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BODY
LANGUAGE HAS ALL THE RIGHT GROOVES (Music Week, Oct 2003) |
At the time of her 1988
debut for PWL, few would have expected Kylie Minogue to become one of
the pop icons of her generation, let alone deliver one of the first
worldwide mega-hits of the 21st century with Cant Get You Out Of My
Head. But the singer continues to surprise and is now preparing for the
release of her ninth studio album. The album, her third for Parlophone,
comes on the back of two phenomenally successful pop/dance titles with
the label - 2000's Light Years and 2001's Fever - that firmly
re-established Minogue in the heart of the mainstream. Given previous
troubled attempts to contemporise Minogue, such as 1997's Impossible
Princess for BMG, Parlophone's task of updating her sound made A&Ring of
the new album, Body Language, a careful process.
"It feels like a definte move on from the last album, without losing
sight of the quality control on the songs," says Parlophone managing
director Miles Leonard. Fans expecting Fever mark II are in for a
surprise when they get to hear Body Language on Nov 17. Immersed in
cutting edge production, the album's touches of electro and hip-hop give
it a truly minimal feel, as highlighed on lead single Slow. However, the
cool production is not at the expense of melody. Highlights such as
Still Standing are perhaps Minogue's most adventurous tracks to date,
but at the same time some of her most pop-friendly.
"We've encouraged people to use groundbreaking urban rhythms and tempos
and marry them with great songs," says Leonard. "It has to be fresh. It
wasn't a case of getting all the publishers to send round their songs.
We were more interested in people collaborating with Kylie herself to
create something new."
Such an approach was perfect for one of the album's key writers and
producers, Ash Thomas, aka Baby Ash, who himself is currently the
attention of a number of publishers keen for his signature. "I hate
getting briefs to write songs - it stifles creativity," he says. "For
me, it should really be about finding projects that spark the
imagination and are a little kooky and strange. The acts that aspire to
be different are always the best to work with, which is why Kylie was
great."
The Parlophone A&R team was also keen to call on up-and-coming names for
writing and production duties, not the same set of writers that could be
working on a range of other pop projects at the same time. "We felt it
was important not to spread the album over a wide set of producers,"
says Leonard. "Body Language is really the opposite of that - it's
created from a unique team of new, fresh people, not big names." In
addition to Baby Ash, the likes of Curtis Mantronix and former Alisha's
Attic member Karen Poole are amongst the key contributors.
"I know it's easy to say when one of your artists has a new record
coming out, but I truly believe this is the strongest album Kylie has
ever made," says Leonard. Not only is Body Language Kylie's strongest
album to date, it looks set to strike the rarely achieved balance
between cutting edge cool and retaining huge commercial appeal. |
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BREAKING KYLIE
MINOGUE INTERNATIONALLY IN 2001 (Jenny Morgan, Feb 2002) |
Introduction
In 2000 Kylie went back to her roots, after her foray in indie music in
the mid nineties she was back at the top spot with her disco sound back
in place. Signed by EMI/ Parlophone after being dropped from independent
DeConstruction in 1999, her first single for the label (‘Spinning
Around’) and album (‘Light Years’) were huge hits in both the UK and her
home country Australia.In 2001 Kylie went from star to superstar, the
first single from her new album ‘Fever’, ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’,
was the biggest hit of career selling over one million copies in the UK
and hitting #1 in every single mainland Europe country. Currently, the
single is in the US Billboard top twenty and still climbing, she hasn’t
had a hit across the Atlantic since 1988.
“Why Kylie? Why now?” (Appleyard B, 2001, Sunday Times)
EMI- The Company
EMI is the largest stand alone record company and is essentially a
British company. EMI have a 40% share in the HMV retail store, and also
have ownership of Abbey Road studios in London. Other labels under the
EMI banner are Virgin, Capitol, and Chrysalis. EMI has 14% of the world
album market share; in the UK this figure rises to 20%. They are a
vertically integrated company, meaning they own the companies that
manufacture, wholesale, and retail their records. This means that they
offer better chains of distribution to the consumer, and gain larger
profits. EMI owns Abbey Road studios where the records are recorded, a
manufacturing and distribution plant in Leamington Spa, and the HMV
retail company.
Developing the Kylie sound
With the ‘Light Years’ album, the record company had to ensure that
reviews of the album would be favourable in the media after poor public
perception of her 1997 album. To do this they recruited the top pop
songwriters of the present day. Reviews of the album were fantastic and
to carry on the success to the ‘Fever’ album the same technique of
employing top songwriters was used. Stannard/ Gallagher (Spice Girls),
Steve Anderson (Brothers In Rhythm), and Davis/ Dennis (S Club 7) have
all had a hand in writing for the twelve tracks on ‘Fever’. The songs
were then published by EMI’s publishing arm, EMI Publishing Ltd. The
albums were then manufactured and marketed by the teams in EMI, and
later sold in retail outlets including HMV that discounted the album by
one pound compared to other retailers.
The direction of the album had to be decided on to expand the audience,
the artist style, and yet be commercially viable. To do this, the
album’s direction would be more sophisticated than her previous release.
An electro/ dance feel was given to the album, this meant that the
bubblegum pop catchiness of the ‘Light Years’ tracks could be used, but
in a more subtle dance-orientated way. This way, the album would be a
natural progression that would not alienate old fans, and yet gain new
fans.
Marketing the album
The release date of the album was set for October, this would mean that
the album would still be charting over the high unit sales period of
Christmas. Marketing the ‘Fever’ album was essential. As with any pop
release, only half of the sale is based on the music, image sells. “To a
greater or lesser extent, a successful artist or band is always going to
be a brand in the sense of being a name that people recognise” (Harrison
A., 2000, Virgin, p156). Parlophone’s marketing team launched the
‘Fever’ blitz for September/ October 2001 when the album would be
released. It was key that Kylie reached her target markets through the
right media. With ‘Light Years’, which was essentially a pop album,
Kylie had been targeted at her loyal gay following and teenage girls, as
well as reaching young men by marketing her sexy image. However, the
lead track from the album ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ had been a
massive club hit and had reached new audiences. To market ‘Fever’, they
had to exploit her new ‘coolness’.
Media Fever
In September 2001 Kylie featured on no less than 15 magazine covers in
the UK. B magazine targeted the young girls, Attitude reached the gay
audience, and GQ carried a sexy cover photo for maximum young male
impact. Time Out and Vogue were chosen to enhance her cool image. As
well as this the tabloids have always been favourable to Kylie and she
featured heavily in September, regarding her love affairs and raunchy
outfits. “I fully appreciate I wouldn’t be talking to you without the
press and what they’ve enable me to do with my career” (Minogue K.,
2001, Time Out) However, it wasn’t only the tabloids that helped market
Kylie, articles were printed in supplements in the Sunday Times and the
Mail on Sunday which meant that most of the newspaper readers in the UK
had read something about the album being released.
Radio was particularly favourable to the lead single (‘Can’t Get You Out
Of My Head’) from ‘Fever’. Released for airplay six weeks before the
retail release, the song had a lot of time to be built up through radio.
Radio One premiered the single; one week later they C-Listed this figure
rises to 20%. By the end of August it had been so popular it was
A-Listed, not only Radio One but by every music station on the
Independent Radio Network and Radio Two. On the week the single hit #1
on the sales chart, it had the highest tally of plays in one week on
radio ever, with 3062 in total. The single spent eight weeks at the top
of the airplay charts.
The mixes for the release of the single would be essential in enhancing
the dance direction of the album through club play. Kylie had always
been popular with the gay scene since the beginning of her career so
extended vocal orientated mixes were sent on promotional 12” records to
gay clubs. It was unlikely that straight clubs would play a Kylie
record, so dubs and remixes by respected DJ’s such as Todd Mamado and
Nick Faber were also commissioned. These mixes were released to clubs on
white labels that stated only Special K and re-named the track ‘Out Of
My Head’, to make the track seem more like a dance record than a
commercial release.
The video for the single had also been popular, with expensive computer
technology and revealing outfits the impact had been instant on MTV
where it was the #1 most played video for six weeks, and stayed in the
top ten for the next four months. On terrestrial television, Kylie
performed on the major music shows CDUK, The Pepsi Chart Show, and Top
Of The Pops. However, to promote the album Kylie needed to showcase more
than one single. Kylie had gained the prestige to be allowed to have her
own ‘An Audience With…’ show; this would be an ideal way to showcase
tracks from her new album while reaching a major television audience. On
the first Saturday of the ‘Fever’ release, An Audience With Kylie was
screened on ITV at 7pm a primetime slot. The show gained an audience of
eleven and a half million and the album sales off the back of the show
meant it entered the chart at number one.
“The internet is a really good device for fairly cheap worldwide
promotion” (Davis S., 2001, Continuum). With the effect of the internet
on album sales, the release of ‘Fever’ had to be supported rather than
be hindered by the online revolution. The official Kylie site was
re-designed in keeping with the theme of the album offering news and
exclusive snippets of the album in streaming audio. This was supported
by a four part exclusive download series named ‘Feel The Fever’. The
series was a huge success with over one million downloads of which the
user could see Kylie recording the album, making a video, performing the
single, and being interviewed. On top of this, the album would be
encoded with an anti-piracy device that stopped people ripping mp3’s
from the record and making them available on the internet before the
release of it commercially.
Global success
Internationally, the online community of Kylie fans at www.sayhey.co.uk
was key in Kylie’s success across the Atlantic. Canadian members of the
forum obtained e-mail addresses for radio request programmes in Canada,
and then posted them on the message board. Radio stations in Canada were
deluged in e-mail requests for the track from UK and Australian fans
using geographically unidentifiable hotmail addresses. This got the
single initial airplay and from there the song just took off, eventually
reaching #1 in both the airplay and official charts in Canada. The
success of the track Canada led to interest from North America. Again US
members of www.sayhey.co.uk e-mailed US radio stations with requests.
The track took off on the radio in the US, and was a stand-out track
among the R&B led US stations. The single was the second highest new
entry on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2002, and has since rocketed
up the Hot 100, and alone on airplay is currently at #15. The single
will get a commercial release by EMI/ Capitol in late February along
with the album; both are tipped to hit the number one spot as Kylie
heads over to promote the releases in America.
Conclusion
“Synergy is when the outcome of combining individual elements together
is greater than the simple sum total of each of the elements” (Harrison
A., 2000, Virgin, p101). The synergy for the ‘Fever’ project was a major
part of the record’s success. Without the quality of the songwriters for
the album, the lead single would not have been as strong and reviews of
the album would not have been as favourable. Without the strength of the
song, radio would have not been as quick to play an artist they don’t
normally list as radio-friendly. The television promotion helped link
the consumer to the image of Kylie, which would be recognisable on a
magazine shelf; as well as showcasing the album to a major audience
through primetime showing. The online community of Kylie fans did the
initial promotion for the single that helped break Kylie in America,
something she had been unable to do since the late eighties.
At present, the album is rising up the UK charts currently at #8. The
second single from ‘Fever’ will be released in late February, ‘In Your
Eyes’ has already taken off on radio quicker than the lead single and
looks likely to be just as successful. The tickets for her UK spring
tour went on sale and sold out breaking ticket sales records, and went
from a four date UK tour to a thirty eight date European tour with all
tickets for venues sold out in two hours of them going on sale. The
re-packaging of the album in the summer and a third release from the
album, ‘Love At First Sight’, are currently being planned.
Referencing
Appleyard B. “Why Kylie? Why Now?” Sunday Times article (Culture
supplement) 21 October 2001
Davis S. and Laing D. “The Guerilla Guide to the Music Business”
Continuum 2001
Harrison A. “Music- The Business” Virgin Publishing 2000
Minogue K. “Lucky Star” Time Out article 3 October 2001
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CAN KYLIE BREAK THE
U.S.? (Michael Paoletta for Billboard Magazine Feb 2002) |
Since making her recording debut 14
years ago, Australian singer/songwriter Kylie Minogue has sold more than
32 million records -- encompassing eight studio albums, a greatest-hits
collection, and numerous singles -- worldwide. In the process, she's
become a phenomenon around the world -- with the exception of the U.S,
where superstar success has managed to elude her.
The objective of the Feb. 26 U.S. release of Minogue's eighth studio
album, "Fever" -- her third U.S. release and first for Capitol -- is to
finally make the artist a household name in America.
"Fever" and its lead single, the infectious and hook-laden "Can't Get
You out of My Head," are certified No. 1 smashes throughout Europe. The
single has already reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Dance
Music/Club Play chart, and climbs 13 notches to No. 20 this week on The
Billboard Hot 100, thanks in part to major support from radio stations
in Chicago, New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, as well as a Dawn
Shadforth-directed video that is currently airing on MTV, MTV2, and VH1,
among other networks.
Like other such U.K.-rooted artists as David Gray, Dido, and Craig
David, Minogue is incredibly suited to an American audience. But
Americans need access to her -- just as they did with Gray, Dido, and
David, each of whom understood the importance of touring the U.S. Yet,
due to Minogue's schedule -- which includes an upcoming sold-out
European tour -- a U.S. trek is unlikely in the near future. In fact,
Capitol president Andy Slater acknowledges that a "U.S. tour has not
been discussed yet."
Even so, Slater remains confident that Minogue will conquer America this
time around. "'Can't Get You out of My Head' is one of Kylie's best
songs in recent history," he says. "For Kylie to break big in the U.S.,
it's going to take people connecting the song to her, as well as to her
overall artistic vision."
Keith Wozencroft, managing director of EMI U.K.'s Parlophone imprint --
which signed Minogue for the world, excluding Australia and New Zealand,
where she is directly signed to Festival Mushroom Records (FMR) --
concurs. "The doors to America have definitely opened," notes
Wozencroft, who along with Parlophone's A&R director Miles Leonard and
senior A&R manager Jamie Nelson is responsible for bringing Minogue to
the label.
"Of course, now she'll need to present herself to America," he adds. "It
can get pretty difficult if people don't see the artist. That is the key
to breaking her in the U.S. And while she'll be touring throughout
Europe for the next few months, other opportunities may arise to get her
presence in the U.S."
"This is an extremely strong time to break her again in the U.S.," says
longtime manager Terry Blamey of London-based Terry Blamey Management,
referring to both the success of "Can't Get You out of My Head" and
Minogue's previous flirtation with U.S. stardom. (In the U.S., Geffen
released the singer's debut album, "Kylie" -- which spawned a top-5 hit
with a cover of "The Loco-Motion" -- and its follow-up, "Enjoy
Yourself.")
To date, "Can't Get You out of My Head" has sold more than 2.5 million
copies worldwide. In Minogue's biggest international market -- the U.K.
-- the single has sold more than 600,000 units, and "Fever" has passed
the double-platinum mark (600,000 units). In Australia, "Fever" is
quadruple-platinum (280,000). In both territories, "Fever" entered the
album chart at No. 1.
As befits one who's been down this road before, Minogue (who turns 34
May 28) is excited and nervous about the prospect of successfully making
the Atlantic crossing. The singer even has an analogy about this. "It's
like when you fancy somebody at school," Minogue says. "The minute you
stop fancying that person is when the person starts taking a fancy to
you. That's how I feel about the U.S.
"I don't know if I have the drive and enthusiasm to break in America.
Quite honestly, I don't feel the need to have to tell people how to say
my name or discuss 'The Loco-Motion.' Up until now, I've resigned myself
to the fact that America wouldn't be like the rest of the world for me.
I'm anonymous there -- which, I must confess, I kind of like."
But that was then and this is now -- and Minogue realizes this. "I
always did follow up my U.S. thoughts, though, with the knowledge that
if I did have a runaway hit, it would be rude of me not to go and do
what needs to be done," she adds. "I guess I'm nervous that it might
actually happen this time. Yes, you could say the pressure's on."
Following her whirlwind trip to the U.S. -- Minogue arrived in the U.S.
Feb. 1 for a two-week promotional blitz that included a Feb. 4
appearance on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" -- she embarks on the
Kylie Fever tour, which lasts until the end of June, making stops
throughout the U.K. and the rest of Europe. "If I didn't have such a
ridiculous schedule, I think I'd be even more stressed, because then I
actually could spend a lot of time [in the U.S.]," she says.
And Minogue isn't even sure how her live show would be received in the
U.S. "It's such a fan-based show. I don't know what Americans -- most of
whom don't know my material -- would think. Except for the gay community
in the U.S., I'm not really sure who else knows my songs." On Feb. 15,
she is scheduled to make her only U.S. public appearance, at the Virgin
Megastore in New York's Times Square.
Fans visiting the label's Web site (hollywoodandvine.com) have access to
six "Kylie buddy icons," a screensaver, and a four-part greeting from
the artist. The site is also streaming the single. The official Minogue
Web site (kylie.com) includes up-to-date news, audio snippets,
merchandise, links, and a fan forum.
For the U.S. release, the album's sports a different cover image from
the international set, and the first pressing will also include two
bonus tracks: "Boy" and "Butterfly." Globally, the album's second
single, "In Your Eyes," will be released Feb. 18; it will be followed by
"Love at First Sight."
A QUICK REVIEW
For those who need a refresher course, Minogue was born in Melbourne,
Australia, to an Australian father and a Welsh mother. Throughout the
'80s, she supported herself by acting in a handful of TV shows,
including the soap opera "Neighbours."
With "Neighbours" proving itself a certified hit in the U.K., Minogue
teamed up with British production outfit Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) and
recorded "I Should Be So Lucky," which was released on SAW's own PWL
imprint. It was the first of many No. 1 U.K. hits. Her full-length
debut, "Kylie," topped the U.K. album chart and peaked at No. 53 on The
Billboard 200.
Numerous international hits followed. In the U.S., Minogue's second
album, "Enjoy Yourself," failed to find an audience, and the artist
parted ways with Geffen.
Four studio albums later, Minogue moved from PWL to BMG's Deconstruction
label in '93. One year later, the imprint released "Kylie Minogue,"
which Imago picked up for the U.S. After one single -- "Confide in
Me"-cracked the top-40 of the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart,
Imago folded, and the album was never released in America.
Deconstruction followed with "Kylie Minogue" (titled "Impossible
Princess" in Australia), which confused many with its rock-etched
leanings and left Minogue without a U.K. label to call home.
Three years ago, she signed with Parlophone. "She had an incredibly
successful 10 years, followed by an odd musical turn," Wozencroft
recalls. "She just needed the right record to push her back into the
forefront."
Enter 2000's "Light Years" (which spent more than one year in the
Australian top-100), a disco-splashed set that found Minogue reveling in
her dance-pop roots. Last year's equally dance-speckled "Fever"
continues to duplicate the international success of its predecessor.
Minogue explains, "'Light Years' was like finding my feet again --
albeit in Manolo Blahnik stilettoes. For the public at large, 'Light
Years' was my comeback. For me personally, it was a return to form. And
it felt good."
Looking back over her illustrious career-which has included
collaborations with Robbie Williams and Nick Cave and an appearance in
last year's "Moulin Rouge" -- Minogue admits to being "slightly
disillusioned" in the years between Deconstruction and Parlophone. "But
one thing was certain," she says. "I knew I wasn't finished yet."
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KYLIE AND THE
CONSERVATIVE PARTY (Alice Thompson for Daily Telegraph, 31st May 2002) |
If the Tories did a Kylie, they could
be so lucky...
She wooed nine-year-olds in pink T-shirts, 40-year-old men eating Pret A
Manger avocado wraps, gays, Dolce and Gabbana women and dance music
aficionados. The Kylie concerts at Wembley, part of her Fever tour, have
been a sell-out. On Monday night I watched 11,000 fans sing Happy
Birthday to Kylie on her 34th birthday. She was overwhelmed.
There was Kylie as hospital patient, riding instructress, ballgowned
1940s filmstar, Clockwork Orange bovver girl, silk underwear
glamourpuss, police officer, baggy-trousered hiphop fan and disco diva.
It was masterful. Ten years ago, Kylie was consigned to the wilderness
with Jason Donovan. Everyone had had enough of her dungarees and
bubble-gum pop, the cheesy cheery Charlene from Neighbours and the
cutesy Stock Aitken Waterman teeny-bopper songs. No one cared any more
that her first 10 singles had produced four number ones, five number
twos and a number four.
Now she's outdone the Spice Girls and triumphed over the Britney Spears
generation. She's suddenly everyone's favourite Aussie. She sang at the
closing ceremony of the Olympics in Sydney. She graced the cover of
Vogue and sat next to Prince Charles at the magazine's party last year.
She's on the television advertisement for Eurostar; Madonna wore a Kylie
T-shirt; Kylie won GQ magazine's Services to Mankind Award.
How has she done it? "I've learnt how to be myself or myselves," she
says. "What you see is what you get. You can't dupe people." She does
pop, she does disco, she's a bit camp, fun and glittery.
Sexy, confident, professional, honest, unlike all those manufactured new
pop creations, if a five foot one Aussie can do it, so can the Tories.
Iain Duncan Smith may not have the bottom, or those gold leather
hotpants, but that doesn't matter.
Kylie has done what the Tories need to do. She's learnt how to be
fashionable without abandoning her past. She's stayed loyal to her roots
even if she's ditched the poodle-permed hair. She's put a new twist on
old songs like Locomotion but developed catchy new music as well. But
she's still herself and she is brilliant at projecting her personality:
warm, feisty, funny and courteous. This is the first lesson the Tories
could learn. To be themselves. You can't run away from your past: the
dodgy photos, the embarrassing hairdos - you have to make them seem like
necessary staging posts on the route to where you are now.
Her second valuable lesson is that she's realised she has to have a
broad fanbase. This sisterly sexpot now appeals to a huge audience - men
and women, straights and gays. Seven-year-olds and 70-year-olds aren't
frightened of her. Thirty-year-olds aren't ashamed of her. The Tories
should be so lucky.
She also knows how to treat her fans. Unlike the new generation of
Britney Spears-alikes, she's remained down to earth. She doesn't have a
huge entourage - no bodyguards or publicity heavies. She just has a few
well-chosen, trusted advisers to discuss her wardrobe and her dance
routine. This will be music to Mr Duncan Smith's ears. Like Kylie, he
hates hangers-on.
Next you need a little stardust, a few silver bikinis. The Tory leader
will find this the hardest. Even with his Japanese ancestry and fighter
pilot father he will never exude glamour. He's not a natural on stage -
he's an Army officer, not a soap actor. But even if he'll never dominate
an arena with a wiggle of his hips, he can still work at wooing the
crowds.
Another vital tool in Kylie's kitbag is her self-discipline. She flogs
round the world; she learns her routines off-by-heart. She's
single-minded about getting to the top but looks as though she's
enjoying it. Most Tory politicians still don't really want to win and
certainly don't appear to be having a good time.
She's also learnt that you only need a couple of good tunes to be a
winner. She's had Spinning Around and Can't Get You Out Of My Head. The
Tories need to find their own hits. So far, they have no alternative
transport policy, no health plans, no education proposals. A Tory aide
told me they couldn't do anything eye-catching until the autumn because
of the Jubilee and the World Cup.
Finally, Kylie knows how to use her luck. The Tories have had the Dome
fiasco and Stephen Byers, and now they've got the return of John
Prescott, but they rarely capitalise on Labour's pain.
Instead of using their opportunities, senior Conservatives are still
feuding. Recently they've split over asylum, Gibraltar, gay adoptions,
and Europe. The Tory strategy should be obvious on most issues. Take
Gibraltar - it's a great old song. It works with the core voters. IDS
was mobbed when he reached the island. But it's a B-side tune; it'll
never win an election.
Immigration is more difficult, as it reminds everyone of the Hague
years. To make matters worse, Tory policy is being presented by Michael
Howard. Oliver Letwin - who as shadow home secretary should be doing the
job - would be much better. He could lend it a fresher, calmer tone.
They can't duck the euro debate. At a "no" campaign funding dinner this
week, the speakers all insisted the Tories shouldn't get involved -
leave it to Harry Enfield and Labour MP Kate Hoey.
They say William Hague lost the election because he harped on about
Europe and the Tories are in danger of wrecking the referendum. But Mr
Hague didn't lose because he mentioned Europe, he lost because he said a
vote for Labour was a vote to destroy the pound. Voters were insulted,
because his implication was that they were too stupid to make the right
choice in a referendum. His successors must play the Europe card much
more cleverly.
But all this is about repackaging the back catalogue. As Kylie would
tell him, Iain Duncan Smith needs to belt out some new tunes on the
public services. It's either that or the gold hot pants, Iain, so which
would you prefer?
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