THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

ON SONG 

ONJ and Chloe in harmony 

The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) / COURIER MAIL /HERALD SUN/THE ADVERTISER

29 Jan 2021CAMERON ADAMS  

Olivia Newton-John may be one of our most recognisable voices but there’s one sound of Australia she pines for. “I miss the sounds of the birds in the morning,” Newton-John says from her Californian ranch. “I really miss Australia; Australia is still my heart home.” 

 While she was born in England in 1948 (she was made a dame in 2019), the singer’s family emigrated to Melbourne in 1954. 

 “Even though I went back to England when I was 16, for my career, those years from five to 16 I spent in Australia, they’re the very formative years – that’s a very important period in your life,” Newton-John says. “It’s why Australia is so special to me.” 

 Her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, has spent the past few months living with Newton-John and her husband John Easterling. Last year a friend told Newton-John she had a song – written by a cousin – she wanted the superstar to hear. 

 “I thought, ‘Gosh, what if it’s terrible?’” Newton-John says. “Anyway, I played it. I was sitting with John and we both got very emotional. I just had this knowingness I needed to record it. 

 “I’d decided I wasn’t going to sing any more – I was just going to hang out and have fun – but I knew I had to record this and I had to record it with Chloe. This song moved me and hopefully it can move other people.” 

 After her cancer returned in 2017, Newton-John effectively retired from touring and recording new music. 

 However, the song Window In the Wall had a positive message that instantly appealed to the singer and her daughter. 

 “People talk a lot about unity and healing, but only if you think the way I do,” Lattanzi says. “What this song is about is finding the similarities even if people see things differently to you, and showing people love even if they think differently to you.” 

Indeed, Newton-John’s trademark positivity (she calls herself a cancer “thriver”, not survivor, and never uses terms like battle or war to discuss her health) even extends to the pandemic. 

 “As much as it’s been a difficult time there have been some positives: a lot of families are forced to be together and learn new things about each other and about life and community they hadn’t focused on, because they’re so distracted by everything,” she says.

 “It’s a wonderful opportunity to have people remember we all share this planet at this time.” 

The song’s video was filmed at Newton-John’s ranch in Santa Barbara – where Easterling grows the strains of medicinal cannabis she uses for healing and pain relief. (Lattanzi usually lives on a cannabis farm in Oregon). 

 “It’s not a bad place to be locked down; we’re very fortunate,” Newton-John says. “We’re in a little, quiet town. The danger is everywhere; you just have to take precautions. We wear masks when we go shopping, try to stay safe.” 

 “But we don’t live in fear,” Lattanzi adds. 

 While Newton-John is in constant contact with her family in Melbourne (“Australia’s done a wonderful job with the virus,” she notes) she has no plans to return any time soon – and had to miss her annual walk for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre last year. “We can’t come back right now,” she says. “I don’t want to risk flying, to be honest, with my immune system. “Even though it’s good, I’m a little compromised, so I don’t want to take any chances.” And fans will get more music from Newton-John. As well as recording for Delta Goodrem’s Christmas album and Barry Gibb’s No. 1 album, Greenfields, she’s working on her own duets album, which will include Window In the Wall as well as some unheard duets from her vault. “I’m just going to do things that give me pleasure, without having to tour,” Newton-John says. “I lived that life between the plane and the hotel and the stage; it was great but I’m enjoying this new life very much.” 

 I’d decided I wasn’t going to sing any more – I was just going to hang out and have fun – but I knew I had to record this Window In the Wall is out now

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Et donc on apprend  qu'ONJ va nous sortir un album de duos composé d'inédits .. issus de ses archives ! Je n'ose même pas imaginer tout ce qu'elle a dans ses archives ... mais à quand un vrai album solo ! 

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Please tune in on Friday, January 29 to see our interview on @extra talking about our new single “Window in the Wall" Check your local listings! Green Hill Music Primary Wave Chloe Lattanzi

Publiée par Olivia Newton-John sur Jeudi 28 janvier 2021