Despite her long string of hits, most people do not realize the great vocalist she was. The world is a lesser place without her in it.

Olivia was the complete package. Beauty, beautiful voice, and beautiful personality. Love her to this day.

Her accuracy is off the charts and her ability to tell a story in a song is incredible......no tricks or Auto tune needed.

R.i.P. Olivia Newton-John. As an Aussie, it's a very sad day here. Thank you for highlighting an incredible vocal performer and incredibly wonderful person.

She has one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard!

Who's more versatile than Olivia Newton-John? No one can touch her. She's influenced so much, but is criminally underappreciated. She was IT in the '70s through the mid-'80s. She, Streisand and Donna Summer were that era's Trinity. Every straight guy wished to date her, and every girl (and many guys) wanted to BE her. I can go on about her for hours. Once-in-a-lifetime talent that is unappreciated these days because she's a crooner rather than a belter.

Olivia not only sings with an almost incomparable range, and control, this woman who has been my favorite singer for fifty years now, since age seven, the very first time I heard her on the radio, and the woman I have had a crush on for almost as long, sings with EMOTION. She sang and sings without auto-tune, does perfect tracks and backing vocals. There will never, ever be anyone like Olivia Newton-John, the world's sweetheart, and tremendous humanitarian. She also learned as a young woman in Australia, on television, how to use, and look at the camera, which along with her tremendous voice, beauty and emotion, instantly made much of the world instantly fall head over heels with her voice; and beauty. I will forever love Olivia, and she will always be my favorite vocalist of all time, until I am dead.

I was 14 years old when I saw this concert on HBO in 1982. I’m 55 years old now and I’ve been in love with her ever since! 😊

Olivia Newton John is one of the most underrated female singers in the world. A Icon with one of the biggest hearts and a phenomenal voice.

I've always loved this performance of Sam, but I had no idea how impressive it also is technically!

I had the privilege to meet her and her sister when she was doing a concert in Copenhagen. I was doing hair and makeup for the concert that included among others Tina Turner, Morten Harkert of A-ha fame. Olivia wanted to have her bangs shorter and I offered to cut them but she told me she had been cutting her own bangs for years, so she ended up borrowing my scissors and cutting them herself. She was very nice and down to earth, and made everyone feel like they mattered. And this was shortly after her boyfriend vanished during a fishing trip of the coast of Los Angeles and was presumed dead.

She’s such a beautiful person inside and out. I’ve loved her voice since I was a little girl in the 70’s. She’s rocking that mullet, too!

I hope Olivia has had the chance to see and hear this analysis that so clearly validates her vocal ability. Just amazing!

You've opened my ears to how great Oliva was.

To watch the outpouring of love and respect for Olivia since she passed away tells you what an amazing person she was and how much she was admired as a person and a performer. RIP Olivia. What a gift she was to the world.

Great video. I’ve loved Olivia since I was 7 years old. I’m now 57. I’ve watched this concert a million times. Sam is my favorite song from this concert. I saw her twice in concert. I will forever miss her.

Absolutely gutted today...Olivia was my first boyhood crush, and I've remained in love with her. She was absolutely wonderful, on and off stage. May she Rest in Peace. 💔😔💔😔

What an excellent breakdown by Fil for why everyone recognizes Olivia Newton John’s exceptional level of talent… but mostly without the depth of understanding that Fil’s explanation brings to us here. Keep the songs, the voices, and your fun and informative reviews coming, Fil! YOU ROCK!!! :D

Olivia is one of the best of all time and so underrrated! Beautiful and talented...

Forty years ago?! Oh man, I’m old. Olivia was EVERY guy’s heartthrob back then. You are missed, Liv. ❤️😢

That about brought tears to my eyes. She is an amazingly talented, incredible human being. I've always thought the Xanadu soundtrack was ahead of its time. Thank you SO much for this video!

Olivia has been always so underrated. As others have said very versatile. Thank you Fil for explaining to the world how good. I have seen her perform live a few times and she proves she is a real singer. No extra bells and whistles required. Just the beauty of her voice.

Longtime producer John Farrar once said Olivia was the purest vocal talents he's ever worked with! She would come into the studio and just nail it on the first take! Then she would say I could do it better and then she would! That being said... Monday, God called back one of his angels to heaven, We have all been blessed for many years with your angelic voice. your loving heart and the beauty of a Goddess among mortals. Our lives are truly better for the gift that has been bestowed upon us, Millions fell in love with you from afar and those who have had the privileged to meet you in person actually fell in love with you. You have touched our hearts, our minds and our souls and will forever hold a special place within us, Rest in peace Olivia. We will always love you.

I briefly met olivia in the foyer of a large Sydney Hotel about 15 years ago. She was leaving the hotel to get into the back of a car, & I yelled out Olivia. She turned, said that's me, smiled & waves. She was a very classy lady. RIP Olivia.

Depending on how she felt on any given night, Olivia would SOAR with the highest notes on "Sam" & "Jolene"...no soundboards, etc. A pure singer - artist. God, she will be so missed. Her power & range were so much stronger than it was here in 1982. Nobody else like her. RIP to a beautiful soul.

As a hard rock guy I never would have gave songs like this a second listen. Fil's genius lies in his ability to teach the rest of us how to hear and appreciate a song like he does. My musical world has greatly expanded because of him. I'm now an Olivia Newton John fan but don't tell anyone

I’ve been a fan of hers for close to 40 years. Little 9-year-old me clocked that she was an exceptional vocalist - and that she made it all look so effortless that many wouldn’t fully appreciate it - but it’s great to have a technical explanation of just how extraordinary her vocal technique actually is. Thanks for this brilliant video! 🙏

Rest in peace Olivia... Superb vocalist and should be known for more than just being Sandy in Grease 👍

She was greatly underrated as a singer. I always loved the way she often did that "voice crack" or "yodeling" thing with her voice (don't know the official term for that). She could sing anything. Even belt out rock songs which is something I wish she had done more of. She was amazing at her peak. Wonderful analysis.

Dude, a rock dude myself, I canNOT believe you hit any song at all from this show, to me it’s one of the greatest vocal performers EVER, front-to-back of the entire show. ONJ was DEF at her vocal peak in ‘82, I would loooove to hear you do this type of reaction to Silvery Rain and then secondly Jolene from this show. MAGIC is also SO much better and breathtaking vocally live than on record. To this day I don’t think her voice has ever been FULLY done it’s justice on a studio recording, and they all sound pretty damn good anyway! She is SO much better and full -sounding vocally live ❤️🔥🌻✌️ Groove on dude!

Purity, Beauty, Class, Brilliance, Heartwarming Soul & Voice !

Had to stop the video to type this. Something in my eyes.. what a wonderful lady and I never tire of hearing her sing. What she is going through she doesn’t deserve.. God bless her.. 🙏❤️ Thanks, Fil..👍

I’m so glad you analyzed Olivia’s singing voice. I have absolutely adored her my whole life. I really appreciate her being appreciated. Especially considering what’s going on with her now. Olivia was and is so much more than a huge pop and country star. She was always involved with great causes. She always seemed incredibly kind and humble. She was and still is gorgeous. Then, on top of that, that crystal clear angelic voice. I saw her in concert again about five or six years ago. I don’t know how she could still sound so amazing. She has shown immense strength, will power, and grace in her many years battle with cancer. I wish her all the best. Thank you again for giving her just a bit of the credit she is due.

So pleased you did an expert analysis of Olivia. I've been boring everyone around me for years on how technically great she is. Superb vid! Many thanks :)

Loving the little grin Fil always has while listening to the performances. He knows just how good the artists truly are!

Beautiful lady with a great voice. Olivia has had so many great hits such as "I Honestly Love You", "If Not for You", "Let Me Be There", "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)", "Have You Never Been Mellow", "Hopelessly Devoted To You" & her duet with John Travolta "You're the One That I Want" & "Summer Nights" (from movie Grease).

Maybe the best interpretation of Sam ever... Olivia has been a Giant as Artist and Woman... One of the most important and best singers of the Contemporary Times by far... RIP Livvy!!!

She has so much variety with that lovely voice. She can do airy/mysterious like in “Magic”, emotionally tortured like here, sultry/sexy like “A Little More Love”. And her voice is so pleasingly sweet. Thanks for doing this piece on her, Fil - she has always been one of my faves😍

I love that performance… she should be on the list of the best singers of all time… so underrated

What a performance, never fully appreciated her. But you left out one crucial feature, and that was the fact that she was singing a very complex melody, almost jazz-like in nature, idiosyncratic, and she nailed every note, never sounded flat. Wow. Amazing. Thanks as always.

I have always loved "Sam", one of my favorites by her. It is just such a great song and a great showcase for her voice. Should have been a bigger hit, but sometimes that is just the way. A nice gem for us who love good music. I was in the Air Force, 1980, just 18 and bought her Greatest Hits (early years). I used to get drunk at the NCO club (Monterey, CA - Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, studying Russian 8 hours a day, five days a week, a fantastic time in my life) go back to my dorm room and put that on my headphones in bed and just doze off to her voice singing those great old songs.

I fell in love with ONJ after seeing her sing this song on the midnight special. Her passion and commitment to the vocal was spellbinding. I've loved her ever since. Her voice causes chemical reactions in my brain that just feel so damn good.

I saw her at the Paris in Vegas some years back. 35 piece band. When she came out it was almost a little breathtaking. One of the finest voices and she still had some of her highest notes available.

I remember this exact same concert. It was a 1982 HBO special concert and my parents taped it on our VCR. I remember my grandfather would come over for dinner once every week. He was close to 80 yo and I was about 7 yo and he would ask me to put this concert on for him every time he came over cuz he didn’t know how to work the VCR. Sometimes he’d watch the entire thing twice in a row. Ironically his name was Sam (the name of this particular song) and I was named after him. She was beautiful and an absolutely amazing talent. Literally every single song on this concert was amazing. And have you ever seen anyone make a over-the-top mullet look so beautiful?! She definitely deserves her place among the greatest pop/rock/country stars ever!!! Today’s music just doesn’t seem to have the same soul as the music of that era. She was one of the biggest international superstars of that time but sadly she seems to be under appreciated today

As you know the 1970's had a wide range musical style and sounds Olivia's soft vocal was much a part of my teen years as rock and roll was. I know she has ongoing health issues with breast cancer and back pain wishing her minimal pain as possable.

So sad to hear of Olivia's passing. She was just wonderful, and losing her and Judith Durham within a few days of each other really hits me.

Thank you for bringing back Olivia into my life. You actually made me understand why I loved her singing so much in the 70’s. The best part of her performances was that my 1st wife also liked her.

So so glad to see Olivia be acknowledged for her vast vocal skill.

When I say Olivia has the voice of an Angel, I really believe if Angels do sing they would sound like exactly like Olivia Newton John. Vocally unique Olivia take you to so many different places spiritually. Also she has the uncanny ability to sing directly into the camera as if she's singing only to you in the audience. I've seen Olivia 3x in concert! Just phenomenal! She has an aurora of true authenticity 😇

Underrated singer. There's a live show with her, ABBA and Andy Gibb here on YT. Completely amazing.

Olivia is one of the most underrated singers ever. Love her singing voice, especially in her early stuff before she went pop.

Well thank you Fil. I think we forget about Olivia. Time has a cruel ambivalence. Being a singer myself, what she does here is insane to do in a recording session and “other worldly” to do live. No, I cannot do this even in my range, lol. But I know amazing when I hear it. Wow I never realized how good she really was.

Wow. She was so beautiful with a clear, strong voice without yelling. There’s something mellow and calming listening to her. Rest in peace Livvy. 💝

I remember her in the 80’s and she sold over 100 million records. Every girl idolized her and every guy was in love with her. She was the greatest female pop star of my generation… The millennials weren’t around then and missed out on true talent and real beauty.

She has such real, legit vocal chops and makes it totally work for pop music at the same time. Wow!

She's been such a lovely part of the soundtrack of our lives in the US, too. Thanks for illuminating her vocal skill so well! I noticed we can't say the word "air" without a lot of air.

I have always found her quite amazing and not just for her beauty! Her voice is truly as beautiful as she is..

I am glad you did this Fil. I have always loved Olivia Newton-John. I have watched this concert many, many times. Each time I am blown away with her power, her pitch, and how she can sign about any style flawlessly. She is amazing!

I'd forgotten how good ONJ was back then. Most people remember just one song "Physical", or her work in Grease, and those were far from her best work. Thanks for doing her justice. She is a great singer and person.

‘Magic’ is another song where she displays wonderful vocal skills

I have such admiration for Olivia! This concert not only shows what an amazing singer she is, but what a great entertainer she is, connecting with the audience, the band and the camera seemingly so effortlessly. Love her! ❤️

Don Black needs more credit for this as the lyricist....it is a lyrical masterpiece. The songs allows Olivia to paint a picture of a woman telling the listener of her ultimate loss....just have one more listen to those words and the "emotional vocal"(yes, I mean't that rhyme!!) of the amaing OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN....gone but NEVER EVER forgotten. My favourite singer ever....any wonder why? My sister sent me a text about her passing...that has never happened before. I was in Weymouth, England when she gave me the news. My daughter once delivered Olivia's Greatests Hits Album to me months after I lost it during the divorce. That was the moment I became lost for words.

I've never seen this performance with her fil or knew she demonstrate this technique she has a wonderful beautiful voice love her singing and love her voice in grease she is wonderful such a great live singer amazing performance

This song and the artful way Olivia sang it is a performance of aching melancholy longing. She told the story of the lyrics beautifully.

The artist typically will make all these phenomenal vocal gymnastics seem easy, natural. That is the difference between someone who just sings & an artist who puts all into the final product @ the astonishment of her audience. She always delivers.

This entire concert is a gem. So great.

She and Sheena Easton had 2 of the most incredible voices of the 70-90's! Mariah's got nothing on them.

What more can be said? On top of all this talent and artistry, she was one of the most beautiful women there ever was, inside and out, with a heart of gold. The greatest of all time! 💕💗💕

Olivia was perfect in every way. She was angelic.

I saw this concert with a friend on VHS in 1985. I vividly remember how emotional we felt. My friend even cried of happiness. We were in our teens - she was our idol, our muse - Xanadu was our special place. He died in 2004. Now he must be happy because Olivia is also in heaven.

*I can't... I just can't... I just can't stop crying now when I listen to her... I miss her dearly...deeply... she meant so much to all of us... crying now as I type... Rest In Peace... a new angel was welcomed in heaven to lead choirs... Godspeed to Chloe and the the rest of her inner circle... God Bless*

She is very underrated for her voice. She was one of my first crushes as a little boy. My dad listened to country music and that’s how I first heard her. I know she got more famous for her pop style songs, but her ballads are incredible. Hopelessly Devoted to You is my favorite ballad of hers. The live performance I believe on Midnight Special was astounding.

I really appreciate how you pointed out the way she dramatized the lyrics with masterful technique. It’s hard to do this and keep it sweet and real.

Oh god talk about heart strings. My dog was called Sam and I was a kid at the time and I adored this song. He died and I was broken hearted, 40 years later I can still remember arguing with the vet! I learned biology since. Anyway a beautiful song and she was amazing in the 70s.

Watching this again RIP Dame Olivia Newton John 🥀

I remember when that concert was on HBO a lot, man I would catch it whenever I could. I must have seen it 50 times. It was fantastic from beginning to end-- the songs, her outfits, the hair, that beautiful voice, all on point. When I was a kid she was my idol. When Grease came out everyone used to tell me I looked just like her, it was the biggest compliment ever lol. Xanadu is still one of my favorite comfort films for sick days, cheesy as it is I still have the VHS tape AND the DVD in my tv cabinet. I had all her albums from the 70s thru the 90s; if she put one out, I bought it. Today she keeps popping up in my recommended videos and I am so saddened by her passing, she was such a beautiful and talented human being. RIP Olivia 😢

It's a sad day we have lost a beautiful, wonderful and Talented woman, A true Australian Icon. Goodbye Olivia you will be missed and remembered.

Amazing in every way. At 70 I still want to be Olivia! Thanks FIL.

Australian entertainment legend Olivia Newton-John has died, aged 73. The actor, whose starring role in Grease in 1978 made her world famous, passed away at her ranch in California following a long battle with breast cancer. RIP Olivia 09/08/2022

Such an amazing singer and performer….as well as person. As a young American male growing up in Southern California in the sixties, seventies and eighties, and always having been a music lover, Olivia and her music were a substantial part of my life…….and she was probably my first celebrity crush….with a nod to Karen Carpenter in that respect. Both gone now…..incredible voices….take your place singing with the angels, Olivia!

RIP Olivia... The voice of an angel has returned home. Gone but she will never be forgotten...This song has always made me cry and it hits 10x harder now … Her control of her voice was just amazing..

You are giving all us lesser mortals when it comes to vocal techniques another level of appreciation and it's amazing to understand a little more. THANKS FIL. ROCK!

OMG!! I've never been so favourably shocked in all my life listening to this. I absolutely adore Olivia and listened to her songs religiously growing up in the 70's and 80's. I was blown completely away by her range just then. I have her album with this song on it but this Live version was outstanding. ✨🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 What a pure superstar ✨🙏🏾💜💜💜🌺 Love & Miss you Olivia.

Aw, she mesmerized everyone instantly! She always put her whole heart into her performances. I grew up watching her and singing along with her songs. I haven't heard this one in decades. I had not seen this performance. Some of the highest notes I've heard her hit. Extra points for the 80's hair!

This lady has a beautiful voice! Incredible voice. ❤️❤️

What a lyrical gymnast! She was truly one of a kind and this world will definitely notice her passing now and forever! Go sing with them angels Dame Olivia and thank you from the bottom of our ❤️!

I rewatched this after ONJ's passing and it was even more compelling to me. You hit the nail on the head when you talk about her control as a singer and how she acted a song. Thank you for your passion for such a great artist!

Very powerful falsetto/whistle range. Great tone throughout her registers. Cheers!

Agnetha and Frida were baffled when they sang with her, she could sing ANYTHING.

Firstly, Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Thanks for showcasing an absolute legend! Secondly, holy mullet! Go the 80’s! Finally, really enjoyed the analysis. 👍🏻

I met Olivia in person. I felt it to be such an honour. She is truly sweeter than honey. Incredible Woman in so many ways. Angelic inside out. Have a lovely day Olivia in the company of your hubby. Love and hugs from Melbourne, Australia. Thank you for covering Olivia”s gift.

And this is not an easy song musically. Lots of changes throughout. She is amazing.

She was my initial crush as a pre-pubescent kid. The voice is amazing. I believe she is underrated, and her name never comes up in the conversation of the great singers

Fil, another great analysis of our darling Olivia. Many have commented on her genius in a variety of musical genres. This is a pretty complex piece, and her voice takes us effortlessly through it.

She delivers warmth and emotion with big impact that goes straight to the heart.Also love her duets with Andy GIBB aND also that soulful one with Barry(Face to face)SAM is also a beautiful example.

Olivia is truly gifted and definitely underappreciated. Charismatic voice and gifted skill.

RIP Olivia, you will be sadly missed. A true Aussie Treasure.

Thanks to Helen Reddy for encouraging Olivia to come to the US! Always a big fan. Thanks Fil!

I've always thought she's one of the best singers in music history. I love her.

I was a huge ONJ fan. I had posters and photos of her covering my wall in high school and waited in line to see Grease on opening day. She won a slew of American Music Awards. In your analysis, I was surprised by her range. I'd never noticed her low end and forgot that she could go as high as she did.