 Although she's only managed a few hits in the U.S. since her arrival as a
singer in 1987,
Kylie Minogue is both Australia and Europe's biggest selling female pop
singer
over that period and a pop culture icon in those areas. Her image on the cover
of magazines is guaranteed to produce extra sales. But a singing career was
never what
Kylie Minogue had in mind for herself.
Kylie Minogue was born on May 28, 1968, in Melbourne. In 1979, she began her
acting career in the Australian TV drama series Skyways, eventually gaining a
starring role in a children's series, The Henderson Kids, before achieving
national fame in the five-days-a-week soap opera Neighbours. Around the time
Kylie Minogue joined, Neighbours also started airing in the U.K.
A major celebrity on the basis of her Neighbours popularity,
Kylie Minogue had agreed to give a charity performance in the company of other
personalities, choosing to sing
Little Eva's "Loco-Motion." Someone hit on the idea of submitting a tape of
the performance to local record company, Mushroom, who didn't think much of the
demo, but saw the potential in releasing a single by the extremely popular young
TV star. In their wildest dreams no one imagined a national number one record
with the recorded version of "Loco-Motion" (July 1987).
At that time, Mushroom Records had formed a business relationship with London
hit factory Stock Aitken and Waterman (Dead
or Alive, Mel and Kim,
Samantha Fox,
Bananarama,
Rick Astley) who also saw potential in working with the popular actress, but
she wasn't a priority. In fact, when
Kylie Minogue turned up at their London studios they had forgotten she was coming
and quickly wrote her a song while she waited. The result, "I Should Be So
Lucky," gave
Kylie Minogue the second of her six Australian number one singles and the first of
her five English number ones. Now she became a priority for Stock Aitken and
Waterman. As was their way, Stock Aitken and Waterman wrote and produced her
records and they controlled her video image. Their re-recorded "Loco-Motion" put
Kylie Minogue in the Top Ten in the U.S. In Australia, the U.K., and Europe,
Kylie Minogue was scoring hit after hit and quickly left Neighbours to meet the
demand on her.
If she was ever just along for the ride,
Kylie Minogue took her first step towards control over her career with her 1990
single "Better the Devil You Know," not letting Stock Aitken and Waterman see
the video she was making for the song until it was completed. SAW insisted on
casting her in a girl-next-door mode, while
Kylie Minogue opted for a saucier
Madonna-like image. It ensured her continued success and reputation as a
celebrity beyond the pop charts. With her fourth album, Let's Go to It (1991),
the singer also insisted on lyrical input.
Kylie Minogue ended up leaving Stock Aitken and Waterman and recorded two
albums, Kylie Minogue and Impossible Princess, with London dance label
Deconstruction. A romantic relationship with
INXS singer
Michael Hutchence had encouraged her to experiment musically. While the
backbone of both albums was the Brothers in Rhythm team
Kylie Minogue was keen to work with a variety of people. One unlikely
collaboration saw a duet with
Nick Cave, especially written by
Cave for his Murder Ballads album. "Where the Wild Flowers Grow" featured a
nude
Kylie Minogue floating dead in the water for its video.
While Impossible Princess represented another major career turning point in
Australia --
Kylie Minogue's transition to a concert performer -- in Europe the album was not
considered a success. In 2000, she was encouraged by
the Pet Shop Boys to switch to their label, Parlophone, and she re-emerged
as the pop princess of old with the critical hit Light Years. The single
"Spinning Around," went number one in both England and Australia. Her reign in
music continued in 2001.
Kylie Minogue issued Fever in October on the heels of the successful single "Can't
Get You Out of My Head." Such hype around the song allowed it to become an
global smash, earning
Kylie Minogue two Brit Awards in February 2002 for "Best International Female" and
"Best International Album" for Fever. Shortly thereafter, Fever was released in
the U.S. on Capitol, landing
Kylie Minogue her biggest U.S. hit with "Can't Get You Out of My Head" in nearly
fifteen years. Spots on MTV's TRL and Saturday Night Live proved her power. Body
Language appeared in 2004.
Without anything approaching
Madonna's musical strength, like
Madonna,
Kylie Minogue has ensured her survival with imaginative videos and by keeping fans
guessing and intrigued with consistent changes of personal image. She has also
appeared in a number of movies over the years. 1999's Cut with Molly Ringwald
was her eighth film appearance. ~ Ed Nimmervoll, All Music Guide
|
