Déjà vu ( ; French "already seen"; also called paramnesia, from Greek παρα para, "near" + μνήμη mnēmē, "memory") is the experience of feeling sure that one has witnessed or experienced a new situation previously (an individual feels as though an event has already happened or has repeated itself). The term was coined by a French psychic researcher, Émile Boirac (1851-1917) in his book L'Avenir des sciences psychiques (The Future of Psychic Sciences), which expanded upon an essay he wrote while an undergraduate. The experience of déjà vu is usually accompanied by a compelling sense of familiarity, and also a sense of "eeriness", "strangeness", or "weirdness". The "previous" experience is most frequently attributed to a dream, although in some cases there is a firm sense that the experience "genuinely happened" in the past.
The experience of déjà vu seems to be very common; in formal studies 70% of people report having experienced it at least once. References to the experience of déjà vu are also found in literature of the past, indicating it is not a new phenomenon. It has been extremely difficult to invoke the déjà vu experience in laboratory settings, therefore making it a subject of few empirical studies. Recently, researchers have found ways to recreate this sensation using hypnosis.
"Deja Vu" is a 1979 soul song written by Isaac Hayes and Adrienne Anderson and recorded by Dionne Warwick in 1979. It was the second single released from her successful Arista debut album, Dionne. The song became Warwick's fifth and last top 40 single of her 1970s period and her second top 40 single following the release of "I'll Never Love This Way Again" in the five years since her #1 single, "Then Came You", which featured The Spinners.
Reaching #15 on the pop singles chart, #25 R&B and #1 on the adult-contemporary chart in early 1980, the song eventually won a Grammy for Warwick on the same night she won Best Pop Female Vocal Performance for "I'll Never Love..." winning the Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance therefore making Warwick the first artist ever to win the R&B and pop categories on the same night.
