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The song is part of the 2007 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical ''[[Xanadu (musical)|Xanadu]]'' score.
The song is part of the 2007 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical ''[[Xanadu (musical)|Xanadu]]'' score.


This was the first song beginning with the letter 'X' to ever chart on the ''[[Billboard Hot 100]]'', a record held until 2001's "X" by Xzibit.
This was the first song beginning with the letter 'X' to ever chart on the ''[[Billboard Hot 100]]'' and it remained the only one until 2001's "X" by Xzibit.


A [[Yue Chinese|Cantonese]] cover named 情陷仙樂都 (''Falling in love with Xanadu'') was recorded in 2003 by [[Hong Kong]] singer [[Sammi Cheng]].
A [[Yue Chinese|Cantonese]] cover named 情陷仙樂都 (''Falling in love with Xanadu'') was recorded in 2003 by [[Hong Kong]] singer [[Sammi Cheng]].

Revision as of 16:58, 13 August 2010

"Xanadu"
Song
B-side"Whenever You're Away From Me"
[Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly]
[U.S. version],
"Fool Country"
[Olivia Newton-John alone]
[UK version]

"Xanadu" is the title song from the album Xanadu, the soundtrack to the 1980 film of the same name.

Collaboration

The song is performed by the Electric Light Orchestra and Olivia Newton-John. Newton-John sings the primary vocals, with ELO adding "parenthetic" vocals in the style of their other songs on the "Xanadu" soundtrack, along with providing the instrumentation. A rare collaboration for ELO, the single reached no.1 in several countries and was the band's only UK #1 single when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. The song peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.

New ELO version

In 2000, ELO's Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song, with his own vocals, for the box set Flashback and the All Over The World compilation. Though it was billed as an ELO selection, the song was recorded entirely by Lynne himself, with no input from his former bandmates.

Cover versions

In early 1996, two Australian dance performers released versions of the song. Sydney singer Olivia Featuring Paula (on the MDS label) released a dance version first followed by Kirsty K. (on Central Station Records). Both versions charted on the ARIA Singles and Dance Charts in the first half on 1996.

The track was covered by the Australian singer Dannii Minogue, and Xanadu was to be the seventh single from Minogue's album, Club Disco, but was cancelled due to filming commitments and forthcoming recording plans.

It was also covered by British singer/songwriter Lightspeed Champion, and was a b-side on his single Tell Me What It's Worth.

The song is part of the 2007 Broadway musical Xanadu score.

This was the first song beginning with the letter 'X' to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and it remained the only one until 2001's "X" by Xzibit.

A Cantonese cover named 情陷仙樂都 (Falling in love with Xanadu) was recorded in 2003 by Hong Kong singer Sammi Cheng.

Texas singer Sharleen Spiteri sang a cover of "Xanadu" on Graham Norton's New Year show on the 12th of December 2009 and released the single in February 2010.

Japanese television network NHK used the song in a promo for their then-new BS-Hi service in HD. The promo featured the network's mascot Domo dancing with several other people to the song.

A cover of "Xanadu" was released by Sarah Blasko on the bonus disc for her 2009 album, "As Day Follows Night".

Charts

Chart (1980) Peak
position
Austrailian ARIA Singles Chart 2
Austrian Ö3 Austria Top 40 1
Canadian RPM Top Singles 6
Dutch Top 40 1
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1
French SNEP Singles Chart 3
German Media Control Singles Chart 1
Irish Singles Chart 1
Japanese Oricon Singles Chart 22
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 8
Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart 1
South African Singles Chart 20
Swedish Singles Chart 3
Swiss Singles Chart 2
UK Singles Chart[1] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 8
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 2
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Singles 9
U.S. Record World Singles 4

Chart procession and sucession

Preceded by UK Singles Chart number-one single
12 July 1980 – 26 July 1980 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single
7 August 1980 – 21 August 1980 		Succeeded by
German Singles Chart number-one single
5 September 1980 – 12 September 1980 		Succeeded by
"Santa María" by Oliver Onions
Preceded by Norwegian VG-Lista number-one single (first run)
29/1980 – 33/1980 (4 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"To Be or Not To Be" by Mel Brooks
Preceded by Norwegian VG-Lista number-one single (second run)
36/1980 (1 weeks) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Irish Singles Chart number-one single
19 July 1980 – 16 August 1980 		Succeeded by

Personnel

Sharleen Spiteri version

"Xanadu"
Song

In 2009, Scottish singer-songwriter Sharleen Spiteri recorded the song for a second studio album titled The Movie Songbook which was released on March 1, 2010 worldwide. Xanadu was released as the lead single from the album in February 2010 and has so far made the BBC Radio 2 C-List[2].

Music video

A Music video for the song was added to Spiteri's official YouTube channel in February 2010. The video shows the Capitol Records Building and Spiteri performing the song with an acoustic guitar and one male and two female back up singers.

Chart performance

Chart (2008) Peak
position
UK Singles Charts 71

References

  1. ^ "Chart Stats - Olivia Newton-John And Electric Light Orchestra". chartstats.com. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  2. ^ 14:00 - 17:05. "Radio 2 - Playlist". BBC. Retrieved 2010-03-19. {{cite web}}: |author= has numeric name (help)
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