Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (SAMPA: mIn."oUg) (born May 28, 1968) is an Australian singer and actress who has been based primarily in the United Kingdom since the early 1990s.
Her recording career has been marked by periods of outstanding success and comparative failure. Despite criticism, particularly in the early stages of her career, she has evolved her musical and visual style to attain longevity in the competitive field of pop music. As she has matured from a teenager into an adult, she has become one of her generation's most recognisable celebrities and sex symbols. In many parts of the world, she is known simply as Kylie.
Early life and Neighbours
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Minogue is the eldest of three children. Her sister Dannii Minogue is also a pop singer. She first came to attention as a child actor in Australian soap operas, making her acting debut at the age of 11, and she appeared in Skyways, Young Talent Time, The Sullivans and The Henderson Kids, before rising to prominence in 1986 with her role in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.
Minogue played the character of Charlene Mitchell, and a storyline that created a romance and eventual marriage between her character and that played by Jason Donovan culminated in a wedding episode in 1987 that attracted a record audience. Her popularity in Australia eclipsed that of other cast members, and to a degree that of the program itself, and was demonstrated when she became the first person to win four Logie Awards in one event, including the "Gold Logie" as the country's "Most Popular Television Performer", with the result determined by public vote. The program began screening in the United Kingdom in 1987 and was highly successful. As in Australia, Minogue was considered to be one of the program's most popular and charismatic performers. She left the series in 1988 to concentrate on her music career.
Recording career
Stock, Aitken and Waterman - 1987 to 1994
During a charity event with other Neighbours cast members, Minogue performed Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion" and was signed to a recording contract with Mushroom Records in 1987. Released as a single, and retitled "Locomotion", it spent seven weeks at number one on the Australian music charts, and was the year's highest selling single. Its success resulted in Minogue travelling to London to work with production team Stock, Aitken and Waterman. Her first album, Kylie, a collection of dance songs, reached number one on the British albums charts. It became the year's highest selling album in Britain and sold over 7 million copies worldwide. It contained six hit singles including "I Should Be So Lucky", and a new version of "The Loco-Motion". The United States, where she was signed by Geffen Records, was the only major record market in which the album did not sell strongly, however "The Loco-Motion" reached number three on the US Billboard Magazine Chart. By this time Jason Donovan had started his recording career, and a duet with him titled "Especially For You", was a major hit in Britain in early 1989.
Her follow up album, Enjoy Yourself (1989), continued in the style of its predecessor, and with several hit singles, became another success in the United Kingdom and Australia, but it failed in the United States, and Geffen Records released her from her contract. Critics who were confounded by her first success, became hostile in light of her second album and began to discuss her limitations as a performer. One critic named her "The Singing Budgie", a name that stuck for several years, but All Music Guide commented on the appeal of Minogue saying the album had "endearing qualities" and "her cuteness makes these rather vapid tracks bearable". An Australian review echoed the sentiment noting that it was Minogue's very gaucheness and lack of professional polish that endeared her to the public noting "you just like her, and even when she misses her mark, you want her to succeed". By this time she had become Stock, Aitken and Waterman's highest selling act, and its first priority. In the face of widespread comment that the second album was a poor imitation of the first, it was decided to adjust the overall style of Minogue's music.
Rhythm of Love (1990) presented a more sophisticated and adult style of dance music and also marked the first signs of rebellion against her production team and the carefully crafted "girl-next-door" image they had designed for her. Determined to be accepted by a more mature audience, Minogue took control of her music videos for the first time, and presented herself as a sexually aware adult. A concurrent romance with INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence furthered Minogue's attempts to gain acceptance as a mature performer, with Hutchence stating in an interview that his favourite hobby was "corrupting Kylie".
The singles from Rhythm of Love all sold well in Europe and Australia and were notably popular in British nightclubs, where they were accepted by the older audience Minogue had deliberately targeted. When the album's fourth single, "Shocked", reached the British Top 10 in 1991, Minogue became the first recording artist to place their first 13 single releases in the Top 10. MCA Records released the single "Better The Devil You Know" in the United States, but it failed to chart, and the company ended its brief association with her.
After the success of Rhythm of Love, which had received generally positive reviews, her next album Let's Get To It (1991), was designed to broaden Minogue's appeal. Stock, Aitken and Waterman provided her with a diverse range of ballads and slower dance songs, but it did not receive strong reviews. William Baker explains in the book La La La that while Rhythm of Love was seen as a progession from her earlier music and was welcomed, Let's Get To It was criticised for "showing no signs of musical development or direction", although Minogue was personally gratified to have been allowed to contribute to the songwriting process for the first time. "Word is Out", became her first single to peak outside of the British Top 10, and the album did not sell well. In Australia, her popularity of the previous years was followed by a backlash, and when the Australian public appeared to have grown indifferent to her, her supporters described her as a victim of tall poppy syndrome.
The release of her Greatest Hits album in 1992 coincided with her departure from Stock, Aitken and Waterman. With all of her singles and three newly recorded tracks, the album reached number one in Britain and Australia, however the new singles, "What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" and her cover version of Kool and the Gang's "Celebration", were only minor hits.
Deconstruction - 1994 to 1997
Minogue's subsequent signing with Deconstruction Records was highly touted in the music media as the beginning of a new phase in her career, but the first album released, the self titled Kylie Minogue (1994), received mixed reviews. Collaborations with such established and successful dance artists as Pet Shop Boys and M People disappointed both critics and record buyers alike. The album was a moderate success, selling over 1 million copies, but only achieved one hit single of note, "Confide In Me", which sold 2 million copies worldwide and stayed at number 1 on the Australian charts for 5 weeks. The other two singles, "Put Yourself In My Place" and "Where is the Feeling", failed to make the top ten. The media, which had earlier triumphed Minogue's departure from Stock, Aitken and Waterman, now began to predict the end of her career. Minogue herself was unhappy with the finished product describing it later as "a hurdle I had to overcome to get to the next album". The single "Confide In Me" was released in America by Imago Records, but it failed to chart, and when the company filed for bankrupcy, plans to release the album there were cancelled, and Minogue was once again without a recording contract in America.
Nick Cave had been a fan of Minogue since he heard "Better the Devil You Know", saying it contained "one of pop music's most violent and distressing lyrics" and "when Kylie Minogue sings these words, there is an innocence to her that makes the horror of this chilling lyric all the more compelling". He had expressed an interest in working with her but waited until 1995, when he believed he had the right song for a collaboration. "Where The Wild Roses Grow", was a brooding ballad whose lyrics narrated a murder from the points of view of both the murderer (Cave), and his victim (Minogue), and its success demonstrated that Minogue could be accepted outside of her established genre as a dance artist. It received widespread attention in Europe, where it reached the top 10 in several countries, and acclaim in Australia where it reached number two on the charts, and won ARIA Awards for "Song of the Year" and "Best Pop Release". She performed the song with Cave at the Australian summer rock festival, "The Big Day Out" before a crowd of alternative music fans, and was well received. Minogue later credited Cave with giving her the confidence to express herself artistically, saying, "He taught me to never veer too far from who I am, but to go further, try different things, and never lose sight of myself at the core. For me, the hard part was unleashing the core of myself and being totally truthful in my music".
Her next album Impossible Princess (1997) featured collaborations with such highly regarded musicians as Manic Street Preachers, and saw Minogue participating more in the songwriting process. It attracted more critical discussion than any of her previous albums with many critics noting that Minogue was somewhat hindered by her credentials as a pop singer. The Australian wrote, "When you have to lug around an image the size of Kylie's, it's difficult for any music you produce to match the hype - especially in a country that gives scant credibility to pop", and said the album "sounds right and constitutes another step in the right direction". "Headcleaner" echoed the sentiment with the comment, "it is a million miles from Kylie's beginnings - beginnings that even she has forgotten, but which sadly some still cannot forgive". Among the most positive reviews was one from Billboard Magazine which described the album as "stunning". It said that the album "should be picked up by an astute record company" for an American release, concluding "she's found her voice, both literally and spiritually, and gets down to serious business". Australian music writer Tim Good described it as "a watershed album... an expression just as much as it's a progression". In the UK, Music Week was less complimentary noting, "Kylie's vocals take on a stroppy edge... but not strong enough to do much" and dismissed the album overall as "modest".
It became the lowest selling album of her career in the United Kingdom, but was her most popular release in Australia since her debut album, with sales boosted by a highly successful live tour. In reviewing her live show The Times wrote of her ability to "mask her thin, often nondescript voice with musical diversity and brittle charisma and genuinely great pop songs by any standard".
Parlophone - 2000 to the present
Minogue and Deconstruction Records parted company shortly after, and two years later she signed with Parlophone. Her album Light Years (2000) was strongly flavoured with 1970s disco, and was knowingly kitsch. New Musical Express wrote, "Kylie's capacity for reinvention is staggering and with "Light Years" she's done it again. Successfully too", summarising the album as "sheer joy" and "what she does best". It received the best reviews of her career and quickly became a success throughout Europe, Asia and Australia, selling over 2 million copies worldwide. The single "Spinning Around" became her first British number one in 10 years, with its accompanying video, featuring Minogue in revealing gold hot pants, receiving widespread television airplay. The subsequent single releases, including the duet "Kids" with Robbie Williams, also sold strongly.
Minogue played to the biggest audience of her career at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where she performed a cover version of the ABBA hit "Dancing Queen" and her then-current single, "On A Night Like This".
The following year she released the album Fever. It also received positive reviews with Rolling Stone saying "As younger female pop idols self-destruct around her, the enduring Kylie continues to show them how it's done: with taste, style and while wearing as few clothes as possible", but many reviewers commented that it was not as consistently appealing as Light Years. Its musical style retained some disco elements and combined them with 1980s electropop. The first single, "Can't Get You Out Of My Head", spent four weeks at number one in the United Kingdom, reached number one in most European countries, and also in Australia. The biggest single success of her career, it went on to reach number one in over 40 countries and sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. The album's success was equally widespread, and for the first time since 1988, American radio stations gave her extensive airplay. Minogue was signed to a contract with Capitol Records and released "Fever" on February 26, 2002, her first album release there for more than a decade. Her return to prominence in America attracted favourable comment with Rolling Stone calling the album "campy as a tent full of Boy Scouts and yet easy on the cheese", while "Popmatters" described it as "a perfect album of gorgeous dance music".
She also attracted some particularly scathing commentary, such as from Launch's Bob Gulla who commented "she'll do virtually anything to get our attention. Not since Pia Zadora have we seen a more vacant talent grab... an astoundingly bland helping of hollow dance pop grooves and nauseating pleas for sex ... it's so desperately lightweight it's in imminent danger of disintegrating altogether". The album debuted on the American Billboard chart at number 3, and the single reached number 7. Further singles were substantial hits throughout the world, and Minogue established a presence in the mainstream American market, achieving particular success in the American club scene. The album sold over 7 million copies worldwide, and its other singles, "In Your Eyes", "Love At First Sight" and "Come Into My World" were major hits throughout the world.
Her credibility as a recording artist was enhanced by winning a Best Dance Recording Grammy in 2004 for the single "Come Into My World", against fellow nominees Madonna, Cher, Groove Armada and Télépopmusik. She had previously been nominated in the same category in 2003 for "Love At First Sight".
Her next album, Body Language (2003), downplayed the disco style and included elements of hip hop. New Musical Express wrote that the result was uneven, saying it was an "extremely tastefully done, soulful modern r’n’b record...."Red Blooded Woman" is excellent cutting edge pop", but that the album as a whole "sounds like someone gamely trying to stay ahead of the game. In short, it sounds like a Madonna album" . Entertainment Weekly also compared her to Madonna, but favourably, calling the album "dance floor minimalism that's everything Britney and Madonna wanted their cold, mechanical singles to be this year but weren't - slinky, seductive and striking". Rolling Stone wrote that the album was "fantastic... she turns up the heat, working her seductive voice in Prince-style electro-glitz disco gems such as "Slow" and "Secret (Take You Home)". At thirty-five, she's ten times hotter than she was ten years ago .... definitely sounds like she has a few more tricks stored on her hard drive than Britney or Christina". Sales in the United Kingdom and Australia were relatively low, despite the success of its first single, "Slow". In the United States the album made little impression, although the singles became major club hits. In November 2004, "Slow" was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of "Best Dance Recording".
As of 2005, Minogue has sold more than 40 million singles and 25 million albums worldwide, and has had at least one number one hit in over 45 countries. She released her second official greatest hits album on November 22 2004, entitled Ultimate Kylie, along with a DVD compilation of the same title including her music videos. The album introduced her next single "I Believe in You", co-written with Jake Shears and Babydaddy from the Scissor Sisters.
Image and celebrity status
Like most recording artists of her era, Minogue has utilised the medium of the music video as the most effective way of promoting her image, and has consistently worked at creating and evolving her visual representation. Her earliest videos portrayed her as a "girl-next-door" who was innocent and slightly gauche. When she took control of her portrayal in 1990, she quickly developed a more adult, slightly raunchier image, which caused her to be compared unfavourably to Madonna. Minogue admitted that she was an influence, but as her confidence grew she established a persona that differed considerably from that of Madonna. Unlike Madonna, Minogue has rarely portrayed herself as a sexual aggressor. Instead she presents herself as a more passive object of desire, and frequently imbues her performances with camp elements and humour.
During her career she has chosen photographers who will attempt to create a new "look" for her, and the resulting photographs have appeared in magazines from the cutting edge The Face, to the more traditionally sophisticated Vogue and Vanity Fair, in the process reaching a very broad demographic of consumers who may never buy a Minogue record, but who, as readers of the magazines, will know the Minogue face and name. Her stylist, William Baker has explained it as part of the reason she has entered in the mainstream pop culture of Europe more successfully than other pop singers who concentrate simply on selling records. Early in her career the photographer Bert Stern, notable for his work with Marilyn Monroe, photographed Minogue in Los Angeles and commented that she had a "similar vulnerability" and "awareness of the camera". Her association with people such as photographer Stephane Sednaoui and designer Jean Paul Gaultier have added to her acceptance as an arbiter of fashion style. She has often satirised herself, most notably in the video for "Did It Again", in which the four major incarnations of Minogue's career, "Cute Kylie", "Dance Kylie", "Sex Kylie" and "Indie Kylie" battled for supremacy. Her videos have touched on adult themes – an interracial relationship in "Better The Devil You Know", lesbian posturing in "What Do I Have To Do", and telephone sex in "Confide In Me". She performed a slow strip tease in the Barbarella inspired "Put Yourself In My Place", and wore revealing costumes in the majority of her videos, most notably those for "Spinning Around" and "Can't Get You Out Of My Head".
Her detractors, discussed in the book La La La, have described her as a "one dimensional performer" and "dismiss her as pretty, but mindless and talentless". Their sentiments can perhaps be summarised by Miki Berenyi of the group Lush who said "I have a massive problem with her because she epitomises the acceptable role....it's a shame she gets so much credibility when there are so many women worth a hundred times that. It's war - you shoudn't stick up for Kylie, she should be fought at every turn".
Her raunchy image, particularly since her 2000 return to prominence has caused elements of the British press to label her SexKylie. She has created her own LoveKylie range of lingerie, and her saucy calendars have been consistently high sellers throughout much of her career. Despite the success of this marketing strategy, and her acceptance by a large audience as a contemporary sex symbol, her critics maintained that her willingness to display her body was an attempt to disguise her lack of talent, and although Minogue accepted these criticisms throughout her career with little public comment, she announced in 2003 that she would present herself more demurely in future. She also stated that this was a result of what she describes as an unplanned incident at the 2003 Brit Awards when Justin Timberlake he crudely grabbed her bottom during a duet performance. Minogue said the incident embarrassed her, and caused her to question the public perception of her as a sex object, a perception she admitted she had contributed to.
Throughout her career, Minogue has been the subject of intense media interest in both the United Kingdom and Australia, which has remained consistent even while her success as a recording artist fluctuated. Her relationships, including her current relationship with French actor, Olivier Martinez, have been extensively reported.
Early in her career, Minogue came to be regarded as a gay icon. While part of her appeal lies in her flamboyant costumes, her humour and sense of fun, and her confident sexual posturing, she has also consistently acknowledged the gay community throughout the world, not only by her willingness to perform at gay venues and at gay events, but also by her outspoken commitment to raising social awareness and acceptance towards people living with AIDS.
As she has matured, she has been accepted by a wider audience than simply that of her record buying fans, particularly in Australia, where her profile has been used to promote issues such as recycling projects through Planet Ark, as well as a campaign to raise public awareness about domestic violence and a kids' helpline.
Film career
Minogue's film career has not taken the typical path of a successful singer attempting to broaden his or her appeal. Her career in pop music was only possible as a result of her high profile as a television actress. Her film roles have been few, and have generally resulted from her high profile as a pop singer.
In 1989, she starred in The Delinquents, which told the story of a young girl growing up in the Australia of the late 1950s. Its release coincided with her popularity in Neighbours, and while both the film and Minogue's performance were the subject of derisive comments by critics, the film was a commercial success.
In 1994 she played Cammy in the action film Street Fighter, based on the videogame series of the same name. The film received poor reviews, was panned by fans of the series and moviegoers alike, and did nothing to further Minogue's acting career.
In Moulin Rouge! (2001) she played the part of Absinthe, the Green Fairy, singing a line from The Sound of Music. This cameo remains her most widely seen film performance.
In 2004 she provided the voice of Florence in a film based on The Magic Roundabout.
She has also had smaller roles in Australian horror flick "Cut" 2000 and "Bio Dome" 1996 as well as another Australian film "Sample People" 2000.
Discography
Main article: Kylie Minogue discography
(includes chart information for United Kingdom, United States and Australia)
- Kylie (1988)
- Enjoy Yourself (1989)
- Rhythm of Love (1990)
- Let's Get To It (1991)
- Greatest Hits (1992)
- Kylie Minogue (1994)
- Impossible Princess (1998) (renamed as Kylie Minogue for the UK)
- Intimate and Live (1999)
- Light Years (2000)
- Hits+ (2000)
- Fever (2001)
- Confide In Me (2001)
- Greatest Hits 1987-1997 (2003)
- Body Language (2003)
- Ultimate Kylie (2004)
Trivia
- In Australia, Minogue has achieved 9 number one singles – more than any other Australian recording artist.
- Minogue has cited Olivia Newton-John as her first major influence. She recorded a cover version of Newton-John's hit Physical for the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack, however the song was not included. It can be found as a bonus track on the Australian tour edition of "Light Years" and she performed it during the tour of the same name.
- Early in her recording career, Madonna became her acknowledged role model. Madonna returned the compliment by wearing a "Kylie Minogue" shirt during a performance at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards. In the United Kingdom, Minogue and Madonna are the only female artists to achieve number one singles in the 1980s, the 1990s and 2000s. Madonna is the only female performer to surpass Minogue's (As of 2005) tally of 28 British Top 10 singles. Madonna also sent Minogue a demo song to record called "Alone Again" that she co-wrote with Rick Nowels. Minogue's version however remains unreleased. See Unreleased Madonna songs.
- In 1995, Minogue recited the lyrics to one of her biggest hits "I Should Be So Lucky" as poetry in London's Royal Albert Hall "Poetry Jam", at the suggestion of Nick Cave.
- Minogue's Madame Tussaud's waxwork has been regularly updated to represent her changing image. In 2002, a figure of Minogue wearing lingerie and in a provocative pose, attracted both praise and condemnation, but became one of Tussaud's most discussed figures.
- The success of her single "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" was enhanced when Minogue performed an unauthorised version of the song, which blended it with the music track of New Order's "Blue Monday", at the Brit Awards. Its popularity led to an authorised version being recorded and released as the "B" side for her single "Love At First Sight".
- Minogue's portrait hangs in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
- Minogue has been featured on an Australian postage stamp.
- Paul Morley's study of the evolution of pop music, Words And Music: A History Of Pop In The Shape Of A City, employs Minogue as the vehicle by which pop is explored.
- Minogue now has her own line of lingerie available in Australia and the UK called "Love Kylie".
- In 2002, Q magazine named Minogue in their list of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die".
References
- Kylie Minogue, William Baker: La La La Hodder & Stoughton, 2003. ISBN 0-3407-3440-X
- Tony Brown, Jon Kutner and Neil Warwick: The Complete Book of the British Charts, Singles and Albums, Omnibus Press, 2002, ISBN 0-7119-9075-1
- Kylie Minogue's entry in (Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop by Ian McFarlane)
- Limbo: Kylie Minogue online - most reviews quotes taken from linked articles
- Musical Express site
- Rolling Stone Magazine site
Further reading
- Paul Morley: Words and Music: a history of pop in the shape of a city. Bloomsbury, 2003. ISBN 0-7475-5778-0
External links
- Official site
- UK based Unofficial fansite
- Slovenian based fansite with comprehensive worldwide album/single chart placings
- Stock Aitken Waterman & PWL | cafe80s
- FinerFeelings.co.uk - Large Video and Audio Source of Television appearances and radio interviews.
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Compilation albums | |
| Remix albums | |
| Live albums | |
| Extended plays | |
| Concerts |
|
| Video | |
| Acting roles | |
| Television | |
| Books | |
| Perfumes | |
| Related articles | |
