Twist of Fate (Olivia Newton-John song)

"Twist of Fate"
Single by Olivia Newton-John
from the album Two of a Kind
B-side	"Jolene" (UK) "Take a Chance" (with John Travolta) (US)
Released	21 October 1983 (1983-10-21)
Genre	Pop pop rock synth pop new wave
Length	3:44
Label	EMI (UK) MCA (US)
Songwriter(s)	Peter Beckett Steve Kipner
Producer(s)	David Foster[1]
Olivia Newton-John singles chronology
"Tied Up" (1983) "Twist of Fate" (1983) "(Livin' in) Desperate Times" (1984)

"Twist of Fate" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for the soundtrack to the 1983 film Two of a Kind. Written by Peter Beckett and Steve Kipner,^[2] and produced by David Foster, the song was released as the first single from the album on 21 October 1983, and reached number four in Australia and Canada. It reached its peak position of number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 in January 1984, becoming her last top 10 single on the chart, and she would only crack the top 40 two more times for the rest of her career. Billboard magazine ranked "Twist of Fate" as the 42nd most popular single of 1984.

The b-side "Take a Chance", a duet with John Travolta, also garnered sufficient radio play to hit the top three of the Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S. ^[3] In Canada, it hit number one on the Adult Contemporary chart.^[4]

"Twist of Fate"'s accompanying music video was included on a video collection of songs from Two of a Kind. The collection was nominated for Best Video, Short Form at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to David Bowie's Jazzin' for Blue Jean.^[5]

In 2017, the song was featured in the second season of the Netflix series Stranger Things and included on the soundtrack album, Stranger Things: Music from the Netflix Original Series. The album was nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.^[6]

Track listing and formats

All tracks produced by David Foster except "Coolin' Down" and "Jolene", produced by John Farrar.

• Australian 7-inch vinyl single (Interfusion Records)

1. "Twist of Fate" (Beckett, Kipner) – 3:39
2. "Coolin' Down" (Farrar)– 3:57

• UK 7-inch vinyl single (EMI Records)

1. "Twist of Fate"
2. "Jolene" (Dolly Parton)

• US/Canadian 7-inch vinyl single (MCA Records)

1. "Twist of Fate" – 3:39
2. "Take a Chance" (with John Travolta) (Foster, Steve Lukather, Olivia Newton-John) – 4:05

• US 12-inch vinyl single – Promo Only (MCA Records)

1. "Twist of Fate (Extended Version)" – 5:18
2. "Twist of Fate" – 3:39

Charts

Weekly charts Chart performance for "Twist of Fate" Chart (1983–1984) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 4 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 33 Canada Top Singles (RPM) 4 Germany (GfK) 15 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 42 Japan (Oricon) 73 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 22 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 20 UK Singles (OCC)[12] 57 US Billboard Hot 100[13] 5 US Cash Box Top 100 5 South Africa (Springbok)[14] 5 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[15] 51

Chart performance for "Take a Chance" Chart (1983-84) Peak Position US Billboard Adult Contemporary 3 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[16] 1 Year-end charts Chart performance for "Twist of Fate" Chart (1984) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[17][18] 46 Canada Top Singles (RPM) 48 US Billboard Hot 100[19] 42 US Cash Box Top 100 55

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20]	Gold	50,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Two of a Kind (1983) - Soundtracks - IMDb". Retrieved 4 May 2010.
2. Joel Whitburn (1995). Top Pop Annual. Record Research, Menomonee Falls, Wis.
3. https://www.billboard.com/artist/olivia-newton-john/chart-history/asi/
4. "Item: 7433 - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
5. O'Neil 1999, p. 390.
6. Arcand, Rob (10 February 2019). "Grammys 2019 Winners: The Complete List (Updating Live)". Spin. Archived from the original on 11 February 2019.
7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 239. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
8. "Olivia Newton-John – Twist of Fate" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
9. "Olivia Newton-John – Twist of Fate" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
10. "Olivia Newton-John – Twist of Fate". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
11. "Olivia Newton-John – Twist of Fate". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
12. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
13. "Olivia Newton-John Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
14. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
15. "Olivia Newton-John Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
16. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 4461." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
17. "Kent Music Report No 548 – 31 December 1984 > National Top 100 Singles for 1984". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 23 January 2023 – via Imgur.com.
18. BigKev. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
19. "Talent Almanac 1985: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. 96 (51): TA-19. 22 December 1984.
20. "Canadian single certifications – Olivia Newton-John – Twist of Fate". Music Canada. Retrieved 15 April 2012.

Bibliography

• O'Neil, Thomas (1999), The Grammys, Perigree Books, ISBN 0-399-52477-0