| Kylie | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Kylie Minogue | ||||
| Released | 4 July 1988 | |||
| Recorded | Spring 1987-1988 in London, England | |||
| Genre | Dance-pop, teen pop, bubblegum pop | |||
| Length | 35:22 | |||
| Label | PWL, Mushroom, Geffen | |||
| Producer | Stock, Aitken and Waterman | |||
| Kylie Minogue chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Kylie | ||||
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Kylie is the debut album by Australian singer and songwriter Kylie Minogue, released by PWL on 4 July 1988. Stock, Aitken and Waterman produced and wrote eight of the ten tracks on the album.
Most of the album's composition is dance-pop music, with strong teen pop and bubblegum pop influences. The album contains a few ballads, namely "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi", "It's No Secret" and "I Miss You". The main bulk of the album repeated the teen pop and dance-pop style as seen in "I Should Be So Lucky" and "The Loco-Motion."
The album got mixed reception from music critics. Many critics applauded the album itself, as Allmusic had said that "while the production values are dated at best, there are some rather endearing qualities to it". Some critics did not like another bubblegum pop musician, and critics compared it to American singer and songwriter Madonna's self titled album (1984). Although it received mixed reaction, Kylie did receive success worldwide. Kylie peaked at number one in three countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Japan, and it produced three number one singles in Australia. In North America the album peaked low on the Billboard charts, yet still managed to sell over 500,000 copies and was certified gold.[1] In Australia, the album was re-issued as The Kylie Collection and featured bonus remixes. Kylie was certified seven times platinum in the UK and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.[1]
Kylie had six singles released from the album. Her debut single was a cover of "The Loco-Motion", which charted worldwide and went to number one in a total of eight countries, and peaked in the top ten of twenty countries, becoming one of Minogue's most successful singles to date. Another notable single was "I Should Be So Lucky", which went to number one in seven countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom, and peaked at number twenty-eight on the U.S. Billboard charts.
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In 1987, during a Fitzroy Football Club benefit concert the other cast members of Neighbours put on their own talent stage show. Minogue had not prepared anything so she got up on stage and performed a cover version of "The Loco-Motion" and was signed to a recording contract with Mushroom Records.[2] The song was released as a single in Australia, and became the highest selling single of the 1980s.[3] Its success resulted in Minogue travelling to London with Mushroom Records executive Gary Ashley to work with Stock, Aitken and Waterman. They knew little of Minogue and had forgotten that she was arriving; as a result, they wrote "I Should Be So Lucky" while she waited outside the studio.[4] Minogue recorded the song in less than an hour, and returned home to Australia to work on Neighbours.[4] The song became a chart success, and Mike Stock travelled to Melbourne to apologize to Minogue for forgetting about her previous recording session. Stock successfully convinced Minogue to return to London in the beginning of 1988 to record songs for her debut album.[4]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [5] |
| DigitalSpy | [6] |
Kylie had received mixed reviews from music critics. Chris True from Allmusic gave it two-and-a-half out of five starts, giving it a mixed review. He said "While the production values on Kylie's debut are dated at best and the tunes are nothing but standard late-'80s Stock-Aitken-Waterman bubblegum, there are some rather endearing qualities to it. Firstly, she shows a lot more personality than the other Stock, et al." He did say that Minogue would become a pop star and a "European icon".[7] Digital Spy gave it three stars out of five. The stand out track he said was "I Should Be So Lucky", as he said "but anyone who denies 'I Should Be So Lucky' classic status has clearly let their tune detection muscles turn to flab". He also finished saying "The bog-standard S.A.W. production renders Kylie as dated as that haircut on the album cover, and it's as loaded with variety as a loaf of bread, but the little Aussie pop rocket is already showing signs of personality and the record's quintessentially '80s charm ultimately wins through."[8]
Kylie debuted on the UK albums chart at number two on 10 July 1988, and reached number one for four weeks on 21 August 1988 and a further two weeks on 13 November 1988,[9] and was certified six times platinum on 5 January 1989.[10] It sold 1.8 million copies in 1988 (eventually sold 2,105,698 copies)[11] and became that year's best selling album.[1] Kylie was the first album by a female solo artist to exceed sales of two million in the UK[12] and is the 58th best-selling album of all time.[13] In Australia, the album reached number two, and was certified double platinum on release.[14] The album reached the top ten in Germany,[15] Norway,[16] and Switzerland,[17] and sold 143,627 in Sweden. Kylie reached number fifty-three on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States.[18] In 1989, the album was certified gold in the U.S.[19] and platinum in Canada.[14] Currently, Kylie is her longest and successful album in New Zealand, peaking at number 1, and staying in the charts for 53 weeks.[20]
"Locomotion", Minogue's first single release, spent seven weeks at number one on the Australian singles chart, and was the highest selling single in the country for the 1980s.[9] This version of "Locomotion" is often aired on VH-1 Europe. It however was only an Australian release and was not part of her debut album project until re-recorded for release in 1988. "I Should Be So Lucky" was the first single from the album and featured lyrics written by Mike Stock. Stock believed that although Minogue was a successful soap star in Australia and very talented, there must be something wrong with her and figured that she must be unlucky in love.[4] It became a number one hit for Minogue in Australia and the United Kingdom.[14] "Got to Be Certain", the second single, reached number one in Australia, and was moderately successful in other parts of the world, reaching number two in the UK for three weeks and the top ten in Germany and Switzerland.[21] Minogue re-recorded "Locomotion" in April 1988, retitling the song "The Loco-Motion". It was released as the album's third single and became the highest entry of the UK singles chart by a female artist.[22] In North America, it reached number one in Canada and number three on the Billboard Hot 100.[22] "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi", the fourth single, reached number two in the UK.[23] "It's No Secret" was released as the album's fifth single in Australia, North America and Japan. "Turn It into Love" was exclusively released in Japan and spent 10 weeks at Number 1 with no promotion or video.
All songs written and produced by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, except "The Loco-Motion", which was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Should Be So Lucky" | 3:28 |
| 2. | "The Loco-Motion" | 3:17 |
| 3. | "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi" | 4:03 |
| 4. | "It's No Secret" | 4:01 |
| 5. | "Got to Be Certain" | 3:21 |
| 6. | "Turn It into Love" | 3:39 |
| 7. | "I Miss You" | 3:18 |
| 8. | "I'll Still Be Loving You" | 3:52 |
| 9. | "Look My Way" | 3:39 |
| 10. | "Love at First Sight" (unrelated to Minogue's 2001 song of the same name) | 3:11 |
The following people contributed to Kylie:[24]
These are the formats of major album releases of Kylie.
| Release format | Country | Cat. no. | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian vinyl album[25] | Australia | TVL-93277 | Mushroom Records |
| UK CD album[26] | United Kingdom | HFCD3 | PWL |
| U.S. edition[27] | United States | GHS24195 | Geffen Records |
| Japanese edition[28] | Japan | 32XB-280 | Alfa Records |
| Japanese vinyl album[29] | Japan | ALI-28109 | Alfa Records |
| Korean vinyl album[30] | Korea | SWPR-001 | PWL |
| Country | Provider(s) | Certification | Sales/Shipments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | ARIA | 6× Platinum[31] | 420,000+ |
| France | SNEP | Platinum[32] | 300,000+ |
| Finland | IFPI Finland | Gold[33] | 25,000 |
| Germany | IFPI Germany | Gold[34] | 250,000+ |
| Switzerland | IFPI | Platinum[35] | 50,000+ |
| United Kingdom | BPI | 6× Platinum[36] | 2,100,000+ |
| United States | RIAA | Gold[37] | 500,000+ |
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Year-End Charts
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| Preceded by Now That's What I Call Music 12 by Various Artists Money for Nothing by Dire Straits |
UK number one album 27 August 1988 – 23 September 1988 19 November 1988 – 2 December 1988 |
Succeeded by Hot City Nights by Various Artists Now That's What I Call Music XIII by Various Artists |
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