↑ Kawashima, Dale (May 24, 2018). "Special Interview With Pop Legend Irene Cara, Co-Writer & Singer Of The #1 Hit "Flashdance…What a Feeling" And Star Of The Movie, Fame". Songwriter Universe. Retrieved April 16, 2020. 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.'
  28. ↑ Wuench, Kevin (June 18, 2013). "Remember that 'other' song from the 'Flashdance' soundtrack? ... Me neither". Tampa Bay Times . Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  29. ↑ (1983) What a Feelin' by Irene Cara [album jacket]. Los Angeles: Geffen Records GHS 4021.
  30. 1 2 Esposito 2005 , p. 61.
  31. ↑ Esposito 2005 , p. 61: "In retrospect, I was lucky to even get on any track at all. Though I had some success with Donna Summer on the song 'Heaven Knows' back in my Brooklyn Dreams days, it was still not enough to be considered for an album like Flashdance."
  32. ↑ Ramone & Granata 2007 , p. 237:"But after the first preview, I got a call at home from Dawn Steele. She was so excited I could barely understand what she was saying. 'They're dancing in the aisles!' she exclaimed."
  33. ↑ Ressner, Jeffrey (May 7, 1983). "Polygram Gears Up Push For Flashdance LP". Cashbox . New York. p. 10.
  34. ↑ 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."
  35. ↑ Eszterhas 2010 , p. 171: "His director's cut was two hours and twenty minutes long… But the studio—Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg—hated the cut and insisted that Adrian make deletions. Every time Adrian made a cut, they insisted on more, until all that was left, finally, was dancing, a very bare story line, and music."
  36. ↑ Bruckheimer, Jerry (2010). Releasing the Flashdance Phenomenon (bonus feature from Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition) (DVD). Paramount.
  37. ↑ Bruckheimer, Jerry (2010). Releasing the Flashdance Phenomenon (bonus feature from Flashdance, Special Collector's Edition) (DVD). Paramount. Opening weekend, Don and I go to Westwood in Los Angeles, and there was one big theater, I think it was the Village where it opened. And right across the street was a record store. The kids would walk out of the theater, go to the record store, buy the album, which was gone in a hour... It took them two or three weeks to replenish the stock.
  38. ↑ Ressner, Jeffrey (May 7, 1983). "Polygram Gears Up Push For Flashdance LP". Cashbox . New York. p. 10. Retailers told us that every store in the country had sold out of every piece of Flashdance product.
  39. ↑ Ressner, Jeffrey (May 7, 1983). "Polygram Gears Up Push For Flashdance LP". Cashbox . New York. pp. 10, 18.
  40. 1 2 Ressner, Jeffrey (May 7, 1983). "Polygram Gears Up Push For Flashdance LP". Cashbox . New York. p. 18.
  41. ↑ White 1990 , p. 40.
  42. ↑ Denisoff, R. Serge; Plasketes, George (1990). "Synergy in 1980s Film and Music: Formula for Success or Industry Mythology?". Film History. 4 (3). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press: 257–276. ISSN   0892-2160. JSTOR   3815137 . Retrieved April 2, 2020. A so-called scout single is usually released for radio airplay several weeks prior to the film and the associated album.
  43. 1 2 3 4 Whitburn 2009 , p. 158.
  44. ↑ Whitburn 2004a , p. 102.
  45. ↑ Whitburn 2007 , p. 41.
  46. ↑ Whitburn 2004b , p. 50.
  47. ↑ "Irene Cara/Felony". American Bandstand. Season 26. Episode 28. April 30, 1983.
  48. ↑ "Marilyn McCoo & Rex Smith Show 30". Solid Gold. Season 3. Episode 30. April 30, 1983.
  49. ↑ Ressner, Jeffrey (May 7, 1983). "Polygram Gears Up Push For Flashdance LP". Cashbox . New York. p. 18. 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.
  50. ↑ Harmetz, Aljean (June 4, 1983). "'Invisible Marketing' Helps 'Flashdance' Sell". Section 1. The New York Times . p. 15. Many of the dance clubs that young singles go to now have installed videocassette recorders and large screens. Kids dance to promotional clips from record companies, music videos by performers like Michael Jackson, Culture Club and Prince. In some clubs there are video jockeys. Instead of turntables, you have two Advent screens.
  51. 1 2 Harmetz, Aljean (June 4, 1983). "'Invisible Marketing' Helps 'Flashdance' Sell". Section 1. The New York Times. p. 15.
  52. ↑ Corliss, Richard (May 9, 1983). "Cinema: Manufacturing a Multimedia Hit". Time . Retrieved March 31, 2021. This week MTV will begin airing two Flashdance videos
  53. ↑ "Video Music Programming". Billboard. New York. May 21, 1983. p. 20.
  54. ↑ "MTV Playlist". Cashbox . New York. May 21, 1983. p. 19.
  55. ↑ "Video Music Programming". Billboard. New York. May 28, 1983. p. 32.
  56. ↑ "MTV Playlist". Cashbox. New York. May 28, 1983. p. 17.
  57. 1 2 Whitburn 2009 , p. 869.
  58. ↑ Whitburn 2004b , p. 226.
  59. ↑ Whitburn 2008 , p. 224.
  60. 1 2 Whitburn 2007 , p. 246.
  61. ↑ Grein, Paul (September 10, 1983). "Chartbeat--Flashdance: A Second Number One". Billboard. New York. p. 6.
  62. ↑ "Marilyn McCoo & Rex Smith Show 37". Solid Gold. Season 3. Episode 37. June 18, 1983.
  63. ↑ "Episode #27.1". American Bandstand. Season 27. Episode 1. September 10, 1983.
  64. ↑ "Marilyn McCoo & Andy Gibb". Solid Gold. Season 4. Episode 3. September 24, 1983.
  65. ↑ Whitburn 2009 , p. 127.
  66. ↑ Whitburn 2007 , p. 89.
  67. ↑ "Billboard Singles Reviews". Billboard. New York. April 14, 1984. p. 59.
  68. ↑ Whitburn 2009 , p. 520.
  69. ↑ Whitburn 2007 , p. 146.
  70. ↑ Whitburn 2004a , p. 313.
  71. ↑ Whitburn 2004b , p. 139.
  72. ↑ AllMusic review
  73. 1 2 3 4 Robert Christgau review
  74. ↑ Gardner, Mark (3 July 1983). "Review: VARIOUS ARTISTS 'Original Soundtrack from Flashdance'" (PDF). Record Mirror . p. 19. ISSN   0144-5804 . Retrieved 13 July 2021– via American Radio History.
  75. 1 2 3 4 Rockwell, John (May 1, 1983). "Film Scores On Disks". Section 2. The New York Times. p. 23.
  76. 1 2 3 "Theater/Films". Stereo Review . New York. September 1983. p. 112.
  77. 1 2 3 4 O'Neil 1999 , p. 362.
  78. ↑ O'Neil 1999 , pp. 367–368.
  79. ↑ O'Neil 1999 , p. 367.
  80. 1 2 O'Neil 1999 , p. 361.
  81. 1 2 Wiley & Bona 1996 , p. 1143.
  82. 1 2 3 O'Neil 2003 , p. 474.
  83. 1 2 "BAFTA 1984: British Academy Film Awards (Movies from 1983)" . Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  84. ↑ "Jackson Cops Five Music Vid Awards". Billboard. New York. November 26, 1983. p. 60.
  85. ↑ "11th American Music Awards" . Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  86. ↑ "The Top 10 Soundtrack Songs". Billboard. New York. September 19, 1998. p. 36.
  87. 1 2 3 "Top 25 Movie Soundtracks". Time . February 21, 2011. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  88. ↑ Portwood, Jerry; Ehrlich, David; Fear, David. "20 Greatest Best Song Oscar Performances". Rolling Stone . Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  89. ↑ Tschinkel, Arielle (June 19, 2018). "35 of the most iconic movie songs of all time". Insider . Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  90. ↑ "Hot 100 Turns 60". Billboard. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  91. ↑ "Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs by Women". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2019-11-13. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  92. ↑ "Top 200 Albums". Billboard. April 30, 1983. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  93. ↑ "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  94. ↑ Kozak, Roman (May 21, 1983). "Flashdance Soundtrack Hot: Sales Reflect Film's Success". Billboard. New York. p. 5.
  95. 1 2 3 "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Flashdance". Recording Industry Association of America.
  96. 1 2 3 "Top 200 Albums". Billboard. June 25, 1983. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  97. ↑ "Top 200 Albums". Billboard. July 2, 1983. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  98. ↑ "RPM 100 Albums". RPM . May 7, 1983. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  99. 1 2 "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6255a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  100. ↑ "RPM 100 Albums". RPM. September 22, 1984. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  101. ↑ "Gold/Platinum FAQ". Music Canada. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  102. 1 2 "Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – Flashdance". Music Canada.
  103. ↑ "Flashdance: Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company . Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  104. 1 2 "British album certifications – Original Soundtrack – Flashdance - OST". British Phonographic Industry.
  105. ↑ 【オリコン年間】『アナ雪』CD98万枚のヒット 映画サントラ21年ぶりTOP3 [(Oricon Yearly Charts) Frozen a hit selling 980,000 physical copies, first film soundtrack in the yearly top three albums in 21 years] (in Japanese). Oricon. December 20, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  106. 1 2 【オリコン】『アナ雪』、映画サントラ30年ぶりV3 50万枚超はタイタニック以来 [(Oricon) Frozen first film soundtrack in 30 years to top the charts for three weeks, first soundtrack to sell 500,000 copies since Titanic] (in Japanese). Oricon. May 20, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  107. ↑ "This Week In… 1983". Australian Recording Industry Association. July 16, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2021. The Flashdance soundtrack spent three weeks at number one in August and September of that same year.
  108. 1 2 "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack – Flashdance" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  109. 1 2 "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack – Flashdance" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  110. 1 2 "Norwegiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Flashdance". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  111. 1 2 "Swedishcharts.com – Soundtrack – Flashdance". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  112. 1 2 "Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack – Flashdance". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  113. 1 2 "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Flashdance')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  114. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards 2020: Singles and Albums". swisscharts.com. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  115. 1 2 "Elokuvamusiikkia" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  116. 1 2 "French album certifications – BOF – Flashdance" (in French). InfoDisc.Select BOF and click OK. 
  117. 1 2 "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (O.S.T. - Various; 'Flashdance')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  118. 1 2 "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1984". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  119. 1 2 Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
  120. ↑ Tannenbaum, Rob (November 21, 1985). "Soundtracks Thrived in Summer of '85". Rolling Stone. New York.
  121. ↑ Denisoff & Romanowski 1991 , p. 360.
  122. ↑ Gold, Richard (February 22, 1984). "H'wood Majors Spinoff Videos From Youth Pix". Variety. Los Angeles. p. 108.
  123. ↑ Meyer 1985 , p. 168
  124. ↑ Weisbecker, Matt (March 15, 2019). "Box Office Campaigns: Unlocking Returns Beyond Opening Weekend". Variety. Retrieved April 4, 2020. Opening weekend ticket sales have typically been critical to a film's success or failure, so marketing campaigns tend to focus on driving movie buyers in for that 72-hour timeframe.
  125. ↑ Goldberg, Danny (February 25, 1984). "Tracking the Hip Ingredient". Billboard. New York. p. 10. the right kind of music video is the best way of pre-selling a film, other than a bankable superstar.
  126. ↑ Lichtman, Irv (August 6, 1983). "Paramount Pictures Works To Help Sell Soundtracks". Billboard. New York. p. 55.
  127. ↑ Gold, Richard (February 22, 1984). "H'wood Majors Spinoff Videos From Youth Pix". Variety . Los Angeles. p. 108. The target audience for MTV is the same [as the] target for pictures. You need the twelve to twenty-five demographic.
  128. ↑ "Growth Pains Greet Boom In Studio-Produced Vidclips". Billboard. New York. January 28, 1984. p. 70.
  129. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (March–April 1984). "Ninth Annual Grosses Gloss". Film Comment . Vol. 20, no. 2. New York. p. 63.
  130. ↑ Egan, Jack (October 31, 1983). "Pop Records Go Boom". New York . p. 55. A clip of scenes from the movie done to the hit single "Maniac" has been broadcast extensively on MTV and other outlets, helping to promote the movie at no cost to Paramount, which made the film. To purchase the same amount of commercial time on television would probably have cost several million dollars.
  131. ↑ "1983 Domestic Grosses". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  132. ↑ McKelvey, Bob (June 2, 1984). "Movies are catching dancing' fever and rakin' in big bucks". The Daily Press . Newport News, Virginia. p. 17. As one Warners executive commented happily, 'Studios are evaluating the viability of music in every project.'
  133. 1 2 Cocks, Jay (December 26, 1983). "Sing a Song of Seeing". Time . Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  134. ↑ (1983) "Solitary Men" by Giorgio Moroder featuring Joe Esposito [album jacket]. Munich: Oasis Records 6.25519.
  135. ↑ (1984) "Heart of You" by Karen Kamon [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records BFC 39407.
  136. ↑ Kawashima, Dale (May 24, 2018). "Special Interview With Pop Legend Irene Cara, Co-Writer & Singer Of The #1 Hit 'Flashdance…What a Feeling' And Star Of The Movie Fame". Songwriter Universe. Retrieved January 30, 2021. Unfortunately, I was going through a lot of hassles with my record company… So on the outside, I was putting on a face of being on top of the world and being a success, and on the inside I was trying to figure out how to sue my label.
  137. 1 2 Guinn & Perry 2005 , p. 94
  138. ↑ Guinn & Perry 2005 , p. 95
  139. ↑ Kawashima, Dale (May 24, 2018). "Special Interview With Pop Legend Irene Cara, Co-Writer & Singer Of The #1 Hit 'Flashdance…What a Feeling' And Star Of The Movie Fame". Songwriter Universe. Retrieved January 30, 2021. In 1993 Cara won her case with a jury verdict in California, and she finally began earning royalties a decade after her hit success.
  140. ↑ Flashdance: Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (Liner notes). Various artists. Casablanca Records. 1983. 422-811.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  141. ↑ Kent 1993 , p. 283
  142. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack – Flashdance" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  143. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
  144. ↑ "Ísland (LP-plötur)". DV (in Icelandic). July 22, 1983. p. 37. ISSN   1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
  145. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 29, 2022.Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Flashdance" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  146. ↑ "Charts.nz – Soundtrack – Flashdance". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  147. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  148. ↑ "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  149. ↑ "Soundtrack Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  150. ↑ Kent 1993 , p. 435
  151. ↑ "Jahreshitparade Alben 1983". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  152. ↑ "The Top Albums of 1983". RPM. Vol. 39, no. 17. December 24, 1983. ISSN   0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  153. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1983" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts . Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  154. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1983" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015.
  155. ↑ 1983年アルバム年間ヒットチャート [Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1983] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2016– via Entamedata.web.fc2.com.
  156. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1983". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  157. ↑ Scaping, Peter, ed. (1984). "Top 100 LPs: 1983". BPI Year Book 1984. British Phonographic Industry. pp. 44–45. ISBN   0-906154-04-9.
  158. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1983". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  159. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1983". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  160. ↑ "Talent Almanac 1984 – Top Pop Album Soundtracks/Original Cast" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 95, no. 52. December 24, 1983. p. TA-20. ISSN   0006-2510 – via World Radio History.
  161. ↑ "Jahreshitparade Alben 1984". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  162. ↑ "Top 100 Albums of 1984". RPM. Vol. 41, no. 17. January 5, 1985. p. 8. ISSN   0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  163. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1984" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  164. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1984". Billboard. December 31, 1984. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  165. ↑ "Talent Almanac 1985 – Top Pop Album Soundtracks/Original Cast". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. December 22, 1984. p. TA-20. ISSN   0006-2510 – via Google Books.
  166. ↑ McGowan, Chris (January 26, 1985). "Industry Struggles". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 4. p. 35. ISSN   0006-2510 – via Google Books.
  167. ↑ Hamard, Jonathan (27 July 2010). "Quelles sont les B.O les plus vendues en France ?". Charts in France (in French). Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  168. ↑ Marinella Venegoni (October 23, 1983). "Flashdance, un cocktail che ha bloccato Travolta". La Stampa . Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  169. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
  170. ↑ "In Venezuela We Obtain These results!!". Billboard. 6 October 1984. p. 59. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved 10 April 2023– via Google Books.
  171. ↑ Hudelist, Darko (1 October 1984). "Rang-lista licencnih izdanja". Yugopapir. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2021.

Bibliography

  • Denisoff, Serge; Romanowski, William (1991). Risky Business: Rock in Film. Transaction Publishers. ISBN   978-0-88738-843-9.
  • Esposito, Joe (2005). "From the Desk of Joe 'Bean' Esposito". In Michaels, Randolph (ed.). Flashbacks to Happiness: Eighties Music Revisited. iUniverse. ISBN   978-0-59537-007-8.
  • Eszterhas, Joe (2010). Hollywood Animal: A Memoir. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN   978-0-37541-355-1.
  • Guinn, Jeff; Perry, Douglas (2005). The Sixteenth Minute: Life in the Aftermath of Fame. Penguin Group. ISBN   978-1-58542-389-7.
  • Howard, Josiah (2002). Donna Summer: Her Life and Music. Tiny Ripple Books. ISBN   978-0-96759-733-1.
  • Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   978-0-64611-917-5.
  • Meyer, Marianne (1985). "Rock Movideo". In Robbins, Ira A. (ed.). The Rolling Stone Review: 1985. Scribner. ISBN   0-684-18332-3.
  • O'Neil, Thomas (1999). The Grammys. Perigree Books. ISBN   0-39952-477-0.
  • O'Neil, Thomas (2003). Movie Awards: The Ultimate, Unofficial Guide to the Oscars, Golden Globes, Critics, Guild & Indie Honors. Perigree Books. ISBN   978-0-39952-922-1.
  • Ramone, Phil; Granata, Charles (2007). Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music. Hachette Books. ISBN   978-0-78686-859-9.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2004a). Joel Whitburn Presents Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles, 1942–2004. Record Research Inc. ISBN   0-89820-160-8.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2004b). Joel Whitburn's Hot Dance/Disco, 1974–2003. Record Research Inc. ISBN   978-0-89820-156-7.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2007). Joel Whitburn Presents Billboard Top Adult Songs, 1961–2006. Record Research Inc. ISBN   978-0-89820-169-7.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Rock Tracks, 1981–2008. Record Research Inc. ISBN   978-0-89820-174-1.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2009). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955–2008. Record Research Inc. ISBN   978-0-89820-180-2.
  • White, Adam (1990). The Billboard Book of Gold and Platinum Records. Billboard Publications, Inc. ISBN   0-8230-7547-8.
  • Wiley, Mason; Bona, Damien (1996). Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards. Ballantine Books. ISBN   0-345-40053-4.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.