"Magic" is a 1974 song by Scottish

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

, and was the first hit single for the group. It was written by band members David Paton and Billy Lyall for their debut album, '' From the Album of the Same Name''.

Background

According to Paton, the song is inspired by the sunrise on

Blackford Hill Blackford Hill is a hill in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. It is in the area of Blackford, between Morningside, and the Braid Hills. Together with the Hermitage of Braid, it comprises the Hermitage of Braid and Blackford Hill Loca ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. In a 2012 interview with Hotdisc Television, Paton also stated that at the time, his wife said she'd "never seen a daybreak," which also inspired the song.

Personnel

Pilot

* David Paton:

Lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Billy Lyall:

Keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

Backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

* Stuart Tosh:

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and

Additional personnel

Ian Bairnson Ian Bairnson (born 3 August 1953 as ''John Bairnson'') is a Scottish musician, best known for being one of the core members of The Alan Parsons Project. He is a multi-instrumentalist, who has played saxophone and keyboards, although he is best ...

Electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

* Nick Heath:

* David Mason:

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Richard Hewson: Orchestral Arrangements

Chart performance

"Magic" charted most successfully in Canada, where it topped the ''RPM'' national singles chart on 19 July 1975, and received a gold certification. It climbed as far as number 11 on 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 ...

and reached number five during the summer of 1975 in the US on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Selena Gomez version

Gomez's version was released as a single on 21 July 2009. It peaked at No. 61 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, at No. 80 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

chart, at No. 5 on the Norwegian Singles Chart and at No. 90 on the

. It has sold 563,000 copies in the United States. Selena Gomez covered "Magic" for the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

television series '' Wizards of Waverly Place''; it was marked with an asterisk (*) as "Magic*" due to two other songs on the album having identical names (the other two performed by Meaghan Martin and

Honor Society In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Sc ...

). The song was featured in the television film '' Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie''. Her music video premiered on Disney Channel on 24 July 2009. The video was directed by Roman Perez.

Usage in other media

The song was included in the films ''

Happy Gilmore ''Happy Gilmore'' is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and produced by Robert Simonds. It stars Adam Sandler as the title character, an unsuccessful ice hockey player who discovers a newfound talent for golf. The screenp ...

'' (1996), '' Herbie: Fully Loaded'' (2005), '' The Magic Roundabout'' (also 2005), and '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules'' (2011), and the video game '' Sleeping Dogs'' (2012). Television series include '' Fish Hooks'', ''

Nutri Ventures ''Nutri Ventures'' (also known as ''Nutri Ventures – The Quest for the 7 Kingdoms'', pt, Nutri Ventures – Em Busca dos 7 Reinos) is an animated television series produced by the Nutri Ventures Corporation and Dentsu Aegis Network, Entertain ...

''. It was also heard in a humorous deleted scene from the film '' Guardians of the Galaxy''. It's also played on a regular basis at Tynecastle Park, when Heart of Midlothian win a game against their rivals. Novo Nordisk rolled out a direct-to-consumer campaign for

Ozempic Semaglutide, sold under the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, is an antidiabetic medication used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and as anti-obesity medication for long-term weight management, developed by Novo Nordisk in 2012. S ...

, its diabetes medication, set to the "Magic" tune beginning 30 July 2018. The song is also featured in commercials for Majic Window. The song was featured in Yamaha Mio J scooter TV commercial for Indonesian market. The song is used in the first episode of 2021's ''

Tiger King The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

: The Doc Antle Story'' when talking about Doc's use of tigers in his 70s magic shows.

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* * {{authority control 1974 singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Pilot (band) songs 2009 singles Selena Gomez songs Songs written by David Paton 1974 songs EMI Records singles Walt Disney Records singles