Magic (Olivia Newton-John song)
Encyclopedia
"Magic" is a hit 1980 song performed by Olivia Newton-John
, from the soundtrack
to the film Xanadu
. The song was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
charts for four weeks beginning on 2 August 1980. It also reached a high of #4 on the Australian charts and #32 in the UK.
The B-sides depend on the label: "Fool Country" (also from Xanadu but not on the OST) is the B-side of the MCA release; "Whenever You're Away From Me" (with Gene Kelly
) is the B-side of the Jet release.
" ruled the Hot 100 for ten weeks beginning in November 1981. Billboard magazine ranked "Magic" as the third most popular single of 1980, behind only "Call Me
" by Blondie
and "Another Brick in the Wall
" by Pink Floyd
.
Everybody working on this project has volunteered their time and talent, all proceeds are being donated to Olivia's charity, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre.
Olivia was presented the world premiere of the song on australian Dancing with the Stars
on Sunday 22 May 2011. The song was released exclusively on australian iTunes
, also on Sunday 22 May.
, Australia
, 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. The video is directed by DJ Dan Murphy.
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
, from the soundtrack
Xanadu (Soundtrack)
Xanadu is the soundtrack of the 1980 musical film of the same name, featuring the Australian singer Olivia Newton-John and the Britsh group Electric Light Orchestra....
to the film Xanadu
Xanadu (film)
Xanadu is a 1980 romantic musical fantasy film written by Marc Reid Rubel and directed by Robert Greenwald. The title is a reference to the poem "Kubla Khan, or, A Vision in a Dream: A Fragment" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which is quoted in the film. Xanadu is the name of the Chinese province...
. The song was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
charts for four weeks beginning on 2 August 1980. It also reached a high of #4 on the Australian charts and #32 in the UK.
The B-sides depend on the label: "Fool Country" (also from Xanadu but not on the OST) is the B-side of the MCA release; "Whenever You're Away From Me" (with Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
) is the B-side of the Jet release.
Chart performance
"Magic" became Newton-John's biggest Adult Contemporary hit to date, and her biggest pop hit until "PhysicalPhysical (Olivia Newton-John song)
"Physical" is a song by Australian pop singer Olivia Newton-John, released in September 1981. The song was an immediate success, shipping 2 million copies in the United States, being certified Platinum, and spending 10 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, ultimately becoming Newton-John's...
" ruled the Hot 100 for ten weeks beginning in November 1981. Billboard magazine ranked "Magic" as the third most popular single of 1980, behind only "Call Me
Call Me (Blondie song)
"Call Me" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie. Released in 1980, "Call Me" topped the singles charts in both the US and the UK ....
" by Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
and "Another Brick in the Wall
Another Brick in the Wall
"Another Brick in the Wall" is the title of three songs set to variations of the same basic theme, on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera, The Wall, subtitled Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3...
" by Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
.
Formats and track listings
-
- MCAMCA RecordsMCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
vinyl single
- MCA
- "Magic" – 4:25
- "Fool Country" – 2:29
-
- JetJet RecordsJet Records was a small British record label set up by Don Arden with artists like Electric Light Orchestra , Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Riot and Magnum. The first release on the "Jet Records" label was "No Honestly", a UK top 10 for its singer and writer Lynsey De Paul in November 1974...
vinyl single
- Jet
- "Magic" – 4:25
- "Whenever You're Away From Me" – 4:22
Charts
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (KMP Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... ) Singles Chart |
4 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 20 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
1 |
| German Singles Chart | 36 |
| Japanese (Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... ) Singles Chart |
43 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 4 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 12 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
32 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 1 |
2011 version
"Magic (Peach & Murphy remix)" is a new remix of 1980 song. In May 2011 the song has been remixed by two Aussies - DJ Dan Murphy and Steve Peach - to create a brand new dance version of the song. Olivia went back to the studio to re-sing the vocals and the new version is uplifting and very radio-friendly. The version was sponsored by WACCI, a humanitarian group.Everybody working on this project has volunteered their time and talent, all proceeds are being donated to Olivia's charity, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre.
Olivia was presented the world premiere of the song on australian Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
on Sunday 22 May 2011. The song was released exclusively on australian iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, also on Sunday 22 May.
Music video
A video was shot for the new remix in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 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. The video is directed by DJ Dan Murphy.
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... ) Singles Chart |
79 |
| Australia (ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... ) Australian Singles Chart |
10 |
| Australia (ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... ) Dance Chart |
19 |
Covers
- A new version of the song by Stimulator is used in commercials for Macy'sMacy'sMacy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
. This cover was also used in the film Ella EnchantedElla Enchanted (film)Ella Enchanted is a 2004 British-American romantic-comedy film loosely based on Gail Carson Levine's 1997 novel of the same name. The film stars Anne Hathaway as Ella and Hugh Dancy as Prince Charmont. It plays with the usual fairy-tale genre...
and appeared on the film's soundtrack. - Meaghan Jette MartinMeaghan Jette MartinMeaghan Jette Martin is an American actress and singer, who is known for her role as Tess Tyler in the Disney Channel original movies Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam...
recorded a cover of this song to the soundtrackWizards of Waverly Place (soundtrack)- Bonus content :Bonus content for the physical CD for Wizards of Waverly Place includes exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews with Gomez and also the new music video for "Magic".-International Release:...
of Wizards of Waverly PlaceWizards of Waverly PlaceWizards of Waverly Place is a Disney Channel Original Series that premiered on October 12, 2007. It won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009...
. - Swedish singer Sanna NielsenSanna NielsenSanna Viktoria Nielsen is a Swedish singer. She comes from Bromölla in Skåne, Southern Sweden.-Career:At the age of eleven she reached the number one spot on the Svensktoppen Charts with the song "Till en fågel". At that time, she sung with the dansband Mats Elmes. She participated in...
also recorded a cover of the song on her 2008 album Stronger. - The song also performed on musical versionXanadu (musical)Xanadu is a musical comedy with a book by Douglas Carter Beane, music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, based on the 1980 cult classic film of the same name which was, in turn, inspired by the 1947 Rita Hayworth film Down to Earth. The title is a reference to the poem, Kubla Khan, or A...
of XanaduXanadu (film)Xanadu is a 1980 romantic musical fantasy film written by Marc Reid Rubel and directed by Robert Greenwald. The title is a reference to the poem "Kubla Khan, or, A Vision in a Dream: A Fragment" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which is quoted in the film. Xanadu is the name of the Chinese province...
. - The song briefly appears during GleeGlee (TV series)Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
s first season finale, "Journey to Regionals", when a school show choir performs a mash-up of Olivia Newton-John's "Magic" and Josh GrobanJosh GrobanJoshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
's "You Raise Me UpYou Raise Me Up"You Raise Me Up" was the debut single from Westlife's fifth studio album, Face To Face.This version is considered by many to be the most popular , of all the various versions of the same song. The single peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's 13th Number One. It was the first...
". The two also appear as judges in that episode.
See also
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1980 (U.S.)
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1980 (U.S.)
- Cashbox Top 100 number-one singles of 1980Cashbox Top 100 number-one singles of 1980These are the number-one hits on the Top 100 Singles chart in 1980 as published by Cash Box magazine.-References:*http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/randypny4/cashbox/1980.html*http://www.cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1980.html...