KYLIE 2014-15 : The Kiss Me Once Era

[HorseTears]

Kylie took Buzzfeed's WHICH KYLIE MINOGUE ARE YOU? quiz

[EricMontreal22]

Getting really sick of Buzzfeed, but that is adorable.

[HorseTears]

I thought I'd already heard the full track of "Mr. President" on a now defunct SoundCloud account, but I guess what I heard was an expertly assembled mash up of various clips with an extended intro and outro. I kind of prefer the (fake?) version I heard, but nonetheless, in case you haven't sampled them directlyrics.com has both "Sleeping w/ the Enemy" and "Mr. President" available to stream--higher quality streams than I've heard before.


LISTEN - 2 Kylie bonus tracks

[ArtMan]

When I mentioned it dropped on March 25, that may have been just the deluxe edition. Regular cd comes out this Tuesday. FYE will have it for 12.99 and Best Buy for 11.99. My friend who is the manager offered to sell it to me yesterday, but I wanted to wait to see lower prices. (He price matches for me).

[HorseTears]

Couple things in KM world worth mentioning:

1 - the album is out!! And it sounds glorious!

2 - Kylie has announced the European dates for her KMO tour: http://www.kylie.com/live/

3 - The "Sexercise" video has been revealed and it's actually part of a larger project, it seems. While I still think the song is the one major disappointment on the album, I actually like what they've done here. They also don't appear to be sparing expenses, which is nice to see. The video, which features a short excerpt of the song and is directed by Roman Coppola, is part of Kylie's new "audio-visual experience" which also will include an animation created by Jean-Paul Gaultier and a collaboration with -- wait for it -- National Geographic. I wish they'd picked a stronger song to put this much effort behind, but it does seem like it's going to be very cool campaign. The rest of the a-v collaborations are apparently coming out tomorrow. Hopefully they send something stronger to radio, though.

More details on the project and the VIDEO itself here: http://www.nowness.com/s/n4p7oc

[VeraCharles3]

Once again, thank you HorseTears for all the info on Kylie.

Got the CD yesterday - I have listened once but need a few listens to comment but Sexercise is not my favorite song.

The audio-visual experience does however sound fabulous. I love Kylie, always changing, always pushing boundaries and creating something different.

I am digressing here but Kylie is a judge on The Voice UK and it has become the warmest, kindest talent show I have seen, lol. She is just always smiling and full of positive praise and feedback. A joy.

Does anyone think Kiss Me Once will be a hit in the US though? Early sales in the UK and Oz suggest she is No 1 already with her CD. Fingers crossed.

[HorseTears]

"Does anyone think Kiss Me Once will be a hit in the US though? Early sales in the UK and Oz suggest she is No 1 already with her CD. Fingers crossed."

I think there is virtually no chance of the album having an impressive debut when the Billboard 200 is published next week -- there's been virtually no US promo. My impression is that RocNation may be focusing their efforts on her core markets for now and pivoting to US promo later in the year -- perhaps when her US tour dates are announced. While there's no "Can't Get You Out of My Head" on this album, I do think it has a shot at being her most successful US release since Fever. This week, I imagine it will be strictly Kylie fanboys buying Kiss Me Once in the US. I'll let Eric speak for Canada.


EDITED TO SAY:
Kylie's posted an Instagram teaser for one of the other "Sexercise" videos slated for release tomorrow. I think that may be a bouncy exercise ball shown in the last frame. Looks like we will, quite literally, see Kylie bounce-bounce-bounce.




Kylie - Instagram - Sexercise Teaser

[Borstalboy]

Finally listened to it and I'm afraid I'm finding it terribly generic. Frown.

[HorseTears]

Didn't even like a few of the tracks, Borstal? Not the bittersweet empowerment of "Into the Blue", nor the sparkly camp of "Les Sex", the disco funk of "I Was Gonna Cancel", the absolutely pure Kylie-ness of the unapologetically romantic title track, the wonderful 90s house update of "Fine"? No? Which Kylie albums/periods do you prefer?

[EricMontreal22]

Those along with Sleeping with the Enemy are the standouts for me at this stage. I guess the album is what I'd expect (and frankly want) from Kylie but I don't find it generic, myself.

The DVD content is less than for Aphrodite (where she included some videos from her first American tour in New York--which makes me wonder if it was all filmed) but the behind the scenes stuff is fun, and I admit I like hearing Kylie talk for 15 minutes about why she chose the songs.

I'm confused by this video project, LOL. Is it all done with Roman Coppola? I did like his sorta Barbarella homage CQ, though have heard his Charlie Sheen movie was by all reports complete junk (maybe not his fault), but he would have a good eye for music bits and I kinda like the clips so far.

Kylie has always done a bit better in Canada than the US (especially in certain markets, like Montreal--we also got Light Years released here domestically which I believe was not released in the US, although after her first three albums, Let's Get To It, the Confide in Me album and Impossible Princess were imports only.) Not too surprising--Canadian chart music tends to be US centric but dance/pop and Euro-style acts have always had more success here.

As for the US, she was number one on the iTunes pop charts yesterday (above of Pharrell Williams, who of course produced and wrote Cancel for Kylie, and other pretty big acts) and in the top ten for all their downloads. SHe has promised to some promo in the US in May, which probably will help (I expect the usual stuff like Dancing with the Stars, etc). Aphrodite did chart at 19 for Kylie, so I don't think a top 20 peak for this album is out of the question.

[EricMontreal22]

AllMusic has always supported Kylie, but I liked their review for the album http://www.allmusic.com/album/kiss-me-once-mw0002616331

[Borstalboy]

I'm one of those heretics that actually loved Impossible Princess. Fever is a small masterpiece and I liked about half of X and only a few cuts off of Aphrodite. Loved the Abbey Road Sessions and "Timebomb." "Skirt" not so much.

[HorseTears]

"I'm confused by this video project, LOL. Is it all done with Roman Coppola? I did like his sorta Barbarella homage CQ, though have heard his Charlie Sheen movie was by all reports complete junk (maybe not his fault), but he would have a good eye for music bits and I kinda like the clips so far."

Eric, no, I believe the clip we've seen was the one directed by Roman Coppola. The other contributions, which are supposed to be released tomorrow, are directed/produced by other artists including Jean-Paul Gaultier. There's also apparently a collaboration with National Geographic! I still think the song is ridiculous, but I'm done complaining. Time to enjoy this audio-visual package!

BTW, the Coppola treatment is a direct reference/tribute to the work of Kenneth Anger, the pioneering underground queer filmmaker. As you can see from this clip it's a an almost shot-by-shot recreation:
http://youtu.be/kxX1MMN1n-Y

[EricMontreal22]

I did get the Kenneth Anger thing (and only because I was researching him just a few weeks back--although specifically his short Fireworks.)

Borstal--you'd be surprised how many Kylie fans rank Princess as their top album...

[HorseTears]

Yeah, I gather that Impossible Princes is quite popular with the Kylie set. I wouldn't say it's my favorite, but it's up there. Love "Breathe".

So, we are definitely getting quite literal on this next Sexercise video. Some stills, courtesy of the Daily Mail below. I love how this look references the Fever era -- both visually and in the way she combined her sex appeal with a knowing sense of humor.

[HorseTears]

[HorseTears]

[Jungle Red]

THOSE SHOES ARE EVERYTHING.

It's a beautiful video that shows off her hot body and her hot vocals.

I can't wait for more!

[EricMontreal22]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3VjJKKVNew&feature=youtu.be

I wonder when the others will roll out... Still wish it was another song, but these are kinda fun

[HorseTears]

" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3VjJKKVNew&feature=youtu.be "

!!!!

I was expecting sexiness and camp, but I wasn't expecting Kylie to go so - if you'll excuse the phrase - balls out. Wow. I think the vid even improves the song. It seemed stupid to me that this was going to be the second single, but I'll happily eat crow now. This makes perfect sense. I give it 7 1/2 out of 7 1/2. (Ahem)

[VeraCharles3]

Loving the video!

When HorseTears' eagle eyes spotted exercise balls in the teaser clip - I immediately thought "Carry on Camping". I assumed the video would be campy and fun - i wasn't expecting this highly charged little number.

Good on Kylie - it's still very classy looking and I think this will get people talking.

Eric - thank you for the info on Kylie, re the Canadian charts.

[Borstalboy]

It's presumptive, but I think Will Davidson mmmmmay be a butt man.

[EricMontreal22]

Sexcercise and Les Sex in France http://www.canalplus.fr/c-divertissement/c-musique/pid5065-live-du-grand-journal.html?vid=1039792&sc_cmpid=FBSharehttp://www.canalplus.fr/c-divertissement/c-musique/pid5065-live-du-grand-journal.html?vid=1039792&sc_cmpid=FBShare http://www.canalplus.fr/c-divertissement/c-musique/pid5065-live-du-grand-journal.html?vid=1039792&sc_cmpid=FBSharehttp://www.canalplus.fr/c-divertissement/c-musique/pid5065-live-du-grand-journal.html?vid=1039792&sc_cmpid=FBShare

Not bad...

And I do not understand this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezzqoCmZnAg

[HorseTears]

One needs to visit sexercize.tv to experience the full campaign, but I think it's all just brilliant. Whether we like it or not, this isn't a music business anymore, it's a global branding business in which music releases are simply the basis for international stadium tours, endorsement deals, and co-branded opportunities. RocNation clearly understands that. The hiring of Chandelier, one of the hottest and most in-demand creative agencies today, was spot-on. The "main" video directed by Will Davidson is still my favorite, though coming in a close second is the animated video by Hattie Stewart. That filthy, lurid Steamboat Willie/Betty Boop animation is such a riot. I also love how she overlaid some of the animation with several of Kylie's signature looks.

Thanks for posting that French performance, Eric. I don't think the song really works as a standalone Kylie-at-the-mic-in-a-pretty-dress thing, but it still makes perfect sense to perform it at this time. I have to admit, the song's growing on me.


LOVE the "Slow" moments from Hattie Stewart's "Sexercise" vid:

[VeraCharles3]

Kylie knows who her audience is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VPCprF3K1k

"more spiritual" lol

[Jay Lerner-Z]

I am loving this album.

Thus concludes my in-depth review.