39 Years Ago Today, This No. 1 Hit Topped the Charts — Has Since Been Ranked Among the ‘Worst’ of the ’80s
Thirty-nine years ago today, a massive hit reached the top of the chart for the first time. Despite its 1987 success, Starship's 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now' has been named one of the worst No. 1 hits of the 1980s and has been dismissed by huge fans of the decade's music.
Starship's 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now' Hit No. 1 In April 1987
Photo by George Rose/Getty Images
Originally released on January 19, 1987, Starship's 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now' was the theme to the highly popular 1987 rom-com, Mannequin. It didn't take long for the single to become a hit after it entered the chart on January 31, 1987, and it remained for a total of 22 weeks. The track reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 4, 1987, and held the top spot for two weeks.
In addition to its record sales success, the song also received an accolade that most hits never achieve. Starship's 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now' was nominated for Best Original Song at the 60th Academy Awards, but lost to '(I've Had) The Time of My Life' from Dirty Dancing. The other songs nominated in that category were 'Cry Freedom' from Cry Freedom, 'Shakedown' from Beverly Hills Cop II, and 'Storybook Love' from The Princess Bride.
Long after being nominated for that widely respected award, the song has a very different reputation now.
The Surprising Backlash Against the Once Beloved ’80s Hit
When the website Pop Dose put together its list of the "Worst Number One Songs of the '80s," it had a lot of tracks that have aged poorly to choose from. Some of the often derided hits that made the list include Starship's 'We Built This City' as well as Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder's 'Ebony and Ivory.' 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now' by Starship was also included on that list, placing it alongside some of the most hated tracks of the 1980s.
When the subreddit r/80smusic's users began a series of votes to name the ultimate #1 song of the '80s in 2025, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" became one of the first tracks eliminated. Similarly, a website dedicated to British No. 1 hits that covered the track largely focused on modern listeners who reject the song. It argued that it appeals to people who "can tolerate the worst excesses of the 1980s." That same article described the track as "cheesy, ridiculous, over the top," while also calling it a "classic of its kind" for listeners who still enjoy that style.
'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now' isn't a constant part of lists naming the worst songs from the '80s, and it definitely has vocal fans. Still, there is no denying that it sometimes gets grouped with some of the decade's musical lowlights. Much of the criticism the track faces seems to stem from people associating it with arguably the most hated song from the decade, Starship's "We Built This City." For example, Pop Dose's article actually includes both tracks as part of the same entry, reinforcing how closely the two songs are linked in modern retrospectives that are critical.