Tag: Juliana Hatfield

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Music Video: Juliana Hatfield Covers Olivia Newton-John “Physical”

Juliana Hatfield

Alt-rocker Juliana Hatfield announced a few months ago her next album would be a full-on tribute to her favorite singer, pop icon Olivia Newton-John.

Today, Hatfield drops the music video for her take on ONJ’s “Physical” which debuted in 1981 and camped out at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 10 weeks.

“I have never not loved Olivia Newton-John,” Hatfield shared in the announcement for the project. “Her music has brought me so much pure joy throughout my whole entire life. I loved her when I was a child and I love her still.”

Hatfield prefaced the new music video with this statement:

Olivia Newton-John’s lusty “Physical” is a groovy, bouncy song, but my take on it is darker, more aggro, because I don’t think of lust as fun or funny; I think it’s dangerous and disruptive and mostly unwelcome. So that is my interpretation of “Physical”: the human condition is a bummer, and desire a frustrating impediment to serenity.

My visual take on the song is not as conceptual as Olivia’s 1981 colorful workout video. Mine is more of an impressionistic exploration of my own awkward and self-conscious physicality (especially self-conscious in front of the camera/other people).

I completely appreciate that Hatfield brings her own vibrant intensity to this fresh look at the 80s pop confection.

“Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John” debuts April 13th on American Laundromat Records. Pre-order available now: https://www.alr-music.com/

Watch Hatfield’s take on the 80s classic below, plus Olivia’s iconic music video which won a Grammy Award for “Video of the Year.”

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Song Of The Day: Alt-Rocker Juliana Hatfield Covers Olivia Newton-John “A Little More Love”

Alt-rocker Juliana Hatfield says she has never not loved pop music icon, Olivia Newton-John.

The Boston-based musician’s upcoming April 13 release, Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John, is a heartfelt tribute, with an focus on the four-time Grammy Award-winner’s ’70s and ’80s hits.

“I have never not loved Olivia Newton-John. Her music has brought me so much pure joy throughout my life. I loved her when I was a child and I love her still. Her voice and her positive energy and her melodies have stood the test of time and they give me as much pleasure now as they ever did. Listening to her is an escape into a beautiful place. She has inspired me so much personally and I just wanted to give something back; to share some of these tremendous songs, reinterpreted, with love, by me.”

In my opinion, the best tribute recordings pay respect to the original while bringing a new sensibility or perspective to the piece, which is exactly what Hatfield does here.

I like.

You can pre-order Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John via American Laundromat Records.

Hatfield will donate $1 from the sale of every album to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre (ONJ Centre), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing patients with cancer access to leading medical treatment, breakthrough research, and the best in wellness and supportive care.

Watch the music video below.