Peace and serenity with the original Sandy
Olivia Newton-John - timeless songbird
With Xanadu making magic on Broadway, next year’s milestone anniversary of Grease and the upcoming prequel of Sordid Lives on Logo, Olivia Newton-John is the one that we want- so we put her on this month’s Soapbox! (pg. 88) Though we’ve long been hopelessly devoted to ONJ, she’s poised to gain a whole new generation of gay fans thanks to her latest CDs, Grace And Gratitude and A Christmas Wish. On both albums, each track is connected by musical interludes, making Olivia our new favorite mix-master DJ!
Some say I’ve become a bit of an icon with gay audiences, and I don’t know the answer to why that is but it may be because they’re so loyal, and I’ve been around a long time! Maybe it’s because they like my character in Grease? They also love Xanadu - I guess my movies probably have a lot to do with their extreme loyalty…but then there’s also the “Physical” video. That could have helped, too!
Olivia Newton-John Gets The Last Word
I didn’t realize that video was going to be edgy and racy until it was all put together. I insisted we do it around aerobics because I was concerned about how cheeky the song was. When the director went and put that twist on the end anyways, it was even more sexual, which is why it’s kind of funny looking back. But I never had a problem with it; it was very funny. Compared to some of today’s music, it’s pretty innocent. But to be truthful, these days I mostly listen to the Sinatra channel.
I’ve been back in the recording studio working on my holiday album A Christmas Wish with my dear friend, producer and co-writer, Amy Sky. It wouldn’t be the holidays without your friends, so I invited some of mine to appear on the CD, like David Foster, Barry Manilow, Michael McDonald, Jim Brickman and Jon Secada. It’s like one continuous Christmas music mix.
My other latest CD, Grace And Gratitude, is very special to me. When I found out that I had breast cancer in 1992, I was fortunate enough to meet Dr. Deepak Chopra, who taught me some meditation techniques to assist in my recovery.
Through him, I first learned of the mind-body connection. He also introduced me to the concept of the chakras, which are the seven energy centers of the body.
Amy and I took the chakras as the basis for each song on Grace And Gratitude. Each chakra is connected to a sacred truth. There’s a wonderful book by Caroline Myss called Anatomy Of The Spirit. In it, she talks about how each chakra reflects your psychological, emotional and spiritual well-being. Every thought and experience you’ve ever had gets filtered through these chakras.
We took the meanings of each chakra and wrote a song for each one. Hopefully people will find it healing and peaceful. You can meditate, you can have a massage or take it with you while you walk…maybe even at the Gaia Spa and Retreat in Australia that I own! People come and give up their cell phone and TV, which might sound stressful for some, but that’s sort of the point.
On the cover of Grace And Gratitude I’m wearing different-colored bracelets that correspond to the different chakras. They make a rainbow, which I guess can be interpreted as a wink to my gay fans!
There are also some new dance remixes of “You’re The One That I Want” that I hear are causing quite a stir with my gay fans, too. They released the remixes in London because of the Grease reality TV show. I think shows like those are a very fun idea. It’s an interesting way to get people involved in casting a show and another innovative way to have a talent show. Talent shows always give young people an opportunity, and I’m all for that.
There’s a lot of editing that happens on those shows. I was a guest judge on American Idol we saw like 30 people a day for two days, and I don’t think they showed everyone on TV. I’m glad I did it, but I don’t think I could do it every day like they do, or even every week. It’s a hard thing to be saying to people, “Sorry, but…” I don’t like doing that.
They asked me to coach, but I didn’t really want to because it’s such a huge commitment of time. If I did, I would just tell them to be who they are and not try to copy anyone else. Everyone’s looking for the “next” someone, not the “last” someone. You’ve got to be different but be true to yourself.
When I was on Grease: You’re The One That I Want! as a guest judge, Jim Jacobs-the writer of the show-called me the most genuinely nice person in entertainment he’d ever known. I paid him to say that; he has input on my royalty checks! Ha ha!
My Grease co-star John Travolta just did Hairspray this summer, but roles like that are few and far between. It’s not like you have a choice there’s not that many that come up. And there are so many singers that are vying for the same part. They cast Meryl Streep in the film version of Mamma Mia! and you can’t get any better than her!
But honestly, everything I do now is icing, but it would be fun to do another musical. I do have a few things in the works, like a TV version of Sordid Lives for Logo. Keep an eye out for me in 2008!
Grace And Gratitude is now available, and A Christmas Wish drops in November. Visit olivianewton-john.com for more of La Livvy!
