Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
Encyclopedia
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" is a #1 hit song co-written by Albert Hammond
and Diane Warren
, recorded by Starship. Featured as the theme to the romantic comedy film Mannequin
, it hit #1 in the Billboard Hot 100
on April 4, 1987 and reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart
for four weeks the following month and became the UK's 2nd biggest selling single of 1987. At the time, it made Grace Slick
the oldest female artist to have a number one single in the United States, though the record was later broken by Cher
's "Believe
" in 1999. The song also received an Oscar
nomination for "Best Original Song
" at the 60th Academy Awards
. In addition to appearing on the Mannequin soundtrack, the song was also released on Starship's album No Protection in 1987.
when reviewing some of acts back to the viewers.
The song has been considered "feel good" propelled by a strong synthesizer beat while the lyrics "banal yet effective."
The song had played a major role in 1993 for the Montreal Canadiens
NHL
team during their 24th conquest of the Stanley Cup. While driving home after a lost game, head coach Jacques Demers heard the song playing on the radio and realised it was an empowering song. The next day, he brought to the Montreal Forum
a cassette tape
with the song on it and distributed among players a small card saying "We're on a mission, nothing's gonna stop us". They soon started to win. He played the song throughout all the playoff games and they eventually won the Stanley Cup that year.
Albert Hammond
Albert Hammond OBE is a British singer, songwriter and record producer from Gibraltar.-Birth and early success:Hammond was born in London, England, where his family had been evacuated to from Gibraltar during World War II. His family returned to Gibraltar shortly after his birth, and there he grew...
and Diane Warren
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
, recorded by Starship. Featured as the theme to the romantic comedy film Mannequin
Mannequin (1987 film)
Mannequin is a 1987 romantic comedy film, starring Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Meshach Taylor, James Spader, G. W. Bailey, and Estelle Getty...
, it hit #1 in the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on April 4, 1987 and reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
for four weeks the following month and became the UK's 2nd biggest selling single of 1987. At the time, it made Grace Slick
Grace Slick
Grace Slick is an American singer and songwriter, who was one of the lead singers of the rock groups The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Starship, and was a solo artist, for nearly three decades, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s...
the oldest female artist to have a number one single in the United States, though the record was later broken by Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
's "Believe
Believe (Cher song)
"Believe" is a song by American recording artist Cher. It was released on November 24, 1998 as the lead single from her twenty-third studio album of the same name. It was written by Brian Higgins, Stuart McLennen, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Matthew Gray, and Timothy Powell and produced by Mark...
" in 1999. The song also received an Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination for "Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
" at the 60th Academy Awards
60th Academy Awards
The 60th Academy Awards were presented April 11, 1988 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was the first to be held there since the 20th Academy Awards...
. In addition to appearing on the Mannequin soundtrack, the song was also released on Starship's album No Protection in 1987.
History
In a radio interview, Albert Hammond said that the idea for the song came from his impending marriage to his live-in girlfriend of seven years, after his divorce from his previous wife was finalized. He had said to Diane Warren, "It's almost like they've stopped me from marrying this woman for seven years, and they haven't succeeded. They're not gonna stop me doing it."The song in recent years has been played as a "backing song" on the show The X FactorThe X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
when reviewing some of acts back to the viewers.
The song has been considered "feel good" propelled by a strong synthesizer beat while the lyrics "banal yet effective."
The song had played a major role in 1993 for the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
team during their 24th conquest of the Stanley Cup. While driving home after a lost game, head coach Jacques Demers heard the song playing on the radio and realised it was an empowering song. The next day, he brought to the Montreal Forum
Montreal Forum
The Montreal Forum was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by Sporting News, it was home of the National Hockey League's Montreal Maroons from 1924 to 1938 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1926 to 1996...
a cassette tape
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
with the song on it and distributed among players a small card saying "We're on a mission, nothing's gonna stop us". They soon started to win. He played the song throughout all the playoff games and they eventually won the Stanley Cup that year.
Track listings
7" single- "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" – 4:29
- "Layin' It on the Line" (live at Stopher Gym, Louisiana State University) – 4:15
Peak positions
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 16 |
| German Singles Chart | 3 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 4 |
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 16 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (1987) | Position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 17 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 9 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 8 |
| UK Singles Chart | 2 |
| US Billboard Top 100 | 5 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Gold | April 22, 1987 | 50,000 |
| Sweden | Gold | September 7, 1987 | 10,000 |
| UK | Gold | June 1, 1987 | 500,000 |
| U.S. | Gold | February 24, 1989 | 500,000 |
Chart successions
Cover versions
- George LamGeorge LamGeorge Lam Chi Cheung, also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer and actor of Xinhui area origin. Lam studied at the Diocesan Boys' School in Kowloon, Hong Kong...
, a Hong Kong singer, recorded a cover version in CantoneseCantoneseCantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...
for his album in 1987.(Chinese name of the song:敢愛敢做) - Liliane Saint-PierreLiliane Saint-PierreLiliane Saint Pierre is a Belgian singer of Dutch language.Saint Pierre was born in Molenstede, Flemish Brabant. She started her career in the 1960s when she was 13 years old and her great hit was We gotta stop sung in Dutch. She has sung several songs in English and Dutch. At that time she sang...
recorded a Flemish-language cover version of this song, titled Eeuwig Van Je Houden. - This song was covered by American Pop-punk band 'The Losers Bracket' in 2002.
- The ShadowsThe ShadowsThe Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
did an instrumental version on their album Reflection (1990). - This song has been covered by American pop punkPop punkPop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
band The Starting LineThe Starting LineThe Starting Line is an American pop punk band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that formed in 1999.- Formation and history :In 1999, the band that would become The Starting Line was initiated in Churchville, Pennsylvania via an e-mail from guitarist Matt Watts to vocalist/bassist Kenny Vasoli...
on their 2001 EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
With Hopes of Starting OverWith Hopes of Starting Over-Credits:*Mike Golla – guitar*Tom Gryskiewicz – drums*Kenny Vasoli – vocals, bass*Matt Watts – guitar...
on the Drive-Thru RecordsDrive-Thru RecordsDrive-Thru Records, established in 1996, was a California-based record label owned by siblings Richard and Stefanie Reines. It has produced various pop punk bands, many with a distinct SoCal sound....
label. - Pop project Mandy & Randy covered the song in 2003 with a music video featuring a small cartoonish CGIComputer-generated imageryComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
couple at the beach. - This song was covered by FilipinoPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
acousticAcoustic musicAcoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
band MYMPMYMPM.Y.M.P. is an acoustic band act from the Philippines, which consists of five members. Their career started when Raymond Ryan, a station manager of iFm watched one of their gigs, and met up with a producer to produce their 2003 debut album, Soulful Acoustic, which has since been certified...
on their 2006 album New HorizonNew Horizon (MYMP album)New Horizon is a music album of Philippine acoustic band MYMP . It was released under Ivory Records.-Track listing and duration:#With You - 3:23#Only Reminds Me Of You - 4:21... - Same DifferenceSame DifferenceSame Difference can refer to:* Same Difference, a British singing duo* Same Difference , an album by Swedish death metal band Entombed* Same Difference , a show which aired on Channel 4...
included a cover of the song on their debut album: PopPop (Same Difference album)Pop is the debut studio album from British pop duo and 2007 The X Factor finalists Same Difference. The album was released on December 1, 2008 by Syco Records.-Background:...
in 2008.
Live cover performances
- The song was performed by Anthony KavanaghKavanaKavana is a British singer and actor.-Career:He released two albums Kavana and Instinct and enjoyed a number of chart singles including "Crazy Chance"...
and Alison Crawford during the UK talent-search show Grease is the WordGrease Is the WordGrease Is the Word was the UK version of NBCs Grease: You're the One that I Want!. It aired during Spring/Summer 2007, and was produced by Syco TV ....
. - The song was performed on The X FactorThe X Factor (UK series 4)The fourth UK series of The X Factor was broadcast on ITV in autumn 2007. The first show aired on 18 August 2007 and the series was won by Leon Jackson on 15 December 2007, with Rhydian Roberts the runner-up and Dannii Minogue emerging as the winning mentor...
by Same DifferenceSame DifferenceSame Difference can refer to:* Same Difference, a British singing duo* Same Difference , an album by Swedish death metal band Entombed* Same Difference , a show which aired on Channel 4...
, who later featured the song on their debut album: PopPop (Same Difference album)Pop is the debut studio album from British pop duo and 2007 The X Factor finalists Same Difference. The album was released on December 1, 2008 by Syco Records.-Background:...
.