Fame (Irene Cara song)

"Fame" is a pop song, written by Michael Gore (music) and Dean Pitchford (lyrics) that was released in 1980, and achieved chart success as the theme song to the Fame film and TV series. The song was performed by Irene Cara, who played the role of Coco Hernandez in the original movie. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1980, and the Golden Globe Award for the same.

The tune was later used as the theme song for the Fame television series, which aired from 1982 to 1987. It was also used in other TV shows related to Fame.

Chart and sales performance
"Fame" rose to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1980. It also reached number one on the Billboard dance chart for one week. The song was not released in the United Kingdom until 1982, thus coinciding with the UK premiere of the Fame television series in the future. It hit number one in the UK Singles Chart for three weeks. It has sold 1,050,000 copies in the UK as of November 2012. The song also reached number one in Flanders, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand, and number three in Sweden.

Cover versions

 * The theme song for the Fame television series was performed by Erica Gimpel (who portrayed Coco Hernandez), and later by Loretta Chandler (who portrayed Dusty Tyler).
 * Alvin and the Chipmunks recorded a cover of this song for their 1982 album The Chipmunks Go Hollywood.
 * A French language version, "Aime", was released by Noam in 1980.
 * A Finnish-language cover version, "Me emme laske viiteen", was included on Mona Carita's 1983 album Mikä Fiilis!.
 * In 2000, a eurodance cover was recorded by Swedish session singer Nana Hedin. An audio sample can be heard on her official website.
 * A dance cover version was released by a European girl group called Models.
 * French progressive-metal band Adagio covered the song on their 2005 release entitled Dominate.
 * Japanese pop duo Pink Lady covered the song in Japanese, retitling it "Remember".
 * Nerdcore/hip hop artist Shael Riley recorded a cover, which is available for download on the internet.
 * Naturi Naughton covered the song for the 2009 film Fame, reaching #33 in the UK chart.
 * A Turkish-language cover version, "Unutma / Don't forget", was included on group Hepsi's 2010 album Geri Dönüşüm.

Live cover performances

 * Kristen Bell, star of Veronica Mars, performed "Fame" at the 2005 Emmy Awards.
 * Willa Ford, pop singer and reality star, performed "Fame" on the November 1, 2006 result show of the ABC show Dancing with the Stars.
 * Dame Edna and Sophie Ellis-Bextor also did a live cover of this song
 * Nadine Coyle, from Girls Aloud, performed the song as a part of a medley in the 2006 Chemistry Tour.

Appearances in other media

 * The song was featured as the theme song to the 2003 NBC reality talent show Fame under a new vocal.
 * The song is licensed to reality talent show format Star Academy, where it has been featured as a theme song in some of its franchises, including Fame Academy in the UK, Fame Story in Greece, and Star Academy in Bulgaria.
 * "Fame" was one of the song stages featured in the Nintendo DS game, Maestro! Jump in Music.
 * "Fame" was one of the songs covered by The Dan Band in the 2009 comedy film, The Hangover.
 * "Fame" is a playable song the 2009 video game, "Just Dance (video game)".
 * The late Randy Savage used "Fame" as his theme song during his tenure in IWC.