You're the One That I Want

"You're the One That I Want" was one of the two singles, along with "Hopelessly Devoted to You", that Farrar wrote specifically for Newton-John's appearance in the film that had not been in the original stage musical. Randal Kleiser, the film's director, was not fond of this song because he felt that it did not mesh well with the rest of the Warren Casey-Jim Jacobs score and the fifties style musically or lyrically.^[8]

Record World called it "a frantic, up-tempo duet between the two stars that is bound to leave listeners breathless."^[9]

Danny Zuko (Travolta), leader of the T-Birds, has recently lettered in cross-country running in an effort to win back his estranged girlfriend Sandy Olsson (Newton-John); unbeknownst to him, Sandy, who has been conflicted about her upright and proper etiquette in a school full of brash greasers, has herself transformed into a greaser queen to win back Danny. In the song, Danny expresses pleasant shock and arousal at Sandy's transformation, with Sandy responding that Danny must "shape up" to prove himself capable of treating her the right way.

The song originally written at this point in the original musical, "All Choked Up" (which had previously replaced a song titled "Kiss It"), was similar in theme, but different in style, written as a pastiche of Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" and with Sandy being more provocative. "All Choked Up" was one of two songs from the Jacobs/Casey score that was excised completely from both the film and the film's soundtrack. Most 21st-century performances of the musical also include "You're the One That I Want" instead of "All Choked Up".

Upon its release in conjunction with the film (and its status as a potential blockbuster worldwide), the single became a huge international hit, reaching number one in several countries.

In the United States, the single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100^[10] and on July 18 was certified Platinum for shipments exceeding 2 million copies.^[11] (It was already Gold by April 12.)^[11]

It also topped the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks in the summer of 1978, some months before the film had even been released in that country.^[12] As of 2018, it is still the fifth best-selling single of all time in the United Kingdom, where it has sold two million copies.^[13]

In Australia, the single spent nine nonconsecutive weeks at the top and became the best charting single of the year.^[14]

A re-released "Martian remix" of the single by PolyGram Records reached #4 in the United Kingdom^[12] and #27 in Australia in 1998, the twentieth anniversary of the film's debut.

The song was used as the musical background for a fight scene inside a car between the titular characters of the 2024 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Deadpool & Wolverine.

In 1993, the version by Craig McLachlan and Debbie Gibson was released by Epic Records as the lead single from Grease – Original London Cast Recording, the soundtrack of the 1993 London revival of the musical Grease, in which both McLachlan and Gibson starred. It peaked at number thirteen on the UK Singles Chart,^[12] number 24 on the UK Airplay chart,^[64] and number 43 on the Eurochart Hot 100.^[65]

British comedians Arthur Mullard and Hylda Baker also released a version of the song in 1978. Their version reached No. 22 in the United Kingdom.^[12]

In 1978, the German comedians Dieter Hallervorden and Helga Feddersen released a parody version under the title "Du, die Wanne ist voll". The song reached position number four in the German charts.^[66]

Also in 1978, the Swedish crooner Svante Thuresson released a version in Swedish under the title "Det är dej jag vill ha". The song reached position number four in the Svensktoppen.^[67]

Also in 1978, Finnish singers and siblings Anna and Kirka Babitzin released a Finnish version translated by Pertti Reponen, "Sinut haluan vain" ("I Only Want You").^[68]

In 2010, Angus & Julia Stone released a cover of the song on the track list of their single "Big Jet Plane. In 2012, the song peaked at No. 21 on the UK Independent Singles Chart.^[69]

In 2017, American singer Charlotte Lawrence released a cover of the song.^[70]

In 2021, American rapper and singer Doja Cat performed the song in a commercial for Pepsi to promote their "Soda Shop" line.^[71]

Reworked versions of the song are featured in Autumn 2023 and Spring 2024 commercials for British home furnishings retailer Dunelm.^[72][73][74]

• List of best-selling singles
• List of best-selling singles in France
• List of best-selling singles in the United Kingdom
• Grease: You're the One that I Want! – a reality game show where contestants competed to star on a Broadway-style revival of the musical
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1978 (U.S.)