Irene Cara
Irene Cara (born March 18, 1959 in New York ; actually Irene T. Escalera ) is an American singer and actress .
Life
Irene Cara is the daughter of a Puerto Rican and a Cuban who moved to New York in the early 1950s. There she appeared on Spanish-language radio and television as a child . At eight, she played in the Broadway - musical Maggie Flynn , the age of ten she sang along with Roberta Flack and Sammy Davis jr. in honor of Duke Ellington at Madison Square Garden . From the age of 16, she was increasingly seen in television series .
Cara first drew attention to herself in 1975 in the thriller Aaron Loves Angela . She made her final breakthrough through her participation in the feature film Fame - The Path to Fame . In it she played the role of Coco Hernandez and sang the theme song. With the single she reached number 1 on the British singles chart and number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 1982 .
Cara was similarly successful in 1983 with Flashdance… What a Feeling , the title song of the feature film Flashdance . For this she received an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1983 and a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1984 .
After 1983 there were contractual difficulties with her record company , which meant that Cara was only able to continue her singing career in 1987. After a break, Irene Cara returned to the charts in early 2001 as a guest of DJ BoBo with What a Feeling .
In mid-2005, she participated with her band Hot Caramel in the third season of the US NBC TV series Hit Me Baby One More Time . She presented Flashdance ... What a Feeling again and won. In 2006 she lived in Florida and worked with her group on a new album.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1982 | Anyone Can See | - | - | - | - |
US76 (17 weeks) US |
Producer: Ron Dante
|
| 1983 | What a feelin ' |
DE29 (8 weeks) DE |
- |
CH8 (10 weeks) CH |
- |
US77 (37 weeks) US |
Producers: Giorgio Moroder , James Newton Howard
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More albums
- 1987: Carasmatic
- 2008: M80 Movie Hits
Participation in soundtracks
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1980 | Fame | - | - | - |
UK1  (24 weeks)UK |
US7th  (82 weeks)US |
with Paul McCrane , Linda Clifford ,
Michael Gore , Parnell and Eric Brockington Producer: Michael Gore |
| 1983 | Flashdance |
DE1 (32 weeks) DE |
AT1 (24 weeks) AT |
CH1 (18 weeks) CH |
UK9 (32 weeks)UK |
US1 × 6
(86 weeks)US |
Grammy (best instrumental composition for film / TV)
with Laura Branigan , Donna Summer Kim Carnes , Michael Sembello and others. Producers: Giorgio Moroder , Phil Ramone and others |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1980 |
Fame Fame (Soundtrack) |
- | - | - |
UK1 (16 weeks)UK |
US4 (26 weeks) US |
|
| Out Here on My Own Fame (Soundtrack) |
- | - | - |
UK58 (3 weeks) UK |
US19 (23 weeks) US |
First published: August 1980
Authors: Michael Gore, Lesley Gore |
|
| 1981 | Anyone Can See Anyone Can See |
- | - | - | - |
US42 (18 weeks) US |
First published: November 1981
Authors: Bruce Roberts, Irene Cara |
| 1983 |
Flashdance ... What a Feeling What a Feelin ' |
DE3 (31 weeks) DE |
AT4 (24 weeks) AT |
CH1 (26 weeks) CH |
UK2  (14 weeks)UK |
US1 (25 weeks)US |
|
| Why Me? What a feelin ' |
DE17 (15 weeks) DE |
- |
CH4 (12 weeks) CH |
UK86 (3 weeks) UK |
US13 (15 weeks) US |
First published: October 1983
Authors: Giorgio Moroder , Irene Cara, Keith Forsey |
|
| The Dream (Hold On to Your Dream) What a Feelin ' |
- | - | - | - |
US37 (14 weeks) US |
First published: November 1983
Authors: Giorgio Moroder, Irene Cara, Pete Bellotte |
|
| 1984 | Breakdance What a Feelin ' |
DE53 (4 weeks) DE |
- |
CH20 (4 weeks) CH |
UK88 (3 weeks) UK |
US8 (19 weeks) US |
First published: March 1984
Authors: Giorgio Moroder, Irene Cara, Bunny Hull |
| You Were Made for Me What a Feelin ' |
- | - | - | - |
US78 (5 weeks) US |
First published: May 1984
Authors: Irene Cara, Eddie Brown |
|
| 2001 | What a Feeling Celebration |
DE3 (14 weeks) DE |
AT11 (13 weeks) AT |
CH2 (21 weeks) CH |
- | - | |
More singles
- 1979: Makin 'Love with Me
- 1982: My Baby (He's Something Else) (released April)
- 1987: Girlfriends (release: February)
- 1988: I Can Fly
- 1989: Love Survives (with Freddie Jackson )
- 1995: Rhythm of My Life
- 1996: You Need Me (Ti sento)
- 1997: All My Heart
- 2001: Flashdance (What a Feeling) (E-Motion feat. Irene Cara / remix from the movie " The Thin Pink Line ")
- 2005: Flashdance (What a Feeling) (Groove Lickers vs. Irene Cara)
Filmography
- 1970–1971: Love of Life (TV series)
- 1971–1972: The Electric Company (TV series, 130 episodes)
- 1975: Aaron Loves Angela
- 1976: Sparkle - The Way to Star (Sparkle)
- 1976: Kojak - deployment in Manhattan ( Kojak , TV series, an episode)
- 1976: Apple Pie
- 1977: What's Happening !! (TV series, an episode)
- 1979: Roots - The Next Generations ( Roots: The Next Generations , Miniseries or three episodes)
- 1980: The Guiana Massacre ( Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones , TV movie)
- 1980: Fame - The Road to Fame (Fame)
- 1982: Sister, Sister (TV movie)
- 1982: Killing 'em Softly
- 1983: American Playhouse (TV series, one episode)
- 1983: The Chaotenclique (DC Cab)
- 1984: City Heat - The Bull and the Snoop (City Heat)
- 1985: In the Heat of New York (Certain Fury)
- 1986: Killing Streets (Busted Up)
- 1988: Bustin 'Loose (TV series, episode)
- 1990: Happily Ever After (voice)
- 1990: Laserexil (Caged in Paradiso)
- 1991: Chicago Soul (TV series, episode)
- 1992: Hearts Are Wild (TV series, episode)
- 1992: The Adventures of Pico and Columbus (voice)
- 1995: Beyond Awareness to Action: Ending Abuse of Women (short video)
literature
- Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul . 3rd revised edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 98f - ISBN 0-312-02573-4 .
swell
- ↑ Official website of Irene Cara (English)
- ↑ a b c Chart sources: Singles Albums Flashdance (Soundtrack) UK1 UK2 UK3 US1 US2 US3
- ↑ a b The Billboard album by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
- ↑ Gold / platinum databases: UK US
Web links
- Irene Cara at Allmusic (English)
- Irene Cara at Discogs (English)
- Irene Cara in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- Irene Cara in the Internet Broadway Database (English)
- Irene Cara in the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Irene Cara at filmreference.com (English)
- Irene Cara in the German dubbing file
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cara, Irene |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Escalera, Irene T. (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American singer and actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 18, 1959 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York , NY , United States |