1984 No. 1 Hit Was Nominated for an Oscar, But the Singer Wasn't Allowed to Perform It at the Ceremony
Most fans know "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" as one of Phil Collins' most iconic songs. Fewer may know that its Oscar nomination led to one of the most cringe-inducing moments in Academy Awards history.
Collins' 1984 emotional power ballad, written during a painful divorce, sat in a drawer for a couple years. "It was written around the same time as 'In the Air Tonight'," he explained to Rolling Stone, "but I discarded it." Then director Taylor Hackford approached Collins about contributing a song to the soundtrack for his forthcoming film Against All Odds, a romantic thriller starring Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward.
"I was really hot at the time," Collins recalled, "and they said, 'Have you got a song for this movie of ours?' I said, 'I'm not able to do it on the road, but I have a demo of this ballad.' It was basically like saying, 'Here's $10 million. Would you want it?'"
So Collins pulled out his old heartbreak demo, finished the lyrics to match the tone of the film, and recorded it. The song that had been stuffed in a drawer for years became his first American No. 1.
In February 1984, the soft rock hit was released in the U.S. as the lead single for the Against All Odds film soundtrack and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 the same month. The movie hit theaters in March 1984, and by April, Collins' track hit No. 1, where it remained for three weeks. The song went on to win the 1985 Grammy Award for "Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male" and was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for "Best Original Song." And here's where things got exceptionally awkward for Collins.
Related: 1984 Power Anthem Became One of the Most Adrenaline-Fueled Songs of the '80s
Even after Collins rerouted his Australian tour to attend the 1985 Academy Awards ceremony, expecting to perform his nominated song like the other four nominees, producers denied him the performance. And even worse, Collins had to sit in the audience during the award show ceremony and watch dancer Ann Reinking mostly lip-sync his song around a choreographed number with dancer Gary Chryst.
"I was sitting in my seat and poor old Ann Reinking, who was singing the song, came in," Collins recalled to Playboy, "She knew I was there and knew about all the fuss that had gone on about it. And … well, she may be a dancer, but she can't sing. She was awful."
Collins' song ultimately lost the Oscar to "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder, too.
More than 40 years later, the song holds its radio presence on classic rock stations, and to date, the song has over 671 million streams on Spotify. In 1999, Mariah Carey recorded her own version of the song for her album Rainbow. In 2000, she released a second version, featuring new vocals by Irish pop group Westlife.
A torch song-written from personal heartbreak, stuffed in a drawer for a couple years, and then rescued by a filmmaker-got dragged into one of Hollywood's most awkward nights, and the lasting legacy of "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" has outlasted all of it.
Watch Ann Reinking and Gary Chryst perform "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" at the 1985 Academy Awards:
Watch the official music video for "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" by Phil Collins:
Watch Phil Collins perform "Against All Odds" live:
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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 2:41 PM.