"Hand on Your Heart" is a song 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 ...

from her second studio album, '' Enjoy Yourself'' (1989), and released as its

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

on 24 April 1989. Much like her previous releases up to ''

Let's Get to It ''Let's Get to It'' is the fourth studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was the final studio album with Pete Waterman Limited (PWL), being released by the record label in the United Kingdom on 14 October 1991. Mus ...

'' (1991), the song was written and produced by English songwriting and record production trio

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered ...

. Upon release, "Hand on Your Heart" received positive reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s, who deemed it a highlight from the album and praised it as a strong single. It was also a commercial success, peaking at number four in Australia and within the top-ten in Finland, France, Japan and Switzerland. "Hand on Your Heart" became Minogue's third number-one hit 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 ...

. The song was performed on some

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s by Minogue, including it on her

Enjoy Yourself Tour Enjoy may refer to: Music *Enjoy, an album by Bob Sinclar *Enjoy, a song by Janet Jackson *Enjoy, a song from Björk's album ''Post'' *Enjoy Records, an American record label * ''Enjoy'' (play), a 1980 comedy play by Alan Bennett * ''Enjoy!'' (Des ...

Rhythm of Love Tour The Rhythm of Love Tour was the third concert tour by Kylie Minogue, in support of her third studio album '' Rhythm of Love'' (1990). Beginning on 10 February 1991, the tour visited Australia and East Asia. The concerts showcased a more confi ...

, and was featured on her Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour and the Homecoming Tour. In 2006, Swedish singer José González released an acoustic

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "Hand on Your Heart" as a single. His version peaked at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart.

Composition

The song centers around themes of honesty and communication in a relationship. The song is sung in the viewpoint of a girl whose boyfriend is trying to break up with her yet she does not believe their relationship is over; she insists that he puts his hand on his heart and tells her until he really means it. Minogue re-recorded the song for her 2012 album '' The Abbey Road Sessions'', reworking the song to feature brushed drums and gentle piano which magnify the heartbreak and make the lyrics such as “Oh, I wanna hear you tell me / You don't want my love” sound pleading, not defiant.

Critical reception

"Hand on Your Heart" received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Chris True 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 ...

highlighted the song as an album standout.

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gave it a favorable review, highlighting it by saying "Put it this way... this piece is a wee bit late because it's hard to type while re-enacting the 'Hand On Your Heart' dance routine." The ''Abbey Road Sessions'' version received extremely rave reviews from contemporary music commentators. Tim Sendra from Allmusic said that "Stripping the songs down to their basics and then adding strings on top proves to be very effective, especially on “All the Lovers” or “Hand on Your Heart,” and most of the new arrangements are imaginative and sometime inspired." Nick Levine 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 ...

was very positive towards the reworked version of the song, writing that "Who knew Stock Aitken Waterman tunes like ever Too Lateand and On Your Hearthad such melancholy lurking under the production chintz?" Andy Gill wrote that "Hand On Your Heart", reworked with a delicate, cyclical guitar figure augmented by a few telling piano chords, laid over a quietly shuffling snare whose gently scudding momentum allows the melody to glow at the heart of the song."

Chart performance

On 24 April 1989, "Hand on Your Heart" was released in the United Kingdom. The song became Minogue's third song to debut at number two on the

, before it peaked at number one the following week. On its third week it was replaced on the top of the chart by the UK

Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...

charity single "

Ferry Cross the Mersey "Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching ...

" by the Christians,

Holly Johnson William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he was ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Gerry Marsden Gerard Marsden MBE (24 September 1942 – 3 January 2021) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers. He was the younger brother of fellow ba ...

and

Stock, Aitken and Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered ...

. "Hand on Your Heart" also topped the UK Dance and Indie charts. The song was one of the first singles to sell well on

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

, selling 11,000 copies in the first week of release. This would have been enough to have Minogue enter in at number one, something no female had ever done at the time. However,

PWL Pete Waterman Entertainment (PWE) is the production company one-time pop and dance record label owned by British pop mogul Pete Waterman. The label, originally PWL (Pete Waterman Limited), is most famous for being the home of hit record prod ...

issued the

cassette single A cassette single (CS), also known by the trademark cassingle, or capitalised as the trademark Cassette Single, is a music single supplied in the form of a Compact Cassette. The cassette single was first introduced in 1980. History The debu ...

at a cut price of £1.99, which was cheaper than chart regulations at the time allowed. This meant

The Bangles The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including "Manic Monday" (1986), "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), " Hazy Shade ...

stayed at number one with "

Eternal Flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...

", with around 1,600 more sales. Because of this the rules were quickly changed so that cut-price cassette singles were allowed. The market for cassette singles stood at less than 0.5% at the time and the BPI hoped to encourage its growth. Outside of the UK, the song was also successful. It reached number 4 in Australia and became Minogue's fifth top 5 single on the singles chart. In reached the top 10 in Denmark, Finland, France, Japan, and South Africa, and the top 20 in Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden.

Music video

"Hand on Your Heart" was accompanied with colorful

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

by Chris Langman and shot at Minogue's hometown in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in March 1989. The video features Minogue dancing in a modern house. She appears wearing a dress with a big heart on it that changes colour between vibrant colours of red, blue and yellow, Minogue travels from room to room, dancing playfully for the camera. A live version of the video was also released and featured Minogue performing a special "live remix" in Japan, both versions featured on ''Kylie's Greatest Hits 87-97 DVD''. An alternate version of the "Hand on Your Heart" video was broadcast on UK TV pre-release, but has never been screened again. On this version Minogue's shoes spin on camera and introduce all three of her new outfits of matching colours. Only one "shoe spin" remains on the final version. Released to music video channels prior to the single's commercial release, the video was a hit, gaining significant airplay on music video channels. The video was released commercially on the ''

Ultimate Kylie ''Ultimate Kylie'' is the second major greatest hits album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, and her first greatest hits released under her contract with Parlophone, her record company between 1999–2015. The compilation was released in many d ...

'' companion DVD, released in December 2004.

Live performances

The first tour that "Hand on Your Heart" was performed on was the

Disco in Dream/The Hitman Roadshow Disco in Dream is the debut concert tour by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. Although headlined by Minogue, the tour was an ensemble show alongside fellow Stock Aitken Waterman acts Sinitta and Dead Or Alive and supported her first ...

, as the original recording. It was then performed on the

, which was launched to promote '' Enjoy Yourself'', the album from which the song is lifted. It began with an a cappella chorus intro before the original was performed. It was then performed the following year on the

as the original again. It was performed on the

Let's Get to It Tour The Let's Get to It Tour was the fourth concert tour by Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue. As stated by Minogue herself in 1991, the tour was technically a continuation of the previous Rhythm of Love Tour which had already visited Australia ...

the year after as the normal version again. The song was then not performed until Minogue's 2000 tour:

On a Night Like This Tour On a Night Like This was the sixth concert tour by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, in support of her seventh studio album, ''Light Years'' (2000). The tour began on 3 March 2001 at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow, Scotland, and con ...

as the third song in the set. This version was not similar to the original and had a different sound. It was then performed on Minogue's Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour in 2005 where it opened the sixth act: "Kylesque". It had a similar sound to the original but had different bass lines. This tour was cancelled due to Minogue's diagnosis of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

. The tour was resumed under the name Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour. "Hand on Your Heart" was also in this set list in the sixth act "Pop Paradiso", but closed this act. This was a new remix featuring a thicker bass line. More recently, the song was performed on Minogue's

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 ...

to promote her twelfth studio album ''

Kiss Me Once ''Kiss Me Once'' is the twelfth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, released on 14 March 2014 by Parlophone. It is her first studio release since 2010's ''Aphrodite'', and marks Minogue's first and only album with Roc Nation, handle ...

''. It opened the "Dollhouse Medley" which featured 4 PWL hits: "Hand on Your Heart", " Never Too Late", "

Got to Be Certain "Got to Be Certain" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue from her debut studio album, ''Kylie (album), Kylie'' (1988). Written and produced by English songwriting and record production trio Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW), the song was relea ...

" and "

I Should Be So Lucky "I Should Be So Lucky" is a 1987 song performed by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue from her debut studio album '' Kylie'' (1988). Released on 29 December 1987 by Mushroom Records and PWL Records, the song became a worldw ...

Track listing and formats

7-inch single and Australian cassette single # "Hand on Your Heart" – 3:47 # "Just Wanna Love You" – 3:30 12-inch single # "Hand on Your Heart" (The Great Aorta Mix) – 6:26 # "Just Wanna Love You" – 3:30 # "Hand on Your Heart" (dub) – 5:30 Australasian CD single # "Hand on Your Heart" (7-inch version) # "Hand on Your Heart" (The Great Aorta Mix) # "Just Wanna Love You" # "It's No Secret" UK CD single # "Hand on Your Heart" (The Great Aorta Mix) – 6:26 # "Just Wanna Love You" – 3:30 # "It's No Secret" – 5:30 UK cassette single # "Hand on Your Heart" # "Just Wanna Love You" # "Hand on Your Heart" (The Great Aorta Mix)

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

digital bundle (2009) # "Hand on Your Heart" (original) – 3:50 # "Hand on Your Heart" (The Great Aorta Mix) – 6:24 # "Hand on Your Heart" (dub) – 5:32 # "Hand on Your Heart" (video mix) – 3:44 # "Hand on Your Heart" (7-inch instrumental) – 3:50 # "Hand on Your Heart" (7-inch backing track) – 3:50 # "Just Wanna Love You" (original) – 3:31 # "Just Wanna Love You" (instrumental) – 3:31 # "Just Wanna Love You" (backing track) – 3:31 iTunes remix digital bundle (2009) # "Hand on Your Heart" (The Heartache Remix) – 5:21 # "Hand on Your Heart" (Smokin' Remix) – 5:32 # "Hand on Your Heart" (WIP 2002 remix) – 6:03 # "Hand on Your Heart" (WIP 2002 instrumental) – 6:03 # "Hand on Your Heart" (WIP 2002 backing track) – 6:03 # "Hand on Your Heart" (WIP 2002 radio) – 3:23 # "Hand on Your Heart" (WIP 2002 radio instrumental) – 3:23 # "Hand on Your Heart" (WIP 2002 radio backing track) – 3:23

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hand On Your Heart 1989 singles Kylie Minogue songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles Song recordings produced by Stock Aitken Waterman Songs written by Pete Waterman Songs written by Matt Aitken Songs written by Mike Stock (musician) 1989 songs Pete Waterman Entertainment singles Mushroom Records singles