Kylie Kills!

I noticed this article over the weekend and felt very disappointed and upset -

"Heavy Promotion, Light Sales For Kylie Minogue"

Kylie Minogue, my 2nd favorite Australian (after Cate Blanchett), released her new album, X, last Tuesday in the US. Many of you may have noticed she has been EVERYWHERE promoting this album - all over TV, magazines, even performing on freaking "Dancing With the Stars." But the first-week sales of her new album failed to live up to its high expectations, especially considering it was supposed to be her big comeback after her ordeal with breast cancer over the past few years.

I cannot understand this. This is one thing that I just don't comprehend about the American music-buying public. Kylie is a true pop artist, but like Justin Timberlake or Madonna in our heyday, her music doesn't play by the traditional rules of "pop" music. With each consecutive album, she has reinvented herself and explored new sounds and styles. I'm one of the few who purchased X this past Tuesday, and trust me, it's a damn good album. It's got everything you could want from a great pop album - upbeat, Scissor Sisters-style pop, Daft Punk-ish techno pop, a few sultry slow jams, and lots of sexiness, style, and even some substance underneath all the shimmer. The rousing opener, "2 Hearts" has a drumbeat and refrains of "Whoos!" that would make Hunky Dory-era Bowie proud. And you have GOT to love a pop star who can sample Serge Gainsbourg (on "Sensitized") and still leave the legendary French lothario's Gaulois-scented perviness intact.

I have been a fan of Kylie's for a while now, and I think she definitely deserves to be a bigger star in the US. This is a woman who has been through so much in the past year. Her battle with breast cancer and her charitable endeavors make her a woman who definitely earns your respect, and she's got the talent to back up her mega-pop-star credentials. Although, in some respect, I blame Kylie's record company for deciding to make "All I See" the first single in the States. While it's definitely a decent song, it's NOT a great example either of Kylie's talent or of X's many delights. It's too mediocre - it sounds like something Mariah Carey might choose to record (which is not a good thing for someone as inventive and daring as Kylie can be.)

Here's a little incentive to make all of you give Kylie a little love - my favorite track from X, "In My Arms", which definitely should have been the first single. The video is completely BADASS, as well. See for yourself -



You have no excuse not to love Kylie. After all, Nick Cave does -



Of course, he killed her. But out of LOVE.