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.

In the spring of 1983, "Flashdance... What a Feeling" spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Irene Cara's highest charting single.

[2] Moroder wrote the music for most of the songs on the album, including "Breakdance", which Cara said was inspired by Herbie Hancock's recent number one dance hit, "Rockit".

[1] On other pop singles charts, the song hit number 4 in South Africa,[6] 10 in Canada,[7] 19 in Australia,[8] 20 in Sweden[9] and Switzerland,[10] 25 in New Zealand,[11] 53 in West Germany,[12] and 88 in the UK.