"You're the One That I Want" is a song performed by American actor and singer

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' ( ...

and Anglo-Australian singer, songwriter and actress

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one s ...

for the 1978 film version of the musical '' Grease''. It was written and produced by John Farrar, and released in May 1978 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. *

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 Warren Casey (April 20, 1935 – November 8, 1988) was an American theater composer, lyricist, writer, and actor. He was the writer and composer, with Jim Jacobs, of the stage musical '' Grease''. Career Warren Casey was born on April 20, 1935, ...

- Jim Jacobs score.

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 Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

's "

All Shook Up "All Shook Up" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley, published by Elvis Presley Music, and composed by Otis Blackwell. The single topped the U.S. ''Billboard'' Top 100 on April 13, 1957, staying there for eight weeks. It also topped the ''Bil ...

" 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 and on July 18 was certified Platinum for shipments exceeding 2 million copies. (It was already Gold by April 12.) It also topped the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for nine weeks in the summer of 1978, some months before the film had even been released in that country. 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. In Australia, the single spent nine nonconsecutive weeks at the top and became the best charting single of the year.

1998 re-release

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

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

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Cover versions

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. In 1978, the German comedians

Dieter Hallervorden Dieter "Didi" Hallervorden (born 5 September 1935) is a German comedian, actor, singer, and cabaret artist. He achieved great popularity in German-speaking countries in the mid-1970s with the slapstick series Nonstop Nonsens and his character D ...

and

Helga Feddersen Helga Feddersen (; 14 March 1930 – 24 November 1990) was a German actress, comedian, singer, author, and theater director. Biography Feddersen was born and died in Hamburg. She took up acting early in her life, first being cast for minor par ...

released a parody version under the title '' Du, die Wanne ist voll''. The song reached position number four in the

German charts The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

. Also in 1978, the Swedish crooner

Svante Thuresson Svante Thuresson (7 February 1937 – 10 May 2021) was a Swedish jazz musician. He started his career as a drummer before joining the band Gals and Pals in 1963. Svante won the national selection and represented Sweden in the Eurovision song c ...

released a version in Swedish under the title '' Det är dej jag vill ha''. The song reached position number four in the Svensktoppen. In 1984, Kids Incorporated covered "You're the One That I Want" in the Season 1 episode "Civic Day Parade". Kids Incorporated covered "You're the One That I Want" again in 1985 in the Season 2 episode "Decade of Hits". In 1993,

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical m ...

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 Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...

(Epic UK 659 522, released July 1993). It peaked at number thirteen in the UK. In 2021, American singer and rapper Doja Cat performed the song in a commercial for

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

to promote their "Soda Shop" line.

References