Career beginnings Newton-John went to primary school with
Daryl Braithwaite, who also followed a singing career. At age 14, with three classmates, Newton-John formed a short-lived, all-girl group called Sol Four which often performed at a coffee shop owned by her brother-in-law. Newton-John originally wanted to become a vet but then chose to focus on performance after doubting her ability to pass science exams. In 1964, Newton-John's acting talent was first recognised portraying Lady Mary Lasenby in her
University High School's production of
The Admirable Crichton as she became the Young Sun's Drama Award best schoolgirl actress runner-up. She then became a regular on local Australian television shows, including
Time for Terry and
HSV-7's
The Happy Show, where she performed as "Lovely Livvy". She also appeared on
The Go!! Show, where she met her future duet partner, singer
Pat Carroll, and her future music producer,
John Farrar. (Carroll and Farrar later married.) In 1965, she entered and won a talent contest on the television program
Sing, Sing, Sing, hosted by 1960s Australian icon
Johnny O'Keefe. She performed the songs "
Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "
Everything's Coming Up Roses". She was initially reluctant to use her prize, a trip to Great Britain, but travelled there nearly a year later after her mother encouraged her to broaden her horizons. During this period, she and Carroll contributed backup vocals to recordings by a number of other artists, notably the song "Come In, You'll Get Pneumonia" by
the Easybeats. After Carroll's visa expired, Carroll was forced to return to Australia but Newton-John remained in Britain to pursue solo work. formed by American producer
Don Kirshner. In 1970, the group starred in the science fiction musical
Toomorrow and recorded an accompanying
soundtrack album on
RCA Records; both the LP and the movie were named after the group. That same year, the group made two single recordings: "You're My Baby Now"/"Goin' Back" and "I Could Never Live Without Your Love"/"Roll Like a River". Neither track became a chart success; the project failed and the group disbanded.
1971–1974: Early success '' advertisement, 15 May 1971 In 1971, Newton-John released her first solo album,
If Not for You (US No. 158 Pop). In the UK, the album was released as
Olivia Newton-John. The
title track, written by
Bob Dylan, was her first international hit (US No. 25 Pop, No. 1
Adult Contemporary/"AC"). Her follow-up single, "
Banks of the Ohio", was a top 10 hit in the UK and Australia, but only peaked at number 94 in the United States. She was voted Best British Female Vocalist two years in a row by the magazine
Record Mirror. She made frequent appearances on
Cliff Richard's weekly show ''It's Cliff Richard
and starred with him in the telefilm The Case''. Newton-John's 1972 single "
What Is Life" (No. 34 AC) made minimal impact in the United States. As a result, her second studio album
Olivia was never formally issued in the United States. The subsequent single, "
Take Me Home, Country Roads", similarly saw little success. Her fortune changed with the release of "
Let Me Be There" in 1973. The song reached the American top 10 on the Pop (No. 6), Country (No. 7), and AC (No. 3) charts and earned her a
Grammy for Best Country Female Newton-John finished fourth at the contest, held in
Brighton, behind the Swedish winning entry, "
Waterloo" by
ABBA. All six Eurovision contest song candidates—"Have Love, Will Travel", "Lovin' You Ain't Easy", "Long Live Love", "Someday", "Angel Eyes" and "Hands Across the Sea"—were recorded by Newton-John and included on her
Long Live Love album, her first for the
EMI Records label. The
Long Live Love album was released in the US and Canada as
If You Love Me, Let Me Know. All the Eurovision entries were dropped for different and more country-flavoured tunes intended to capitalise on the success of "Let Me Be There"; the North American offering used selections from
Long Live Love,
Olivia and
Music Makes My Day, and only the title cut was new. The album reached No. 1 on both the pop (one week) and country (eight weeks) albums charts.
If You Love Me, Let Me Know title track was its first single and reached No. 5 Pop, No. 2 Country and Best Pop Vocal Performance – Female. In her 2018 autobiography, ''Don't Stop Believin','' Newton-John describes "I Honestly Love You" as a song which is "so simple, with a meaning that was deeper than the ocean". In the United States, Newton-John's success in
country music sparked a debate among purists, who took issue with a foreigner singing country-flavoured pop music being classed with native Nashville artists. and the title also meant she defeated more established Nashville-based nominees
Loretta Lynn,
Dolly Parton and
Tanya Tucker, as well as Canadian artist
Anne Murray. Newton-John was eventually supported by the country music community.
Stella Parton, Dolly's sister, recorded "
Ode to Olivia" and Newton-John recorded her 1976 album, ''
Don't Stop Believin''', in
Nashville, Tennessee. The
Have You Never Been Mellow album generated two singles – the
John Farrar-penned
title track (No. 1 Pop, No. 3 Country, and "
Please Mr. Please" (No. 3 Pop, No. 5 Country, No. 1 AC). Newton-John's singles continued to top the AC chart, where she amassed ten No. 1 singles, including a record seven consecutively: • "
I Honestly Love You" (1974) – 3 weeks • "
Have You Never Been Mellow" (1975) – 1 week • "
Please Mr. Please" (1975) – 3 weeks • "
Something Better to Do" (1975) – 3 weeks • "
Let It Shine"/"
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (1976) – 2 weeks • "
Come on Over" (1976) – 1 week • "
Don't Stop Believin'" (1976) – 1 week She provided a prominent, but uncredited, vocal on
John Denver's "
Fly Away" single, which was succeeded by her own single, "
Let It Shine"/"
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", at No. 1 on the AC chart. ("
Fly Away" returned to No. 1 after the two-week reign of "
Let It Shine".) In December 1975, she appeared on the ABC special
John Denver - A Rocky Mountain Christmas, where she performed the duet of "
Fly Away" with John, as well as "
Let It Shine". Newton-John also continued to reach the Country top 10 where she tallied seven top-10 singles through 1976's "
Come on Over" (No. 23 Pop, No. 5 Country, Newton-John was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the
1979 New Year Honours and
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the
2020 New Year Honours for services to charity, cancer research, and entertainment.
1978–1979: Grease and Totally Hot in 1982|left In 1978, Newton-John's career soared after she starred as Sandy in the
film adaptation of the Broadway musical
Grease. She was offered the role after meeting producer
Allan Carr at a dinner party at
Helen Reddy's home.
Grease became the biggest box-office hit of 1978. Newton-John's performance, however, received mixed reviews.
The soundtrack album spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 and yielded three Top 5 singles for Newton-John: the platinum "
You're the One That I Want" (No. 1 Pop, No. 23 AC) with John Travolta, the gold "
Hopelessly Devoted to You" (No. 3 Pop, No. 20 Country, No. 7 AC) and the gold "
Summer Nights" (No. 5 Pop, No. 21 AC) with John Travolta and the film's cast. Newton-John became the second woman (after
Linda Ronstadt in 1977) to have two singles—"Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Summer Nights"—in the
Billboard top 5 simultaneously. In June 2006, Newton-John's company ON-J Productions Ltd filed a lawsuit against
Universal Music Group (UMG) for $1 million in unpaid royalties from the
Grease soundtrack. In 2007, it was announced that she and UMG had reached a "conditional settlement". Newton-John's performance earned her a
People's Choice Award for Favourite Film Actress. She was nominated for a
Golden Globe as Best Actress in a Musical and performed the Oscar-nominated "Hopelessly Devoted to You" at the 1979
Academy Awards. The film's popularity has endured. It was re-released for its 20th anniversary in 1998 and ranked as the second highest-grossing film behind
Titanic in its opening weekend. Following her death in August 2022, AMC announced that the picture would reappear in some of its cinemas over the weekend and that a portion of the proceeds would go to breast cancer research. In November 1978, she released her next studio album,
Totally Hot, which became her first solo top-10 (No. 7) album since
Have You Never Been Mellow. Dressed on the cover all in leather, Newton-John capitalised on her character's look that was introduced at the end of
Grease; moreover,
Totally Hot's singles—"
A Little More Love" (No. 3 Pop, No. 94 Country, No. 4 AC), "
Deeper Than the Night" (No. 11 Pop, No. 87 Country, No. 4 AC), and the title track (No. 52 Pop)—all demonstrated a more aggressive and uptempo sound for Newton-John. Although the album de-emphasised the country sound, the LP still reached No. 4 on the Country Albums chart. Newton-John released the B-side, "Dancin' 'Round and 'Round", of the "Totally Hot" single to Country radio. The entry peaked at No. 29 (as well as No. 82 Pop and No. 25 AC), and it became her last charted solo Country airplay single. Newton-John cancelled a 1978 concert tour of Japan in protest at the slaughter of dolphins caught in tuna fishing nets. She subsequently rescheduled the tour when the Japanese government assured her that the practice was being curbed. In honor of dolphins, in 1981 she also composed and recorded the song "The Promise (the Dolphin Song)" on the
Physical album. She was a performer on the 1979
Music for UNICEF Concert for the UN's
International Year of the Child televised worldwide. During the concert, artists performed songs for which they donated their royalties, some in perpetuity, to benefit the cause.
Lawsuit against MCA Records In April 1975, Newton-John and
MCA entered into an initial two-year, four-album deal in which she was expected to deliver two LPs a year for the record company. MCA also had the option of extending the contract for six more records and three more years; and if the artist did not deliver on time, MCA was allegedly allowed to lengthen the term of the contract. Per her new agreement with MCA, Newton-John's first three albums, beginning with
Clearly Love, came out on schedule. Her fourth,
Making a Good Thing Better, was late. This delay occurred around the same time she was working on
Grease for
RSO Records, and the postponement arguably gave MCA—which seemed to want to keep its hold on the performer—the right to exercise its option, extend its contract, and stop her from signing with another enterprise. She also did not deliver a "newly optioned" album. On 31 May 1978, Newton-John and MCA each filed breach-of-contract actions against the other. Newton-John sued for $10 million and claimed that MCA's failure to adequately promote and advertise her product freed her from their agreement. MCA's countersuit requested $1 million in damages and an injunction against Newton-John working with another music firm. Ultimately, Newton-John was forbidden from offering her recording services to another label until the five-year pact had run its course. The original covenant was not automatically extended, though she had not duly supplied the total sum of vinyls indicated in the contract. As a result of the lawsuit, record companies changed their contracts to be based on the number of albums recorded by a musician and not a specific number of years.
1980–1988: Physical, Soul Kiss, and The Rumour and
Prince Philip at a Sydney concert in 1980; with her there are also
Roger Woodward and
Paul Hogan (in shorts) Newton-John began 1980 by releasing "
I Can't Help It" (No. 12 Pop, No. 8 AC), a duet with
Andy Gibb from his
After Dark album, and by starring in her third television special,
Hollywood Nights. Later that year, she appeared in her first film since
Grease when she starred with
Gene Kelly and
Michael Beck in the musical fantasy
Xanadu. Although the film was a critical failure,
its soundtrack (No. 4 Pop) was certified double platinum and scored five top 20 singles on the
Billboard Hot 100. Newton-John charted with "
Magic" (No. 1 Pop, No. 1 AC), "
Suddenly" with
Cliff Richard (No. 20 Pop, No. 4 AC) and the title song "
Xanadu" with the
Electric Light Orchestra (No. 8 Pop, No. 2 AC). [ELO also charted with "I'm Alive" (No. 16 Pop, No. 48 AC) and "All Over the World" (No. 13 Pop, No. 46 AC).] "Magic" was Newton-John's biggest pop hit to that point (four weeks at No. 1) In 1981, Newton-John released her most successful studio album, the double platinum
Physical, which strongly reinforced her image change by showcasing risqué, rock-oriented material. Newton-John explained: "I just wasn't in the mood for tender ballads. I wanted peppy stuff because that's how I'm feeling." Of the title cut, Newton-John said: "
Roger Davies was my manager at the time; he played it for me and I knew it was a very catchy song."
The title track, written by
Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick, spent ten weeks atop the
Billboard Hot 100. This matched the record at that time held by
Debby Boone's "
You Light Up My Life" for most weeks spent at No. 1 on the Hot 100. The single was certified platinum, and it ultimately ranked as the biggest song of the decade. (In 2008,
Billboard ranked the song No. 6 among all songs that charted in the 50-year history of the Hot 100.) "Physical" earned Newton-John her only placement ever on the R&B Singles (No. 28) and Albums (No. 32) charts. The
Physical album spawned two more singles, "
Make a Move on Me" (No. 5 Pop, No. 6 AC) and "Landslide" (No. 52 Pop). The provocative lyrics of the "Physical" title track prompted two
Utah radio stations to ban the single from their playlists. (In 2010,
Billboard magazine ranked this as the most popular single ever about sex.) To counter its overtly suggestive tone, Newton-John filmed an exercise-themed video that turned the song into an
aerobics anthem and made
headbands a fashion accessory outside the gym. She helped pioneer the music video industry by recording a
video album for
Physical, featuring videos of all the album's tracks and three of her older hits. The video album earned her a fourth Grammy and was aired as an ABC prime-time special, ''Let's Get Physical'', Newton-John reteamed with Travolta in 1983 for the critically and commercially unsuccessful movie
Two of a Kind, redeemed by its platinum soundtrack (No. 26 Pop) featuring "
Twist of Fate" (No. 5 Pop), That same year Newton-John and Pat Farrar (formerly Pat Carroll) founded Koala Blue. The store, originally for Australian imports, evolved into a chain of women's clothing boutiques. Newton-John and Farrar were the targets of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit when Koala Blue franchise holders alleged breach of contract and unfair competition; agreeing with a motion citing insufficient evidence, a judge dismissed the case on summary judgment in 1993. Newton-John and Farrar later licensed the brand name for a line of Australian wines. Newton-John, a supporter of
Australian rules football Carlton, performed the
Australian national anthem at the
1986 VFL Grand Final between Carlton and
Hawthorn. Newton-John's music career cooled again with the release of her next studio album, the gold
Soul Kiss (No. 29 Pop), in 1985. The album's only charted single was the title track (No. 20 Pop, No. 20 AC). After a nearly three-year hiatus following the birth of her daughter Chloe in January 1986, Newton-John resumed her recording career with the 1988 album
The Rumour. The album was promoted by an HBO special,
Olivia Down Under. Its first single, the title track, was written and produced by
Elton John. Both the single (No. 62 Pop, No. 33 AC) and the album (No. 67 Pop) faltered commercially as the nearly 40-year-old Newton-John seemed "old" when compared with the teen queens
Debbie Gibson and
Tiffany ruling the pop charts at that time. (The album was praised by critics as more mature, with Newton-John addressing topics such as
AIDS ("Love and Let Live"), the environment and single-parent households.) The second single, "Can't We Talk It Over in Bed", did not chart, but was released in 1989 by
Grayson Hugh, the song's arranger, and became a top-20 pop hit as "Talk It Over".
1989–1998: Motherhood, cancer, and advocacy In September 1989, Newton-John released her self-described "self-indulgent" album,
Warm and Tender, which reunited her with producer John Farrar, absent from her previous LP, and also marked a return to a more wholesome image. Inspired by her daughter, who appeared on the cover, the album featured
lullabies and love songs for parents and their children. She was appointed a Goodwill ambassador to the United Nations Environment Programme. Newton-John's television work included starring in two Christmas films,
A Mom for Christmas (1990) and
A Christmas Romance (1994) – both top 10 Nielsen hits. Newton-John was primed for another comeback in 1992 when she compiled her third hits collection,
Back to Basics: The Essential Collection 1971–1992, and planned her first tour since her
Physical trek ten years earlier. Shortly after the album's release, Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer, forcing her to cancel all publicity for the album, including the tour. She received her diagnosis the same weekend her father died. Newton-John recovered. In 1991, she became the National Spokesperson for the Colette Chuda Environmental Fund/CHEC (Children's Health Environmental Coalition) following the death from
Wilms' tumour of five-year-old Colette Chuda, daughter of Newton-John's friend Nancy Chuda. Later, Newton-John became an advocate for
breast cancer research and other health issues. She was a product spokesperson for the Liv-Kit, a breast self-examination product, and also founded her own cancer centre in her home town in Australia. Newton-John's cancer diagnosis also affected the type of music she recorded. In 1994, she released ''
Gaia: One Woman's Journey, which chronicled her ordeal. Co-produced by Newton-John for ONJ Productions, Gaia
was originally issued by Festival in Australia but also distributed by various independent labels in Japan and Europe. In 2002, there was an American distribution by Hip-O Records, and a subsequent re-release in 2012 by Green Hill featured an alternative cover photo. Gaia'' was the first album on which Newton-John wrote all the music and lyrics herself, and this endeavour encouraged her to become more active as a songwriter thereafter. The single "No Matter What You Do" entered the Australian top 40, and the second single, the environmentally themed "Don't Cut Me Down", was also used in the film ''
It's My Party, a 1996 AIDS drama. The Latin-fuelled "Not Gonna Give into It" eventually became heavily showcased in concert performance; "The Way of Love" was featured in the telefilm A Christmas Romance, and "Trust Yourself" was incorporated into both the TV movie The Wilde Girls
and the theatrical film Sordid Lives''. Newton-John was listed as president of the
Isle of Man Basking shark Society between 1998 and 2005.
1998–2012: Later releases Newton-John continued to record and perform pop-oriented music as well. In 1998, she returned to
Nashville to record
Back with a Heart (No. 59 Pop). at the premiere of
A Few Best Men in Sydney, 2012 During October–December 1998, Newton-John,
John Farnham and
Anthony Warlow performed in The Main Event Tour. The album
Highlights from The Main Event peaked at No. 1 in December, was certified 4× platinum, won an
ARIA Award for Highest Selling Australian CD at the 1999 Awards and was also nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album. For the
2000 Summer Olympics, Newton-John and Farnham re-teamed to perform "
Dare to Dream" during the
Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremony. Broadcast of the ceremony was viewed by an estimated 3.5 billion people around the world. In December 1998, following a hiatus of about 16 years, Newton-John also resumed touring by herself and in 2000 released a solo CD, ''
One Woman's Live Journey'', her first live album since 1981's
Love Performance. In 2000, she appeared in a dramatically different role as Bitsy Mae Harling, a bisexual former-convict country singer, in
Del Shores'
Sordid Lives. In 2000, she teamed with
Vince Gill and the
London Symphony Orchestra for
Tis the Season sold exclusively through Hallmark. The following year, she released
The Christmas Collection, which compiled seasonal music previously recorded for her Hallmark Christmas album, her appearance on
Kenny Loggins' 1999 TNN Christmas special and her contributions to the
Mother and Child and
Spirit of Christmas multi-artist collections. Newton-John's subsequent albums were released primarily in Australia. In 2002, she released
(2), a duets album featuring mostly Australian artists (
Tina Arena,
Darren Hayes, Jimmy Little, Johnny O'Keefe, Billy Thorpe and
Keith Urban), as well as a "duet" with the deceased
Peter Allen. In addition,
(2) offered a hidden 12th track, a samba version of "
Physical" which Newton-John later performed occasionally in concert instead of the more rock-style original. The album's 2004 Japanese release includes the bonus track "Let It Be Me", a duet with Cliff Richard with whom she had previously been coupled on "Suddenly" and
Songs from Heathcliff. In 2002, Newton-John was also inducted into Australia's
ARIA Hall of Fame. Produced by
Phil Ramone and recorded at the Indigo Recording Studios in Malibu for ONJ Productions,
Indigo: Women of Song was released in October 2004 in Australia. The tribute album featured Newton-John covering songs by artists such as
Joan Baez,
the Carpenters,
Doris Day,
Nina Simone and
Minnie Riperton. She dedicated the album to her mother, who had died the previous year of breast cancer.
Indigo was subsequently released in the UK in April 2005 and in Japan in March 2006. A rebranded and resequenced version called
Portraits: A Tribute to Great Women of Song was eventually issued in the United States in 2011. In 2005, she released
Stronger Than Before, sold exclusively in the United States by Hallmark. This was her second exclusive album for
Hallmark Cards after her successful first Christmas album
Tis the Season with
Vince Gill five years earlier. Proceeds from the album's sales benefited breast cancer research. The album featured the song "Phenomenal Woman," based on the poem by
Maya Angelou, and guest vocals from
Diahann Carroll,
Beth Nielsen Chapman,
Delta Goodrem,
Amy Holland,
Patti LaBelle and
Mindy Smith—all survivors of or affected by cancer. In 2006, Newton-John released a healing CD,
Grace and Gratitude. The album was sold exclusively by
Walgreens, also to benefit various charities including
Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization. The CD was the "heart" of their
BodyHeartSpirit Wellness Collection, which also featured a re-branded Liv-Kit and breast-health dietary supplements. In 2007, she re-teamed with her
Grace and Gratitude producer,
Amy Sky, for
Christmas Wish (No. 187 Pop) which was sold exclusively by
Target in its first year of release. Newton-John released another concert DVD,
Olivia Newton-John and the Sydney Symphony: Live at the Sydney Opera House and a companion CD, her third live album titled ''Olivia's Live Hits''. In 2008, she raised funds to help build the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in
Melbourne, Australia. She led a three-week, 228 km walk along the
Great Wall of China during April, joined by various celebrities and
cancer survivors throughout her trek. She released a companion CD,
A Celebration in Song, the following month in Australia and later worldwide, featuring new and previously recorded duets by "Olivia Newton-John & Friends", including
Jann Arden,
Jimmy Barnes,
John Farrar,
Barry Gibb,
Delta Goodrem,
Sun Ho,
Richard Marx,
Cliff Richard,
Melinda Schneider,
Amy Sky, and
Keith Urban. In 2008, Newton-John took part in the
BBC Wales program
Coming Home about her
Welsh family history. Also, in 2008, Newton-John joined Anne Murray on Murray's last album, titled
Duets: Friends & Legends. She sang
Gordon Lightfoot's hit "
Cotton Jenny" with Murray. She re-recorded some tracks from
Grace and Gratitude in 2010 and re-released the album as
Grace and Gratitude Renewed on the Green Hill music label. The
Renewed CD includes a new track, "Help Me to Heal", not featured on the original album. Newton-John was featured in UniGlobe Entertainment's breast cancer docu-drama,
1 a Minute, released in October 2010. The documentary was made by actress
Namrata Singh Gujral and featured other celebrities who had survived breast cancer or who were affected by the disease. During the same month,
Bluewater Productions released a comic book featuring Newton-John to coincide with
Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In 2010, Newton-John starred in the film
Score: A Hockey Musical, released in Canada. She portrayed Hope Gordon, the mother of a home-schooled hockey prodigy. The film opened the
2010 Toronto International Film Festival. Newton-John guest-starred as herself in the sitcoms
Ned and Stacey,
Murphy Brown and
Bette and also made two appearances as herself on
Glee. in September 2008For her first
Glee appearance, Newton-John recreated her "Physical" video with series regular
Jane Lynch. The performance was released as a digital single which peaked at number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2010. In Australia, Newton-John hosted the animal and nature series
Wild Life and guest-starred as Joanna on two episodes of the Australian series
The Man From Snowy River. In January 2011, Newton-John began filming the comedy
A Few Best Men in Australia with director
Stephan Elliott, in the role of mother of the bride. The groom is played by
Xavier Samuel.
2012–2022: Vegas residency and final releases Newton-John was actively touring and doing concerts from 2012 to 2017 and also performed a handful of shows in 2018. Her dates for
A Summer Night with Olivia Newton-John even included stops in Asia and Canada and culminated in a rare concert appearance in London in 2013. Her March 2013 UK trek also encompassed Bournemouth, Brighton, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff, Wales. In November 2012, Newton-John teamed with John Travolta to make the charity album
This Christmas, in support of The Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre and the Jett Travolta Foundation. Artists featured on the album include:
Barbra Streisand,
James Taylor,
Chick Corea,
Kenny G,
Tony Bennett,
Cliff Richard and the
Count Basie Orchestra. A 2013 residency at the
Flamingo Las Vegas was postponed due to the May 2013 death of her elder sister, Rona (aged 72), from a brain tumour. Newton-John resumed performing, doing 45 shows beginning in April 2014. Along with the Vegas shows, Newton-John released a new EP in April 2014 entitled
Hotel Sessions, which consisted of seven tracks of unreleased demos that were recorded between 2002 and 2011 with her nephew
Brett Goldsmith. The CD contains a cover of "Broken Wings" as well as the popular-with-fans original "Best of My Love", which had leaked on the internet many years prior. Her Vegas stay was eventually extended beyond August 2014, and her
Summer Nights residency finished in December 2016 after 175 shows. Her successful three-year run even prompted a fourth live album,
Summer Nights: Live in Las Vegas (2015). In 2015, Newton-John also reunited with John Farnham for a joint venture called
Two Strong Hearts Live. '' In 2015, Newton-John was a guest judge on
an episode of ''
RuPaul's Drag Race. That same year, she scored her first number-one single on Billboard
Dance Club Songs chart with "You Have to Believe" with daughter Chloe and producer Dave Audé. The song was a re-imagining of her 1980 single "Magic", which she noted was to celebrate both the 35th anniversary of Xanadu'' and as a dedication to her daughter. About the latter, Newton-John stated: "I met Chloe's dad on the set of
Xanadu; so, without that film, Chloe wouldn't be here. She was the real 'magic' that came out of that film!" The song became the first mother-daughter single to reach No. 1 on the
Billboard Dance Club Play chart. In
2015, Newton-John was inducted into the
Music Victoria Hall of Fame. In 2017, she collaborated with two North American singer-songwriters,
Beth Nielsen Chapman and
Amy Sky, on a joint concert tour entitled Liv On after co-producing a 2016
CD by the same name. On 7 May 2019, Newton-John's elder brother Hugh, a doctor, died at age 80; his death left Newton-John as the sole surviving sibling from the original family. In recognition for "her work as an entertainer and philanthropist", she was bestowed Australia's highest honour, the
Companion of the Order of Australia, in June 2019. In December 2019, Newton-John and Travolta also re-teamed for three live Meet 'n' Grease sing-along events in the Florida cities of
Tampa,
West Palm Beach and
Jacksonville. Subsequently, a sing-along re-broadcast of
Grease aired on CBS Television. In February 2020, Newton-John appeared at the
Fire Fight Australia charity event. This was her final public performance. In January 2021, Newton-John released her single, "Window in the Wall", a duet about unity which she recorded with her daughter Chloe Lattanzi. The music video for the song peaked at No. 1 on the
iTunes pop music video chart the week of its release. In February 2023, Newton-John's final studio recording was a duet version of "Jolene," recorded with Dolly Parton just months before Olivia's passing in August of 2022. There is a music video featuring the two of them. The song is featured on her posthumous duets album "Just the Two of Us: The Duets Collection, Volume 1." ==In the media==