Kylie and America

[Deleted User] · 05/07/13 - 00:42

Just why isn't such a talent never been able to crack America? It's mad when she's so popular everywhere else round the globe.

big brother 9 · 05/07/13 - 00:44

she isnt popular in the states? i thought she was

Fred E Star · 05/07/13 - 00:55

She should be so lucky.

glyn9799 · 05/07/13 - 00:59

She's had a couple of big hits over there, but the USA always come across as pretty fickle with their music. One minute they love you then they just seem to forget you.

She has had loads of dance hits though, most of her recent singles have made #1 on their club charts, so she certainly has a presence.

Cloudbuster · 05/07/13 - 02:58

Fever made no 3, Aphrodite no 19

Locomotion no 3, Cant get You Out of My Head no 7, Higher 23 or so and more

I love the fact that its not the be all to end all for Kylie- if it happens it happens

Cheap Thrills · 05/07/13 - 05:13

Kylie did somewhat OK in the US during 1988. The Locomotion was a #3 hit, two more singles went top 40, and her debut album actually went Gold despite peaking relatively low on the Billboard chart.The problem was, at least from what I've read, is that Terry Blamey, her old manager, was never particularly bothered about the US market. Kylie expressed a strong desire to up her profile out there (even moving to L.A. at one point in the 1990s) but Terry put her off any serious promotion for years. I do wonder if he perhaps found the US market too intimidating and simply didn't want to spend so much time trying to crack it. Success for Kylie came quickly and relatively easily in Europe, Australia and Asia but the US was going to be another thing entirely. A couple of singles were released from the "Enjoy Yourself" album in the US but they, and the album, were poorly promoted and simply went unnoticed. I think her people simply gave up far too quickly. I also think that "Turn It Into Love" could have been a big hit in the US had it been released as a single outside of Japan. I guess you also have to look at how saturated the US market was with female singers in the late 1980s - Whitney Houston, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Debbie Gibson, Taylor Dayne, Tiffany. The pool was crowded at the time.

I've always felt that "Rhythm of Love" (this has a similar sound to Cathy Dennis' early material that did well in the US in the early 1990s), "Let's Get to It" and "Kylie Minogue" '94 could have potentially done well in the US had they been pushed and promoted heavily. According to what I've read, US label talks around the time of her fifth album fell through and that was basically it then until "Fever". I think the Fever era is probably the biggest she's ever going to be in the US. The album peaked at #3 and went platinum, "Head" went top 10, and "Love at First Sight" peaked at #23. Her career is what it is in the US. She's slowly but surely increased her profile during the last 10 years, touring twice, scoring strong reviews as well as charting "Aphrodite" inside the top 20. I guess she's a cult artist. She seems especially popular with the dance/club crowd. She's never going to be the major star over there that she is in most other places around the world, it's just a shame that some people on the internet sometimes use her lack of success in the US as a way to try and diminish her career and impact on the pop world.

gpk · 05/07/13 - 05:36

Cloudbuster wrote: »

Fever made no 3, Aphrodite no 19

Locomotion no 3, Cant get You Out of My Head no 7, Higher 23 or so and more

I love the fact that its not the be all to end all for Kylie- if it happens it happens

it was #24 and she didn't feature on the us version of the song.

Aneechik · 05/07/13 - 05:44

She did say in an interview that when Can't Get You Out Of My Head did well over there she thought she might try and crack the US again but the amount of work it would have required put her off when she already had success in Europe.

THEXFACTORKING · 05/07/13 - 06:09

Would be nice for Dannii and Kylie both to crack the states.

Cheap Thrills · 05/07/13 - 06:55

Aneechik wrote: »

She did say in an interview that when Can't Get You Out Of My Head did well over there she thought she might try and crack the US again but the amount of work it would have required put her off when she already had success in Europe.

I've read similar things.

There were talks about possibly taking the Fever Tour over to the US as a way to continue pushing the album and building on the success of "Head". Kylie, however, vetoed the idea of an American leg as she didn't want to downsize the production of the tour to fit into smaller venues. She ended up playing a few live gigs like the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball instead.

TVGirl319 · 05/07/13 - 12:39

Well, she caught the attention of Prince, so she must have had some success in the US! I beleive she recorded a track he wrote for her, which has never been released!

mgvsmith · 05/07/13 - 13:04

Alan_Thomas1 wrote: »

Just why isn't such a talent never been able to crack America? It's mad when she's so popular everywhere else round the globe.

I remain amazed such a moderate talent has been as successful as she has been anywhere. Her links with a popular soap helped at the start and a couple of excellent dance songs mid career are about the sum of it.

LM · 05/07/13 - 15:37

She has a bigger fanbase in American than what people realise

She may not sell millions of albums, but America really love Kylie. Seriously, they do. Especially in the gay community.

[Deleted User] · 05/07/13 - 15:42

Cloudbuster wrote: »

I love the fact that its not the be all to end all for Kylie- if it happens it happens

Totally agree. It's actually super refreshing to see an artist who isn't treating "cracking America" as the be all end all of their life. I wish more artists would show a similar passion for the fans they already have elsewhere.

[Deleted User] · 05/07/13 - 18:21

Her debut and Fever were both big eras for her over their and Body Language was a moderate success.

Other than those three she is an act who has a dedicated fan base who just don't just doesn't sell that much. X & Aphrodite both sold 50,000+

Hopefully this will be an album fully advertised FOR America, I think Kylie has one more 'Fever' left in her.

Cheap Thrills · 05/07/13 - 18:25

I was hoping to be able to add this to my previous post but it seems there's a time limit in which to do so.

The US promotion for Fever started off well at first. There were huge billboards in cities like Los Angeles, Kylie made numerous TV appearances where she sang and was interviewed, she did stacks of radio promotion and gigs like the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball. The promotion was also used as a way to reintroduce Kylie to the American audience.

As good as the Body Language album is, and it really is one of her best, I think the light R&B/funk/pop sound was somewhat of a calculated move to try and further her appeal in the US market. I'm just glad the Ludacris version of "Chocolate" was scrapped (though he can still be heard slightly during the opening of the song). It was also a stupid move to remix "All I See" to feature Mims for the lead single from "X" in the US. It was only chosen because it has a light Janet Jackson vibe to it that Kylie's people probably thought would do well. "Speakerphone" or "In My Arms" would have made far better lead singles in the US market.

[Deleted User] · 05/07/13 - 18:29

Like A Star wrote: »

Totally agree. It's actually super refreshing to see an artist who isn't treating "cracking America" as the be all end all of their life. I wish more artists would show a similar passion for the fans they already have elsewhere.

Tbh, her attitude towards it seems much more like she doesn't want to put the work in, rather than it not being that important. She seems like she decided it would be too much work so she will just be happy with what she has and not even try.

[Deleted User] · 05/07/13 - 20:37

sjp07 wrote: »

Tbh, her attitude towards it seems much more like she doesn't want to put the work in

I've never got that vibe from her. I expect if she really thought there was big money and fame to be had in the US she would push harder. Maybe she's just being realistic or genuinely isn't that bothered?

glyn9799 · 05/07/13 - 22:33

At this stage of her career I really don't think she's bothered. She has plodded along nicely for 26+ years without their constant support. Plus she has had hits over there, and they do know who she is, which is more than a lot of other artists can say.

[Deleted User] · 06/07/13 - 00:10

What I find amazing about Kylie's career is that she's achieved so much without real US success.

I appreciate how humble she comes across in interviews.

I'm quite excited about her next album, there seems to be a buzz about it what with RocNation backing her

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