Magic (Olivia Newton-John song)

"Magic" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for the soundtrack to the 1980 musical fantasy film Xanadu, which starred Newton-John and Gene Kelly. Written and produced by Newton-John's frequent collaborator John Farrar, "Magic" was released as the soundtrack's lead single in May 1980 and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks beginning on August 2.^[4] On August 30, it was displaced from the top by Christopher Cross's "Sailing".

"Magic"
Picture sleeve of the US and Australasian releases
Single by Olivia Newton-John
from the album Xanadu
B-side	"Fool Country" (US) "Whenever You're Away from Me" (UK)
Released	May 1980 (US) August 1980 (UK)
Recorded	1979
Studio	Musicland (Munich, Germany)
Genre	Pop[1] disco[2] soft rock[3]
Length	4:31
Label	MCA (US) Jet (UK)
Songwriter(s)	John Farrar
Producer(s)	John Farrar
Olivia Newton-John singles chronology
"Rest Your Love on Me" (1980) "Magic" (1980) "Xanadu" (1980)

In Canada, "Magic" spent two weeks at No. 1 on the RPM Top Singles chart, and also reached No. 4 in Australia and No. 32 in the United Kingdom. "Magic" became Newton-John's biggest Billboard Adult Contemporary hit, spending five weeks at the top of the chart, and also topped the RPM Adult Contemporary chart for a week.^[5] Billboard ranked "Magic" as the third most popular single of 1980, behind only "Call Me" by Blondie and "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" by Pink Floyd.

Record World called "Magic" an "infectious pop ballad [that] has a big beat production treatment".^[1]

Both US and UK B-sides also appear in Xanadu:

• US: "Fool Country" is one of three single B-sides to appear in the film but not on the soundtrack. This is featured in the nightclub grand opening segment following the film's title track and before its reprise.
• UK: "Whenever You're Away from Me" (a duet with co-star Gene Kelly), also appears as the B-side of the US "Xanadu" single.

Track listing and formats

All tracks written and produced by John Farrar.

• US 7-inch vinyl single (MCA Records)

A1. "Magic" – 4:25

B1. "Fool Country" – 2:29

• UK 7-inch vinyl single (Jet Records)

A1. "Magic" – 4:25

B1. "Whenever You're Away from Me" – 4:22

Personnel

• Olivia Newton-John – lead and backing vocals
• John Farrar – electric guitars, electric piano, synthesizers and backing vocals
• David Hungate – bass
• Carlos Vega – drums and percussion

Additional personnel

• Strings arranged and conducted by Richard Hewson
• David J. Holman – engineering and mixing

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1980) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 4 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 20 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 1 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[8] 1 Germany (GfK) 36 Japan (Oricon) 43 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 12 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 4 South Africa (Springbok)[10] 5 Sweden 12 UK Singles (OCC) 32 US Billboard Hot 100[11] 1 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[12] 1 US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[13] 1 Chart (2022) Peak position Canada Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[14] 37 US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[15] 11

Year-end charts Chart (1980) Rank position Australia (Kent Music Report)[16][17] 30 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[18] 10 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 36 US Billboard Hot 100[20] 3 All-time charts Chart (1958–2018) Rank position US Billboard Hot 100[21] 376

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[22]	Platinum	100,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

2011 version

"Magic (Peach & DJ Dan Murphy remix)"
Single by Olivia Newton-John featuring Wacci
Released	22 May 2011
Genre	Electropop, dance-pop
Length	3:37
Songwriter(s)	John Farrar
Producer(s)	DJ Dan Murphy, Steve Peach
Olivia Newton-John featuring Wacci singles chronology
"Help Me to Heal" (2010) "Magic (Peach & DJ Dan Murphy remix)" (2011) "When You Wish upon a Star" (2011)
Music video
"Magic (Peach & DJ Dan Murphy remix)" on YouTube

"Magic (Peach & DJ Dan Murphy remix)" is a remix of the song. In May 2011, it was remixed by two Australians, DJ Dan Murphy and Steve Peach, to create a dance version. Newton-John went back to the studio to re-sing the vocals. The version was sponsored by WACCI, a humanitarian group.

Everybody who worked on the project volunteered their time, with all proceeds being donated to Newton-John's charity, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre.

Newton-John was presented the world premiere of the song on the Australian edition of Dancing with the Stars on Sunday May 22, 2011. The song was released exclusively on Australian iTunes that same day.

Music video

A video was shot for the new remix in Sydney in an attempt to break the Guinness Book World Record for largest cast in a music video by featuring 350 people. Newton-John does not appear in the video, which was directed by DJ Dan Murphy.

Chart performance

Chart	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[23]	79
Australia Dance (ARIA)	19
Australia Independent (AIR)[24]	8

Cover versions

• The song is included in the film Xanadu and also the Xanadu musical.
• A version of the song by Stimulator was used in commercials for Macy's.^[25] This cover was also used in the film Ella Enchanted and appeared on the film's soundtrack.
• Another updated version of the song was performed by Meaghan Martin for the Disney Channel Original Movie Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie. It was subsequently included on the television series and the film's soundtrack album.
• In 2015, the singer/pianist character, portrayed by Martha Wainwright, performed the song in Part I of the HBO mini-series Olive Kitteridge.
• In 2015 Newton-John teamed with her daughter Chloe Lattanzi and Dave Aude to rework the song's chorus into a new recording, "You Have to Believe". The song went to number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart.^[26]
• Juliana Hatfield covered the song on her album Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John.^[27]
• In 2018, Delta Goodrem performed the song in the mini-series Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You and the accompanying soundtrack album, I Honestly Love You.

See also

• List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 1980
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1980
• List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1980

References

1. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 24 May 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
2. Molanphy, Chris (17 April 2021). "Taylor's Version of Country Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
3. Sendejas Jr., Jesse (7 August 2014). "The '70s' Seven Sexiest Soft-Rock Songs". Houston Press.
4. "The 15 best Olivia Newton-John songs" Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
5. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 217. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
7. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
8. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 26 July 1980. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
9. "Top40Hitdossier.nl". top40.nl. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
10. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
11. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
12. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 182.
13. "Top 100 1980-08-16". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
14. "Canadian Digital Song Sales: Week of August 20, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
15. "CU.S Digital Song Sales: Week of August 20, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
16. "National Top 100 Singles for 1980". Kent Music Report. 5 January 1981. Retrieved 17 January 2022 – via Imgur.
17. Steffen Hung. "Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
18. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
19. "Top Selling Singles of 1980 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 31 December 1980. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
20. "Pop Singles" Billboard December 20, 1980: TIA-10
21. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
22. "Billboard Vol. 94, No. 23: Majors Flight Economics with Quirky Rock Originals". Billboard. 6 December 1982. p. A-NZ 8. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
23. "Trove - Archived webpage" (PDF). Trove. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
24. "Independent Label Singles 15 August 2022". Australian Independent Record Labels Association. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
25. Free-press-release.com Stimulator signs deal with Macy's for their "Find Your Magic" campaign
26. "Hot Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
27. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

External links

• Olivia Newton-John - Magic on YouTube