"The Flame" is a hit power ballad by Cheap Trick, released on July 25, 1988. The song was first offered to English singer Elkie Brooks, who turned it down. Written by Bob Mitchell and Nick Graham, the song was initially released on Cheap Trick's Lap of Luxuryalbum. "The Flame" reached number one on the American Billboard Hot 100 in 1988 when issued as a single; it also reached number one in Australia. The success of the song brought the group out of a years-long commercial slump and back into music industry prominence.

According to lead vocalist Robin Zander, "The band was very skeptical about performing this song live, because we only liked to perform songs written by us. However, a young man from, oh, I don't know, somewhere, confirmed to us after a show in Florida about a week after the song was released that the song was great and, get this, would be a #1 single. As we joked about the guy's prediction, we later realized whoa! This guy was right. I thank him for that."

"The Flame" was covered in 1998 by electronic dance music singer Erin Hamilton. Included on her 1999 album One World, the song was a top-twenty hit on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. Nine years later, the song was remixed and re-released as "The Flame 08" and this version went to number one on the U.S. dance chart, becoming Hamilton's first chart-topper.

In 2004, "The Flame" was performed on the second season of Australian Idolby eventual winner Casey Donovan on the Final 6 80's theme night. Donovan recorded the song as her cover song on the series cast album, Australian Idol Season 2 The Final 10 Cast Album.