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What Makes Newton-John Get 'Physical' At The Gym

Aside from watching all of the new shows on TV, many people in the New Year will hit the gym, and we're doing our part to help. For the next couple of weeks, we're asking athletes, actors and others what music gets them moving.

"Physical" has been a gym-goer's favorite for decades, but Olivia Newton-John says it didn't start out that way.

"When the song came out — I recorded it, thought it was a great song and then had a panic attack, and then called my manager and said, 'You can't put this out! It's too over the top; it's too risque,'" Newton-John says. "He said, 'It's too late, it's gone to radio.' So then I said, 'Well, you know what I think? We need to make it more about exercise and take away from the naughtiness.' But, of course, that made it even naughtier."

So, what does Newton-John listen to to get her going? Well, it's not "Physical." She says listening to her own songs would be weird. Besides, she doesn't even exercise to music. It turns out that CNN and The History Channel make her "get physical."

"I have a home gym, so I get on my treadmill and put on the television," Newton-John says. "So that's when I catch up on the news or a documentary or something."

Being a good sport, Newton-John did pick out three songs for us that get her up and moving. She said "Brown Sugar" by The Rolling Stones would be one of her picks. "Always love that," she says. "Every time that comes on I'm in a club I have to get up." She also mentioned another Stones song: "Honky Tonk Woman." And she chose a more contemporary song — the Black Eyed Peas' "I Got a Feeling" — as her final pick.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Nationally renowned broadcast journalist Susan Stamberg is a special correspondent for NPR.