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"Maniac"
Single by Michael Sembello from the album Flashdance Original Soundtrack
Released	1983
Format	7"
Genre	Dance
Length	4:12
Label	EMI
Writer	Dennis Matkosky and Michael Sembello
Producer	Phil Ramone
Michael Sembello singles chronology
- "Maniac" (1983) "Automatic Man" (1983)

The song was used in the 1983 film Flashdance and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The film Maniac was about a serial killer who stalks his victims in New York City. The song's performer and co-writer Michael Sembello recalls that an early version of the chorus was:

He's a maniac, maniac that's for sure,

He will kill your cat and nail him to the door.

At the suggestion of the record's producer Phil Ramone, the lyrics were rewritten to describe a girl with a passion for dancing. The lyrics became:

She's a maniac, maniac on the floor

And she's dancing like she's never danced before.

"Maniac" appears during an early scene in Flashdance and is used as the backing track of a montage sequence showing Alex (Jennifer Beals) training hard in her converted warehouse.

The song was included in Flashdance after Sembello's wife sent a tape to executives at Paramount Pictures who were looking for music to use in the film.

Michael Sembello - "Maniac"

listen to a clip from the track.

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The song was covered by Måns Zelmerlöw in 2007 and released as a single from his debut album "Stand by for".

Maniac reached number one in the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1983, and is one of the highest grossing songs ever written for a film. The Original Soundtrack of Flashdance won the 1984 Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for A Motion Picture or a Television Special.

The song was nominated for an Academy Award, but was disqualified since the original version had not been written for the film. Michael Sembello states on the website Songfacts that the decision "pisses me off to this day." Another song from the film, "Flashdance... What a Feeling" performed by Irene Cara, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1984.

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The song was sung by Groundskeeper Willie in "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpialad'ohcious", a 1997 episode of The Simpsons.
• In the Family Guy episode "The King Is Dead" broadcast in 2000, Peter tells Dianne Simmons that her character is "Just a steel town girl on a Saturday night, looking for the fight of her life", the opening line of the song "Maniac". The costumes and dancing in the episode also parody the film.
• The song was used in the dance-off between Stifler and Bear in the 2003 film American Pie 3.
• Chris Farley sang the song in the 1995 film Tommy Boy while being hosed down by Rob Lowe, after becoming covered in mud due to an errant attempt at cow-tipping.
• The French avant-garde metal duo Carnival in Coal included a cover of the song on their album French Cancan.
• An a cappella rendition was sung by Ted's Band in the television comedy series Scrubs.
• The song was parodied in the King Of The Hill episode "Meet The Propaniacs".
• A parody version of the song was used for an advert advertising the UK directory enquiry company "118". The lyrics were changed to " 118, 118 on the phone. Texting like we never did before."
• Metalcore band Evergreen Terrace released a cover of this song on their 2004 album Writer's Block.

• Songfacts - Maniac by Michael Sembello