Music

Mariah Carey Grew Up Idolizing Olivia Newton-John. Then She Got to Share the Stage With Her

Mariah Carey remembered idolizing Olivia Newton-John as a kid and then later getting the chance to share the stage with her as an adult in a touching tribute to the late pop star/actress, who died yesterday, Aug. 8, at the age of 73.

Carey wrote that she first “fell in love with Olivia’s voice” after hearing her 1974 classic, “I Honestly Love You,” though she was soon equally enamored by Newton-John’s other hits, like “Magic,” Suddenly,” and “Have You Never Been Mellow.” These tunes, Carey wrote, “showcased her beautiful airy tone and signature sound.”

And then, of course, there was Grease. “I was obsessed,” Carey said. “I dressed up as Bad Sandy for Halloween in 5th grade and thought I was everything.”

Decades later, in 1998, Carey got the chance to sing one of her Grease favorites — “Hopelessly Devoted to You” — with Newton-John when her Butterfly World Tour rolled through Melbourne, Australia. “[W]e sang our hearts out together to ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You,’” Carey wrote. “This is a moment I will never ever forget.” (A snippet of the performance, which was included on Carey’s 1999 concert film, Around the World, is available below.)

Carey ended her tribute to Newton-John by saying, “I was also blessed to be in her presence on many other occasions and she was one of the kindest, most generous and lovely people I’ve ever met. She will be missed. She will be remembered. She will be loved. Olivia, I honestly love you.”

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