"Word Is Out" is a song written by English musical duo Stock and Waterman for 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 ...

's fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

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). Produced by Mike Stock and Pete Waterman, it was released as the first single from ''Let's Get to It'' on 26 August 1991. The artwork for the cover was photographed by Ellen Von Unwerth in 1991 for the British edition of ''Esquire''.

Critical reception

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 ...

chose the track as one of ''

s track picks.

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

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 ...

'' commented, "Folks who think Kylie Minogue is too light for them may change their minds when they hear "Word Is Out". With a little help from remixer Tony King, she has eschewed the frothy

hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...

tone of past hits in favor of an easy paced-

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

sound, replete with

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 ...

-flavored strings and percussion." On Michael Wilton's review of the second night of her

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 Sydney, Australia—where she performed an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

rendition of the song—for

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 ...

, he stated that "Word is Out" is "wildly underrated." Writing Minogue's biography for her special on

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

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 ...

program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Progra ...

'' Rage'', they stated: "While in the past, her material had always been high energy, 'Word Is Out' showcased a far more seductive side to Kylie that many had suspected was there." In another hand, Nick Griffiths from '' Select'' called it one of the "odd songs" in the album.

Sophie Lawrence Sophie Lawrence (born 12 June 1972, Ilford, London) is an English actress and singer. She played the role of Diane Butcher in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' as a regular cast member from 1988 to 1991, making subsequent guest appearances ...

reviewed it for ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'', writing, "Sounds like

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

La Isla Bonita "La Isla Bonita" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album '' True Blue'' (1986). Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, with additional lyrics by Bruce Gaitsch, the song was originally presented by Leonard ...

a bit, doesn't it? She's just been brilliant ever 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 ...

. You could listen to this 100 times and never get bored."

Commercial performance

The song was released as the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in the summer of 1991 and was a top-20 hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number 16 and ending Minogue's run of 13 consecutive UK top-10 hits. In Australia, with the more laid back Summer Breeze Mix as the main mix, it peaked at number 10, becoming Minogue's 10th single to chart within the top 10. The Summer Breeze Mix received a UK release on a one-sided limited edition 12-inch vinyl single that has an engraved autograph on the

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 ...

, making it highly collectable for fans.

Music video

Directed by James Lebon, it was filmed in London's famous Camden market and featured British television presenter

Davina McCall Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show ''Big Brother (UK), Big Brother'' during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's '' ...

as one of Minogue's dancers. An Australian version of the video later appeared on her 2002 (also the updated version in 2003) ''Greatest Hits'' DVD as one of the bonus features.

Live performances

Minogue also did an

sing-along Sing-along, also called community singing or group singing, is an event of singing together at gatherings or parties, less formally than choir singing. One can use a songbook. Common genres are folk songs, patriotic songs, kids' songs, spirituals ...

" rendition of the song as requested by fans on her

's concert in Big Top at Luna Park,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on 20 March 2012.

's Michael Wilton said the performance was "decent." *

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 ...

* Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour (Impromptu a capella performance during technical difficulties) *

(Acapella performance in Sydney)

Track listings

Australian CD and cassette single # "Word Is Out" – 3:41 # "Say the Word - I'll Be There" – 4:00 # "Word Is Out" (Summer Breeze 12-inch mix) – 7:41 Australian 12-inch single :A1. "Word Is Out" (Summer Breeze 12-inch mix) – 7:41 :A2. "Word Is Out" (instrumental) – 3:31 :B1. "Word Is Out" (UK 12-inch mix) – 5:53 :B2. "Say the Word - I'll Be There" – 4:00 UK 7-inch and cassette single # "Word Is Out" – 3:34 # "Say the Word - I'll Be There" – 4:00 UK 12-inch single :A1. "Word Is Out" – 5:53 :B1. "Say the Word - I'll Be There" – 4:00 :B2. "Word Is Out" (instrumental) – 3:31 UK and Japanese CD single # "Word Is Out" (7-inch version) – 3:34 # "Word Is Out" (12-inch version) – 5:53 # "Say the Word - I'll Be There" – 4:00

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Word Is Out (Song) Kylie Minogue songs 1991 singles 1991 songs Australian contemporary R&B songs Mushroom Records singles New jack swing songs Pete Waterman Entertainment singles Song recordings produced by Stock Aitken Waterman Songs written by Mike Stock (musician) Songs written by Pete Waterman