Red Blooded Woman

"Red Blooded Woman" is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her ninth studio album, ''Body Language'' (2003). Written by Johnny Douglas and Karen Poole and produced by the former, it is a hip hop and synth-pop track containing a vocoded "Boy! Boy!" hook and backing vocals from a choir, and was released by Parlophone as the second single from the album on 1 March 2004.

The song was well received by music critics, many of whom praised its production and compared it to the work of American music artists Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. Commercially, the song peaked within top-five on the singles charts in Australia and the United Kingdom. It also peaked inside the top ten in several other countries, including Denmark and Italy, and charted within the top twenty in Germany and New Zealand. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for selling over 7,500 units.

The music video for "Red Blooded Woman", directed by Jake Nava, features Minogue seductively dancing in various locations such as a traffic jam and in front of a truck. Minogue performed it live at the one-off concert show Money Can't Buy and at TV shows like the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' and ''Top of the Pops''. It has also been performed during three of Minogue's concert tours – Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour, Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour, and For You, for Me tour.

Background and composition

Following the global success of her eighth studio album ''Fever'', Minogue began working on her ninth studio album ''Body Language''. Aiming to create a dance-pop album inspired by electronic music from the 1980s, Minogue enlisted collaborators such as Johnny Douglas (who had previously worked with her on ''Light Years'') and Karen Poole. The duo wrote "Red Blooded Woman" together, while Douglas also produced the song. It was selected as the second single from ''Body Language'' and was released globally on 1 March 2004.

"Red Blooded Woman" is a hip hop and synthpop track, the former being a genre Minogue newly experimented with on the album. A vocoded "Boy! Boy!" hook and "candy-coated ''la la las" are both repeated during the bridge. A male choir also provides backing vocals in a "ghostly" manner, according to ''Slant Magazine'' editor Sal Cinquemani. Like numerous songs from the album, "Red Blooded Woman" references music from the 1980s: its line "You got me spinning round, round, round, round like a record" alludes to British band Dead or Alive's 1985 song "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", but also her 2000 hit single Spinning Around. Remixes by English electronica artists Narcotic Thrust and Whitey were included on the 12-inch picture single.

Reception

"Red Blooded Woman" received positive reviews from music critics. ''Billboard'' critic Keith Claufield singled out the song as a highlight from the album and called it "a cousin of Justin Timberlake's ' Cry Me a River'." Also from ''Billboard'', Michael Paoletta called it a "sexy, skittery, beat-driven hip-pop number that sounds like a Timbaland production". He concluded that " Red Blooded Woman"definitely deserves a shot at mainstream top 40 and rhythmic success". Like Paoletta, Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine too compared the production of the song to that of Timbaland. ''Spin'' magazine praised the song's "Boy! Boy" hook and synthpop style, feeling that they "demonstrate that even in the 21st century, Kylie wears the 1980s well." Writing for ''NME'', John Robinson found "Red Blooded Woman" to be better than "Slow", the lead single from the album, and called it "excellent cutting edge pop in a great single by the Justin Timberlake or Sugababes way." Adrien Begrand from PopMatters favoured its "almost garage-like beat" and appreciated the lyric "You'll never get to Heaven if you're scared of getting high." Louis Vartel from the LGBT oriented website ''NewNownext'', ranked it at number 46 on his list of the singer's 48 greatest songs, in honor of her 48th birthday. He hailed it a "sweaty dip in self-possession and sex appeal". A reviewer from Sputnikmusic called it "equally as strong as (if not stronger than)" lead single "Slow". More negative was Guillermo Alonso from the Spanish edition of '' Vanity Fair'', who felt that "wanting to sound like Destiny's Child, Justin Timberlake or Timbaland, was not a right move" for the singer.

"Red Blooded Woman" debuted and peaked at number 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart in Australia. The following week, it dropped out of the top 10 to number 11. The single had a short run on the chart, lasting for 5 weeks in total. In New Zealand, it entered the singles chart at number 34 and later peaked at number 19. It charted for 12 weeks and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for selling 7,500 units.

In Europe, the song reached the top 20 in numerous countries. In both Denmark and Italy, "Red Blooded Woman" peaked at number 10 and appeared in the top 20 for 3 weeks. In Germany, the song peaked at number 16 and charted for a total of 10 weeks. It debuted at number 8 on the Spanish Singles Chart and fell one place to number 9 the next week, overall having a short chart run of four weeks. In Switzerland, "Red Blooded Woman" peaked higher than its preceding single "Slow", reaching number 15 on the Schweizer Hitparade. "Red Blooded Woman" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 5, becoming Minogue's 26th top-ten hit in the country. It was a moderate success, charting for 9 weeks inside the top 40.

Music video

The music video for "Red Blooded Woman" was directed by English film director Jake Nava, who had previously worked with artists like Beyoncé and Kelis. It was filmed in Los Angeles, California, in December 2003. It begins with a scene of a congested traffic jam in which Minogue is caught. She is shown seated in her car sensually singing along to the song, with the camera repeatedly focusing on her eyes and lips, wearing a black and white singlet, a satin waist cincher, jeans with chain fringes, and a black sheepskin shrug (this outfit was donated by Minogue to the Arts Centre Melbourne and is displayed in the Kylie Minogue Collection). A few seconds later, she gets down from her vehicle and playfully makes her way to a tank. Climbing up on its ladder, Minogue dances seductively to the chorus of the song. She then resumes walking on the street and is accompanied by two doberman yellow bustier underneath a pastel pink dress designed by French fashion house Balenciaga. The scene changes back to the street, where Minogue is shown entering a truck. She dims the lights and then dances in a different outfit, consisting of a black bikini, red leggings, and laced gloves. However, she exits the truck in the same red outfit she donned earlier. The rest of the video rapidly intersperses scenes of Minogue dancing inside and in front of the truck, on a car, with the backup dancers, and near a gang of motorcyclists.

Live performances

A one-off concert show, Money Can't Buy, was held at entertainment venue Hammersmith Apollo, London, on 15 November 2003 to promote ''Body Language''. "Red Blooded Woman" was included on the set list of the concert and was performed during the first act "Paris by Night." On 20 February 2004, she appeared on British music chart television programme Top of the Pops to perform the song.
Minogue later performed "Red Blooded Woman" at German music awards, ECHO Awards, on 6 March 2004.

"Red Blooded Woman" was included on the set list of Minogue's Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour in 2005. Minogue was unable to complete the tour as she was diagnosed with early breast cancer and had to cancel the Australian leg of the tour. After undergoing treatment and recovery, she resumed the concert tour in the form of Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour in 2007, and "Red Blooded Woman" was again added to the set list. In 2009, she performed the song during concert shows of the For You, for Me tour, which was her first tour of North America. The performances of the song during all three of the tours contained an excerpt from "Where the Wild Roses Grow" and were preceded by a segment showing numerous male backup dancers showering.

Formats and track listing

UK and European CD single
# "Red Blooded Woman"
# "Almost a Lover"

UK enhanced maxi-CD single
# "Red Blooded Woman"
# "Cruise Control"
# "Slow" (Chemical Brothers remix)
# "Red Blooded Woman" (video and photo gallery)

UK 12-inch picture disc
:A1. "Red Blooded Woman" (Whitey mix)
:B1. "Slow" (Chemical Brothers remix)
:B2. "Red Blooded Woman" (Narcotic Thrust mix)

Australia enhanced maxi-CD single
# "Red Blooded Woman"
# "Cruise Control"
# "Almost a Lover"
# "Slow" (Chemical Brothers remix)
# "Red Blooded Woman" (Whitey mix)
# "Red Blooded Woman" (video)

Digital download
# "Red Blooded Woman" (Narcotic Thrust mix) – 7:12
# "Red Blooded Woman" (Whitey mix) – 5:20

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

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2003 songs
2004 singles
Australian hip hop songs
Kylie Minogue songs
Music videos directed by Jake Nava
Number-one singles in Romania
Parlophone singles
Songs written by Karen Poole