Hopelessly_Devoted_to_You

Hopelessly Devoted to You

Hopelessly Devoted to You

1978 single by Olivia Newton-John


"Hopelessly Devoted to You" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John for Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (1978). It was written and produced by John Farrar and originally performed by Newton-John in the film version of the musical Grease (1978). The song was released in Australia in August 1978 and peaked at number two. It reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the Adult Contemporary chart.[2] On the country chart, "Hopelessly Devoted to You" peaked at number 20 and was her first top 20 country hit in two years.[3] Newton-John performed the song at the 21st Grammy Awards in 1979.[4]

Quick Facts Single by Olivia Newton-John, from the album Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture ...

The song received an Oscar nomination as Best Original Song, losing to "Last Dance" from Thank God It's Friday at the 51st Academy Awards. Lyrically, the song is about Olivia's character in the movie, Australian newcomer Sandy Olsson, singing about how she keeps loving John Travolta's character Danny Zuko, leader of a gang of greaser boys, despite him brushing her off in favor of his friends.

Record World called it "a '50s-inspired love ballad with the production sound of the '70s."[5]

In 2001, Swedish girl group Play covered the song on their debut album.

The song was not part of the original musical production (and was replaced with the 1950s standard "Since I Don't Have You" for the 1994 revival), but it was added to the score for the 2007 revival and was included in the 2016 Grease: Live performance, sung by Julianne Hough.[6]

In June 2004, Farrar recalled writing the song: "I spent the longest period writing the lyrics of any song I've ever written. Every thesaurus and every rhyming dictionary I had, just trying to really make it work properly".[7]

Background

Halfway through shooting Grease, Newton-John's contractually-entitled vocal solo had yet to be written. Farrar, Newton-John's personal producer, wrote the song and submitted it to the film's production team. They were reluctant but then approved it; shooting and recording took place after the other parts of the film had been completed.[8]

The song was used in the trailer for the Netflix miniseries The Watcher.

Charts

More information Chart (1978), Peak position ...

Certifications

More information Region, Certification ...

Sonia version

Quick Facts Single by Sonia, B-side ...
Sonia (pictured in 2008) covered the song in 1994.

In 1994, English singer Sonia took over the role of Sandy in a West End production of Grease, replacing Debbie Gibson. In conjunction, she released a cover version of the song. The single was released in July 1994 as a non-album single. It has a double A-side released as a B-side "The Anthem Medley". On the 12-inch single, "The Anthem Medley" was released as the A-side and "Hopelessly Devoted to You" as the B-side. The music video for Sonia's version of "Hopelessly Devoted to You" features Sonia walking through an old city and singing. The music video for "The Anthem Medley" features Sonia dancing and singing in a nightclub.[35] The single become her first not to reach top forty in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number sixty-one.

Formats and track listings

  • CD single
  1. "Hopelessly Devoted to You" – 2:58
  2. "The Anthem Medley" – 4:24
  3. "The Anthem Medley" (club mix) – 7:04
  4. "The Anthem Medley" (extended mix) – 6:24
  • 7-inch single
  1. "Hopelessly Devoted to You" – 2:58
  2. "The Anthem Medley" – 4:24
  • 12-inch single
  1. "The Anthem Medley" (club mix) – 7:04
  2. "The Anthem Medley" (extended mix) – 6:24
  3. "Hopelessly Devoted to You" – 2:58

Charts

More information Chart (1994), Peak position ...

References

  1. Hopelessly Devoted to You by Olivia Newton-John - Track Info | AllMusic, retrieved 23 November 2022
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 182.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 249.
  4. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 1 July 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  5. Patrick Gomez (31 January 2016). "Grease Live: Hopelessly Devoted to You Not Cut". People.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  6. Kruger, Debbie (June 2004). "The Making of Songwriters Speak". Debbie Kruger. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  7. "Hopelessly Devoted To You by Olivia Newton-John Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  8. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Olivia Newton-John". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 183. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Olivia Newton-John" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  10. "Top 100 1979-03-03". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  11. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  12. "Top Selling Singles of 1978 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 31 December 1978. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  13. "Top 100 1978 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  14. "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  15. "Single Releases". Music Week. 16 July 1994. p. 23.
  16. "Sonia Evans The Anthem Melody". YouTube. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  17. "Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 31 December 2009.

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