The original and best Kylie breaks out the mohair jumper
It’s a good time to be a female in the music industry right now. More than ever female voices are being heard with female writers and producers getting well-earned recognition. Writing and producing at home during lockdown has lead to artist Charli XCX lead the pack for the Mercury Music Prize nominations which were released this week.
As well as Charli XCX on the short list is the world dominating Dua Lipa and former drummer turned singer Georgia, all of whom have released awesome pop records. If any of them won it would be the first time a pop album has won since M People’s Elegant Slumming in 1994.
Bangers and smash
It’s a good time for pop and despite the miserable state of current affairs, some of the best upbeat music has come out in 2020. Not only did Dua’s dancefloor treat of an album Future Nostalgia drop in March, right when we needed that boost, but Lady’s Gaga’s latest masterpiece landed on earth last month from its home planet Chromatica. Both of these albums were widely received as being the perfect antidote to the troubled times we’ve been living through.
Dua Lipa drives away the competition with her huge hits
Enter the Princess of Pop, Kylie Minogue. Other than the brilliant collaboration with Sweden’s Tove Lo, she’s been pretty quiet on the music front since her country music inspired album, Golden back in 2018. Out of seemingly nowhere however, Kylie has dropped brand new single Say Something on her unexpectant subjects and declared her new album Disco will be out in November.
Dua, Gaga and Kylie albums all within mere months is something we can all rejoice about. Kylie has said that she recorded quite a lot of the album on her own at home during lockdown, just like Charlie XCX. While Kylie might not have the same cool credentials, and we can assume that the Mercury Music Prize board wasn’t about to trouble her with a nomination, it is nonetheless a gift to the world of pop.
Say anything
The single itself is just what the world needs. A perfect glittery pop gem that doesn’t bother with banging choruses but takes us on a wave of glitter and love right up to the end. The best music fills you with nostalgia for a time that never even existed and it does just that. ‘Love is love’ Kylie coos which can only be a nod to her unflinching and fiercely loyal army of LGBTQ+ fans.
Gaga likes to dress up for the shops
I always think Madonna could learn a thing or two from Kylie about fan service. Fine Kylie went a bit off piste with Golden but the album was good enough to not get bogged down with the country theme it was emulating. With ‘Disco’ clearly Kylie means business, and her business is on the dance floor as it always was.
In a similar vein, Lady Gaga’s last studio album before Chromatica was a more country affair akin to Kylie’s entitled Joanne. It wasn’t as commercially successful as her previous outings and felt like a bit of a self-indulgent misstep. While Golden wasn’t as troubled as Joanne, it’s good to see her back where she belongs just like Gaga, on the dancefloor.
The last thing people need at the moment is navel gazing and an album full of moany meanderings about lockdown (we’re looking at you Taylor Swift). When we don’t know when clubs are going to reopen, the joy of dancing together is beginning to fade into our collective memory. Dua, Gaga and Kylie have stepped up to plug the gap.