Once And For All: Why did Kylie Minogue never happen in the US?

Shes not that talented

That never stopped anyone.

Because Broadway doesn’t go for booze and dope!!

She didn’t kiss the right penises.

Too camp.

Not in the '80s and '90s.

She's talked about it herself. She said that when Can't Get You Out Of My Head was a big hit, her record label came up with a plan to capitalize on it in the US but it never really happened and they just stopped trying.

She was already fifteen years into her career as a global megastar when that song was released though.

The rest of the world embraced her in the late '80s.

Maybe it has something to do with Neighbours not being a thing in the US?

Neighbours wasn't THAT big outside Australia though. She had surpassed it by 1990.

Because a Locomotion can make its way across the Pacific Ocean.

She didn't get marketed in the US, and there's no reason why she should have been.

Her most successful period in her early career was her time with SAW, and even then she was seen as barely more than a novelty act, while her post-SAW output wasn't successful at all. It shouldn't be a surprise that her labels didn't push her into a difficult market.

Things only changed when Camp Kylie emerged in 2000 when Light Years came out, and by then she was already in her mid 30s.

She’s had 2 US Billboard Hot 100 hits

The Locomotion #3 in 1988

Can’t Get You Out of My Head #7 in 2001

She’s had several #1 placings on the US Dance charts.

Because the United States have their own soap operas and didn't import Neighbours, unlike the UK.

R14, see R10.

Further note European and Asian markets (Minogue's name > Neighbours' name)

Because Kylie had the misfortune to be on Geffen Records in the US during the first phase of her international mega-success.

Geffen had no real track record of success with pop and dance acts. They famously mishandled Donna Summer, and arguably Cher.

Geffen understood bombastic hetero rock records.

By the time Kylie hit her early career coolness peak, with Rhythm of Love, Geffen couldn't even be bothered releasing the album.

R13 Wrong.

Beyond those two, she had three other Billboard Top 40 hits: I Should Be So Lucky, It's No Secret and Love At First Sight.

Don't overplay the importance of Neighbours. Kylie was off that show very quickly after she hit the charts and was huge in many countries where it was never shown; especially European territories and Japan.

I would imagine she never moved here either. She never really claimed America as hers, so maybe we never claimed her. She needed to be doing songs with American artist, be seen in American press. She was always seen as a foreigner when so many other foreigners are just embraced as American in their vibe, right away - Adele, Dua Lipa. We know they are from somewhere else but seem like us. She never seemed like us.

Can’t Get You Out Of My Head was a fluke in the US. She was lucky the song became a hit because in 2001 hip-hop/rap and urban music was dominating US airwaves and very little pop was being played on radio.

And then Lady Gaga based her entire career on ripping off that song and video.

I feel like “Slow” would have made a good single in 2003. It was basically like a slowed-down version of “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head,” with that cheap keyboard preset sound.

I should have said a good single for the US.

It was all due to her appearance on the US Dancing With The Stars.

Millions of viewers turned off in disgust, and wrote to their congressmen to complain about the ridiculous L.A. dancer queen who was not merely fit-fat, but deliverered bitch face during the entire performance.

That was me.

We have Madonna

You had her.

Timebomb is a jam.

Welcome, new troll!

She's not pretty in a conventional way and America likes their female bubblegum pop stars to be conventionally pretty since we aren't asking for much in terms of talent

You mean like the way Tiffany and Debbie Gibson were covergirl stunning?

Neither did Robbie Williams.

There’s only room for 1 Kylie

It's lucky the US hasn't produced another Kylie of any consequence.

No consequence ? Kylie Jenner is worth over 1 billion

Jenner is a completely vacuous and irrelevant cunt.

R31 But I didn't say female pop stars had to be "stunning", did I? I said "conventionally pretty". Not even beautiful is needed; just pretty in a way that is immediately understood. Tiffany and Debbie were girl next door pretty and that was good enough for as long as they lasted in popularity. Kylie, on the other hand, looked like a rabbit with high cheekbones. Could have worked if she had a more unconventional persona like Cindy Lauper or Madonna, but she was all bubblegum and fun straight pop in the 80s, so no, her looks didn't really work for America.

She seems sweet but the only song I've heard by her that ever caught my ear was 'Can't Get You Out of My Head.' I bought the album that song came from and found every song unmemorable.

I liked her cover of Locomotion in the 80s, but those two songs despite being likable demonstrate the lack of ongoing appeal: Really mindless lyrics. "La la la la la la la la can't get you outta my head" and "come on, Baby, do the locomotion!" are lyrics I think would integrate well into a show like Sesame Street or Barney, but as an adult, I need *something* to think about.

I've bought three or four of her albums and always have had the same reaction. I want to like her music but it's a lyrical lobotomy.

She's always been compared with Madonna and I don't really get it. Madonna has some truly idiotic lines throughout her music—she can be verbally tactless and embarrassingly clunky—but she does have distinct perspectives and conveys them through ever-changing styles of music to maintain interest.

La la la la la la lala.

I love Sophie Ellis-Bextor and I can't understand why she didn't blow up in the US at the very least among gay men. To me, she's what Kylie M might have been if she had clever, intelligent lyrics.

She didn’t happen because she was too goody-goody, and we like our female entertainers to be trashy, loudmouth whores who use shock tactics to sell records.

I think she's just not for you, R39 which is totally fair and understandable. My music tastes aren't really aligned with what Kylie does particularly, but I do think her best albums are the following three which were consecutive releases: Impossible Princess - Light Years - Fever. And she's just very likable, as everyone has said.

[quote]Neither did Robbie Williams.

That’s because his music is total shit. While we are on the subject of him, I still don’t think he’s straight even though he’s married to a woman.

[quote]That’s because his music is total shit.

No kidding! His music is so weirdly bland and uninteresting.

R41 Yep! I have no ill will or anything. She's just not for me—I need even my bubble gum to have a little grit and substance. But my favorite artists (Tori Amos, Kate Bush) are not for most, and I get it and see it only as incompatability and not anyone's failing. I do think a big part of Madonna's success formula is that she always walked a middle road with one foot in uncomfortable artistry and the other in slick, perfectly polished and formulated pop sounds, no matter the genre, and I feel like Kylie's whole body writhes around on that side of the road.

[quote]She's not pretty in a conventional way

???

[quote]But my favorite artists (Tori Amos, Kate Bush)

Oh, dude. We're gonna be friends!

[quote]I do think a big part of Madonna's success formula is that she always walked a middle road with one foot in uncomfortable artistry and the other in slick, perfectly polished and formulated pop sounds

Yes! I was thinking this the other day when people were criticising some of Madonna's poppier moments and lamer lyrics, because then I thought: "but I think Madonna intentionally walked the line between creating the kind of pop music that would sell and deeper cuts where she wanted to explore other styles and topics, plus she understood that a dance song might be mere fluff lyrically, and wouldn't spend as much time making them as involved as for songs like "Secret Garden", "Spanish Eyes", "Mer Girl", stuff like that.

R42 Excuse me

Robbie William discography includes seven UK No. 1 singles, and all but one of his 12 studio albums have reached No 1 in the UK

R47 Hi Rob! When are you coming out?🧐

Williams has never hidden his bisexuality.

He's more interested in UFOs now.

Btw Dannii was the prettier sister

Non-gay Americans don’t appreciate camp like non-gay Aussies, Brits, and Europeans. The camp made Americans feel uncomfortable, like they were being duped by the Village People all over again.

The Village People were fabulous.

She wasn't camp in the '80s or '90s.

[quote]Non-gay Americans don’t appreciate camp like non-gay Aussies, Brits, and Europeans. The camp made Americans feel uncomfortable, like they were being duped by the Village People all over again.

Looking at the US from the outside, this is how it seems to me too, generally. Like, a disco backlash never happened elsewhere like it did in the US. There seems to be less of a tolerance for camp, perhaps?

Kylie only knowingly embraced camp after the deConstruction era imploded.

[quote] She wasn't camp in the '80s or '90s.

SAW is the very definition of camp.

Come Into My World and Spinning Around are great songs.

At first I agreed with the poster who argued that Kylie never (temporarily) moved to the US which is why she didn't happen here but then I realized that INXS happened here and they didn't move to the US.... (I wouldn't call INXS hard rock like ACDC or Silverchair, I'd call them pop rock)

I think that her moving here would have helped her considerably but I'd guess that she didn't happen because her promotional team didn't try to shove her down our throats like they did with other pop stars of the era. Or, they tried to and we spat her out for some reason though I don't know the reason.

Regardless, I'm a fan.

I always found it funny that the one song of hers that took off in the U.S. ( Can't get you outta my head) was one of the few of Minogues songs I absolutely hated. She had a ton of catchy bubblegum songs, why did THAT one have to be played everywhere?

R30 I find this comment interesting because I think Minogue is much more attractive than say Taylor Swift or Britney. Eye of the beholder I guess.

Meh even Samantha Sang, an aussie, happened here in US

SAW is cheese not camp.

For a gay man, David Geffen had absolutely NO IDEA about pop or club music.

Maybe the money being made by Kylie internationally wasn't going into US pockets and US executives felt she was a competition to their own revenues and stars? I dunno.

The only good thing David Geffen ever did for Kylie's career in the US was changing the sleeve of Enjoy Yourself.

[quote] She's not pretty in a conventional way and America likes their female bubblegum pop stars to be conventionally pretty

Madonna was not pretty in a conventional way so there goes that crap theory.

R66 Not at all; as covered that in my reply at R37 : Madonna cultivated an edgy pop persona from the jump, "loud & proud mall rat slut looking for love and a party". With that unconventional edge, she could afford to be unconventional attractive. If Kylie was also singing about defying her parents and kissing black Jesus, her looks would suffice.

A lot of the SAW artists didn't happen in the US. Bananarama were already established in the US, thanks to Cruel Summer, and Venus (a cover of a previous hit in the US) and I Heard a Rumour were too good to ignore. Rick Astley succeeded partly because he was effectively pushed to Adult Contemporary stations (I believe he was the #1 AC act for 1988). But other than Donna Summer's This Time I Know It's For Real and modest success for Dead Or Alive (who didn't make the Top 10 in the US), all the other SAW stars were rejected.

Kylie's The Locomotion succeeded because, like Venus, it was a fresh cover of a beloved previous hit.

I remember hearing in the '80s that in Australia she was bigger than Madonna.

Whatever, her voice sounds like bad karaoke set to disco beats. Always did.

I think Kylie would be an interesting Las Vegas residency. There are so many European and Asian tourists so that maybe she couldn't fill the Coliseum but a smaller club like the Encore Theater, where Robbie Williams had great success might be an idea.

Kylie is far more popular internationally than Robbie Williams.

Who cares? Big whoop!

R61 for only 1 song that everyone knew but didn’t know who sang it.

Her version of "I Should Be So Lucky" would have made it big in the US, but then the Sarah Walker cover swept the entire nation.

FYI…. Olivia Newton-John is the most successful female singer from Australia (though she was born in the UK)

^^^To make it in the USA.

She's Australian. She left the UK for a reason. Like the Bee Gees.

R75, which is kinda interesting, because as an Australian myself, I would be hard pressed to name more than two of her songs. Whereas I could name dozens of Kylie's.

ONJ was over commercially, as a contemporary pop star, by the time Kylie took off. Her career ended when she did that blow job song.

Cute performance.

R78 it’s nobody’s fault you’re ignorant.

Olivia sings about blowing guys and ends her career in 1985:

^^^R82 um it wasn’t that song or project. It was her album the Rumour that was her first album to not perform up to her usual standards commercially in the USA.

The song you posted above (Soul Kiss) made it to the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the RIAA.

The Rumour was Olivia’s first real commercial disappointment. It came out just as Kylie was making it big. The song was written for her by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

[quote]it’s nobody’s fault you’re ignorant.

You've responded to me like what I said was trying to be insulting. I wasn't, I was just commenting that it's interesting if ONJ is our most successful singer, because her songs aren't particularly remembered here, I don't think. I would think even someone who doesn't like Kylie could name more of her songs here.

I know nothing about Australia. I’m in the USA. Kylie Minogue has not been the mainstream success here that she is there and in Europe. She’s only had 2 or 3 Billboard Hot 100 hits during her whole career! She has had several singles make it big on the Billboard dance music / club charts but that is a more niche Billboard chart compared to the Hot 100. She’s got a large gay following in the US.

Olivia Newton-John has outsold and had racked up many more hits than Kylie in the USA. This is not opinion this is factual history.

And all I'M saying is that that is interesting because she is not as well known here, for an Australian. I didn't dismiss anything you said as merely an opinion. Chill. We're totally cool.

FYI.. Olivia Newton-John is on the all time best selling artists list in the USA with over 100 million albums sold.

We’re cool. R87. I like and respect Kylie. I’ve been a fan of her and Olivia my whole life.

R20 beat me to it. Lady gaga and black eyes peas brought back that euro dance, post disco sound in the late 00s.

I wish Olivia’s daughter, Chloe, made a name for herself as a singer. I like her sound even though she’s an acquired taste.

Soul Kiss is one of ONJ's best singles and was written by Mark Goldenberg of the L.A. new wave band The Cretones. It also features Katey Sagal on back up vocals.

I am siting here enjoying Chloe Lattanzi “No Pain”. It’s DIY but I do really like her new wavish style and alternative style vocals.

[quote]We’re cool. [R87]. I like and respect Kylie. I’ve been a fan of her and Olivia my whole life.

😘

Incidentally, while I know this isn't an ONJ thread, I'd be really keen on any recommendations of her songs you think someone like me who hasn't heard much of her stuff should hear.

Physical

Landslide

Stranger’s Touch

Heart Attack

Twist of Fate

Trust Yourself

I Need Love

Toughen Up

Ta, R95! x

Love and Let Live

Listen to Chloe Lattanzi - Make It Stop. I think it’s good DIY shit. It’s on Spotify and Apple Music too. I love the new wave sound it reminds me of Missing Persons

She wasn't very lucky, lucky lucky lucky....lucky in that regard

ONJ classics: " A Little More Love" " Magic" "Xanadu" "Dancin" (duet with The Tubes), "Youre the One I want" -Hopelessly Devoted' Soul Kiss The Rumour

Kylie's Billboard Top 40 chart run:

I Should Be So Lucky - 28

The Loco-Motion - 3

It's No Secret - 37

Can't Get You Outta My Head - 7

Love At First Sight - 23

It's No Secret was a terrible follow up choice by Geffen. It was never even a single in any of Kylie's major markets.

Geffen didn't know WTF he was doing.

She was just selling/signing booze in New Jersey. A queen with paint peeling halitosis went and posted pix on FB

Awareness (or lack thereof) of Olivia is likely to be a generational issue rather than her having a lack of profile in Australia. I'm Australian and know all about her. Olivia's major run of success as a pop star was the 70s through to the earlier 80s, notably peaking with the huge success of Physical. As I said, she was definitely done as a contemporary pop star by 85, but was ebbing before that. Kylie took off in 87. When you are a kid or a young teen, timing is everything in terms of your perception of who was big.

r40 said it. She wasn't whore enough for the US.

That's a great point R104. I was born after her peak had ended. I mean, of course I know "Physical" and I know she was in Grease, but yeah other than that.

The thing that sucks is that I can't find some of her stuff on streaming. It almost makes me want to switch to YouTube Music because then at least I can play any songs that are uploaded there which happens with a lot of music otherwise not on streaming.

R106 most all of Olivia’s stuff can be streamed on Spotify and Apple Music. This is for the USA not AUS.

On my Apple Music I can't find any album pre-2005! Spotify is better though. I'm nearly at the end of my free 6-month Apple Music trial, maybe I should go back to Spotify.

I think the fact that Kylie continues to have relative success with new music helps keep her back catalogue alive. Younger fans of her new music will explore her old stuff. Whereas Olivia's back catalogue is very much in the nostalgia category and won't be heard by a lot of younger listeners unless it ends up on a soundtrack or whatever (as has just happened with Kate Bush).

Anyone familiar with Goldfrapp's Head First album, would you say songs from this album sound very much like they're referencing Olivia Newton John? It's not my favourite Goldfrapp album, but I do really like songs like "Alive".

I agree R109 with the exception of Grease and Xanadu, which have their own audiences, young listeners included.

Never understood why Still Standing wasn't the lead single from Body Language. It could've been a hit in the US I think. Much better choice than that awful Slow.

She did record a duet with R&B crooner Keith Washington at some point, but it obviously didn’t chart. I only heard about this song two months ago lol.

UK number 4 hit.

Never released in US. Thanks David Geffen.

David Geffen and Clive Davis are two of the biggest cunts in the music industry.

[quote]The thing that sucks is that I can't find some of her stuff on streaming.

R106 Olivia's catalog was unavailable for years for some random reason, but after the release of the deluxe edition of Physical last year it's being re-released again. The Rumour was out for streaming two days ago, and almost all her albums are available now.

David Geffen proves gay men can have awful taste in music.

By the way, Olivia also was signed to Geffen in this period (1989-1992). But she only released a lullaby album and a greatest hits with them. After her daughter was born, she wanted to be a full-time mom, so her career went down the shitter.

Here's her 1992 single I Need Love, released by Geffen and produced by Moroder.

[quote]She was just selling/signing booze in New Jersey.

OMG! I thought you were joking but it’s true! Is she on a liquor store tour or something in the US? Is she going to any other places?

I never heard that song before, R118. Good beat. She looks good.

Enough with the Olivia talk! Start a new thread for her! This is about Kylie!

I’ve never heard that ONJ song at r118 and didn’t like it very much, but WOW does she look gorgeous in that video.

I like Kylie, but other than a couple of her US hits she has just never really been on my radar. I do love “Slow” and “Come Into My World.” I also liked her recent-ish single, “Supernova”. A co-worker of mine is OBSESSED with Kylie and she has turned me on to some of her music. It’s all catchy and fine, but for the majority of it, I’m just not compelled to listen to it again.

R120 R122 Yeah, she looked great. It was right before her first cancer diagnosis.

Kylie singing with Coldplay tonight in New Jersey

R124 I know she’s friends with Chris, but that’s still random.

r118 I prefer the cover performed by the Australian girl group Girlfriend (credited here as "GF4").

She released a line of wines in the U.K. over a year ago that have been very successful and have already won a few awards.

I think they're being released over here in select areas as well in order to test the waters.

She previously had a line of perfumes and home furnishings (Kylie at Home) which sold decently but were never released over here.

ONJ can actually sing. Can’t say the same for Kylie.

ONJ had a great voice but was bland as fuck. Can't say the same for Kylie.

Was ONJ able to sell out 20,000 seat arenas after 1982? Kylie has still been a big touring draw well into her 40’s.

She was popular in Chicago.

Kylie is a great performer. Her shows are a lot of fun. I used to be a bigger fan of Madonna, but if it was a choice between a Madonna show or a Kylie show, I would pick Kylie in a heartbeat. She's a lot of fun and she sounds great live.

It's a shame she didn't have more success in North America, but she has amassed a huge following. In 2009, she toured North America just to acknowledge her NA fans. Her shows were scaled down from her European shows.

One thing I've always liked about Kylie is her humility, self-awareness and that she doesn't take herself so seriously.

I was never a fan of her music, but she has charisma and a sense of humour about herself. She is down to earth and old fashioned nice. When she was diagnosed with cancer there was a big increase in women getting screened, which says a lot about her popularity.

Kylie and Olivia together in the late 1980s.

I know Olivia ranked up in a ton in publishing royalties last year. Anyone recognize this melody.

R135 She didn't wrote Physical, so I doubt it.

I agree with R132 Kylie puts on a tremendous live show. She’s just fun. Unlike Madonna who 19 hours late and giving us a taking to.

I don’t think Kylie has the best voice but she seems nice and kind and appreciates her fans unlike you know who.

Confide in me is one of her best songs from the 90’s

Start your own fucking Olivia thread or we have to talk about Helen Reddy, Delta Goodrem, and Tina Arena, too. Back to Kylie.

Even Kylie threads aren't happening in the US.

Body Language is her best album. The production is incredible. I like this remixed version of the lead single with Donna Summer’s Love to love you.

She ain't no George Michael. No soul no good memorable songs just forgettable bubble gum trash.

I haven't paid much mind to Kylie's music since Can't Get You Out of My Head, but this one made my ears perk up.

This and the recent track that had the really trippy video in the restaurant both seemed very fresh.

R141 then you aren't paying attention. And what's wrong with a little bubble gum. And just because DL isn't paying attention doesn't mean the rest of LGBT community isn't. Her albums and singles chart respectably well here. Fever went to number 3. Aphrodite # 19, and Disco which was released in 2020 went to #26.

Timebomb which is a killer song went to number 1 on Dance club songs. As do most of her singles in the US.

She's fine. LOL

At least she wasn’t Danii Minogue.

R140. She’s looking old

"Better The Devil You Know" is an amazing Kylie song and was used in the movie "if Looks Could Kill". I remember the underwear seen with Richard Greco and that song was playing. Total Jack off material for a gay boy. I saw Kylie in Vegas @ the old Palms casino and her 3 nights were sold out. She would KILL it in Vegas, I just don't think at this point in her career she wants to work in the states.

As an American, I can tell you that there is a certain pressure, especially among young people, to like “cool” music. Even in the 90s, the kids who liked grunge or alternative looked down their noses as the kids who liked pop as “basic.” I’m not sure how this compares to Europe or Australia but I can easily see how someone like Kylie would be barred from American success. Many pop stars who were huge in the US in the 80s saw their American careers die in the 90s. Think Belinda Carlisle, Roxette, Rick Astley.

It was certainly not cool to like a song such as I should be so lucky. Lol

Watch until the very end when she talks about playing at Glastonbury. What a sweetheart.

Who?

The short and easy answer is poor PR from her lousy American record company and many Americans not having good enough taste in music is why she never really took off over here.

It didn't help that she basically didn't promote in North America after her first album. Even when she hit it big again in 2001, she focused on Europe and Australia, her biggest markets. She may have thought it was too late or too difficult to try to reach the American market.

The "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman" podcast has just released an episode on "I Should Be So Lucky". Fascinating stuff about Kylie and her career progression.

I think it's the same reason Robbie Williams never made it big here. Their music is not trashy enough for many Americans who listen to utter shit most of the time

Personally I think Robbie and Kylie were content with the markets where they were huge and didn't feel the need to crack the difficult North American market. That probably was enough for them and they've done incredibly well. And it allows them a bit of anonymity in North America, although they have huge fanbases there already.

You don’t need the US market anymore to succeed as an entertainer. Kylie seems to be doing fine without it.

[quote]Personally I think Robbie and Kylie were content with the markets where they were huge and didn't feel the need to crack the difficult North American market.

That is total bullshit about Robbie. He was desperate to crack America and tried to multiple times before he finally gave up in the early 2000’s.

I'm American, liked Robbie and bought his first three albums; I'm particularly fond of Better Man.

"Feel" was a great record.

Any foreign artist who says they don't want to explode in the US market is lying, primarily because that's where the biggest money and exposure is.

She didn't make it in America because there is absolutely NOTHING interesting about her. Her music is the epitome of bloodless, computer created european dance music, which is an oxymoron and the worst music in the world. She's Madonna without Madonna's dynamic personality, her musical vision, her musical savvy (say what you want but Madonna worked with the most creative producers and songwriters and they did some of their best work with her), her gift for self-promotion and chameleonic re-invention. Madonna's music has the stamp of her personality on it; Kylie Minogue's music sounds like it could be anyone. I also started hating her when she decided she only wanted to be called "Kylie." It's one thing if your name is Madonna or Zendaya or even Cher, but Kylie(!?!), give me a break, nothing special about her name either.

Oasis and Robbie Williams are two other Brit mediocrities that Americans saw through and dismissed fairly quickly also.

Kylie didn't "start wanting to be called by one name". That's absolute bullshit and the fact it made you "hate" her tell me you have issues.

Kylie IS and was so very huge in the UK and Australia (especially) that if you just said "Kylie" to any random person on the street, they would know exactly who you were talking about. For another person to start marketing themselves with products stamped as "Kylie" was a huge problem for her. Especially a no talent American reality TV slut like Jenner,.

Kylie had several songs that absolutely should have been hits here in the US. "Better The Devil You Know" was released in the UK before "Vogue" and is at least as good as that and "Express Yourself."

I remember reading a Smash Hits article about Neneh Cherry, where she sneered "I never wanted to have a Barbie doll-like career like Kylie Minogue. Once she's stopped having hits she'll go back to her soap opera or whatever." Gee, how's your career these days, Neneh?

And the only reason Robbie Williams should be mentioned in this thread is because a) they did "Kids" together and b) she hooked up with him and he publicly dissed her performance in bed, the pig.

Just my theory, there was something a little too Australian about her, Americans couldn't connect. Like sausage rolls, couldn't be made to happen.

Marketing.

Both Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue made concerted and repeated efforts to make it big in the US. They both failed.

Kylie's problems here were as stated: her TV show was not popular here, so no one was curious whether she could sing like they were in Australia and the UK.

Robbie was not popular for a similar reason: Take That! was never popular here because that group didn't fit the mold of what US audiences wanted when we had our own glut of boy bands. (Americans don't really like cheeky working-class boys whose ears stick out, even though they make most British teenage girls swoon.) Robbie exploited his image with Take That! as a sexy innocent to great advantage to make it even bigger in the UK and its colonies by presented himself in his solo act as a maturing sexually experienced man, but stupidly he tried to make it big in the US with "The Ego has Landed," which was basically a metacommentary on the problems of his fame. Since no one here had heard of him, the point of the album made no sense: why should he have problems with his ego, Americans thought, when we've never heard of him?

Both Robbie and Kylie eventually reconciled themselves to not making it in the US, and Robbie has even pretended he likes being obscure in the US because he can go out in public anonymously. But it's bullshit: he would have given his left nut to be famous here if he could have been.

If Robbie Williams didn't want to make it in the states he would have never spent millions on a big estate in Los Angeles.

[quote]I remember reading a Smash Hits article about Neneh Cherry, where she sneered "I never wanted to have a Barbie doll-like career like Kylie Minogue.

Wendy James, the lead singer of Transvision Vamp was often a more vitriolic one who would constantly bash Minogue in Smash Hits. One thing I noticed is when asked about them, Kylie would try to mention positive things she admired about them, including Neneh and Wendy. Or she'd shrug it off with a diplomatic "more power to them" kind of answer.

I guess really pretty girls who are used to dealing with jealousy learn this trick early on in life. It was a polished and diplomatic way to handle the negativity and not seem weak.

Whether it was something innately kind in her, or she was just limited in what she could say due to her recording contract. Probably both but she definitely showed media savvy and the ability to win people over early on.

R163 I think the previous poster is referring to how she successfully sued Kylie Jenner for trying to trademark the name "Kylie."

Kylie Minogue has worked hard for decades to build her career and make her fortune. All Jenner did was take an existing Color Pop formula, repackage it, slap her name on it and charge more for it to get rich which is lazy.

Not to mention it is stupid to trademark a somewhat common first name that you did not invent that millions of girls already have.

And I also agree that it's a rather stupid reason to hate her for.

These idiot influencer girls are always trying to trademark things they will never get trademarked. Remember when Paris Hilton tried to do it with her phrase "That's hot"? They have no understanding of how the law works.

I like to boogie with frauen to Kylie's recent "Where Does the DJ Go?" at my Aqua Zumba class

Also, Kylie didn't make it big in the US because she was out of sync with American trends when she had her launch, and then was dropped.

Her last US album - Enjoy Yourself - was not handled well by Geffen, but it also was also a very saccharine record. Her contemporaries were doing power ballad and songs with more grit. Madonna, Paula Abdul, Mariah, Janet. Rhythm of Love was the album Kylie needed to hit the US market to get her there: not Enjoy Yourself.

In my alternate universe she would have been fine throughout the 90s if that were the case.

r165, Olivia Newton-John practically wore AUSTRALIA tattooed on her body when she was popular. She was huge in the USA.

Because we already had Madonna, silly.

R112, love love love Still Standing! Body Language is so underrated.

[quote]But my favorite artists (Tori Amos, Kate Bush) are not for most, and I get it and see it only as incompatability and not anyone's failing.

I'm also a fan of Tori and Kate, but I've never been able to listen to their music for hours on end, after a few songs I've had enough. I can listen to artists like Madonna and Donna Summer for a long time before I want to hear someone else.

[quote]Robbie William discography includes seven UK No. 1 singles, and all but one of his 12 studio albums have reached No 1 in the UK

Robbie Williams wasn't shit in the US. And he TRIED so HARD. He was desperate for American fame but America just wasn't interested.

When SAW was good it was very good. When SAW was bad it was absolute utter shit.

r177 probably because you have more "mainstream" tastes. Madonna and Donna Summer are more mainstream than Kate Bush and definitely more mainstream than Tori Amos.

Was Kim Wilde part of SAW? She had two or three hits in the US.

r180 as I said I like Tori and Kate but they get to be too dirge-like after a few songs. If I'm going to listen to music for hours, I prefer it to be more uptempo stuff.

[quote]Rick Astley succeeded partly because he was effectively pushed to Adult Contemporary stations (I believe he was the #1 AC act for 1988).

I know Rick Astley had a few songs that got a lot of radio play in the US, but Never Gonna Give You Up is the only one that's really remembered.

Her lawyers threw some successful shade at Jenner: "a secondary reality television personality, [Jenner] is a home-schooled graduate whose photographic exhibitionism and controversial posts have drawn criticism from, for example, the disability rights and African-American communities."

r181 are you trying to be a provocateur? i get tired of posters who post international artist names and mention they only had 2 or 3 US hits when a fast google search will reveal the answer to your question and reveal Kim Wilde's rich UK chart history.

r182 has stated her tastes. we're all different. we all don't think or listen to music the same way you do. it's all good. don't be so limited.

Speaking of Kim Wilde, I love this pic of her with Michael Jackson. He's like "ewwww....a GIRL!" Looks like he can't wait to get away from her.

r185 I know Kim Wilde was huge in the UK. I was just wondering if she was SAW since the above posters said most SAW acts didn't make it in the US. I simply said Wilde had 2 or 3 hits here.

r186 is one of those tiresome "I don't listen to mainstream music" people. So pretentious. And BTW Tori Amos and Kate Bush aren't exactly fringe artists.

Once and for all OP....cause she's FUCKING CRAP

No, r181, Kim Wilde did not record with SAW.

Here is a list of songs produced by SAW:

r183, I still hear Together Forever on 80s and AC stations. But that and Never Gonna Give You Up are the only ones that have retained any impact.

Too English

Oh Mate, @R193

[quote]Many pop stars who were huge in the US in the 80s saw their American careers die in the 90s. Think Belinda Carlisle, Roxette, Rick Astley.

Very true. Most 80s pop acts were done as soon as the 90s started. Only the big A-List 80s pop stars like Madonna and Whitney survived the changeover into the 90s. Pretty much everybody below the very top acts were done. And many of them were still in their 20s or very early 30s, it wasn't the normal aging out process.

She got famous initially from a popular soap opera that only Aussies and Brits knew. Second, she was initially a Janet/Paula clone and later a Madonna clone which she admits to. Her style of pop music was not marketable to US tastes, too positive, kitschy and bubblegum with little edge. I think her sister Dannii could have had a better shot. She had only two hits in America, one was a cover of Locomotion and the other was the amazing song "Can't Get You Outta My Head." But she never also aggressively marketed herself either. She's not unknown, gays love her and she's known somewhat among clubbers and EDM/house fans. She doesn't give a shit either because she's pretty popular globally and makes a lot of money. She's no less talented than any other pop star from the last 30 years. She does lack Madonna's aggressive insecurity about her talent and need to outdo herself and transform. Kylie actually likes her fans and engages with them and releases remixes and such. She has a social media following and seems to be getting more recognition over the years.

Rick Astley's early music sounded similar because they shared producers but Rick stood out because of his soulful vocals which elevated the material similar to Whitney's gospel vocals transcended her bubblegum songs. Rick got played on R&B stations and people mistook him for a black guy and of course the meme Rickrolled. He also has a good sense of humor and had a pretty good comeback of sorts.

I saw Rick Astley perform in a huge arena a few weeks ago along with NKOTB, En Vogue and Salt 'N Pepa. He's got a great voice - still.

I don’t think Kylie was ever a Janet or Paula clone - there’s nothing remotely urban or R+B about her early records. The early SAW Kylie singles were much in the ABBA vein - a cheery, bubbly surface with oftentimes sad lyrics if you read them on paper. A “crying on the dance floor” vibe if you will. Just way too Eurocentric for American radio IMO. Like every female pop star that came after Madonna, the comparisons would be inevitable. But I always respected that Kylie responded to them with more or less “Sure, if you want to compare me to Madonna I have no problem with that, because she’s someone I obviously look up to and admire”. Britney was the same way. On the other hand, someone like Gaga in her disingenuous way acts completely dumb when confronted with the topic, as if she’s never even heard of Madonna.

Robbie Williams didn't make it because he got famous from Take That. A boy band that is completely unknown to The US. Take That came out when America got tired of corny white boy bands and R&B groups like Boyz II Men and Jodeci were in. By the time Robbie tried to break the US market in the late 90s and early 2000s, it was all about hip-hop, pop rock and R&B. Very patriotic period too. He was too British.

Rick Astley had a great album in the very early 90s - Free - but tastes had changed and it didn't do well in the US. Too bad, because it was better than a lot of stuff from that era.

R198 Kylie and Britney comparison is spot-on. Both are very unpretentious and don't have an issue being derivative. Both acknowledge Madonna's influence and also mentioned Janet as a influence as well. Neither acted like they were nothing other than fun pop stars who make dance songs. I think that's also why so many people like Rihanna for that similar nonchalant attitude. Madonna is extremely pretentious and stuck-up and is dismissive towards her older music despite the facts it was the 80s albums that made her famous in the first place. Gaga and Christina Aguilera are the same honestly take themselves too seriously.

r200, you're wrong. it may not have been as successful as his previous output but he scored a Billboard Hot 100 single with "Cry For Help" which made it to #7 in 1991. It's one of my fave tracks by him.

r202 the album didn't do that great.

Tastes are just different. The Horses is essentially the unofficial National Anthem of Australia yet no one in the US has heard of it or Daryl Braithwaite or Rickie Lee Jones.

it wasn't a flop or overlooked kind of like you insinuated, you amoeba.

I am in the USA and love Daryl Braithwaite and Rickie Lee Jones, r204.

Rick's first album, Whenever You Need Somebody, made it to #10 on the album chart and has been certified 2x Platinum, yielding two #1 hits ("Never Gonna Give You Up" and "Together Forever"; the former also hit #1 on the AC chart) and one more top 10 ("It Would Take A Strong, Strong Man," which made it to #10 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the AC chart); and his second album, Hold Me In Your Arms, made it to #19 on the album chart and has received Gold certification, having only one top 10 hit ("She Wants To Dance With Me," which made it to #6); his third album, Free, made it to #31 on Billboard's album chart, not selling enough for any certifications; however, "Cry For Help" hit #7 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

whats your point r207???

r207, you know how to google! yay!

She didn’t fit in with the music landscape of the 90’s.

Her music was Eurotrash pop.

If you wanted to do pop, you had to have a big voice like Whitney, Mariah, or Celine. She didn’t fit the Diane Warren genre.

She didn’t fit in with the singer-songwriter Lilith rock girls like Alanis, Fiona, Sarah, Natalie, etc.

And then there were R&B girls. TLC, Monica, Brandy, SWV, En Vogue.

White girl pop really didn’t come back until Britney Spears. There was Robyn with “Show Me Love” and the Spice Girls but that was it.

She really didn’t fit in until “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”. By then electronic music on MTV had become popular with Daft Punk and Madonna’s “Music” and etc.

Rick is definitely more famous than Kylie in The US. He could have had George Michael-style career if he was aggressive enough for it. But he chose family and dignity to overexposure and pressures of fame. Nothing wrong with that. The Free album wasn't bad and Keep It Turned On was a good late 90s dance album.

Quite accurate, R210. Belinda Carlisle's career died in America for similar reasons.

In the 90s. Madonna went house and later R&B and then socially conscious singer-songwriter. Janet went more R&B then neo-soul. And both took on a more stripped-down sound and less flamboyant look.

R213 And Madonna was the exception in the 90’s as a pop star but with her musical directions, she was doing better in Europe than the US if I’m not mistaken. Radio played her because she was Madonna.

But Madonna did everything I mentioned in R210. She did ballad pop with “Something to Remember”, she did R&B with “Bedtime Stories” and she did singer-songwriter with “Ray of Light”.

“Impossible Princess” was singer-songwriter but didn’t have anything strong enough to be on the radio. It wasn’t as sleek as like Dionne Faris’ “I Know”.

This thread has been open almost a month and only 200 replies and a lot of those were about ONJ. Does that answer your question?

As far as post-“Fever”, although I love “Body Language” the production was too chintzy.

The album sounded like she hired the whitest European producers possible to make black urban R&B music and they didn’t deliver the American funk and punch.

If she had done that album with Timbaland and Pharrell, it would have been a hit. “Red Blooded Woman” is a rip off of “Cry Me A River”. Had she done it with Timbaland, it would have worked.

Can’t find the whole interview, but here is Kylie AND Olivia on Terry Wogan’s show in 1988.

It's difficult to describe just how big Neighbours was back then. She was practically a household name in the UK, and, of course, Australia before her music career took off. Something like 20m people watched her wedding episode.

Britney definitely benefited by her timing too. The late 90s needed a solo female pop star. The Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys opened the doors for that style of bubblegum pop to make a comeback. Add the sweet blonde white girl-next-door from the South and the rising conservatism and patriotic American attitudes and it was a match made in heaven. Kylie would have been too old to compete with that. She could have capitalized more on the dance sound of the 2000s, like the poster above mentioned. Collaborating with American producers like Pharrell and Timbaland would have benefited her just like it did Nelly Furtado who was the whitest white girl ever but got R&B and hip-hop hits. Gwen Stefani opened the doors for the white girls acting hood phase.

R219 off topic

Nobody cares about shitty Britney in this thread

[quote]And the only reason Robbie Williams should be mentioned in this thread is because a) they did "Kids" together and b) she hooked up with him and he publicly dissed her performance in bed, the pig.

They slept together? Are you sure? I don’t remember hearing this.

How is her last name pronounced?

[quote]How is her last name pronounced?

She pronounces it for you in the first few seconds of this video.

Rick Astley had more hits than I realized. I don't hear It Would Take a Strong, Strong Man on the radio anymore but it was quite a big hit.

Kylie and Rick were really the only two SAW acts to have success in the States. Kylie's first album actually had three Top 40 singles. But Kylie and Rick were true pop stars who I think would have succeeded without SAW. And both of them outgrew SAW and were able to have success without them.

[quote]just like it did Nelly Furtado who was the whitest white girl ever

"Portuguese aren't white! Portuguese aren't white!"

[quote] I know Rick Astley had a few songs that got a lot of radio play in the US, but Never Gonna Give You Up is the only one that's really remembered.

That's not quite true. "Never Gonna Give You Up" is remembered far and away the best because it became a huge Internet meme, but "Together Forever" was a big hit in the US and is still fondly remembered.

I still love Never Gonna Give You Up. Fabulous song. And Rick was cute as hell.

Rick Astley has aged well, still a handsome guy in his fifties.

Rick still sounds great. He seems like someone who has shit together, and didn't really want to keep up the pursuit of fame.

I agree he could have had a bigger career in North America if he had been more aggressive. It's a shame he didn't have a big follow-up after A Cry for Help. By this time, George Michael was about to start his fight with his label and it would have been a good time for Rick to take advantage of the moment.

[quote]It's difficult to describe just how big Neighbours was back then. She was practically a household name in the UK, and, of course, Australia before her music career took off. Something like 20m people watched her wedding episode.

Yes, I'm an Aussie who lived over there in early-mid '87, I can tell you just about everyone in the UK watched it. It was their version of a water cooler show, like peak Dallas or Twin Peaks was in the US.

It was kind of a nothing show back home but the UK viewer's relationship was different. Australians saw it as a joke whereas the UK took it seriously. Almost like a cathartic experience.

Now Neighbours is going off-air I hope there will be some definitive UK retrospectives about how insanely popular it was in that era.

I like Kylie and Danii.

Take That didn’t take hold in America because initially they created the band around Gary Barlow. Compared to Robbie Williams, he has no personality. Even now, he’s content with making mediocre AOR. Say what you want about Robbie, he commands attention when he’s onstage.

Remember when Kylie invited Wendy James to the premiere of The Delinquents?

The press went wild because Wendy had never stopped Slagging Kylie in the press. They asked her why the fuck she was there: "Because Kylie invited me".

That's class on Kylie's part.

Kylie usually didn't fit US radio formats, back when radio was the be all and end all.

Same reason some (but not all) big US acts do not have the same huge success in Europe and Australia as they do back home.

It's got nothing to do with the quality of the material, or even public taste. There's no reason why Americans would like Kylie less than people in other markets. People choose their favourites from what they are allowed to hear.

I was in America when All The Lovers came out. Wherever I went on that vacation, American gays were fighting each other ti get on the dance floor when that song was played.

Kylie explains to Parkinson why she doesn't give a fuck about breaking the US:

She's building a bigger following in the US thanks to the internet and social media. The information age helped break down a lot of barriers. Her recent album was very successful

Talking about Neighbours, Natalie Imbruglia did very well with Torn

[quote]Kylie explains to Parkinson why she doesn't give a fuck about breaking the US:

Oh bullshit. Every artist wishes they could break the US considering it’s one of the most profitable markets for music. She’s just trying to save face.

Bullshit to you r238. From what I got from that clip is that she wouldn’t mind breaking into the American market, but she hasn’t lost sleep over it. She’s done quite well without us.

Again she has broken into the US. She has done respectably here. She certainly has a huge gay following in the states and all of her singles go to #1 on the dance charts. She's fine she sends her love.

R240 Yep. Most gays into dance music know here. Straight people who are into clubbing know her. She's not hugely mainstream but pure pop and dance music she makes is always more of a niche in The US compared to Europe and LatAm. Some people on here are so overdramatic. She's not losing sleep over not being Gaga or Beyonce level famous in The US when she's a household name in the UK and Aus.

Americans often just don't seem to be able to fathom that "making it in America" isn't necessarily the goal of many people out there. We're not all as obsessed with your country as I think you think we are.

That's such bullshit. And it's always people from other countries who say that about artists who never made it in the States. And Kylie will never make it in the US because she's now too old.

It's not bullshit. Americans really do seem to think they are the be all and end all of things, and you just aren't. Kylie IS a success, she has been for decades, and she doesn't need to be a success in the US to have "made it". She made it years ago, and seems to be doing very well from it.

You've been force fed ideas of your "exceptionalism" from such a young age, you just can't understand that the rest of the world doesn't revere you the way you do yourselves. Nor do many other cultures around the world have the kind of hyper-obsession over money that you do in the US.

Nothing is force fed. It's a flat out fact that US is the biggest and most lucrative market. Period. If you're a popular artist, you are absolutely hyper obsessive over not just money but fame. And in order to achieve the highest level, you must be a success in the States.

Trust me, everybody in the music business wants to make it in the US and they're pissed if they don't. Robbie Williams is a good and embarrassing example of this.

[quote]Trust me

No.

Are there examples of singers/bands more popular in the United States than in their home country? I think Little River Band was more successful in the US than in their homeland of Australia.

It's true r247. Everybody wants to break the American market. Not a single one of them would ever turn down a chance to do that.

She didn't capitalize on Fever in the US. Instead, she decided to make an album music critics would like. Body Language was praised to the sky. The most cohesive, mature album she's ever done etc. etc.! Unfortunately, it had no singles.

Releasing "Slow" as the first single was suicide. There was no way that song was going to do anything on the US pop charts. It barely scratched the Top 100 at #91.

I think Slow is Kylie's best single.

When most foreign artists don't crack the US market, there are usually obvious reasons like a language barrier or they aren't white or black. In Kylie's case those don't apply.

R246 She has had a longer, less spotty career than Robbie Williams overall, with her first consecutive 11 singles all placing in the UK top 5. A record I think she still owns to this today.

She was one of the world's most famous women from 1987 to 1990, regardless of her status in America.

Craving US success is something I have never picked up from Minogue, who knew fame and recognition from childhood and did not want to sell her soul for it. She could have gone to Madonna/Gaga/Kardashian lengths to pursue fame in the US but it wasn't necessary.

R181 Kim Wilde was not a SAW act but You Came was clearly a SAW rip off.

R140 yes! Body Language is perfection! I love Light Years almost as much too.

I’m a huge Kylie fan, but I think what’s held her back is her voice. Her vocals just aren’t there. I like most of the artists I do solely for their voice, but with Kylie it’s the music itself that makes it because her vocals are just so mediocre.

She’s also done too many covers (Locomotion, Dancing Queen, Tears on My Pillow, Celebration, etc) & doesn’t have a distinctive style. When Gaga released Joanne (UGH), Kylie practically channeled/copied her with Gold, an awful countryesque stunt of a record that is her absolute worst! Then Gaga came back hard with Chromatica, & Kylie channels that with Disco.

I’m a huge ONJ fan, just connected that both are breast cancer survivors. Oh and from this thread I learned that Soul Kiss is about Bjs??? I always thought it was about French kissing.

Turning down Toxic was the biggest mistake of her career. It probably would be another big American hit for her.

Oh course Soul Kiss was about blow jobs! Are you deaf???

She did a decent amount of promotion for Fever and it reached #3 on the Billboard Top 200. She also won a Grammy for "Come Into My World." Her success over here is slightly above moderate at best. But she's most definitely not a nobody.

R256 It was a huge mistake. I hope she someday performs it live.

She once performed "Never Gonna Give You Up" with Rick Astley live several years ago. Back then you could play either of their records and mess with the speed setting to make one of them sound like the other.

Many pop stars are successes because when they come out they build a core audience amongst teens. Adults may buy the albums too but even as the pop stars age, they have that core audience that basically grows up with them. Kylie was already aged out, though sexy and fine, by the time she saw success in America. Notice that although Can't Get You outta my head was huge hit internationally its pefromance was more restrained in the states. It was a hit here but not a massive one.

i blame that big ugly silly looking hat on her first album in 1988. yuck!

Too goody two shoes. Not edgy enough to make it.

Grunge kids weren't the cool kids though r147.They were looked upon as similar to head bangers.

r147 add my favorite - Sheena Easton to the list.

r255, in Soul Kiss - Olivia keeps singing over and over how she's gonna get down on her knees... It's def a BJ track. Her then, cute n hot, husband - Matt Lattanzi appears at the end of the video as he walks up (shirtless) and kissed Olivia.

Matt was last seen doing drum therapy in a tent in Malibu.

In the 80s Matt Lattanzi was the epitome of hot to me.

"Kylie is an underrated artist, period. The critics never saw her coming, they despised her and her bubblegum pop from day one but she not only showed them all and the world that she was not a one-hit wonder or just a puppet of the Stock-Aitken-Waterman production team (she survived almost all of their produced artists altogether) but she is an artist who was never afraid of taking chances (hello, even Madonna/Mirways kind of copied her since they couldn't not know her 1998 song "Cowboy Style" when they made Madonna's hit "Don't Tell Me" in 2000).

So yes, at first, Madonna probably inspired her (that much is obvious in her clothes during her Let's Get To It tour in 1991) and the fact that she also used, just like Madonna, outfits from Jean-Paul Gauthier and musics from Stuart Price but she's doing her own thing now for a while and whether people who despise her wouldn't dare to admit or not but in pop she's a force to be reckoned with and for more than 30 years now. Not bad for a supposedly one-hit wonder, isn't it ?

I'm a big Kylie fan since 1988 and even though I didn't agree with her all experimentations (the Deconstruction period was very hard on me even though I warmed up to it later on) but except from the country album and the occasionnals christmas records that I didn't bought (they are so many of them, I stop counting) but I bought everything else from her (even the countless compilations) and I stand by her, no matter what and I'll always will for as long as she will sing because she brings endless joy and sprinkless in this depressing dark world of ours.

And you know what makes her so special ? It's that on top of everything she seems like a very nice girl. And even though since the end of the Stock Aitken & Waterman days she tried very hard to make us forget her "girl next door" image she can't because that's what she is. Maybe one of the very few nice girls in pop music. And that's why she will always be relevant whether she makes dance, pop, edm, country music or r'n'b."

r251 and video!

Kylie is so boring you never see her in the social pages

What I really like about Kylie is how diverse her back catalogue is. She's done practically every variation of Pop, and she does it quite well. We had Dance Kylie, Indie Kylie, Country Kylie.... She's still very successful to this day, especially for a female Pop artist in her fifties with a career spanning 30+ years. Her last three albums went to no 1 in the UK and did fairly well on the billboard charts

R164 what?? Robbie bedded Kylie then dissed her performance? When did that happen? Completely missed it! I can remember being aghast and jealous that she got to date Michael Hutchence (still am, really) and apart from the Parlophone record not too into her music, but that was a savage thing for Robbie to do!

Yeah, R271 - Popbitch ran a blind item about it.

You already had Minnie Mouse, and they sound the same.

^ This thread is about Kylie, not Madogga.

Kylie is a billionaire living her best life. She's huge internationally, and she has a smaller, but devoted fan base in the U.S.

She's fine and sends her love.

She kind of has a hard porno chick look, no? Americans like sweet or sexy.

r276 no... at least not in the 80s and 90s. She was both sweet and sexy.

She will perform at World Pride in Sydney tomorrow. I very much look forward to this

And her new album will be out later this year

Once And For All: Why did Kylie Minogue never happen in the US?

Simply put: Her music is bland, soulless, forgettable shite that isn't even catchy.

She was really popular in 1980s Chicago. She was everywhere.

I think it’s because the rest of the world is more fun than the U.S. and is just willing to have a dance.

Kylie’s stardom is largely based in the gay community but also expands beyond that to being a national treasure in the UK and Australia and a star in Europe. She brings people together. She’s a ringmaster, not the demanding centre of attention.

The U.S. is threatened by such things, the idea of unity and just having a dance, which is what Kylie invites you to do, rather than just being an adoring, mindless observer. There’s a reason why a large portion of the U.S. population fell for Trump. Kylie never demanded idolatry. She always just wanted to be the soundtrack to some good times. That’s why people love her. She’s a low maintenance pop princess. Not a diva with an attitude.

She didn't fit America's notoriously restrictive radio formats in the 80s.

In the early 90s, Geffen gave up on her just as she came into her own with her third album. Then her DeConstruction work was not commercial enough.

The US industry was too conservative and boring for the camp fun of Light Years. They caught up with Fever.

After that she did well enough considering the strictures of the US market, and the fact she makes her music for Europe and Australia and doesn't centre US tastes.

Once and for all: she's ugly and not a good singer! We had Madonna (way edgier), Britney (cypher for producers) plus all the divas: Mariah, Whitney, etc. Kylie was a pale imitation of better artists and she didn't have enough artistic authorship to make her music distinctive. She couldn't dance like Madonna nor could she sing like Mariah. She looks vampiric with that forehead and those teeth. I enjoy some of her music, but after a while her whiny, shrill voice becomes annoying. Everything after Kiss Me Once has truly sucked.

R284, that’s not necessary. You must lead an appallingly lonely life to have that kind of vitriol. And that was before I read your “Posted by” which is just… honestly. Get a life.

Simple: US has better pop stars from the 80s, 90s, 00s. The rest of the world is lacking, so they don't know any better. I prefer Kylie's stronger, fuller singing voice from her 1994 eponymous album. After that, she stopped trying and stuck with the nasal pop singing.

America doesn't have better pop stars. It just has more American pop stars.

R287 Makes no damn sense. USA has the best, most global pop stars the world over and the biggest market. Things have changed somewhat in the last decade since the advent of streaming, but America still dictates world culture. If we don't embrace it, it ain't happening.

Yet Kylie continues to happen despite your country.

R284 Is a 65 year old jaded queen still going to clubs, and with the mentality of a teenage girl. Sad beyond belief…

To be fair, the only places where Kylie had steady success through her career were Australia and Britain. Continental Europe basically ignored her in the 1990s, and even after the huge success of Can't Get You Out of My Head, her performance there was patchy at best. She's also far from a household name in Japan and Latin America, that's why she rarely tours in those places.

Bumping this because she's touring in North America for the first time in years and the gays are seemingly down for.

She's doing her first North American arena tour. She'll be in SF in April. We Bay Area gays are beside ourselves.