My History with Kylie Minogue
As a kid, a teen, I watched the Aussie-soap "Neighbours" in England that was second only to Coronation Street in popularity - and that was boring. Set in warm, far-off Melbourne, and detailing the travails of one dead-end Ramsay Street group of ... Neighbours, it wasn't great but it was perfectly timed for coming home and turning off my brain after school. It also starred Guy Pearce, (as Mike Young), one of the stars of "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and many more films since.
Being a TV star (and one of three Kylies to appear on the show in its run), she capitalized with some pretty awful music. Some of that included her on-screen and off-screen boyfriend, Jason Donovan, with their infamous duet, "Especially For You" panned worldwide - and bought everywhere, except the United States.
Manufactured, much? Yep. Just like the American Idol contract control today, Kylie Minogue was part of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman "Music Factory" - as they called themselves - that churned out synth-heavy, bland pop. Usually with reed-thin vocals laced over the top.
I remember "Tears on a Pillow," "Locomotion" as songs I enjoyed (both cover versions of earlier songs, oddly enough). Locomotion, or "The Locomotion" was her only US hit until the 21st Century came along.
"I Should Be So Lucky" was her first big UK hit, and though I thought it was one of the better songs around in mid-80s England, it quickly paled to contempt as I grew. One thing I do remember (and know I was a 14/15 year old) was talk that if you slowed it down on the VCR, you could catch a nipple as she spun around. I never did that though .... ... ahem.
That growing up thing took me into heavy metal and rock, but at some point in the last couple of years as I moved much broader again in my tastes I checked back in to see her as a model - sometimes topless - and always with the biggest smile.
Then I started hearing her music again and was glad for two reasons; one that she still had that big smile — a smile of "I am lucky" good humor — and two, her music had improved.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - sandra smallson
Oh dear. another Kylie fan gets confused. Yes, kylie is a wonderful and sweet girl. I wish her a quick recovery and I hope she restarts her tour and continues to thrill her fans BUT, BUT..even if she had started her career in America she would be nowhere a household name like Madonna because she is simply not as talented or as creative as Madonna.
Where Madonna leads, Kylie follows. In fact, gratitude for Kylie's latest popularity should not only go to Cathy Dennis but must go to Madonna, because if Madonna had not worn that top with KYLIE MINOGUE written on it at the MTV europe music awards and therefore advertised Kylie on what Kylie herself proclaimed "the most expensive billboard in the world" Cathy Dennis would probably never have considered Kylie as a person to sing "can't get u out of my head". At this time, Kylie had been dropped by her record label and was attempting to go the indie route with Nick Cave. HUGE MISTAKE. she simply is not that much of a star like Madonna and U2 where they can afford to branch out into weird music and still sell. Kylie has a niche..covers of catchy songs or catchy songs..she must stick there.
So, lets be frank..neither have great voices but that's not what they are about. They are both smart enough to sing songs within their vocal range..but when it comes to writing, producing and so on, Kylie is not remotely near Madonna in those stakes. Kylie IS a showgirl..she's like a doll..they give her the music and she performs it...they tell her what to wear and what to do and she does it well..it's as simple as that..
Madonna is certainly more hands on and is fully responsible or partly responsible for every artistic thing she does whether good or bad. She has no manufactured stock, Aitken and waterman empire. She started from the horrendous clubs in Newyork..- belgium-paris and then back to the Big apple. Please, try not to compare.
Now, there's lots more I can say but I think this is enough because I have come across a few Kylie fans, once they grab the Madonna leash, they can't let go and heaven knows I don't want to encourage you....
2 - Temple Stark
Oh dear, a commentator who likes to piss on others.
Such a condescending ------ who loves to spread hate - ain't ya?
3 - Temple Stark
And I do like Madonna - I just got wildly turned off around the Sex / Erotica period because I just felt her sole existence was to try and shock. Tha'ts an embarrassing way to go.
Ray of Light is one of my favorite songs of all time. The early Madonna is amazing and Justify My Love has the hugest hook around. Great stuff. I respect both immensely, I just happen to think Kylie is the better, all around entertainer now.
I wrote a lot of what I'd written and then started lookng around. The Madonna / Kylie comparisons are legion - but they don't really fit - except where I mentioned - being there for the performance.
Peace.
Peace.
4 - swingingpuss
Kylie at her hottest performance, yet.
5 - Dave Nalle
>>At this time, Kylie had been dropped by her record label and was attempting to go the indie route with Nick Cave.<<
Don't you think that the mere fact that she was sharp enough to hook up with Nick Cave was a sign that she might have been on the right track there, if not to a Madonna-like career, at least to a pretty promising indie career?
Dave
6 - Temple Stark
no. wrong person for an indie career.
7 - Temple Stark
SP - you haven't seen these videos.
8 - salmoncatchingbear
right. at the time of can't get ou out of my head, she hadnt been dropped by her record label and attempted to go indie at all.
what happened was this:
kylie got dropped by her record label.
made record with nick cave
made Kylie Minogue (which was meant to be called impossible princess, but then Diana died the day before it was meant to be released, or some such date anyway, and then it was hauled back for re-packaging. this was on deconstruction lable.
then kylie made a proper come back with light years, with Spinning Around... remember the gold hotpants? THAT was what made ehr a star again.
then the madonna t-shirt etc
then can't get you out of my head.
sorry to sound like a geek, i just thought i'd point out the correct order. I'm sure Kylie is very grateful to Cathy Dennis for kickstarting her career in the US, she seems like a genuine person, seems full of sunshine, so i guess she is grateful.
madonna is wonderful, and i love them both, their music is very similar in that it can give an emothinally wounded woman the strength and courage to better her situation, simply through the power of pop... quite a feat to be honest!
madonna is amazingly talented, excellent songwriter, wonderful dancer. Kylie, out of the two does appear to have the better voice, but lacks in the songwriting side of things... they're both great inspiring women, both at the top of their game despite set-backs, i wish i could be so lucky. lucky. lucky.
9 - sandra smallson
If there is ONE person Madonna has a better voice than, it's KYLIE. Oh, and Gwen Stefani..LOL. Kylie's voice is paper thin. She couldn't sing "You'll See" if her life depended on it. Gwen, great gal, but Stefani live? You can barely hear her. Maybe she was nervous on the day but it was embarassing.
I stand by my initial post about Kylie. I'll tell you what the clincher is...what is considered a mega hit for Kylie is considered a flop for the likes of Madonna.
Plus, come on, Kylie's current tour before this illness is a cheap rip off of Madonna's Girlie show of 1993 and some of M's videos. We are all trying to get along now but it might be time to call a spade a spade. Madonna is one of the best performers and all round entertainers of all time. Kylie is not even in the top 20 in that list.
Kylie is good and great at what she does but I always feel Kylie fans are confused when they start to compare her to Madonna. There is no comparison. Not in dancing, singing, songwriting, producing, creativity and just generally putting on a show. Kylie is nowhere near half as good. Now, madonna's shoes are big shoes to fill so this is not to say Kylie is rubbish. She is very very good but compared to Madonna? She is the opening act.
10 - salmoncatchingbear
you are resolute in your opinion, i will not try to change your mind!
to say that kylie has a wafer thin voice is a bit slack though, she sings live incredibly well. madonna has a weak voice, she really does.
for a real good voice that would knock the bollocks off anyone alive, look no further than the singer out of The Bellrays... she blew me away when she sang live. THAT is a voice. madonna got where she was by being overtly sexual. she cant actually sing for toffee, sorry but it's true.
re above points, please see previous posting that i love them both (musically.. i'm not really that sad), and enjoy listening to them immensly, it just has to be faced that Esther (as she prefers to be called) doesnt exactly have a set of lungs on her either.
11 - Temple Stark
Does Madonna even sing live anymore?
Sandra, you continue to look at it from an American POV. - no success here? Then to the garbage can.
You're right, Kylie shouldn't be compared to Madonna. But sometimes equivelences have to be addressed so people who aren't overtly familiar with Kylie
s music, get an idea.
Besides - acting, modeling, music style - the comparisons are there to be made.
Anyway, NONE of this addresses my own personal history with Kylie. The only history I personally have with Madonna was as a filthy teenager waiting for those color photos of a nude Madonna in Penthouse.
And her "mixes tape" CD "You Can Dance" which I played more than anything else of hers.
"Like A Prayer" was an awesome video. There are some great songs of hers.
But Madonna was copying multiple shows that came before her, so it wasn't exactly original then either. (Her official site now celebrates the 15th anniversary of the Blonde Ambition tour).
Madonna was an amazing force in music - but sex was always her main tool as Salmon says. As painful as it is to say it, it is painful to see a mid-40s chick trying to rock it out o the dance floor like she's in her 20s still. Madonna can pull that off - barely - but not with lame talks about pilates and her lifestyle (She should be over the bragging by now)
Kylie's got more than the sex; you could say Madonna pushed the envelope here with regard to sex - but I don't really see how she really achieved anything to this end.
12 - sandra smallson
This really is the height of delusion. Firstly, I stated that neither have great voices so I don't know why you are telling me about a Bellray singer. I simply said, madonna has a better voice than Kylie. That is a matter of fact. kylie can barely carry a tune.
2ndly, everyone is past that childish rant of Madonna being all about sex. she has accomplished MORE musically and artistically than Kylie will ever accomplish and is it not hilarious that when kylie decided to be taken seriously and cover up her butt after the 50pence charity knickers she wore in her spinning around video, her Album didn't do as well. While on the other hand, when Madonna went over the top with teh SEXUAL behaviour, her albums didn't do as well. So, with M, it's always been about the music when you get down to it. Nobody is wearing the boytoy belts anymore but people are still dancing to Like a Virgin and Papa Dont Preach. That says it all.
Don't tell me rubbish. Every, EVERY female star has used her sexuality to her advantage. It is in our makeup. Those who do not use it, do not have it. That they use it, is not to say it is the ONLY skill they have...
I have said this before...there are millions of prettier, sexier, blond girls out there with better voices. There is only ONE Madonna. So, I'm afraid the sex kitten rant no longer works. she has been around for too long and her music has stood the test of time for too long. It is time to find another thing to discredit her with.
Madonna very much still sings Live and if you attended her recent tour you wouldn't need to ask that silly question. Of course sometimes she doesn't..Well, if you bloody performed like she does, you wouldn't either. As Letterman told Elton.."It's alright for you to talk, all you do is sit at your piano" case closed.
Other than the Marilyn Monroe video of Material girl..I want you to state now ANY shows Madonna copied. State ANY, EVEN one. You either do that or forever hold your piece. Before you respond, please check the definition of inspiration and copy. Kylie has always claimed to be inspired by Madonna, yet she outright copies her without even adding her own style to the thing.
I mean, this is a known fact to music fans. I don't know why you guys are arguing it. I know she is ill but that is no raeson to have delusions of grandeur, is it?!
13 - sandra smallson
piece=peace. raeson=reason....
14 - Mark Saleski
Every, EVERY female star has used her sexuality to her advantage.
Patti Smith.
what do i win?
15 - Temple Stark
Paula "Pit" Cole? Although star - maybe not.
Salt N' Pepa? Missy Elliott?
Guess that pretty much defines the biggest factor it takes to be a female star in America, then doesn't it? That's sad. Of course, I like that part as well, I won't say I don't.
Female voices have always been what i've liked the most - from Blondie to Pat Benatar to Lita Ford to Axl Rose :-) to Liz Phair, Ani DiFranco, L7, Hole, etc.
Does Tori Amos use her sexuality? Yeah probably, except it's more she's doing it for / to herself.
16 - sandra smallson
Oh, and I am HALF BRITISH and ZERO AMERICAN so what is this, looking at it from an American POV..LOL. Madonna has even sold more albums than Kylie in AUSTRALIA, let alone England..so don't respond to me like it's only because I am supposedly American that i feel this way. Madonna is an icon all over the world and not just in Australia and certain parts of Europe like Kylie.
17 - sandra smallson
Paula cole..have you listened to her songs? How about that song on teh City of Angels soundtrack? She was practically having sex or at least simulating it while recording that track...Patti Smith...oh, what? What did you think the outfit was about? A revolution?
Satlt and pepa? All those sexual lyrics and the sexual videos were what? Documentaries?
Missy elliott...in her lyrics.The weight won't let her do it otherwise but many of her songs are sexual...one minute man, and freak to name a few.
debbie Harry? I don't think there was anything special about her voice. Liz Phair? she advertises that repressed sexuality thing...and tehn suddenly burst out. courtney Love? she goes teh rock and roll success route..oh, i am on drugs and so troubled..pop uses sex..rock uses troubled and suicidal...
Tori....confuses me. The rest, I am not too familiar with...
18 - Temple Stark
Thanks for all those unasked for wonderful comments on other music stars i listed.
You keep on changing the subject though. No one here has ever said Kylie was / is more popular than Madonna.
Please keep making me laugh, though.
19 - Mark Saleski
i think Missy Elliot is kinda hot now.
don't know that this has to do with anything, just thought i'd keep up with the veering non-sequiturs.
20 - sandra smallson
LOL..Missy is kind of alright now she has lost some weight. Temple, if you are wilfully refusing to understand..that's fair. Far be it from me to bring Kylie fans down to earth. You and some others made some comments. You made the comparisons..I put you straight. If "popularity" is the word you want to use to embrace the vast difference in reality b/w both women, then please, be my guest. End of story. I am glad I made you laugh. Anytime...
21 - sandra smallson
Oh..and I said...EVERY female star uses their sexuality in one way or another..I assumed the list you provided were female stars you did not believe used their sexuality, which is why you got the unasked for comments.
Mind you, I think I am confusing, Patti Smyth with Patti Hearst..lol..Patti smith is JohnnyMacs wife is she not?
22 - salmoncatchingbear
"I mean, this is a known fact to music fans"... right, so i'm obviously not a music fan. despite the fact that i blatantly am.
re the whole "kylie couldnt sing you'll see" bit... an emphysemic sloth could sing that, it's not exactly a stretch.
"I know she is ill but that is no raeson to have delusions of grandeur, is it?!"
how slack are you?! i for one am not trying to give her any delusions of grandeur, just paying her due respect as an artist is all. her fans are not making out she's anything she's not just because she's ill. that is one hell of a sick statement to make.
23 - sandra smallson
Salmon, I mean't YOUR delusions of grandeur re: Miss Minogue's status and abilities...not the Australian lass's delusions. Kylie has always known her place. It is her fans who have hallucinated otherwise. Matter of fact, I like Kylie. She said one of the best things I have heard a pop star say in a while..when asked how does she feel when people think Dido is a huge talent and don't give her the same credit because she doesn't write her own songs..she said " I don't care. Actors and Actresses don't write the movie scripts they act in, it doesn't make them any less talented" I thought that was fantastic. I have nothing against Kylie, I am simply stating the obvious because I pray for the time when Kylie fans will be able to say something about Kylie without mentioning Madonna...
We will get nowhere so I will leave you to carry on.....
24 - salmoncatchingbear
hello sandra... we have gotten somewhere actually mate! i would like to point out that this is the first time i have ever compared the two. kylie is a gay icon, camp as a row of pink chiffon tents. madonna is a more serious artist and she's great.
seriously though, if you like female artists, get the album "meet the bellrays", she really does have an astounding voice!
nice to have debated with you
25 - mark
Sandra...you truly scare the hell out of me.....kylie seems to intimidate the hell out of you for some reason to go on the way you have, you are obviously the pig-headed type of person who for some reason, gets only 1 opinion about something, and will just stick with it.
both madonna and kylie have many similarities and differences....hate to tell you this sandra, but madonna and kylie are actually really good friends [shocker i know]
temple
the way i understand it, outside the u.s., madonna and kylie are pretty much on the same scale...both business woman running their own companies, and have legions of fans each