Songwriters Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky recorded a demo of a song titled "Maniac" that they had written after Matkosky watched a news report about a serial killer, and the tape landed in the hands of Phil Ramone, who was looking for songs to use in the film Flashdance.

[2] After changing the lyrics, a new version of "Maniac" recorded by Sembello was released on the soundtrack album and went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1983.

"[5] Bossa Nova Hotel was released by Warner Bros. Records in September 1983[6] and debuted on Billboard magazine's Top LPs & Tape chart in the issue dated October 8.

[7] "Automatic Man", the first official single from the album, debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the September 24, 1983, issue, and peaked at number 34 over the course of 10 weeks.

[8] The second single – a duet with his wife Cruz called "Talk" – started its 10 weeks on the magazine's Adult Contemporary chart in the February 4, 1984, issue and got as high as number 25.