Flashdance (soundtrack)
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B−[2] |
Flashdance: Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 1983 American musical and romance film Flashdance, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Jennifer Beals and Michael Nouri. It sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. The film is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and follows Alex, a welder and exotic dancer and her dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer. In 1984, the album received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year and won for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.
The film's three singles feature on the album. Two of these singles, "Flashdance...What a Feeling" by Irene Cara and "Maniac" by Michael Sembello, peaked at #1 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The track "Romeo" by Donna Summer was released as a promo video to MTV prior to the film's release, composed only of outtakes from the film. However, the song was not released to radio as Summer was on the verge of releasing her 1983 album She Works Hard for the Money, and the title track was already becoming a major hit. ("She Works Hard for the Money" was actually in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 consecutively with both "Flashdance...What a Feeling" and "Maniac".)
The Flashdance LP was massively successful, selling over 6 million copies in the U.S. and 1 million in Japan. It was certified gold by RIAA on June 17, 1983, and became multi-platinum on October 12, 1984 and again on June 21, 1996.[3] In addition to its own success, the album is notable for having supplanted Michael Jackson's Thriller after the latter had remained Billboard's number-one album for 17 weeks. Thriller would again overtake Flashdance at number one after 2 weeks. In Japan, the album topped the chart for 11 weeks in total, and became the biggest-selling album of 1983.[4]
The music in Flashdance was supervised by Phil Ramone. There are several pieces of music used in the film that do not appear on the soundtrack album, including "Gloria" by Laura Branigan; "I Love Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; and the "Adagio in G Minor" by Tommaso Albinoni. The title track "Flashdance... What a Feeling" was originally recorded by Joe Esposito before Irene Cara was asked to re-record the song as in line with the film's female perspective.
The soundtrack was later re-released in a white-cover version with the same track listing.[5]
Commercial performance
In the United States the album debuted at number 166 on the Billboard 200 the week of April 30, 1983, the next week it moved to number 29 and it finally reached number one after nine weeks on chart on June 25, 1983 supplanting Michael Jackson's Thriller after the latter had been the number-one album for 17 weeks.[6][7][8] Flashdance remained on the chart for seventy eight weeks.[9] The album was certified six times platinum by the RIAA on June 21, 1996 for shipments of six million units.[10] After the advent of the Nielsen SoundScan era in 1991, the album sold a further 626,000 copies as of July 2007.[11]
In the United Kingdom the album entered at number 40 on July 2, 1983, after two weeks, on July 16, 1983 it reached and peaked at number 9, it stayed there for two weeks before dropping to number fourteen.[12] It remained on the chart for thirty weeks.[12] Flashdance was certified gold by the BPI on September 21, 1983 denoting shipments of 100,000 units.[13]
It also topped the album charts in Australia, Austria, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Flashdance... What a Feeling" | Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey, Irene Cara | Irene Cara | 3:53 |
| 2. | "He's a Dream" | Shandi Sinnamon, Ronald Magness | Shandi Sinnamon | 3:28 |
| 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 |
| 6. | "Imagination" | Michael Boddicker, Jerry Hey, Phil Ramone, Michael Sembello | Laura Branigan | 3:35 |
| 7. | "Romeo" | Pete Bellotte, Sylvester Levay | Donna Summer | 3:13 |
| 8. | "Seduce Me Tonight" | Moroder, Forsey | Cycle V | 3:31 |
| 9. | "I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is" | Kim Carnes, Duane Hitchings, Craig Krampf | Kim Carnes | 4:36 |
| 10. | "Maniac" | Sembello, Dennis Matkosky | Michael Sembello | 4:04 |
| Total length: | 36.52 | |||
Chart positions and certifications
Album
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Sales and certifications
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References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Robert Christgau review
- ^ Flashdance RIAA Accessed August 28, 2007
- ^ "Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) - Albums Chart Daijiten - 1983 Oricon Year-end Albums" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2007-11-15. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Various - Flashdance (Original Soundtrack From The Motion Picture)". Discogs. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
- ^ "Top 200 Albums". Billboard 200. Billboard. April 30, 1983. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ^ "Top 200 Albums". Billboard 200. Billboard. May 7, 1983. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ^ a b "Top 200 Albums". Billboard 200. Billboard. June 25, 1983. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ^ a b "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Flashdance". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (July 13, 2007). "Keith Answers Readers' Questions on 80's Movie Soundtracks, British Artists on Hot 100, Janet Jackson and More!". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
To compare, "Flashdance" has sold a rather small 626,000 in the same frame of time.
- ^ a b "Original Soundtrack: Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ^ "Original Soundtrack – Flashdance - Ost". British Phonographic Industry. September 21, 1983. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack – Flashdance" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6255a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack – Flashdance" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack – Flashdance" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ "List of the number-one hit albums on the Japanese Oricon chart during the 1980s" (in Japanese). Archived from DataStation オリコンNo.1アルバム1980-1989 the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Charts.nz – Soundtrack – Flashdance". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Flashdance". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Soundtrack – Flashdance". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack – Flashdance". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – Flashdance". Music Canada.
- ^ "Les Albums Or :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 3 May 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "French album certifications – BOF – Flashdance" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
- ^ "Finnish album certifications – Elokuvamusiikkia – Flashdance" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
- ^ "Elokuvamusiikkia" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (O.S.T. - Various; 'Flashdance')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ^ オリジナルコンフィデンス. 歴代アルバムランキング TOP280 (in Japanese). Music TV Program. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^ "Japanese album certifications – フラッシュダンス" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.
- ^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1984". IFPI Hong Kong.
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Flashdance')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
- ^ "British album certifications – Original Soundtrack – Flashdance - OST". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Flashdance - OST in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
