You're the One That I Want

"You're the One That I Want" is a song performed by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John for the 1978 film version of the musical Grease. It was written and produced by John Farrar.

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

"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 The Drive-In Movie (Instrumental)"
ReleasedMay 17, 1978
GenrePop, disco, rock
Length2:49
LabelRSO
Songwriter(s)John Farrar
Producer(s)John Farrar
Olivia Newton-John singles chronology
"Jolene"
(1978)		 "You're the One That I Want"
(1978)		 "Summer Nights"
(1978)
John Travolta singles chronology
"Razzamatazz"
(1977)		 "You're the One That I Want"
(1978)		 "Summer Nights"
(1978)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicFavorable[1]

"You're the One That I Want" is one of the best-selling singles in history, having sold over 6 million copies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France alone, with estimates of more than 15 million copies sold overall.[2][3][4][5]

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.[6]

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 Sandy the right way.

The song originally written at this point in the original musical, "All Choked Up", 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 history

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 1 in several countries.

In the United States, the single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100[7] and on July 18 was certified Platinum for shipments exceeding 2 million copies.[8] (It was already Gold by April 12.)[8]

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.[9] 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.[10]

In Australia, the single spent nine nonconsecutive weeks at the top and became the best charting single of the year. Had Boney M's "Rivers of Babylon" not spent six weeks at number one in the intervening period, when "You're the One That I Want" was hovering at number two, the smash hit from Grease would have spent 15 weeks at number one in Australia, outdoing the longest stay at number one in Australian chart history, "Fernando" by ABBA, which clocked up 14 weeks at the top in 1976.[11]

The 1998 're-release'

A re-released "Martian remix" of the single by PolyGram Records reached #4 in the United Kingdom[9] and #27 in Australia in 1998, the twentieth anniversary of the film's debut.

Charts and certifications

Cover versions
"You're the One That I Want"
Single by Craig McLachlan and Debbie Gibson
from the album Grease – Original London Cast Recording
Released1993
Length3:27
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)John Farrar
Debbie Gibson single 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.[9]

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.[47]

In 1982, Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song featuring Charlene in their album The Chipmunks Go Hollywood (1982).

In 1984, Kids Incorporated covered "You're the One That I Want" in the Season 1 episode "Civic Day Parade".[48] Kids Incorporated covered "You're the One That I Want" again in 1985 in the Season 2 episode "Decade of Hits".[49]

In 1992, Hungarian pop-singer Erika Zoltán released a Hungarian version featuring Kiki.[50]

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). It peaked at number thirteen in the UK.[9]

The song serves as the source of the title of the American reality TV show Grease: You're the One that I Want!.

In 2012, a cover version by Angus & Julia Stone was used in commercials for Sky UK.

In 2013, a synthpop cover version by Lo-Fang reached no. 38 in France & no. 194 in the United Kingdom.

The song was covered for the video game Just Dance 2016, as the song appears in-game.

In 2017, a cover version by Stephanie Tarling was used in commercials for the Microsoft Surface Laptop.

In 2018, the Foo Fighters performed the cover three times, Lexington KY, Tampa, FL and another at the festival Welcome to Rockville featuring John Travolta coming on stage.

Also in 2018, Delta Goodrem performed the song in the mini-series Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You and the accompanying soundtrack, I Honestly Love You where she duetted with Dan Sultan.

See also

References
  1. Joe Viglione. "You're the One That I Want – Olivia Newton-John,John Travolta – Song Info". AllMusic.
  2. 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
  3. "Record Breakers and Trivia : Singles : Individual Hits : Sales". everyHit.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  4. "InfoDisc : Les 45 T. / Singles les plus vendus en France". Infodisc.fr (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  5. "D-B Dramahawks performing Broadway giant "Grease"". The Loafer Online. January 19, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  6. "Gibb Songs : 1978". www.columbia.edu. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  7. Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of #1 Hits, 5th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 484.
  8. "Gold & Platinum – RIAA".
  9. "You're the One That I Want – Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  10. Sedghi, Ami (November 4, 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". Guardian. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  11. Kent, David (2007). Australian Top 20 Book 1940–2006. Turramurra, NSW: Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd. ISBN 978-0-646-47665-0.
  12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 313. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  13. "Austriancharts.at – John Travolta / Olivia Newton-John – You're The One That I Want" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  14. "Ultratop.be – John Travolta / Olivia Newton-John – You're The One That I Want" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  15. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4607a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  16. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – You're The One That I Want". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  17. "Dutchcharts.nl – John Travolta / Olivia Newton-John – You're The One That I Want" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  18. "Charts.nz – John Travolta / Olivia Newton-John – You're The One That I Want". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  19. "Norwegiancharts.com – John Travolta / Olivia Newton-John – You're The One That I Want". VG-lista. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  20. "SA Charts 1965 – March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  21. "Swisscharts.com – John Travolta / Olivia Newton-John – You're The One That I Want". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  22. "Swedishcharts.com – John Travolta / Olivia Newton-John – You're The One That I Want". Singles Top 100. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  23. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  24. "Olivia Newton-John Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  25. "John Travolta Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  26. "Olivia Newton-John". wweb.uta.edu. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  27. "You". wweb.uta.edu. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  28. "Top 100 1978-06-17". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  29. "Offiziellecharts.de – John Travolta / Olivia Newton-John – You're The One That I Want". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  30. David Kent's "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992" Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  31. "Image : RPM Weekly – Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  32. "I singoli più venduti del 1978" [The best-selling singles of 1978] (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  33. "Top Selling Singles of 1978 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. December 31, 1978. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  34. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1978". Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  35. "1970s Singles Chart Archive". everyHit.com. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  36. "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  37. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1978". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  38. Robertshaw, Nick (September 16, 1978). ""Grease" Is A European Musical Phenomenon". Billboard. p. 56. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  39. "Danish single certifications – John Travolta &Olivia Newton-John – You're the One That I Want". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  40. "Les Singles en Or" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on October 29, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  41. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John; 'You're the One That I Want')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  42. "Dutch single certifications – John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John – You're the One That I Want" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter You're the One That I Want in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  43. "Gold/Silver Record Chart". Billboard. December 26, 1974. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  44. "British certifications – Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta – You're the One That I Want". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 29, 2012. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type You're the One That I Want in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  45. Lane, Dan (June 10, 2014). "Naughty Boy and Sam Smith smash 1 million UK sales with La La La". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  46. "American single certifications – Newton-John, Olivia and John Travolta – You're the One That I Want". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 29, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  47. Archived May 29, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  48. Kids Incorporated (July 4, 2006). "Kids Incorporated – You're The One That I Want". Retrieved April 9, 2018 – via YouTube.
  49. Kornel Kovats (November 21, 2014). "Kids Incorporated – Decade of Hits #Full Episode". Retrieved April 9, 2018 – via YouTube.
  50. "Discogs.com". Retrieved August 13, 2020.
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