"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" is a song co-written by Diane Warren and Albert Hammond and recorded by American rock band Starship for their second studio album, No Protection (1987). It is a power ballad duet featuring vocalists Grace Slick and Mickey Thomas and the theme to the 1987 romantic-comedy film Mannequin.
The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, Warren's first single to do so. Elsewhere, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" topped the charts in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom, where it became the second-best-selling song of 1987. "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 60th Academy Awards. A Cantonese cover, zh:敢爱敢做 by singer George Lam, briefly topped the Hong Kong charts.
The song's co-writer Albert Hammond has recorded his own version on three occasions: the first in 1989 for his Best of Me album, in 2010 as a duet with Bonnie Tyler on the album Legend, and then in 2014 as an orchestral version on the album In Symphony. The song was used as the trailer and end credits song for the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thunderbolts* (2025).
Contents
Background
In a radio interview, 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 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 has been considered "feel good" propelled by a strong synthesizer beat.
Reception
Cash Box called the song "an emotional duet by Mickie [sic] Thomas and Grace Slick" and "a blustery, expansive production."
Commercial performance
The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 on April 4, 1987. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart for four weeks and became the UK's second-best-selling song of 1987 behind "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. The song also reached the top 10 in six other European countries. It became the first chart-topping song to be written by Warren. Grace Slick, at age 47, became the oldest woman to attain a number-one single in the United States, surpassed only by Cher, who was 52 when her song "Believe" reached number one in early 1999.
Music video
The music video for "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" was released in 1987. It features clips from the film Mannequin, starring Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall, intercut with a parallel narrative of Mickey Thomas falling in love with a mannequin who comes to life, played by Grace Slick. Meshach Taylor makes a cameo reprising his film role of window dresser Hollywood Montrose, as does Narada Michael Walden, the producer of the song, who appears with the band. Towards the end of the video, viewers are shown that the band's members are also mannequins.
Track listings
7-inch single
A. "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" – 4:29
B. "Layin' It on the Line" (live at Stopher Gym, Nicholls State University) – 4:15
12-inch single
A1. "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" – 4:29
A2. "Layin' It on the Line" – 4:15
B1. "We Built This City" (special club mix) – 7:00
B2. "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" – 3:41
Personnel
Mickey Thomas – vocals
Grace Slick – vocals
Donny Baldwin – drums, backing vocals
Craig Chaquico – guitar (lead/solo only)
Pete Sears – bass
Additional personnel
Walter "Baby Love" Afanasieff – keyboards, synth bass
Narada Michael Walden – LinnDrum programming
Corrado Rustici – Charvel MIDI guitar
Robert "Bongo Bob" Smith – drum sampling and percussion
Karen "Kitty Beethoven" Brewington, Jim Gilstrap – background vocals