"Wow" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue from her tenth studio album, '' X'' (2007). It was written by Minogue,

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 ...

and Karen Poole, while production was handled by Kurstin. The song was released as the second single from ''X'' on 17 February 2008 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 ...

. "Wow" features instrumentation from guitars, electronic synthesizers, keyboards and drum machines, along with pianos through some verses. The song is set in a disco-oriented beat with many other

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

elements. Upon the song's release, it received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who praised the production and release as a single. The song peaked inside the top 20 on the US

Hot Dance Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. History The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic d ...

chart, as well as charting inside the top twenty in countries including her native Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, New Zealand and Hungary. The song has been performed on all of Minogue's concert tours since it was released (with the exception of the Anti Tour), with it most recently performed at her 2018

Golden Tour The Golden Tour was the fifteenth concert tour by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was launched in support of her fourteenth studio album, Golden (Kylie Minogue album), ''Golden'' (2018) and visited Europe and Australia. It began ...

. Along with the promotion on her tours, the song has been featured in many media productions. It has been used as background music in '' Desperate Housewives'', performed at her TV special ''

The Kylie Show ''X'' is the tenth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. EMI Music Japan released it first in Japan on 21 November 2007, before its release in Australia by Warner Music Australia two days later. The album was released in the Uni ...

'' and was included on the soundtrack of the film '' Beverly Hills Chihuahua''.

Background and recording

"Wow" was composed and written by Greg Kurstin, Minogue and Karen Ann Poole. Minogue requested setting up a studio in Ibiza with previous writing partner Karen Poole and newcomer to the fold Greg Kurstin, an American multi-instrumentalist musician and producer, during the mid-2007. Originally, it was said that they wanted "Wow" or "Like a Drug" as the first single, but ultimately " 2 Hearts" was released as the lead. Minogue intended the track to be the US lead single from the album, but it was withdrawn and " All I See" was released instead in an attempt to appeal to a more urban market. "All I See" ultimately failed to enter mainstream charts in the US. Following this, "Wow" was released as Minogue's first club single in North America. In Australia, "Wow" was officially sent to

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

on 14 January 2008. Three new additional tracks were featured on the CD single, these being "Cherry Bomb", "Do It Again" and "Carried Away", which were recorded during the album sessions. The song is written the key of D Major. Minogue's vocal range spans from the key note of F#3 to the key note of E5. Additionally, the song is set in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...

and has a tempo of 124 beats per minute. Lyrically, the song talks about someone who stands out, with the title referring them as "Wow".

Music video

Two versions of the music video was released. The

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Wow" was directed by Melina Matsoukas and filmed in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

along with the video for " In My Arms" in early January 2008. The video features Minogue in dancing in a futuristic

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

surrounded by dancers in alien outfits. The video begins with Minogue's silhouette dancing against a lighted background. She is then shown in a white

tracksuit A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with front zipper. It was originally intended for use in sports, mainly for athletes to wear over competition clothing (such as running shirt and shorts ...

surrounded by a group of dancers. Scenes of Minogue and her dancers dancing in front of a lighted background are intercut throughout the video. PerezHilton.com hosted the world premiere the music video on 29 January 2008. It was scheduled to premiere on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 30 January 2008, but was postponed. Media regulator Ofcom removed the video after they found it did not follow viewer guidelines due to the use of

strobe lighting A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope. The word originated from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning ...

. The video was re-edited and broadcast in the United Kingdom the following week.

Reception

Critical response

"Wow" received mainly positive reviews from contemporary music critics. ''

The 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 ...

'' had compared "Wow" with American singer Madonna's 1983 single " Holiday", but added "Wow" is "Holiday" on studio steroids". Kelefa Sanneh from

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

had said that "Wow"; "updates 80s-era Madonna". Evan Sawdey MusicOMH gave it a very positive review, as he compared the songs to Minogue's previous songs " Shocked", " Too Far", " Come into My World" and "

The Loco-Motion "The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down. The song is notable for appearing in the ...

", saying in his extended review; "it’s jam-packed with peppy melody, built around a simple, addictive piano melody that is soon shot into the pop stratosphere." He also said that the song is a "great track". Dave Hughes from Slant Magazine gave it a positive review, saying ""Wow" is a pretty great summation of the commercially successful aspects of Minogue's career to date—a hyperactive juvenile disco track full of fun, big-budget whooshes and drops, something utterly disposable that she sells without shame." They also highlighted the song as an album standout. However, Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy wrote that "Wow" "doesn't have the 'oomph' factor to make us fall for her like we have in the past", but the song's "disco swirls and whooshing synths are great fun". In a review for ''

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 ...

'', Alexis Petridis called the song "fantastic" and compared it to Minogue's songs with Stock, Aitken and Waterman.

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

reviewer Tom Ewing wrote that the song's "excitement is infectious" even though its "funked-up electro sexiness may feel contrived".

Chart performance

"Wow" debuted 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 ...

at number thirty-two on 24 December 2007, based solely on digital download sales. Ten weeks later, the song reached number five. In February 2008, the song topped the UK Upfront Club Chart. This eventually became Minogue's best selling single in the UK since 2002's "Love at First Sight". As of 2022, “Wow” has accrued 268,132 sales in the UK, according to 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 in ...

. The song was also very successful in France, where the song debuted at number fifteen, then descended to ninety-eighth. The song then re-entered to peak at number eighty-eight, but stayed in the French Singles Chart for twenty-two weeks in total. The song had also European chart peaks, where it peaked at number thirty-three on the

Austrian Singles Chart Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

and number fifty-one on the Swiss Singles Chart, In Minogue's native Australia, The song debuted at number eleven where it peaked, and remained on the singles chart for eight weeks. It debuted at number thirty-four on the

Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish ...

, until rising to number thirty-two, where it peaked, and stayed in the charts for five weeks. In the Romanian Singles Chart, the song debuted at number 63 in February, finally peaking at number 42 in June,"Romanian Top 100"
Please see "Issue 23" of the year 2008 becoming her first song ever to miss the top 20. In

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, the song debuted at number seventeen on 24 February 2008. Following radio airplay, it later rose to number sixteen on 9 March 2008. In North America, the song was released to American dance radio-stations and became a moderate success when it debuted within the Top 40 of the '' Billboard''

chart, eventually peaking at number nineteen. The song also peaked at number sixteen and seventeen on the Euro Digital Tracks and

Euro Digital Songs The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

charts, respectively.

Live performances

The song was also performed on: * ''

'' *

2008 BRIT Awards Brit Awards 2008 was the 28th edition of the Brit Awards, an annual music awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. It was organised by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 20 February 2008 at the Earls Court in London. The ceremony ...

* ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' season 4Levine, Nick
"Kylie to appear on 'X Factor' final"
Digital Spy. 12 December 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2008. * BBC Proms in the Park 2012 (orchestral version of the song)

Formats and track listings

UK CD single # "Wow" - 3:10 # "Cherry Bomb" - 4:16 UK CD maxi single / Australia CD maxi single # "Wow" — 3:13 # "Do It Again" — 3:21 # "Carried Away" — 3:14 # "Wow" (Death Metal Disco Scene Mix) — 6:27 UK 12" picture disc # "Wow" — 3:13 # "Wow" ( CSS Mix) — 3:14 # "Wow" (F*** Me I'm Famous Remix by

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

Joachim Garraud Joachim André Garraud (; born 27 September 1968) is a French DJ, remixer and record producer from Nantes. He is a producer of artists such as Paul Johnson, Deep Dish, David Bowie, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), Kylie Minogue, Mylè ...

) - 6:22 # "Wow" (MSTRKRFT Remix) - 4:45 EU CD maxi single # "Wow" — 3:16 # "Wow" (Death Metal Disco Scene Mix) — 6:27 # "Wow" (CSS Mix) — 3:14 # "Wow" (Video) EU CD single # "Wow" — 3:16 # "

Can't Get You Out of My Head "Can't Get You Out of My Head" is a song that was recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her eighth studio album, ''Fever'' (2001). Parlophone Records released the song as the album's lead single on 8 September 2001. "Can't Get ...

(

Remix)" — 4:05 Digital download 1 # "Wow" — 3:13 # " 2 Hearts" (Mark Brown's Pacha Ibiza Upper Terrace Mix) - 7:02 Digital download 2 # "Wow" — 3:13 # "Do It Again" — 3:21 # "Carried Away" — 3:14 # "Cherry Bomb" - 4:16 Digital download 3 # "Wow" — 3:16 # "Wow" (CSS Mix) — 3:14 # "Wow" (MSTRKRFT Remix) - 4:45 # "Wow" (F*** Me I'm Famous Remix by David Guetta & Joachim Garraud) - 6:22 # "Wow" (Death Metal Disco Scene Mix) — 6:27

Personnel

The following people contributed to "Wow":''X'' (CD liner notes).

. November 2007. * Kylie Minogue – lead

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, all instruments, mixing * Karen Poole — backing vocals, vocal production * Eddie Miller - additional engineering * Geoff Pesche - mastering * Recorded at Magnetic Studios in Ibiza and Echo Studios in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Kylie
– Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Wow (Kylie Minogue Song) 2007 songs 2008 singles Kylie Minogue songs Music videos directed by Melina Matsoukas Song recordings produced by Greg Kurstin Songs written by Greg Kurstin Songs written by Karen Poole Songs written by Kylie Minogue Articles containing video clips category:disco songs category:dance-pop songs bubblegum pop songs