Fame (Irene Cara song)

"Fame"
Song
B-side	"Red Light"

"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 movie 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 and the Golden Globe Award for the same.

"Fame" rose to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1980. It also rose to #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for one week, and also topped the ARC Weekly Top 40 chart. The song was not released in the United Kingdom until 1982, so it would coincide with the UK premiere of the Fame television series. It hit #1 for three weeks.

Cover versions

• A dance cover was released by a European pop group called Models.
• Willa Ford, pop singer and reality star, performed "Fame" on the November 1, 2006 result show of the ABC show Dancing with the Stars.
• Kristen Bell, star of Veronica Mars, performed "Fame" at the 2005 Emmy Awards.
• The song has also been featured prominently in the reality shows Fame and Fame Academy.
• French progressive-metal band Adagio covered the song on their 2005 release titled Dominate.
• Japanese pop duo Pink Lady covered the song in Japanese.