P!nk honored the late singer and actress Olivia Newton-John with a heartfelt performance of her iconic Grease classic, “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” at the 2022 American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 20.
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“As her tens of millions of fans will attest, to hear her sing whether live, at a theater, or up on the silver screen was to feel the power of art,” said Melissa Etheridge, “to transform feelings, the feelings we all have a love of elation and disappointment into something sublime.”
Etheridge paid tribute to Newton-John before introducing P!nk, who sang through a touching rendition of “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” originally sung by Newton-John, who died on Aug. 8 at the 73 after a 30-year battle with breast cancer.
The British-born Australian actress was first diagnosed with cancer in 1992 and after going into remission was diagnosed again in 2013 and 2017.
“She was an absolute icon, and she was a wonderful human being,” said P!nk prior to her performance. “I loved her voice. My daughter just got done doing ‘Grease’ in her theatre production, and she actually helped me learn the song.”
Throughout her career, Newton-John won 10 AMAs and hosted the awards show at the 1976 ceremony along with Glen Campbell and Aretha Franklin.
Originally written by John Farrar—who also wrote the Grease duet “You’re the One That I Want”—for the 1978 film, “Hopelessly Devoted to You” was the only song off the soundtrack to pick up an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. The song also hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was Newton-John’s first top 20 country hit. Newton-John performed the song at the Grammy Awards in 1979 and again at the 51st Annual Academy Awards that same year.
Topped in a fluffy pink-armed jacket and light-up pink roller skates, mimicking the colorful choreography of her accompanying music video, P!nk opened the AMAs with a performance of her new single “Never Not Gonna Dance Again,” off her upcoming ninth album, Trustfall.
Photos: ABC
