Golden Boy (Kylie Minogue Song)
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''Kiss Me Once'' is the twelfth studio album by Australian singer
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 ...
, released on 14 March 2014 by
Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
. It is her first studio release since 2010's ''
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 ...
'', and marks Minogue's first and only album with
Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...
, handled by American rapper and businessman
Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
. They both enlisted several songwriters and producers such as
Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
,
Cutfather Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio on Njalsgade, Copenhagen. Career Cutfather is perhaps best known for his ...
,
Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs t ...
,
Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...
, and
MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK (, ), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Awards, Brit Award, and has received the ...
. Musically, it was recognised by
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
as Minogue's return to contemporary
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...
, incorporating musical elements of
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 ...
,
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
,
electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...
, and R&B. Lyrically, the songs focus on themes such as romance, sex, self-empowerment, and having fun. Upon its release, ''Kiss Me Once'' received generally favorable reviews from most music critics. The majority of them complimented Minogue's charm and vocal delivery, alongside her return to contemporary pop music. However, critics were polarised towards the content and production; some felt the material was fun, but majority dismissed its memorability and felt it lacked innovation on Minogue's behalf. Commercially, the album performed moderately worldwide, reaching the top 10 in regions such as Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain and France. It is her fourth highest-charting album on the US ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at number 31. However, the overall lack of success for ''Kiss Me Once'' prompted Minogue to leave Parlophone, citing artistic differences. " Into the Blue" and "
I Was Gonna Cancel "I Was Gonna Cancel" is a song by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, released as the second and final single from her twelfth studio album ''Kiss Me Once''. The track was written and produced by American recording artist, songwriter and p ...
" were released as the album's main singles; the former experienced moderate success on several countries, while the latter failed to generate a similar success. The album tracks: "Million Miles", "
Sexercize "Sexercize" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue from her twelfth studio album ''Kiss Me Once'' (2014). The song was written by Sia, Marcus Lomax, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Clarence Coffee and Nella Tahrini, whilst production was h ...
", "Sexy Love", and "
Beautiful Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to: Film and theater * ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field * ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...
" were promoted as radio tracks in different worldwide regions. To further promote the album, Minogue commenced her
Kiss Me Once Tour The Kiss Me Once Tour was the fourteenth concert tour by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was launched in support of her twelfth studio album, ''Kiss Me Once'' (2014) and visited Europe, Australia and Middle East. Rumours of plans to tour ar ...
in September 2014, and finished in March 2015; by April 2015, the concert tour amassed $21 million ticket sales and released an accompanying live album and concert DVD in Glasgow, Scotland.


Background

In 2012, Minogue began a year-long celebration for her 25 years in the music industry, which was often known as "K25". The anniversary started on 3 March with her 20-minute medley performance at the
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest such festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...
in front of 15,000 people. Two weeks later, Minogue embarked the
Anti Tour The Anti Tour was the thirteenth concert tour by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, as part of the "K25" project. The tour began on 18 March 2012 in Melbourne, Australia at the Palace Theatre and concluded on 3 April 2012 in London, E ...
in Australia and the UK, featured
B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
,
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and rarities from her music catalogue. She released the single " Timebomb" in May, before releasing the
greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
''
The Best of Kylie Minogue ''The Best of Kylie Minogue'' is a 2012 greatest hits album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was released on 28 May 2012 by EMI to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Minogue's recording career, as part of her K25 celebrat ...
'' in June. Minogue announced two releases in October: the compilation album '' The Abbey Road Sessions'' that features reworked and orchestral versions of her previous songs which were recorded at London's
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...
; and the ''
K25 Time Capsule Australian singer Kylie Minogue has released fifteen studio albums, thirteen compilation albums, nine live albums, ten extended plays (EP), eleven remix albums and two box sets. With estimated career sales of over 80 million albums w ...
'' box set that contained 25 mini-CDs. Following the release of Minogue's orchestral compilation album ''The Abbey Road Sessions'' (2012), she parted ways with her long-term manager Terry Blamey and his team, and announced a musical hiatus. Then, in February 2013, she announced via
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and
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
that she signed a management contract with American rapper and businessman
Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
's imprint
Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...
. Following the announcement that same month, British publications reported about Minogue's 12th studio album and commented that she had been collaborating with Australian musician
Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
, which Minogue confirmed. In May 2013, Minogue commented to American magazine ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' that the album was "bringing out something different... which is cool". She also recognised that she had to "do something different", but added that the album "will maintain the DNA of what a Kylie track is, because I'm on it. I like to try and move the goalpost and experiment with different sounds."


Production

Minogue began initial sessions for the album in January 2012 in London and Los Angeles. Throughout March–July, Minogue announced collaborations with Norwegian team
Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...
, American producer
Darkchild Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...
, American rapper
Brooke Candy Brooke Dyan Candy (born July 20, 1989) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and tattoo artist. Raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, daughter of Tom Candy, former CFO of ''Hustler Magazine'', Brooke rose to prominence after starring in Gr ...
,
MNDR Amanda Lucille Warner (born September 12, 1982), known professionally as MNDR, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. She rose to prominence after being featured on Mark Ronson & The Business Intl's 2010 single " Bang Bang Bang" ...
, and
will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...
via Twitter. On 27 May, one day before Minogue's 45th birthday, she teased information about an "interesting" collaboration, later revealed as a duet with Spanish singer
Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...
. In February 2014, Minogue confirmed
Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
as the album's executive co-producer. Minogue stated in an interview with American website
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 ...
that "I got on with her so well... I asked her if she would executive-produce. I was hoping she would say yes. I didn't know if it was something she had done or was interested in, or if maybe she just preferred writing and doing her own music." That same month, she commented to American ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine; "I felt like I needed a new landscape, and once you've got your feet on the ground you're raring to go. ..So far the support has been great, and it's just another part of this amalgamation of 'new' that I had wished for and was struck by." Minogue enlisted several songwriters and producers to create the album, including Sia,
Cutfather Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio on Njalsgade, Copenhagen. Career Cutfather is perhaps best known for his ...
,
Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs t ...
,
Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...
, and
MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK (, ), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Awards, Brit Award, and has received the ...
amongst others. Minogue recorded majority of the album in Los Angeles and New York City, with additional recording and mixing handled in London. In an interview with ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'', Minogue revealed that she and Furler had recorded several tracks that did not appear on the final cut in comparison to her previous album ''
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 ...
'' (2010). Minogue recalled that the number of tracks that did not appear collated into "three albums" in "three genres": a "pure pop" album, a "dancy-urban" album, and an "indie" album. She also said both she and Furler selected tracks from each they felt represented ''Kiss Me Once'' at the time. Regarding the recording process, she revealed to Colleen Quill at Radio.com, "Compared to the early days for me, I'm really comfortable in the studio. I record really fast, my leads, my backing vocals and the harmonies. I'm kind of like a machine doing that."


Music and lyrics

Musically ''Kiss Me Once'' has been described by critics from publications such as Timeout.com, ''The Guardian'', and ''Clash Magazine'' as Minogue's return to contemporary
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...
. According to Quill, she stated that the album was a form of return to "pure pop" that also incorporated elements of
dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...
. Tim Sendra, writing for
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 ...
, categorised the album as "an intoxicating blend of uptempo dance tracks, funky club cuts, sexy midtempo jams, and the occasional ballad." ''
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 ...
s Ben Cardew noted elements of
contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...
and dubstep in some of the tracks, including "
Sexercize "Sexercize" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue from her twelfth studio album ''Kiss Me Once'' (2014). The song was written by Sia, Marcus Lomax, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Clarence Coffee and Nella Tahrini, whilst production was h ...
" and "If Only". Similarly, 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 ...
'' felt the album was "rooted" with R&B music and incorporated elements of funk, disco, and electronic dance music (EDM).


Song analysis

The album opens with " Into the Blue", which Minogue describes lyrically as an "escape" and "free". The track was described by Matt Bagwell from ''The Huffington Post'' as a "euphoric" and "melancholy" track, and was labelled "age-appropriate
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 ...
". "Million Miles" was compared to the work of Dragonette, where it was commented by
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
critic Ryan Lathan that it featured real instrumentation including electric guitars and keyboards; he later concluded it as an
electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...
song. According to Minogue, the idea of the third track, "
I Was Gonna Cancel "I Was Gonna Cancel" is a song by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, released as the second and final single from her twelfth studio album ''Kiss Me Once''. The track was written and produced by American recording artist, songwriter and p ...
", came about when she attended a recording session with American producer
Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...
and "burst into tears"; then onwards, Williams composed the track inspired by Minogue's moment. She was booked with Williams for only one day throughout the entire process of the album, leading to only two tracks finished by him. Bagwell compared the "electro funk" sound to her 2003 album ''
Body Language Body language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Th ...
''. "Sexy Love" was one of the first of three tracks on the album that represented "sex", a recurring theme on the album; according to Lathan, it is a "disco-pop" anthem. Paul Keevers from SameSame felt it was the "offspring" to Minogue's 2008 single "
Wow Wow or WoW may refer to: Games and toys *''World of Warcraft'', a massively multiplayer online role-playing game *''World of Warplanes'', an online flight simulator *''World of Warships'', an online naval simulator *''Wizard of Wor'', a 1981 a ...
". "
Sexercize "Sexercize" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue from her twelfth studio album ''Kiss Me Once'' (2014). The song was written by Sia, Marcus Lomax, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Clarence Coffee and Nella Tahrini, whilst production was h ...
", the second of "sex" songs, was criticized by several critics for its "dated" dubstep/
brostep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step garage, 2-step rhythms and sparse dub reggae, dub production, as well as incorporati ...
production and lyrical content. The sixth track, "Feels So Good", is a cover song that was adapted from the demo track "Indiana" written and recorded by Tom Aspaul; Bagwell labelled it a "mid-tempo electro" recording. According to Lathan, the first R&B entry, "If Only", "begins with a brief synth chordal progression before giving way to the steady sound of stadium-size handclaps, which form the basis of the song's marching rhythm." The final track that represents the "sex" theme is "Les Sex", which Minogue described her favourite out of the trio set. Joe Muggs from ''
Fact Magazine A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...
'' felt the lyrical content was slightly
campy Camp is an aesthetic style and sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. Camp aesthetics disrupt many of modernism's notions of what art is and what can be classified as high art by inverting aes ...
and described it as an "electro" song. The title track, "Kiss Me Once", was appreciated by music critics as a return to Minogue's "romantic" lyrical content instead of sex. Described as a mid-tempo pop song that resembled her
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releases, Levine from
Attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a pro ...
compared the quality and production style to the title track from her previous studio album. The album's only pop ballad and duet, "
Beautiful Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to: Film and theater * ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field * ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...
", was heavily criticized for its overuse of
Auto-tune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-Tu ...
and
vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''voice'' and ''encoder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder was ...
techniques, but commended for its lyrical hook during the chorus. Minogue revealed that she did not meet Iglesias to record the track, as she was in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
at the time. The album's standard edition closer was "Fine", the only co-written track by Minogue. An empowerment anthem that utilizes musical elements of electro and
house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
, it was heavily commended by critics as an "accomplishment" to Minogue's back catalogue. The album's bonus tracks: "Mr. President" and "Sleeping With the Enemy" were noted by critics as electro entries; the former was described by Bradley Stern from MuuMuse as "silly fun", and using samples of
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
's "
Happy Birthday, Mr. President "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" is a song sung by actress and singer Marilyn Monroe on May 19, 1962, for President John F. Kennedy at a gala held at Madison Square Garden for his 45th birthday, 10 days before the actual date (May 29). The even ...
" speech, and the latter was noted as "dreamy" and "lush."


Packaging and release

English fashion stylist William Baker shot the artwork for ''Kiss Me Once''. After a week of teasing on social media, Minogue revealed the album title and cover artwork on 24 January 2014. The artwork shows Minogue closing her eyes and pursing her red lips for a kiss. The close-up shot of Minogue was taken behind a sheet of wet glass. The piece gave Carolyn Menyes of ''Music Times'' a sense of drama and desire, while Robbie Daw of ''
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 ...
'' described it as "warm, colorful and perfectly pop". From the same publication, Mike Wass opined that the flirtatious cover leaves a strong visual impression and indicates Minogue has "really brought her inner-
sex kitten A sex kitten is a woman who exhibits a sexually provocative lifestyle or an abundant sexual aggression. The term originated around 1956 in articles in the British and American press and was originally used to describe French people, French actress ...
" for the album. Seamus Duff of ''
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
'' viewed the artwork as a "silent plea to America to open the window and let her in". A week before its release in the UK, ''Kiss Me Once'' was made available for
streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
in full on the official website of ''The Guardian'' on 10 March. The album was first released in Australia and Germany by
Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
on 14 March. Three days later, the album was made available in European countries and the UK in two versions: a 11-track standard version, and a deluxe version featured two bonus tracks "Mr. President" and "Sleeping With the Enemy". ''Kiss Me Once'' was released in North America on 18 March, and distributed a day later in Japan; the latter region featured two bonus tracks: "Sparks" and a remix of "Into the Blue" by Japanese musician
Yasutaka Nakata is a Japanese DJ and music producer. He formed the band Capsule in 1997 with vocalist Toshiko Koshijima and himself as composer and record producer when both were 17. The band debuted in 2001 with the song "Sakura". He is known for being the ...
. In Europe, a special double-
12-inch vinyl The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...
was issued on 17 May and featured a bonus digital download code for the bonus tracks. Minogue's website distributed a limited edition
box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...
that restricted physical units to 3,500 worldwide. On 8 December 2014, Parlophone and Warner Music Group re-released the album on the
iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
; it included several live performances at the
iTunes Festival The Apple Music Festival (formerly known as the iTunes Festival) was a concert series held by Apple, Inc. and inaugurated in 2007. Free tickets were given to Apple Music, iTunes and DICE users who lived in the United Kingdom, through localized p ...
. On the censored version of the album in South Africa, "Sexy Love" is titled "Love", "Sexercize" is titled "Exercize" and "Les Sex" is retitled "We Could Call It".


Promotion

On 13 February 2014, Minogue gave a surprise live performance of "Into the Blue" and "Les Sex" at the Old Blue Last Pub in
Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...
. Four days later, she released an album-sampler video of 11 standard tracks on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, featuring 50-second snippets of each song. In March, she performed "Into the Blue" in several television programs in the UK, including the semi-final episode of '' The Voice UK'' and the fundraising event ''
Sport Relief 2014 Sport Relief 2014 is a fundraising event organised by Sport Relief. A number of run-up events took place and the main event consisted of a live telethon broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of Friday 21 March 2014 to early the follow ...
''. Two intimate concert shows were held in London (18 March) and Melbourne (25 April), where Minogue performed several tracks from ''Kiss Me Once''. She went on to perform "I Was Gonna Cancel" at the 2014
Logie Awards The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...
, her first appearance at the award show in 25 years. Minogue was accused of lip-syncing to the performance, which she later denied a day later. In August, Minogue performed a seven-song set at the
2014 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony The closing ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, was held on 3 August 2014. Entitled "All Back to Ours", it was held at the Hampden Park, the main stadium of the event, in Glasgow, Scotland. Sequence of events The closing ceremony took a ...
, among them were "Into the Blue" and "Beautiful". The ceremony was watched by an average of 6.8 million viewers. Streaming platform Amazon Music reported a 669% sales increase for ''Kiss Me Once'' within 24 hours after the show. She embarked the
Kiss Me Once Tour The Kiss Me Once Tour was the fourteenth concert tour by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was launched in support of her twelfth studio album, ''Kiss Me Once'' (2014) and visited Europe, Australia and Middle East. Rumours of plans to tour ar ...
in Liverpool in September 2014. The concert tour traveled through the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia. The staging of the tour was inspired by detailed
geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...
and
Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...
aesthetics. The concert tour achieved $17 million throughout ticket sales in Europe, and an additional $4 million throughout Australia.Australian boxscore data * * * An accompanying live album and concert DVD was released on 23 March 2015, which was shot in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2014. Minogue's performance on 27 September, as a part of 2014 iTunes Festival, was streamed live and made available on the
iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
for a limited time.


Singles and additional releases

Two official singles were spawned from ''Kiss Me Once''. "Into the Blue" was released as the lead single on 27 January 2014. Its digital and vinyl releases in March included the dance-pop
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
track "Sparks".; The single's artwork shows Minogue wearing a see-through crochet dress. The music video for "Into the Blue" was directed by Dawn Shadforth, featuring French actor Clément Sibony as Minogue's love interest. The single peaked at number 46 in her native Australia, and number twelve in the UK. In the United States, "Into the Blue" peaked at the top of the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
chart. The second single, "I Was Gonna Cancel", was issued on 22 April as a digital remix bundle and a seven-inch vinyl. Directed by Dimitri Basil, an accompanying music video was filmed at Docklands Studios Melbourne, Minogue's first video to be filmed in Melbourne since "
Better the Devil You Know "Better the Devil You Know" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue, taken from her third studio album '' Rhythm of Love'' (1990). The song was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. The song was released as the album's ...
" (1990). The video, which shows Minogue stands among a bustling crowd, sparked controversy as several dancers stated they were unpaid for the 11-hour shoot; Minogue and Basil later denied these claims. The single peaked at number 5 on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart and number 59 on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. A year prior to the album release, on 28 May 2013, Minogue posted the dubstep track "Skirt" on
SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
. "Skirt" served as a buzz single for ''Kiss Me Once''; it did not appear on the album, but was re-released as a digital EP on the iTunes Store in June. That month, an accompanying lyric video was published on
Nowness Nowness (stylized NOWNESS) is a digital video channel that was launched in 2010 by its founder Jefferson Hack as a brand of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.
, featuring more than 1,000 still photos shot of Minogue posing in a hotel room. "Crystallize", another track did not make into the final tracklist, was released as a charity single for the fundraising campaign One Note For Cancer on 26 May 2014. Originally intended to be included on the Japanese edition of ''Kiss Me Once'', "Golden Boy" was released exclusively on
7" vinyl In music, a single is a type of Art release#Music, release, typically a song Sound recording, recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for record sales, sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most ca ...
on 19 April 2014 for
Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
. An official music video for "Sexercize" was released on 19 March, in which Minogue doing gymnasium exercises in erotic positions. Minogue further promoted "Sexercize" by launching the sexercize.tv website, where she showcased several visual interpretations of "Sexercize". "Sexy Love" served as a promotional single in Australia in June, before "Million Miles" was sent to Spanish radio in July. "Beautiful" was sent to the radio in the UK on 15 February 2014, before its digital release in Australia on 14 March.


Critical reception

''Kiss Me Once'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. At
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
weighted mean The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
rating out of 100 to reviews by music critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Writing for
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 ...
, Tim Sendra commended ''Kiss Me Once'' as a "glittering, fun, and surprisingly powerful album that's classic Kylie through and through." Sal Cinquemani from ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' believed that ''Kiss Me Once'' is better than a typical Minogue album, even though the material did not have enough commercial appeal like her previous efforts. Ben Cardew of ''
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 ...
'' said the album proved that "after 26 years in the business, Kylie can still pull off a very modern pop album." Ryan Lathan from
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
examined that ''Kiss Me Once'' was one of Minogue's album's that did not showcase any re-inventions or was not a "game-changing album", but "it should churn out enough hits to secure her place on the pop culture radar until her next offering." ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' magazine editor Brittany Spanos noted the album's lacked "cohesion", but stated "Therein lies the strength of ''Kiss Me Once'': Minogue's ability to turn any contrived situation into something positive, magical, and utterly her own." Marc Hirsh from ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' criticized the track "Sexercize", but ultimately said about the album; "It's the album's only genuine misstep, but it's still perplexing, hearing a Minogue that can do wrong." Joe Muggs from ''
Fact A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...
'' magazine awarded it 3.5 points out of 5. Muggs felt majority of the album contained too many fillers and exemplified the songs "Les Sex", "I Was Gonna Cancel", and "Sexercize", but commended the overall production, Minogue's vocal deliveries in most tracks, and the quality. Similarly, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' writer Adam Markovitz graded it B− and criticized the "sex" tracks. However, he complimented Minogue's "plucky" charm and felt it was more a treat to her fanbase. 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 ...
'' said "Polished but kittenish, Kiss Me Once remains true to the effervescent dance-pop for which Kylie is known. But the scenery around this album has altered profoundly." Neil McCormick from ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' awarded it three stars, and complimented her "charm", the album's hooks, and the overall electronic sound, but criticized her lack of innovation through the production and songwriting field. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
s Alexis Petridis also awarded the album three stars and listed it as his album of the week of 13 March 2014. He commented that the overall release was "glossy and depthless", and concluded "Her voice isn't the strongest, the lyrics are woeful and filler abounds – but Kylie hasn't lost her knack for producing a superior brand of pop...". However, the album attracted criticism for the production and certain material, alongside Minogue's lack of innovation. Chris Bosnan from Consequence of Sound graded it C+, and exclaimed that the overall package represented "chameleonic" qualities and ended "This eclecticism yields a booming, fun pop record that is refreshing by not attempting to be anything other, though that same inessentialism keeps the record from reaching transcendence." However, he criticized the second half for its "boisterous" production and felt it "lost momentum", apart from the track "Fine". Annie Zalenski from ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' was less enthusiastic, who gave it C−. She felt the material "drain d Minogue's original pop sound, and said "''Kiss Me Once'' is a disappointing record that tries too hard to mold Minogue into something she's not." Lydia Jenkins from '' New Zealand Herald'' awarded the record three stars, and felt majority of the content was unoriginal but highlighted "Into the Blue" as "half-decent", "Million Miles" and "Fine" as "club fillers", and "Sexy Love" as a rip-off from the song " California Gurls" by American singer
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
. Kevin Ritchie from ''
Now Toronto ''Now'' (styled as ''NOW''), also known as ''NOW Magazine'' is an online publication based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Throughout most of its existence, ''Now'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper. Physical publication of ''Now'' was suspen ...
'' gave it two marks out of five, and labelled it "bad". He criticized the second half of the album, and felt majority of the songs like "Sexercize" were "dated" yet "overproduced" and the sound was "murky". Philip Matusavage from
MusicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
gave it two stars, and wrote scathingly "It's crushingly disappointing, then, to find that Kiss Me Once is perhaps her most anonymous offering to date." Matusavage also criticized the material, feeling it would have been "rejections" from an album by Barbados recording artist
Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
. Based on the average shares and reactions on Metacritic, ''Kiss Me Once'' was ranked as the 47th most discussed album of 2014. Similarly, it appeared at number 6 on American website
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 ...
's Best Album of 2014 reader's poll. According to the editor Eduardo Lima, he said "Kylie. Kiss Me Once. The best pop album. I just can´t get enough of it."


Commercial performance

''Kiss Me Once'' debuted atop of the Australian Albums Chart with 8,166 copies sold. It was Minogue's first number-one album since '' X'' (2007) and her fourth overall, tying with country musician
Kasey Chambers Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976) is an Australian country singer-songwriter and musician born in Mount Gambier. She is the daughter of fellow musicians, Diane and Bill Chambers, and the younger sister of musician and producer, Nash Chambers. ...
for the most number-one albums achieved by a female Australian artist. The album slipped to number six the following week with 2,261 units sold, bringing the two week total to 10,247 copies. After falling for five weeks, the album rose to number 27 in its sixth and final charting week, Minogue's shortest run for a studio album since '' Let's Get to It'' (1991). The album sold approximately 15,000 copies in Australia by May 2014. In New Zealand, the album spent a sole week at number 13, marking Minogue's sixth top 20 entry on the
New Zealand Albums Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...
. In the UK, the album faced competition against
George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...
's live album '' Symphonica'' for the top position. On the chart published on 23 March, ''Kiss Me Once'' opened at number two on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
with 29,251 copies sold, marking Minogue's eleventh top five entry. The album slipped to number eight the following week, before falling out of the top 10 in the third week. ''Kiss Me Once'' spent a total of 12 weeks inside the top 100 chart, and placed at number 93 on the UK album year-end chart in 2014. It was certified silver by the
British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...
(BPI) on 23 May 2014 for sales exceeding 60,000 units. The album had shifted 90,884 units in the UK by October 2020. ''Kiss Me Once'' also peaked on two other regional music charts compiled by the
Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...
, the
Scottish Albums Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
and the
Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). The charts were previously compiled on behalf of IRMA by Chart-Track, and have been compiled by the ...
, at number three and number four, respectively. In the United States, the album opened modestly at number 31 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with first-week sales of 12,000 copies. That week, ''Kiss Me Once'' also debuted at number three on the US Dance/Electronic Albums and at number 26 on the Tastemaker Albums chart. The album peaked at number 15 on the
Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocea ...
, Minogue's third album to chart in the territory. In Japan, the album debuted at number 40 on the
Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...
, selling 3,088 units in its first week and marking her eighth top 40 entry. The album stayed on the chart for a total of 8 weeks. In South Korea, the album peaked at number 96 on the
Gaon Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Korea based on their Record sales, pure sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, pr ...
, and on the International Albums Chart at number 24. ''Kiss Me Once'' debuted at the top of the Hungarian Albums Chart and stayed there for three weeks. It later became the 36th best-selling album in Hungary of 2016. In France, the album peaked at number 10 on the albums chart, Minogue's last top-ten entry in the 2010s, and sold 15,000 copies as of July 2014. The album also peaked within the top 10 in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Switzerland, Germany, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Spain. In Belgium, the album appeared on both regional charts: it peaked at number 10 on the Ultratop Flanders chart, and number 13 on the Wallonia chart. In Italy, Denmark, Austria, and Finland, the album peaked inside the top 20. By early June 2014, ''Kiss Me Once'' had sold roughly 200,000 units worldwide.


Aftermath

After the album's release, several publications deemed the commercial value of the album as a flop. In retrospect, Minogue commented; "Maybe it didn't do as well because it wasn't good enough or it didn't deserve more, who knows?". She further exclaimed, "Even in retrospect it's hard to say why something works or it doesn't. It's dependent on what else is out there, the way it's promoted... The tour has been the most successful part of that album campaign for me. The album did give me some freedom." In June 2015, publications reported Minogue's departure from Parlophone due to the performance of ''Kiss Me Once'', which she first denied. However, she later confirmed she had parted with the label in December 2015 and would stay permanently with Warner Music Australia; she announced her album ''
Kylie Christmas ''Kylie Christmas'' is the thirteenth studio album, and first Christmas album, by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was released on 13 November 2015 by Parlophone. Following the release of her twelfth studio album, ''Kiss Me Once'', Minogue ...
'' that same month, which would be her final overall release with Parlophone.


Track listing

Notes * signifies a vocal producer * signifies a co-producer * signifies a vocal co-producer * signifies a remixer * "Feels So Good" is a cover of "Indiana" written and recorded by Tom Aspaul. * On censored versions of the album, "Sexy Love" is titled "Love", "Sexercize" is titled "Exercize" and "Les Sex" is retitled "We Could Call It".


Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the special edition of ''Kiss Me Once''.


Recording locations

*
Westlake Westlake may refer to: Places Australia * Westlake, Canberra, a ghost town suburb of Canberra * Westlake, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane New Zealand * Westlake, New Zealand, a suburb of Auckland ** Westlake Girls High School ** Westlake Boys ...
,
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
* Cutfather, Copenhagen *
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...
, London * Glenwood,
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
* Pulse, Los Angeles * Serenity West Recording, Los Angeles * Conway, Los Angeles * Heavy Duty, Los Angeles * Rinse, London * Metrophonic, London * South Point, Miami * Subcoustic, London * The Chocolate Factory, London * Echo, Los Angeles


Musicians

*
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 ...
– lead vocals * Mike Del Rio – programming * Kelly "Madame Buttons" Sheehan – backing vocals * Marco Lisboa – additional programming *
Daniel Davidsen Daniel Heløy Davidsen (born 30 December 1978 in Copenhagen) is a Danish-Norwegian guitarist. He is known for his participation in bands like Czesław Śpiewa and JazzKamikaze and many record appearances as a studio musician, with artists like S ...
– guitars ; bass * Chelcee Grimes – backing vocals *
Mich Hansen Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio on Njalsgade, Copenhagen. Career Cutfather is perhaps best known for his ...
– percussion * Peter Wallevik – all other instruments * Wayne Hector – backing vocals * Autumn Rowe – backing vocals *
Eliel Lazo Eliel Williams Lazo Linares (known as Eliel Lazo or Gods Hands) (born 1 November 1983 in Havana) is a Cuban percussionist, songwriter, composer, producer, jazz, rock, Latin and pop musician living in Denmark. Eliel is one of the most unique per ...
– percussion * Johny Sårde – percussion * Oliver McEwan – additional bass *
Tom Aspaul Thomas Paul Frederick Dutton, known professionally as Tom Aspaul is a British singer and songwriter from Wolverhampton. He released his debut album, '' Black Country Disco'' in 2020 to critical acclaim. His songwriting credits include Kylie Mi ...
– backing vocals *
MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK (, ), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Awards, Brit Award, and has received the ...
– drums * Tommy King – additional keys * Jamie Muhoberac – additional keys * Jesse Shatkin – bass, guitars, keyboards, piano, programming * Erick Serna – guitars *
Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...
– vocals * Andy Wallace – piano * Alex Smith – keyboards, programming * Mark Taylor – keyboards, programming *
Sam Preston Samuel Dylan Murray Preston (born 16 January 1982), more commonly known simply as Preston, is an English singer in the band the Ordinary Boys. He also appeared in the reality television show ''Celebrity Big Brother'' in 2006, in which he finish ...
– guitar *
Karen Poole Karen Ann Poole (born 8 January 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. Poole has had over 35 Top 20 UK hits as a songwriter. Biography Karen was born in Chadwell Heath, London, England, and is the daughter of 1960s vocalist Brian Poole, le ...
– backing vocals *
Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs t ...
– bass, keyboards, piano, programming


Technical

* Mike Del Rio – production * Kelly "Madame Buttons" Sheehan – vocal production * Peter Wallevik – production * Daniel Davidsen – production *
Cutfather Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio on Njalsgade, Copenhagen. Career Cutfather is perhaps best known for his ...
– production *
Joe Kearns Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
– vocal engineering ; vocal co-production, additional engineering *
Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...
– production *
The Monsters & the Strangerz The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander " Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, Jordan K. Johnson and Oliver "German" Peterhof and The Strangerz: Marcu ...
– production *
Wayne Wilkins Wayne Wilkins is a British record producer, songwriter, record engineer and record mixer. He has produced and written for artists such as Rick Astley ("Cry for Help"), Natasha Bedingfield (" These Words", "Single" and " Love Like This"), Beyon ...
– vocal production * MNEK – vocal production * Ariel Rechtshaid – production * J.D. Walker – production *
GoodWill & MGI GoodWill & MGI are an American/Finnish production and songwriting duo consisting of William "GoodWill" Rappaport and Henri "MGI" Lanz. Formed in 2006, GoodWill & MGI have since been producing and writing with numerous major label artists and wr ...
– production * Jesse Shatkin – production *
Rob Kleiner Robert Francis "Rob" Kleiner II is an American songwriter and producer. Kleiner received degrees in music composition and philosophy at Eastern Illinois University. He went on to direct and score the film ''Andalusian Doug: Academic Freedom vs. ...
– engineering * Mark Taylor – production * Alex Smith – co-production * Ren Swan – mixing, recording * Carlos Paucar – vocal recording *
Chris Loco Christopher Crowhurst, better known by his stage name Chris Loco, is an English record producer and songwriter. Discography Production and songwriting credits References {{DEFAULTSORT:Loco, Chris English DJs English record producers ...
– production, recording * Thomas Olsen – production * Greg Kurstin – production, vocal production * Alex Pasco – additional engineering * Aaron Ahmad – additional engineering assistance * Kylie Minogue – executive production *
Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
– executive production *
Phil Tan Phil Tan is a Malaysian-American music and audio engineer. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in the U.S., where he attained a degree in Recording Arts in 1990. Afterwards he moved to Atla ...
– mixing * Daniela Rivera – mixing assistance * Geoff Pesche – mastering * Tom Coyne – mastering * Aya Merrill – mastering


Artwork

* Adjective Noun – design * William Baker – photography


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certification and sales


Release history


See also

* List of number-one albums of 2014 (Australia) *
List of UK top-ten albums in 2014 The UK Albums Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling albums of the week in the United Kingdom. Since 2004 the chart has been based on the sales of both physical albums and digit ...


References


Footnotes


Media notes

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Print sources

* *


External links

*
''Kiss Me Once''
at Kylie.com (archived from 2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiss Me Once 2014 albums Albums produced by Ariel Rechtshaid Albums produced by Cutfather Albums produced by Greg Kurstin Albums produced by Pharrell Williams Albums produced by Mark Taylor (music producer) Albums produced by MNEK Albums recorded at Westlake Recording Studios Kylie Minogue albums Parlophone albums Warner Records albums