Totally Hot is the tenth studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, released on 21 November 1978. Commercially, it became her first top-ten album on the Billboard 200 chart since Have You Never Been Mellow (1975). Dressed on the album cover all in leather, Newton-John’s transformation was seen to mirror her character Sandy’s transformation in Grease. At the time, Totally Hot was her most successful album, and became her first album to receive a Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
1978 was a big year for Newton-John, when her career soared after she starred in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Grease in 1978. She was offered the lead role of Sandy after meeting producer Allan Carr at a dinner party at Helen Reddy’s home. The movie became the biggest box-office hit of 1978, and the soundtrack album which the former two songs were written and composed by her long-time music producer, John Farrar, specifically for the film, yielded three Top 5 singles for Newton-John, and became one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time.
Newton-John’s transformation in Grease from goody-goody “Sandy 1” to spandex-clad “Sandy 2” emboldened Newton-John to do the same with her music career. In November 1978, she released Totally Hot.
The album received favourable reviews from music critics. Joe Viglione from AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars and wrote that the album “is one of the most fun albums from Olivia Newton John”. He also said that “[the album] is one of her most satisfying projects” and “one of the more consistently entertaining albums in the collection”.
The album reached No. 30 in the UK (where it was also released as a limited edition picture disc) and it was certified Gold. The album was a top 10 success in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan. The album was re-released in Japan during 2010 featuring two bonus tracks: an extended version of “Totally Hot” and “Love Is Alive” from her 1981 live album, Love Performance.
Although the album de-emphasised Newton-John’s country sound, it still reached No. 4 on the Billboard Country Albums chart.
Side one
Side two
2010 Japanese SHM-CD bonus tracks
Credits adapted from the album’s liner notes.
Production
Studios
Design
Business
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.