"Magic"
German single picture sleeve
Single by Pilot
from the album From the Album of the Same Name
B-side"Just Let Me Be"
ReleasedSeptember 1974 (UK)
April 1975 (US)
Recorded1974, Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre
Length3:03
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Alan Parsons
Pilot singles chronology
"Just a Smile"
(1974) 		"Magic"
(1974) 		"January"
(1975)

"Magic" is a 1974 song by Scottish pop rock band Pilot, and was the first hit single for the group. It was written by band members David Paton and Billy Lyall for their debut album, From the Album of the Same Name.

Background

According to Paton, the song is inspired by the sunrise on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh.[4] In a 2012 interview with Hotdisc Television, Paton also stated that at the time, his wife said she had "never seen a daybreak," which also inspired the song.[5]

Personnel

Pilot

Additional personnel

Chart performance

"Magic" charted most successfully in Canada, where it topped the RPM national singles chart on 19 July 1975,[6] and received a gold certification.[7] It climbed as far as number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and reached number five during the summer of 1975 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100.

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[7] Gold 75,000^
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Selena Gomez version

"Magic"
Single by Selena Gomez
from the album Wizards of Waverly Place
Released21 July 2009 (2009-07-21)
Recorded2009
GenrePop rock
Length2:49
LabelWalt Disney
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Selena Gomez singles chronology
"Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)"
(2009) 		"Magic"
(2009) 		"Send It On"
(2009)
Music video
"Magic" on YouTube

Gomez's version was released as a single on 21 July 2009. It peaked at No. 61 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, at No. 80 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart, at No. 5 on the Norwegian Singles Chart and at No. 90 on the UK Singles Chart. It has sold 563,000 copies in the United States.[22] Selena Gomez covered "Magic" for the soundtrack of the Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place; it was marked with an asterisk (*) as "Magic*" due to two other songs on the album having identical names (the other two performed by Meaghan Martin and Honor Society). The song was featured in the television film Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie. Her music video premiered on Disney Channel on 24 July 2009. The video was directed by Roman Perez.

Chart (2009-2010) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[23] 80
Guatemala (EFE)[24] 8
Norway (VG-lista)[25] 5
Scotland (OCC)[26] 72
UK Singles (OCC)[27] 90
US Billboard Hot 100[28] 61

Ozempic Television Advertisement

In 2018, pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk began using the song in its ads for Ozempic, an injectable drug originally intended for people with Type 2 Diabetes, but which became popular for its off-label use as a weight-loss drug. David Paton was asked to return to Abbey Road Studios to record a new version of the song, which from a vocal standpoint is little more than his singing the opening line, replacing the words "It's magic" with "Ozempic" and otherwise adding nonverbal singing. [29]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Soft Rock: AM Radio Hits - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via AllMusic.
  2. ^ "Glam Rock". Ooocities.org. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  3. ^ "discogs.com". discogs.com. 1974. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  4. ^ "- YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  5. ^ "DAVID PATON OF PILOT INTERVIEW ON RADIO BORDERS - 6 MAY 2012 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  7. ^ a b "Canadian single certifications – Pilot – Magic". Music Canada. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  8. ^ Steffen Hung. "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  9. ^ "RPM - Library and Archives Canada - RPM - Bibliothèque et Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  10. ^ "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de.
  11. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Magic". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  12. ^ Top 40, Stichting Nederlandse. "Pilot - Magic". Top40.nl.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  15. ^ [Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002]
  16. ^ "Cash Box Top Singles - 1975". tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  17. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1975". Kent Music Report. 29 December 1975. Retrieved 15 January 2022 – via Imgur.
  18. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 24, No. 14, December 27, 1975". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  19. ^ Top 40, Stichting Nederlandse. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1975". Top40.nl.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1975/Top 100 Songs of 1975". musicoutfitters.com.
  21. ^ "American single certifications – Pilot – Magic". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  22. ^ Trust, Gary (14 May 2017). "Ask Billboard: Selena Gomez's Career Album & Song Sales". Billboard.
  23. ^ "Selena Gomez Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  24. ^ "Éxitos discográficos de la semana". La Opinión. 1 January 2010. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  25. ^ "Selena Gomez – Magic". VG-lista. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  26. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  27. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  28. ^ "Selena Gomez Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  29. ^ https://www.ozempic.com/lifestyle-tips/story-behind-ozempic-song.html

External links

Pilot
Selena Gomez
Authority control databases
Categories