"Magic" is a song recorded by English-born Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for the soundtrack to the 1980 filmXanadu. Written and produced by John Farrar, it was released as the lead single from the soundtrack on 23 May 1980. The single was number one on the US BillboardHot 100 for four weeks beginning on August 2, 1980. On August 30, it was displaced from the top by "Sailing" by Christopher Cross. It was Newton-John's 25th US chart hit and her tenth of twelve records which went Gold or higher. "Magic" was also Newton-John's biggest pop hit until "Physical" 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, Part II" by Pink Floyd. In Canada, the single spent two weeks at number one. It also reached number four in Australia and number 32 in the United Kingdom. The single also became Newton-John's biggest Adult Contemporary hit to date, spending five weeks at the top of the US chart, and also topped the Canadian AC chart for a week. John Lennon named "Magic" and "All Over the World" as two recent songs he liked in a Newsweek interview in September 1980, shortly before his death. In a lawsuit involving the use of the song in a high school musical performance, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals described the song as follows: Both U.S. and U.K. B-sides also appear in Xanadu:
U.S.: "Fool Country" is one of three single B-sides to appear in the film but not on the soundtrack album. This is featured in the nightclub grand opening segment following the movie title track and before its reprise.
U.K.: "Whenever You're Away From Me", also appears as the B-side of the U.S. "Xanadu" single.
"Magic " is a remix of the 1980 song. In May 2011, the song was remixed by two Australians, DJ Dan Murphy and Steve Peach, to create a dance version. Olivia 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 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 May 22, 2011. The song was released exclusively on Australian iTunes, also on Sunday May 22.
Music video
A video was shot for the new remix in Sydney in an attempt to break the Guinness BookWorld 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.
Charts
Covers
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. This cover was also used in the film Ella Enchanted and appeared on the film's soundtrack.
In 2015, the singer/pianist character 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.
Juliana Hatfield covered the song on her album Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John.
