CEREMONY | The Kylie Minogue Leads Rate

[ARTPOPe 10,016]

Padam'd its last Padam 

[Cruelty 5,887]

I feel like anything could happen
—‘Magic’ (2020)

Here are your top 5! Who do you think we’re waving goodbye to next?

[SimonBaetens 6,758]

I’d say Confide In Me is 5th

[Dr Fudge 8,587]

Slow can goooooooo

[ARTPOPe 10,016]

5. Confide In Me

4. Slow

3. Spinning Around

2. All The Lovers

1. Can't Get You Out Of My Head

Probably? Maybe? Padam?

[Cruelty 5,887]

5 SPINNING AROUND – average 9.07
The highs: 11 x 7 [@HeavyMetal Halcyon @Kandy life @tofueism @VTV @HookerOnAChurch @A @Cello]; 10 x 14 [@princedeblebleble @OG Gaga Stan @NNES @bionic @whoresup @QueenGloria @Nirvana @jimmytimestep @SCHEISSEMONTRE @grimqueix @androiduser @ARTPOPe @RAMROD @Italian]
The lows: 5 x 3 [@Dr Fudge @MANiCURE 6 @ImMatt]

Released at the turn of the millennium, Light Years was Kylie’s return to the dancefloor. The pop intent is fully there, but in practice the album’s got this weird kinda cruise-ship energy whereby it’s bogged down by dated disco numbers and show tunes. The closest comparison might be Let’s Get to It, where every song sounds jarringly different to the one that came before. However, the album excels when it commits to fully-fledged pop songs, and “Spinning Around” is one of its absolute highlights.

A sleek piece of nu-disco, the song’s lyric makes it the perfect comeback single. “Spinning Around” is about rejuvenation, about moving on from the past and being better than you ever were before: “I’m through with the past, ain’t no point in looking back… and did I forget to mention that I found a new direction, and it leads back to me?”

“Spinning Around” jumpstarted Kylie’s career after the critical disappointments of the late 1990s; now one of her signature hits, the song was Kylie’s first UK chart-topper in a decade and is now certified Gold in the country. This was partly due to its music video, which is notorious for the gold hotpants which Kylie wears; they’ve become such a powerful piece of cultural iconography that they’ve been displayed in fashion exhibits in museums!

I’m so glad we live in the timeline where this discarded Paula Abdul demo became the song that began Kylie’s second imperial phase. Gagadaily can’t get enough of it either, and towards the end of the voting period it nudged its way into your top 5. @HeavyMetal Halcyon calls the song ‘timeless, classic disco pop’; @whoresup sees it as a ‘stone cold banger’; and @Nirvana sums it up best: ‘everything a great pop song should be!’

 

Comments:

Spoiler

@MANiCURE 6 A bit basic. “Light Years” would have been a better lead.

@Bronco The Hotpants deserve a rating of their own ngl

@HeavyMetal Halcyon This is my 11. This song goes so hard. Timeless, classic disco pop. Massive slay 

@whoresup Stone cold banger. The perfect track for her to come back with after a career dip.

@Nirvana Everything a great pop song should be! I love this one.

@jimmytimestep Masterpiece

@SCHEISSEMONTRE This was a great comeback single after the Deconstruction era. 

@VTV No words. Just pure SEX POP. This is how you do a proper bop Kim.

@Cello simply amazing

[Cruelty 5,887]

4 ALL THE LOVERS – average 9.07

The highs: 11 x 5 [@candydarling @Noah @Why am I on GGD @whoresup @jimmytimestep]; 10 x 15 [ @MANiCURE 6 @dimitristhe @Cruelty @COOOK @princedeblebleble @HeavyMetal Halcyon @OG Gaga Stan @NNES @Kandy life @BBhomemaker @bionic @Nirvana @A @androiduser @LaFama]
The lows: 5 x 1 [@ImMatt, did you think the scoring system was out of 5 or...?]

What is there to say? “All the Lovers” is undeniably one of Kylie’s finest and most enduring songs. As Stuart Price’s synths sparkle like diamonds, she sings a simple sentiment about all-powerful love: all the lovers that have gone before, they don’t compare to you. It’s one of her most straightforward lyrics, and perhaps that’s why the song performed so strongly, reaching number 3 in the UK. As for Gagadaily? Well, read the comments below, and you’ll see how adored it is. I love @HeavyMetal Halcyon’s comment in particular, because it’s SO right: ‘Classic Kylie/a kylie classic. She’s the most Kylie here. She out Kylie’d herself. Mega Kylie’.

I should also point out that the music video, directed by Joseph Khan (hisssss) is a genuine classic, as Kylie presides over an ever-growing, towering orgy of semi-naked couples. Never let it be said that Ms Minogue doesn’t know her audience. Mega Kylie indeed.

Comments:

Spoiler

@MANiCURE 6 I love the softness of this song.

@dimitristhe That song needs no comment. Pure perfection.

@Bronco Honestly one of my fave Kylie songs and it’s always good live but the studio version lacks the same punch. Get Outta My Way was a significantly better choice for lead

@HateMeHarder I know everyone loves 'All the Lovers' but it's not one of my favorite leads. Aphrodite had a good start with singles, but I actually would have loved 'Get Outta My Way' or 'Illusion' lead the era...

@Why am I on GGD The Kylie song of all Kylie songs. That double climax in the bridge is like no other song. And HAVE YOU SEEN THE MUSIC VIDEO?

@HeavyMetal Halcyonhalcyon Classic Kylie/A kylie classic. She’s the most Kylie here. She out Kylie’d herself. Mega Kylie

@whoresup Amazing, iconic, beautiful. So amazing to have such a classic Kylie song in 2010 that did so well on the charts. I love its euphoric feeling and production. 

@jimmytimestep My favorite Kylie song and one of my favorite song of all time. What a lyric! it’s just so beautiful. 

@SCHEISSEMONTRE One of my faves but I don't play it as often 

@VTV A public orgy pop trance music.

@ImMatt Possibly her best verses on a song?

@Cello love the chorus but the verses are a little boring        (FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!)

 

[bionic 42,026]

17 minutes ago, ARTPOPe said:

5. Confide In Me

4. Slow

3. Spinning Around

2. All The Lovers

1. Can't Get You Out Of My Head

Probably? Maybe? Padam?

i am shook by this top 3 lmao

[Cruelty 5,887]

3 CONFIDE IN ME – average 9.10
The highs: 11 x 7 [@MANiCURE 6 @dimitristhe @Cruelty @OG Gaga Stan @BBhomemaker @SCHEISSEMONTRE @androiduser]; 10 x 15 [ @Bronco @princedeblebleble @HateMeHarder @NNES @Kandy life @Sexxx @bionic @tofueism @whoresup @QueenGloria @Nirvana @VTV @HookerOnAChurch @ARTPOPe @Italian]
The lows: 4 x 2 [@COOOK @HeavyMetal Halcyon]

Kylie’s self-titled 1994 album was the mother of all evolutions. The girl-next-door popstar became the indie rock goddess overnight, and “Confide in Me” was the song that announced that change. A mesmeric masterwork of haunting orchestral trip-hop, the song sounds quite unlike anything Kylie had ever released. I particularly recommend the six-minute album version, a true triumph with an atmospheric introduction that sets the scene perfectly. The richly layered production includes an ominous sitar and a menacing string ostinato (certainly unconsciously nicked from another song, but finding its natural home here); over this, Kylie’s lighter-than-air confessional vocals urge that “a problem should be shared”.

Like many of Kylie’s lead singles, the song’s lyric comes from a position of great power. Kylie is the temptress within the tempest, urging the listener “confide in me” and promising “I can keep a secret”, as violins and cellos howl around her. Many commenters compared this song to Madonna’s “Frozen”, which it pre-dates by three years (and which, let’s be honest, it certainly inspired), but I think “Live to Tell” is another apt comparison; both songs turn confession into an enormous, dramatic, ritual act.

Interestingly, similarly to “I Should Be So Lucky”, this song as you hear it on the record is basically a demo, created in under an hour and mostly using Kylie’s one and only vocal take. The song was produced by uber-cool 90s production trio Brothers in Rhythm, whose members include Steve Anderson who would later reimagine a plethora of Kylie’s hits as her Musical Director for her tours.

Frequently performed live, the song reached number 1 in Australia (where it’s Platinum certified) and number 2 in the UK (where it’s Silver). Gagadaily generally seems to love it, and the girlies that get it, get it. I was seeing lots of words like ‘masterpiece’, ‘pop perfection’, ‘perfect production’, ‘stunning and hypnotizing’, and @HateMeHarder sums the song up perfectly: ‘probably the biggest career pivot for her in the best way’.

Ugh, imagine making an album where “Put Yourself in My Place” isn’t even the best track on it! Her mind. Anyway, “Confide in Me” is Kylie’s greatest song, and here’s its greatest performance:

Comments:

Spoiler

@MANiCURE 6 Pop perfection. It should be studied.

@dimitristhe A masterpiece, a piece of art. Vocals out of the world, perfect production and the outro gives me goosebumps every time. That song should have Frozen’s success.

@HateMeHarder Kylie’s career has been so fun to witness cause of her evolution. The transition to the new label and this orgasmic, epic lead was probably the biggest career pivot for her in the best way.

@Why am I on GGD I like the album version but I ADORE the Abbey Roads version. The bridge makes the song. 

@bionic an unexpected HIT ballad from Ms Minogue

@whoresup Such a sublime track. Deffo sounds experimental but it was a hit for her. Her vocals are also beautiful on this. 

@Nirvana Stunning and hypnotizing song

@jimmytimestep Ugh literally amazing. I’ve always thought this was one of her best, and while it’s similar to Madonna’s ‘Frozen’ I think it’s stronger overall.

@SCHEISSEMONTRE A masterpiece and a great way to enter the Deconstruction era 

@VTV Sounds like a late 90s Madonna song. Very sultry, dark and perfectly produced.

@ImMatt Very James Bond theme song-y. If the drums hit harder it could be a 10.

@Cello this sounds so fresh and like something that could come out now

 

[bionic 42,026]

so slow at 2 and head at 1? i can live witht hat

[Cruelty 5,887]

So, Gagadaily, your Kylie Minogue top 2 are...

Who will be your winner?

[HeavyMetal Halcyon 1,483]

I was fully expecting cgyoomh as number one… but I was NOT expecting Slow as number 2… or Confide in me to be in the top 5. SHOOK lol 

[ARTPOPe 10,016]

Ok my prediction was WAY off 

10 minutes ago, bionic said:

i am shook by this top 3 lmao

Not my personal rating, just how I thought it would go based on past Kylie™️ megarates, but things are different this time around 

[Cruelty 5,887]

2 SLOW – average 9.38
The highs: 11 x 9 [@Lukasson @SimonBaetens @HateMeHarder @Sexxx @Nirvana @LaFama @ARTPOPe @RAMROD]; 10 x 15 [@Noah @MANiCURE 6 @dimitristhe @Cruelty @princedeblebleble @NNES @Kandy life @bionic @tofueism @GH333 @Queen Gloria @jimmytimestep @grimqueix @androiduser @Italian]
The lows: 4 x 1 [@ImMatt]

I think you all know why “Slow” remains one of the best pop songs of all time. Ice-cool yet sensual; sparse yet sumptuous; the song is a masterpiece of pop minimalism, every inch as sexy as “Justify My Love” or “Fever” with a fraction of the instrumentation. From the song’s searing chorus to its iconic poolside music video, “Slow” is a masterclass. And whilst it might infamously have been the UK’s lowest-selling Number 1 single of all time when it was released, “Slow” has created a legacy of solid gold, as one of Kylie’s most enduring pop hits.

“Slow” lends itself phenomenally well to remixes—you MUST listen to the Chemical Brothers remix if it’s not already on regular rotation in your life, but for now I’ll give you the song’s latest live reinvention, as a sultry disco number taking cues from Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby”:

 

Comments:

Spoiler

@MANiCURE 6 I love the sexiness of this song. She’s wet, and so am I.

@dimitristhe The production is out of world. It deserved much more success. Kudos to Kylie for not making another disco-pop album and experiment with new sounds. Slow is easily one of the best R&B influenced songs after 2000.

@HateMeHarder Slow is a close second to 'Confide in Me' in terms of leads which really changed the trajectory of her career and work as a pop icon. When Kylie could've rested on the disco, electropop successes she had won during the Fever, she pivoted her sound and created (arguably) one of her best album eras. Slow was the perfect lead: daring, sexy, and pop perfect. The video is one of her best and iconic. She really aced this one...

@Why am I on GGD I remember hating this when I was young. But now I’ve seen the light.

@whoresup I do think it’s a great song but I personally don’t go back to it as much an other Kylie songs. Nonetheless I’ve still given it an 8 so it’s still a great song.

@Nirvana I felt at the time that CGYOOMH was overplayed on radio, compared to all her other great singles. Slow was so different from anything she released before, and music video captivating. This showed me that she's a great pop star not afraid to experiment and try new things. I love this song

@jimmytimestep One of her best EVER. And the VIDEO?!?! SLAY ME QUEEN

@SCHEISSEMONTRE one of my faves from this era 

@VTV SEX POP

@Cello the instrumental on this is intoxicating

 

[Cruelty 5,887]

My A&R at the time, Miles Leonard and Jamie Nelson, said, 'We've got something. Come into the office. We've got to play you something.' So I went to the EMI office, and I had the same reaction you did, about 20 seconds in. I couldn't even fathom what I was hearing. It just... did something. I was beside myself. Then at the end of the song, panic set in. I was saying 'Are you sure we've got this song? Don't tell me that we don't! Is it secured? Can we have it?' And we did! And that kick-started a whole different phase in my career.

1 CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD – average 9.60

The highs: 11 x 4 [@Bronco @NNES @GH333 @QueenGloria]; 10 x 27 [@Dr Fudge @SimonBaetens @Noah @MANiCURE 6 @dimitristhe @Cruelty @princedeblebleble @HateMeHarder @Why am I on GGD @HeavyMetal Halcyon @OG Gaga Stan @Kandy life @BBhomemaker @bionic @tofueism @jimmytimestep @SCHEISSEMONTRE @VTV @HookerOnAChurch @grimqueix @A @androiduser @LaFama @ARTPOPe @RAMROD @Battle 4 Ur Life @Cello @Italian]
The lows: 2 x 1 [@ImMatt] – apart from that, the lowest score is a 7.

Well, what else could it have been? Your runaway winner, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” is taken from Kylie’s 2002 album Fever. It’s easily her most focused record, a package of sleek dance-pop and slinky nu-disco, with “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” inaugurating a bulletproof singles run.

Built around a robotic techno pulse, the song contains probably the most catchy lyrical hook ever (which, appropriately, you just can’t get out of your head). It’s simply about what happens when yearning subsumes everything else, and all that you can manage to say is la la la, la la la la la… Possessing almost limitless appeal, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” is one of those juggernaut pop songs that just follows the formula very, very well. And yet it feels groundbreaking, it feels postmodern, it feels like it’s commenting on pop music itself (an effect enhanced by Kylie’s performance of the song at the BRIT Awards, in which she was ejected from an oversized CD player). To be honest, very few pop songs come close to feeling so groundbreaking and so effortless at the same time.

The impact of “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” is undeniable. After topping the charts in 40 countries including almost everywhere in Europe, the song has sold 5 million copies worldwide - and is certified 2x Platinum in the UK and 3x Platinum in Australia (in both countries the song spent 4 weeks at Number 1), and Gold in the US. Kylie’s signature song, Rolling Stone voted it the 45th best song of the 2000s, and it received more airplay and live covers than any other song in the UK that decade. After a decade of limited commercial success, this single built on the achievements of Kylie’s 2000 comeback album Light Years and cemented her place in the 21st-century pop landscape.

Here’s the ironic Dawn Shadforth-directed music video, which capitalised on the British tabloids’ suggestion that Kylie might be an alien by placing her face close enough to the camera lens to slightly distort her features. The Grace Jones-inspired white hooded jumpsuit remains an iconic fashion item:

 

Comments:

Spoiler

@MANiCURE 6 Didn’t aged at all.

@dimitristhe Iconic song, iconic choreo, iconic la la la, iconic video, iconic clothing, iconic Kylie.

@Why am I on GGD A blueprint.

@whoresup A very bold and confident choice of 1st single but it does just get stuck in your head. Great song and probably her most iconic release. 

@jimmytimestep Still a bop even after all these years.

@SCHEISSEMONTRE this is easily a 10. kinda don't have to explain my self for this one 

@VTV Beyond.

@Battle 4 Ur Life Pop History period.

@Cello incredible, amazing, showstopping, etc etc