Artist Of The Month-Christmas Edition: “Kylie Christmas” By Kylie Minogue

04 Dec, 2015 craig Artist of the Month

Kylie Minogue “Kylie Christmas” Parlophone/Warner Music Group

The last month of 2015 has finally arrived, and just like we do every December we have chosen to feature some recently released Christmas music in this holiday edition of our Artist Of The Month column. This year we are excited to spotlight Australian Pop singer/songwriter, Kyle Minogue and her 13th studio album, Kylie Christmas. This album that will serve as her last for longtime label, Parlophone is her first full-length holiday themed album.

Despite this new release being a first in some ways for her, Kylie is no stranger to making an impact on the charts while getting in the Christmas spirit. This album is considered by many to be a full-length follow up to her previous holiday-themed singles released in years past. It all started back in 2000, when she put her own spin on the sexy Ertha Kitt 1953 classic, “Santa Baby.” The Kylie version got a lot of people talking when it was released as a B side to her single “Please Stay.” The song’s tongue-in cheek style allowed Kylie to have a little fun with her sexy image while also updating a holiday favorite. It eventually became one of the most famous versions of the song from that decade, as Parlophone’s then parent company EMI licensed the track to be a part of many Christmas themed Pop song compilations. It even was included in the 2006 Columbia Pictures film, The Holiday. The production style of Kylie’s “Santa Baby” would help create the framework for the sound later heard on her future holiday release.

Kylie Minogue

“Santa Baby” (2000 Music Video)

From Kylie Christmas (2015) (Album)/A Kylie Christmas EP (2010) /A Christmas Gift EP (2010)

Parlophone Records

The next of those releases came with Kylie’s version of “Let It Snow” in November/December of 2010. Like her version of “Santa Baby” before it, Kylie took elements of Dean Martin’s famous 1959 adaptation of the classic and put her own spin on it, while simultaneously keeping it’s timeless feel. It was included on Kylie’s first Christmas EP, A Kylie Christmas that also included “Santa Baby” from 2000. The EP was first released digitally on November 30, 2010, and then upgraded to a re-issued version called A Christmas Gift for a physical release on December 1, 2010. The A Christmas Gift version also included “Aphrodite” and “Can’t Beat the Feeling” from Minogue’s eleventh studio album Aphrodite. The world was beginning to fall in love with Kylie’s interpretation of the Christmas classics. She got the opportunity to perform “Let It Snow” and “Santa Baby” at the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in New York City on November 30 of that year to help give it the worldwide exposure it deserved.

Kylie Minogue

“Let It Snow”

From The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony (November 2010)

NBC

Five years would go by, but this Christmas season, Kylie has finally added to her holiday discography. With Kylie Christmas. This time it was now a full album, which Parlophone released on November 13, 2015. It also allowed Minogue to continue to do what she does best, by creating a collection of songs that is the perfect balance between traditional favorites that she covers in a Jazzy Pop structure, and up-tempo originals that have just a pinch of her EDM style.

As executive producer of the album, Kylie has enlisted the talents of her frequent collaborators Steve Anderson, Ash Howes, Richard “Biff” Stannard, Charles Pignone, and Matt Prime to help her bring the album to life. Many of the songs on the album include live instrumentation, The standard album consists of ten cover songs and three original tracks; Minogue co-wrote “White December” and “Christmas Isn’t Christmas ‘Til You Get Here”. The third original song, “Every Day’s Like Christmas” (Produced By Stargate), was written by British alternative rock band Coldplay lead singer, Chris Martin, and featured backing vocals that were provided by him The deluxe edition features three additional new original tracks: “Oh Santa”, “100 Degrees”, and “Cried Out Christmas”, and were co-written by Minogue. Acclaimed Disco/Dance guitarist, Nile Rodgers is also featured on “100 Degrees”, which is the album’s second single and music video

Kylie Minogue

“White December”

From Kylie Christmas