You're the One That I Want

For the 2007 American reality TV competition show, see Grease: You're the One That I Want!

"You're the One That I Want" is a song performed by American actor and singer John Travolta and Anglo-Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John for the 1978 film version of the musical Grease. It was written and produced by John Farrar, and released in 1978 by RSO Records as the second single from Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture. The song is one of the best-selling singles in history to date, having sold over 4 million copies in the United States and the United Kingdom alone, with estimates of more than 15 million copies sold overall.^[4][5][6][7]

"You're the One That I Want"
Single by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
from the album Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture
B-side	"Alone at a Drive-In Movie" (instrumental)
Released	March 1978 (US) May 1978 (UK)
Recorded	1977–1978
Studio	Recorded and Mixed by David J. Holman at Heider Studios and United/Western Studio
Genre	Pop[1] bubblegum pop[2]
Length	2:49
Label	RSO
Songwriter(s)	John Farrar
Producer(s)	John Farrar
Olivia Newton-John singles chronology
"Don't Cry for Me Argentina" (1977) "You're the One That I Want" (1978) "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (1978)
John Travolta singles chronology
"Razzamatazz" (1977) "You're the One That I Want" (1978) "Summer Nights" (1978)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	Favorable[3]

Background

"You're the One That I Want" was one of the two singles, along with "Hopelessly Devoted to You", that Farrar wrote specifically for Newton-John's appearance in the film that had not been in the original stage musical. Randal Kleiser, the film's director, was not fond of this song because he felt that it did not mesh well with the rest of the Warren Casey-Jim Jacobs score and the fifties style musically or lyrically.^[8]

Record World called it "a frantic, up-tempo duet between the two stars that is bound to leave listeners breathless."^[9]

Synopsis

Danny Zuko (Travolta), leader of the T-Birds, has recently lettered in cross-country running in an effort to win back his estranged girlfriend Sandy Olsson (Newton-John); unbeknownst to him, Sandy, who has been conflicted about her upright and proper etiquette in a school full of brash greasers, has herself transformed into a greaser queen to win back Danny. In the song, Danny expresses pleasant shock and arousal at Sandy's transformation, with Sandy responding that Danny must "shape up" to prove himself capable of treating her the right way.

The song originally written at this point in the original musical, "All Choked Up" (which had previously replaced a song titled "Kiss It"), was similar in theme, but different in style, written as a pastiche of Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" and with Sandy being more provocative. "All Choked Up" was one of two songs from the Jacobs/Casey score that was excised completely from both the film and the film's soundtrack. Most 21st-century performances of the musical also include "You're the One That I Want" instead of "All Choked Up".

Chart performance

Upon its release in conjunction with the film (and its status as a potential blockbuster worldwide), the single became a huge international hit, reaching number one in several countries.

In the United States, the single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100^[10] and on July 18 was certified Platinum for shipments exceeding 2 million copies.^[11] (It was already Gold by April 12.)^[11]

It also topped the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks in the summer of 1978, some months before the film had even been released in that country.^[12] As of 2018, it is still the fifth best-selling single of all time in the United Kingdom, where it has sold two million copies.^[13]

In Australia, the single spent nine nonconsecutive weeks at the top and became the best charting single of the year.^[14]

1998 re-release

A re-released "Martian remix" of the single by PolyGram Records reached #4 in the United Kingdom^[12] and #27 in Australia in 1998, the twentieth anniversary of the film's debut.

In popular culture

The song was used as the musical background for a fight scene inside a car in the 2024 Marvel film Deadpool & Wolverine.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1978–1979) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[15] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[16] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[17] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[18] 2 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[20] 1 Italy (Musica e dischi)[21] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[22] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[23] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[24] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[25] 1 Portugal (Musica & Som)[26] 3 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[27] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 1 UK Singles (OCC)[30] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[31] 1 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[32] 23 US Cash Box Top 100[33] 3 US CHR/Pop Airplay (Radio & Records)[34][35] 3 West Germany (GfK)[36] 1 Chart (1998) Peak position Australia (ARIA) 27 UK Singles (OCC) 4 Chart (2022) Peak position Canada Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[37] 25 US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[38] 17 UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[39] 38

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report)[40] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[41] 14 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[42] 2 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[43] 17 UK Singles (OCC)[44] 2 US Billboard Hot 100 [45] 13 US Cash Box Top 100[46] 9

Sales and certifications

}

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium	—	170,000[47]
Denmark physical	—	14,000[48]
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[49] reissue	Platinum	90,000‡
France (SNEP)[50]	Gold	1,800,000[51]
Germany (BVMI)[52]	Gold	500,000^
Ireland	—	25,000[53]
Italy (FIMI)[54] sales since 2009	Gold	35,000‡
Netherlands (NVPI)[55]	Platinum	200,000[56]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[57]	Platinum	60,000‡
Sweden	—	10,000[48]
United Kingdom (BPI)[58]	Platinum	2,072,035[59]
United States (RIAA)[60]	Platinum	4,000,000[61]
Summaries
Worldwide	—	15,000,000[7]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

"You're the One That I Want"
Single by Craig McLachlan and Debbie Gibson
from the album Grease – Original London Cast Recording
Released	1993
Length	3:27
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	John Farrar
Debbie Gibson singles chronology
"Free Me" (1993) "You're the One That I Want" (1993) "For Better or Worse" (1995)
Craig McLachlan singles chronology
"Time Warp" (1992) "You're the One That I Want" (1993) "Grease" (1993)

British comedians Arthur Mullard and Hylda Baker also released a version of the song in 1978. Their version reached No. 22 in the United Kingdom.^[12]

In 1978, the German comedians Dieter Hallervorden and Helga Feddersen released a parody version under the title "Du, die Wanne ist voll". The song reached position number four in the German charts.^[62]

Also in 1978, the Swedish crooner Svante Thuresson released a version in Swedish under the title "Det är dej jag vill ha". The song reached position number four in the Svensktoppen.^[63]

Also in 1978, Finnish singers and siblings Anna and Kirka Babitzin released a Finnish version translated by Pertti Reponen, "Sinut haluan vain" ("I Only Want You").^[64]

In 1993, Epic Records released the London cast recording, Grease – Original London Cast Recording, and "You're the One That I Want" was issued as the lead single by Craig McLachlan and Debbie Gibson (Epic UK 659 522, released July 1993).^{[citation needed]} It peaked at number thirteen on the UK Singles Chart,^[12] number 24 on the UK Airplay chart,^[65] and number 43 on the Eurochart Hot 100.^[66]

In 2010, Angus & Julia Stone released a cover of the song on the track list of their single "Big Jet Plane. In 2012, the song peaked at No. 21 on the UK Independent Singles Chart.^[67]

In 2021, American rapper and singer Doja Cat performed the song in a commercial for Pepsi to promote their "Soda Shop" line.^[68]

Reworked versions of the song are featured in Autumn 2023 and Spring 2024 commercials for British home furnishings retailer Dunelm.^[69][70][71]

See also

• List of best-selling singles
• List of best-selling singles in France
• List of best-selling singles in the United Kingdom
• Grease: You're the One that I Want! – a reality game show where contestants competed to star on a Broadway-style revival of the musical
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1978 (U.S.)

References

1. Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2024. In the movie, the frothy pop song gives voice to the final turning point in the relationship between Travolta's Danny and Newton-John's Sandy.
2. Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (July 17, 2000). "Sweathog Nation: Bubblegum". Night Moves - Pop Music in the Late 70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-312-19821-3.
3. Joe Viglione. "You're the One That I Want – Olivia Newton-John,John Travolta – Song Info". AllMusic.
4. Grein, Paul (August 26, 1978). "Billboard Vol. 90, No. 34". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved June 8, 2012. "You're the One That I Want" and "Shadow Dancing" each did 2.5 million

   • "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John; 'You're The One That I Want')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
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