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Presumptuous language: I find it to be presumptuous (and not just in this article) to see such language as:
John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (No. 119 Pop) made minimal chart impact
Please give me a break! Also, in American slang, we call such phrases "highfalutin" and "hoity-toity", as well as "overwrought", in case this helps you understand what I mean. Please do not write absurdities like this one.47.215.180.7 (talk) 22:32, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
The following paragraph makes it sound as though records companies dictate contract terms. However, contracts are by definition negotiated. The company and the artist agree on a set of terms. The paragraph should be revised to reflect this fact.
Paragraph:
As a result of the lawsuit, record companies changed their contracts to be based on a set number of albums recorded by a musician and not a specific number of years. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.84.83.38 (talk) 19:47, July 24, 2021 (UTC)
Request for comment
Another editor insists that ONJ is a "British-born Australian".[1] However, this overlooks the fact that she is a dual British Australian citizen, as evidenced by her British award of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours. I believe that she should be described as "British-Australian". Thoughts? WWGB (talk) 12:27, 5 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
She was Australian. The fact that she was born in the UK and presumably retained dual citizenship is irrelevant. She identified as Australian and I'm guessing would never have described herself as Australian. References would be needed to establish otherwise. Timb66 (talk) 11:41, 9 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
It is not "irrelevant" that she had dual citizenship. Articles reflect facts, not just what a person identified as. But I'm not sure that "British-Australian" is appropriate either as that is no more a nationality than the term "Irish-American" usually is. It might be a bit complicated but something along the lines of "was a British-born Australian singer" and then mentioning her dual citizenship in some way seems the most appropriate solution to me. Otherwise I don't see how this issue will ever be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Afterwriting (talk) 12:05, 9 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Being Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire is significant, she was also British, it can't be excluded. ---Lilach5 (לילך5) discuss20:00, 9 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Rubbish. Are you Australian? I am, eith similar background to ONJ. I have never bothered to relinquish my UK citizenship but that doesn't mean anything. Timb66 (talk) 21:40, 9 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
And yes, she was born in the UK. This fact is mentioned in the appropriate place. It would give undue weighting to include this in the lead sentence. Why not also mention she was blond and right-handed? Timb66 (talk) 21:43, 9 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Not relevant. Don Bradman was made a knight. And both Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard were born in the UK, but are still Australian. You need to provide evidence that being named a dame makes one British. And then justification that this is so important that it belongs in the opening sentence Timb66 (talk) 22:30, 9 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Also note that eligibility for the honour you mentioned simply requires being a citizen of a Commonwealth country. There are dozens of recipients who are Australian by birth, such as Greg Chappell. So this honour does not imply Britishness Timb66 (talk) 22:40, 9 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
You added a source from some local news agency. We finally got one from a better outlet (Parade)... I'll replace it when something better comes along.
Please remember, Wikipedia is not a news outlet. We do not care about being the first to break news on a celebrity death. We care about accurate info. EvergreenFir(talk)19:46, 8 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
In the 1970s (or '80s), there was a claim that she was gay/homosexual or perhaps bisexual. Was this topic ever addressed by her? Skimming the section on relationships, I saw none, and saw nothing in the article that mentions this at all. Thank you! Misty MH (talk) 20:49, 8 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Misty MH: look at this interview: "Question: I came across a video of you acknowledging lesbian rumors that were circulating about you in the ’80s. I had no idea people ever thought you were a lesbian. Answer: Yeah, I remember that. It was very odd. I couldn’t figure out why, but it didn’t do me any harm, obviously. (Laughs) ---Lilach5 (לילך5) discuss20:55, 8 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
It's far too trivial to include in the article. It's insignificant, had no effect & is the sort of unsubstantiated claim that's said of hundreds of celebs. Jim Michael 2 (talk) 21:01, 8 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Apparently her video "Physical" was huge for many in the gay communities. The interview (above) was published by "Pride Source Media Group, LLC. ... PSMG produces the award-winning biweekly LGBTQ+ print publication..."; and in it the interviewer says that her video "Physical" was "groundbreaking" for the gay community because it had a couple of gay people holding hands in it. And it says the gay community was a huge fan of hers. More below about the details of the video, but first...
Here's the more-complete interview discussion (partly quoted above by another editor) related to the rumors, asked of her in the interview:
"[Interviewer] I came across a video of you acknowledging lesbian rumors that were circulating about you in the ’80s. I had no idea people ever thought you were a lesbian.
[Newton-John] Yeah, I remember that. It was very odd. I couldn’t figure out why, but it didn’t do me any harm, obviously. (Laughs)
[Interviewer] Actually, I think it might’ve benefited you.
[Newton-John] I think it was probably a good rumor! It was a nice rumor, not a mean rumor.
[Interviewer] Do mean rumors about Olivia Newton-John actually exist?
[Newton-John] I’m sure there have been some! I try not to tune in to negativity. I tune that stuff out, so I don’t know."
And a bit more about the video (and there is more at the link):
"[Interviewer] Like many gay men of my generation, my introduction to you was the “Physical” video. I remember being surprised seeing two gay men walking out of the gym together, holding hands. Considering being gay was more taboo during that time, how do you reflect on that groundbreaking moment when it comes to gay inclusivity?
[Newton-John] You know what, I don’t think I even realized it at the time. ..."
I would say that "groundbreaking" would be pretty notable. :)
There is a nice 1980 one in colour that we could crop, she's on the far left and can be cut out. Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh meet Australian entertainers who performed in a Royal Charity Concert at the Sydney Opera House [in 1980]. Performers include (from left): pianist Roger Woodward, comedian Paul Hogan and singer Olivia Newton-John. ---Lilach5 (לילך5) discuss04:12, 9 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Chart positions
The constant inclusions of positions on multiple different charts in one particular North American country make for a very frustrating read. It would be better, IMO, with fewer US chart positions, and noting when singles do especially well in Aus, UK or the US (e.g. noting that Xanadu was a UK number one instead of a US Top 10 hit). EuroAgurbash (talk) 23:23, 8 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
"Her back pains had initially been misdiagnosed as sciatica." She likely had a metastasis to her low back that caused her to experience sciatica. The diagnosis of sciatica was likely correct, but the cause of that sciatica (the met) was missed. Pgemmell2 (talk) 02:57, 9 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]