Thursday, March 29, 2012

Eurovisionaries: Olivia Newton-John

You mention the name of Olivia Newton John to any American woman under the age of 40 and one thing pops into their mind:


 
If you didn't already know, "Grease" is the word with many Americans.

Yet before Newton-John sashayed herself into American girls' hearts as the good girl turned bad Sandy, she represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974.


Olivia Newton-John  "Long Live Love"

She came in a respectable fourth in the contest, but this was the year of ABBA, so in retrospect it's not surprising that she placed where she did. 

(And if you think the song's pretty insipid, it's well known that Olivia herself didn't like the song chosen for her by the British public.)

But really her lack of success didn't hurt her career.  The month after the Contest, Olivia's first US album, If You Love Me, Let Me Know, was released.  Her first single from the album, "I Honestly Love You", went on to win two awards at the 1975 Grammy Awards and she was named Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1974 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards before she went on to become synonymous with good girls gone bad in Grease and released songs like this:



Olivia Newton-John  "Physical"

 
She's still around, filming movies and television shows while continuing to perform as a singer.
 
Her splash at Eurovision may be minor, but her career after Eurovision definitely makes her Eurovisionary.

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