B-side "Just Let Me Be" Recorded 1974 Label EMI | Released 2 November 1974 Genre Pop rock, Power pop | |
Length 3:06 (Album version)
2:22 (Single edit version) | ||
"Magic" is a popular 1974 song by Scottish pop rock band Pilot, and was the first hit single for the group. It was written by band members Billy Lyall and David Paton for their debut album, From the Album of the Same Name.
Contents
It charted most successfully in Canada, where it reached #1, topping the RPM national singles chart on 19 July 1975, and received a gold certification. It climbed as far as #11 on the UK Singles Chart and reached #5 during the summer of 1975 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100.
Other versions
"Magic" was covered by Sally Boyden on her 1976 album The Littlest Australian. The song was sampled by Girl Talk on his 2006 release Night Ripper on the track "Summer Smoke". The song is also heavily sampled in a song titled "It's Magic" by rap artist J.R. Writer. It was then sampled again by rapper Flo Rida in 2009. The alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies has been known to sometimes close live shows by playing the song as part of a medley. It has also been covered by Patrick Juvet.
Selena Gomez version
Selena Gomez covered "Magic" for the soundtrack of the Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place, was released as a single on 21 July 2009; 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 Jette Martin and Honor Society). The song was featured in the television film Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie.
Commercial performance
It has sold over 558,000 copies in the United States as of July 19, 2015.
Chart performance
Gomez's version 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 number 90 on the UK Singles Chart. It has sold 558,000 copies in the United States.
Music video
The music video premiered on Disney Channel on 24 July 2009. The video was directed by Roman Perez.