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Olivia Newton-John on 40 years of 'Physical': 'I was really anxious about it'

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 9/27/21

It probably happens more than we realize: an artist having doubts about a single ultimately made into an undeniable smash by the public.

It happened with Olivia Newton-John and her No. 1 Hot 100 hit "Physical," which was released 40 years ago Tuesday (Sept. 28). The song was originally written with Rod Stewart as the singer in mind but unintentionally landed in Newton-John's lap.

"I was really anxious about it, because I thought I'd gone too far," the 73-year-old told Yahoo Entertainment. "And then I tried to get [the record label] to stop it. And then it was too late. It was out there in the public."

Newton-John added: "I thought, 'Well, you know what? I need to do a video, and I need to do it about exercise—that will take away from, you know, what they're thinking it's about.'"

The music video claimed a Grammy and was at the forefront of the visual revolution in the music industry, as MTV also launched in 1981—a correlation pointed out by Entertainment Weekly in 2017.

"I watch that video [now] and I wonder at my energy level [Laughs]," Newton-John told EW then. "I wish I could still do all that! But I've had different periods and things that have been successful for me: I’ve had the country phase of my life, then I had 'Physical' and Grease and Xanadu—they're all different. I’m very grateful for all the people who have written music for me."

Newton-John starred as Sandy opposite John Travolta in Grease in 1978 and then as Kira in 1980's Xanadu.

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