"Aphrodite" is a song by Australian recording artist

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

, taken from her eleventh studio album of the same name (2010). Written and produced by

Nerina Pallot Nerina Natasha Georgina Pallot (born 26 April 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and producer, who has released six albums and over a dozen EPs. She was nominated for British Female Solo Artist at the 2007 BRIT Awards and nominated for an I ...

and

Andy Chatterley Andy Chatterley (born 8 May 1973) is a British record producer and songwriter. He is also the CEO of online content protection company MUSO. Life and career Chatterly was born in Jersey, Channel Islands. He attended Victoria College, Jersey. ...

, the song was included as the title track on the album, which was released on 5 July 2010. It was later included in the track list of Minogue's seventh

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, '' A Christmas Gift'', which was released on 1 December 2010. The song is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

track in which Minogue personifies herself as

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...

, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. Upon the album's release, "Aphrodite" was met with critical acclaim by most music critics, many of whom noted it to be one of the album's strongest tracks. Even though the song was not released as a single, it managed to peak at number six on the

Ultratip Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...

chart in Belgium, and at number 25 on the Belgian Airplay chart. "Aphrodite" was a part of the setlist for Minogue's Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour in 2011, which was launched to promote its parent album. The song was performed as the concert tour's opening track.

Background and composition

"Aphrodite" was written and produced by British singer-songwriter

and her husband

. The song was included in the track list of Minogue's eleventh studio album of the same name, which was released on 5 July 2010. Pallot and Chatterley also collaborated with Minogue on the song "

Better than Today "Better Than Today" is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her eleventh studio album, ''Aphrodite'' (2010). The track was originally written and produced by Nerina Pallot and Andy Chatterley for Pallot's 2009 extended play, ' ...

", which was released as the third single off the album. Pallot commented about working with Minogue, saying that "I feel very lucky that I've fallen on my feet like this. She's really accommodating and lovely and approachable and normal." "Aphrodite" was also included on Minogue's seventh

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

'' A Christmas Gift'' alongside the songs " Can't Beat the Feeling" and "

Santa Baby "Santa Baby" is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953. The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, who also used the pseudonym Tony Springer in an attempt ...

". The extended play was released on 1 December 2010. Musically, "Aphrodite" is a '90s-influenced

and disco song which features a "foot-stomping" beat and "military drummed"

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

, similar to that of a

marching band A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...

Stuart Price Stuart David Price (born 9 September 1977) is an English electronic musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer known for his work with artists including Madonna, Dua Lipa, The Killers, New Order, Kylie Minogue, DMA's, Example, Take ...

likened the song to

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

for its "'

Rhythm Nation "Rhythm Nation" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson, released as the second single from her fourth studio album, '' Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' (1989). It was written and produced by Jackson, in collaboration with Jimmy Jam and ...

'-esque qualities." The song is penned like a dance anthem through which Minogue "brags" about her sexual prowess; she warns that she is not a person meant to be confronted and angered, as heard in the lines "I'm fierce and I'm feeling mighty/Don't you mess with me, you don't wanna fight me".

Reception

Critically, the song was acclaimed by music critics. Ian Wade from

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

predicted that the song would be the "moment of her (Minogue's) live set when she actually explodes". Kitty Empire from ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' praised the song's production, noting that Minogue's "core levels of piffle are magically transcended by the combined forces of stereo panning and chutzpah". Bradley Stern from MuuMuse felt that it was one of the album's strongest tracks along with "

Get Outta My Way "Get Outta My Way" is a song recorded by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue for her eleventh studio album ''Aphrodite'' (2010). "Get Outta My Way" was written and produced by Mich Hansen, Lucas Secon, Damon Sharpe, Peter Wallevik, Danie ...

", and that Minogue "wears her sass well" on the song. Ben Norman from

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found the song a "bit confused, both in subject and execution", but termed it as an "entertaining track" nonetheless. Tim Sendra from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described the song as a "thumping" track which contributes "some sass" to the album and picked it as a highlight. Priya Elan from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' mentioned the song as a highlight on the album too. Robbie Daw from

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

felt that the song would have been a better choice to release as a single rather than "Better than Today". "Aphrodite" debuted at number 42 on the

chart in the Dutch-speaking Flanders region of Belgium, on 12 February 2011. On 26 March, it reached its peak and final position on the chart at number six, having spent a total of seven weeks on the chart. On the Belgian Airplay chart, the song debuted and peaked at number 25 on 12 March, and spent a total of two weeks on chart.

Live performances

"Aphrodite" was included in the setlist of Minogue's 2011 Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour, which was launched to promote the album of the same name. Minogue commenced the concert shows by performing the title track. During the performance, she entered the stage surrounded by a large golden clamshell similar to the depiction of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

, the Roman counterpart of Aphrodite, in

Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian Renaissance painting, Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th cent ...

's 1486 painting ''

The Birth of Venus ''The Birth of Venus'' ( it, Nascita di Venere ) is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, probably executed in the mid 1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea ...

''. Hannah Spencer from

Contactmusic.com Contactmusic.com is an online magazine of cultural criticism based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, and ...

reviewed the performance positively and praised Minogue's confident vocals, saying that "the opening track of Kylie's show proves that the 43-year old is well and truly back for more with distinctive yet secure vocals".

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aphrodite (song) 2010 songs Kylie Minogue songs Song recordings produced by Stuart Price Songs written by Andy Chatterley Songs written by Nerina Pallot Electropop songs