You know that opening synth swell. It’s low, bubbling, almost cautious. Then Irene Cara’s voice drops in—breathy, soft, like she’s telling you a secret in a crowded room. Before you know it, the beat kicks in, the tempo shifts, and you're suddenly ready to run through a brick wall or, at the very least, audition for a prestigious dance academy you aren’t technically qualified for. Flashdance... What a Feeling isn't just a song; it's a structural masterpiece of the 1980s power ballad-to-anthem pipeline.
But honestly, the track almost didn't happen the way we remember it.
Irene Cara wasn't just some session singer hired to fill a spot. She was already a star from Fame, yet she had reservations about doing another "dance movie" song. She didn't want to be pigeonholed. Thankfully for us, Giorgio Moroder—the "Father of Disco" himself—persuaded her. The result was a track that defined 1983, won an Academy Award, and cemented the "What a Feeling" Irene Cara legacy in a way that few movie themes ever manage to sustain over four decades.
The Moroder Connection and the Birth of the Sound
If you listen closely to the production, you can hear the gears of 80s technology turning. Giorgio Moroder was obsessed with the precision of synthesizers. He’d already revolutionized music with Donna Summer’s "I Feel Love," but for the Flashdance soundtrack, he needed something that felt grit-meets-glamour. That was the whole vibe of the movie: a welder by day, a dancer by night.
The song's structure is a lesson in tension and release.
Keith Forsey, who co-wrote the lyrics with Cara, tapped into that universal "dreamer" energy. They weren't writing about a specific plot point in a script. They were writing about the physical sensation of ambition. When Cara sings about "taking your passion and making it happen," it sounds like a slogan now because it became one. At the time, it was just a raw expression of the hustle.
The track was recorded at Village Recorder in West Los Angeles. It’s actually kind of wild how fast it came together once the melody was locked in. Moroder provided the electronic pulse, but it was Cara’s input that grounded it. She insisted on making the lyrics more relatable, steering them toward the internal struggle of an artist. It worked.
Why the Vocals on What a Feeling Irene Cara Are Unmatched
A lot of people forget that Irene Cara was a classically trained performer. She grew up in the Bronx, playing piano by ear and studying dance and music from a very young age. This wasn't a "studio magic" performance.
Listen to the bridge.
The way she hits those ascending notes—it's effortless but packed with muscle. Most pop stars today would over-process those vocals or lean heavily on pitch correction to get that "shimmer." Cara did it with lung capacity and placement. She manages to sound vulnerable in the first verse and absolutely invincible by the final chorus. That’s a hard tightrope to walk.
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The Impact of the Music Video and the Film
We can’t talk about the song without the movie. Flashdance was a visual phenomenon. The image of Jennifer Beals (and her dance doubles, notably Marine Jahan) getting drenched by a bucket of water on stage became the defining image of the era.
- It wasn't just a movie; it was an aesthetic.
- Leg warmers became a mandatory fashion accessory.
- The "off-the-shoulder" sweatshirt look was born.
But the song did the heavy lifting. The movie received mixed reviews from critics—some called it a "90-minute music video"—but the audience didn't care. They were there for the feeling. The song spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed on the charts for 25 weeks. That kind of longevity is rare in an era where the next big thing is always five minutes away.
The 1984 Oscars and the Peak of Her Career
1984 was the year Irene Cara truly "arrived" in the hallowed halls of Hollywood. Seeing her perform What a Feeling at the Academy Awards was a moment. She wasn't just a singer; she was a songwriter winning the Oscar for Best Original Song.
She beat out heavy hitters that year. It’s easy to look back and think it was a given, but she was up against some serious competition. When she took the stage to accept the award, it felt like a win for every kid who had ever practiced their craft in a cramped basement or a dusty studio. She was the personification of her own lyrics.
The Legal Battles Nobody Talks About
Success has a dark side.
Shortly after the massive success of the Flashdance soundtrack and her album What a Feeling, Irene Cara found herself in a brutal legal war with her record label, Network Records, and its head, Al Coury. She felt she had been cheated out of millions in royalties.
It’s a story we hear too often in the music industry. A young artist signs a contract they don't fully understand, becomes a global superstar, and then realizes they aren't seeing the money. Cara sued for $10 million.
The fallout was devastating.
She was essentially blacklisted by the industry for a decade. While the song was playing on every radio station from Tokyo to New York, the woman who sang it was fighting for her professional life in court. She eventually won a settlement in the early 90s, but the momentum of her career had been stalled. It's a sobering reminder that "making it happen" involves more than just passion; it involves lawyers and accountants.
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The Song’s Legacy in Modern Pop Culture
Why are we still talking about this track in 2026?
Because it’s the ultimate "get hyped" song. It’s been covered by everyone from Global Deejays to the cast of Glee. It’s been used in countless commercials for everything from yogurt to insurance. But the original remains the gold standard.
There's a specific "80s-ness" that people crave now—a sense of earnestness. There’s no irony in What a Feeling. It’s not trying to be cool or cynical. It’s just trying to be big. In a world of "lo-fi beats to study to," sometimes you need a high-energy anthem that demands you stand up and do something.
The Technical Brilliance of the Mix
If you’re a gearhead, the production on this track is a treasure trove.
- The Linndrum: The drum machine used provides that iconic, punchy 80s snare that cuts through everything.
- The Jupiter-8: Those lush synth pads in the beginning? Most likely a Roland Jupiter-8, the king of 80s synthesizers.
- The Vocal Layering: The choruses are thick. They layered Cara’s voice multiple times to give it that "wall of sound" effect without losing the clarity of her lead vocal.
Practical Takeaways for the Modern Listener
If you’re discovering this song for the first time or revisiting it after years, there are a few things you should actually do to appreciate it fully.
First, stop listening to it through your phone speakers.
The low end on this track is surprisingly sophisticated for a 1983 pop song. You need a decent pair of headphones or a good stereo system to hear the way the bass interacts with the synth pulses. It’s what gives the song its "heartbeat."
Second, watch the 1984 Academy Awards performance.
It’s on YouTube. You can see the pure joy and the slight nerves in Cara’s performance. It’s a snapshot of a woman at the absolute peak of her powers, before the legal drama took its toll. It’s a masterclass in stage presence.
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Third, look at the credits.
People often attribute these songs to "the movie" or "the singer" alone. Realize that this was a collision of giants: Moroder, Forsey, and Cara. It’s proof that the best music usually happens when different types of genius collide—the technical precision of a producer, the lyrical grit of a songwriter, and the emotional delivery of a vocalist.
What Happened to Irene Cara?
Irene Cara passed away in November 2022.
Her death sparked a massive wave of nostalgia and a re-evaluation of her work. For a long time, she was just "the Flashdance lady." But toward the end of her life and after her passing, people started to recognize her as a trailblazer. She was a woman of color who dominated the pop charts and the film world simultaneously at a time when that was significantly harder to do than it is now.
Her influence lives on in artists like Janelle Monáe and Lady Gaga—performers who refuse to stay in one lane.
Moving Forward with the Music
To truly get the most out of the "What a Feeling" Irene Cara experience, don't just treat it as a nostalgia trip. Use it.
The song was designed to be functional. It was built to motivate. If you're working on a project, stuck in a rut, or just need to change your headspace, put this on and pay attention to the transition from the first verse to the first chorus. It’s a literal blueprint for how to build momentum.
- Listen to the full Flashdance soundtrack: It’s a time capsule of 80s electronic pop.
- Research the "Donna Summer" connection: See how Moroder used similar techniques to bridge disco and pop.
- Support independent artists: Learn from Cara’s legal battle—always read the fine print and know your worth in any creative endeavor.
The "feeling" Cara sang about wasn't just about dancing. It was about the terrifying, electric moment when you decide to actually bet on yourself. That never goes out of style.
Actionable Step: To understand the sheer vocal range required for this track, try singing along to the final chorus. You'll quickly realize how much power Irene Cara was actually putting out. For a deeper dive into the production side, look up the "Giorgio Moroder synth techniques" to see how he crafted those specific 1980s textures that still influence modern synth-wave music today.