"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 began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...

and Anglo-Australian singer and actress

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

for the 1978 film version of the musical '' Grease''. It was written and produced by

John Farrar John Clifford Farrar ( ; born 8 November 1946) is an Australian Record producer, music producer, songwriter, arranger, singer, and guitarist. As a musician, Farrar is a former member of several rock and roll groups including The Mustangs (1963 ...

, and released in 1978 by

RSO Records RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several ma ...

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 "Hopelessly Devoted to You" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John for '' Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture'' (1978). It was written and produced by John Farrar and origin ...

", that Farrar wrote specifically for Newton-John's appearance in the film that had not been in the original stage musical.

Randal Kleiser John Randal Kleiser (born July 20, 1946) is an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the films ''Grease (film), Grease'' (1978), ''The Blue Lagoon (1980 film), The Blue Lagoon'' (1 ...

, 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 Jim Jacobs (born October 7, 1942) is an American actor, composer, lyricist, and writer for the theatre, long associated with the Chicago theater scene. Jacobs is best known for creating the book, storyline, characters, and lyrics for the 1971 m ...

score and the fifties style musically or lyrically. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' called it "a frantic, up-tempo duet between the two stars that is bound to leave listeners breathless."

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) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

'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 nine weeks. It also topped the ''Billboa ...

" 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 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.

In popular culture

The song was used as the musical background for a fight scene inside a car in the 2024 Marvel film ''

Deadpool & Wolverine ''Deadpool & Wolverine'' is a 2024 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Deadpool and Wolverine (character), Wolverine. Produced by Marvel Studios, Maximum Effort, and 21 Laps Entertainment, and distributed ...

''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

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Craig McLachlan and Debbie Gibson version

In 1993, the version by

Craig McLachlan Craig Dougall McLachlan (born 1 September 1965) is an Australian actor, musician, singer and composer. He has been involved in film, television, the music industry and music theatre for over 30 years. He is best known for appearing in the soap o ...

and

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She released her debut album ''Out of the Blue (Debbie Gibson album), Out of the Blue'' (1987) at age 16, writing and largely producing the material. The a ...

was released by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

as the lead single from ''Grease – Original London Cast Recording'', the soundtrack of the 1993 London revival of the musical '' Grease'', in which both McLachlan and Gibson starred. It peaked at number thirteen on the UK Singles Chart, number 24 on the UK Airplay chart, and number 43 on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

Other versions

British comedians

Arthur Mullard Arthur Ernest Mullard ( né Mullord; 19 September 1910His obituary in ''The Times'' gives his date of birth as 10 November 1910 but conflicts with the birthdate given in his death registration. His year of birth appears as 1908, 1910, 1912 and 19 ...

and

Hylda Baker Hylda Baker (4 February 1905 – 1 May 1986) was an English comedian, actress and music hall performer. Born and brought up in Farnworth, Lancashire, she is perhaps best remembered for her role as Nellie Pledge in the Granada ITV sitcom ' ...

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 actor, comedian, cabaret artist and singer. He achieved great popularity in German-speaking countries in the mid-1970s with the slapstick series ''Nonstop Nonsens'' and his characte ...

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 The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...

. 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 ''Svensktoppen'' () is a weekly record chart airing on Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982–1985. In the years leading up to the January 20 ...

''. Also in 1978, Finnish singers and siblings Anna and

Kirka Babitzin Kirill "Kirka" Babitzin (Russian '' Кирилл Бабицын'', 22 September 1950 – 31 January 2007) was a Finnish vocalist and musician. One of the most commercially successful artists from Finland, his career lasted from the late 1960s u ...

released a Finnish version translated by Pertti Reponen, "Sinut haluan vain" ("I Only Want You"). In 2010,

Angus & Julia Stone Angus & Julia Stone are an Australian Folk music, folk and indie pop group, formed in 2006 by brother and sister Angus Stone, Angus and Julia Stone. Angus & Julia Stone have released five studio albums and a soundtrack album: ''A Book Like Thi ...

released a cover of the song on the track list of their single "

Big Jet Plane "Big Jet Plane" is a song written by Australian singer and songwriter Angus Stone, originally recorded under the stage name "Lady of the Sunshine" for his 2009 album '' Smoking Gun''. It was then re-recorded the following year by Stone and his ...

. In 2012, the song peaked at No. 21 on the

UK Independent Singles Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the re ...

. In 2017, American singer

Charlotte Lawrence Charlotte Sarah Lawrence (born June 8, 2000) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and model. Raised in Los Angeles in a creatively rich household, she began singing and playing piano in early childhood, drawing inspiration from her father' ...

released a cover of the song. In 2021, American rapper and singer

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCl ...

performed the song in a commercial for

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

to promote their "Soda Shop" line. Reworked versions of the song are featured in Autumn 2023 and Spring 2024 commercials for British home furnishings retailer Dunelm.

References

{{Authority control 1978 songs 1978 singles 1993 singles John Travolta songs Olivia Newton-John songs Craig McLachlan songs Debbie Gibson songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Sweden Number-one singles in Switzerland Song recordings produced by John Farrar Songs from Grease (film) Songs from Grease (musical) Songs written by John Farrar UK singles chart number-one singles Male–female vocal duets RSO Records singles Epic Records singles 1978 quotations