Kylie Minogue strikes once more with Fever

Australian pop star Kylie Minogue is once more on top of the charts with Can’t Get You Out of My Head, the first single out of her new album Fever. The bouncy, infectious dance tune made excellent showing in 17 countries in Europe and Asia and has as of now, already sold more than three million copies all over the world. It is expected to also soon conquer the US hit lists. The song was also named Top Single of the Year at the first Top of the Pops Awards held late last year in the United Kingdom, where Kylie bested all the competing pop stars to also pick up the Gong for Top Tour.

The lovely Kylie, who must be one of the most beautiful female artists today, last scored with the song Butterfly from the Platinum selling album Light Years. She made her mark as a young soap opera star in Australia after which she moved to recording. Her first big international hit was her cover of the ’60s classic by Little Eva The Loco-Motion in 1988. She has since moved on to greater fame as a pop singer and performer. Kylie is now known all over the world for her blockbuster concerts that rival the best by the likes of Madonna. See if you can catch one of her live performances on TV. What I have seen can only be described as spectacular. So it is no wonder that she won the TOTP award for Top Tour.

The only reason why Kylie seems to be a lesser star than Jennifer Lopez or Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera is that she still has to come up with another big hit in the US charts. You must admit that Filipino music tastes are closely pegged to that of the US of A. Hence, an artist who may be a big star in other parts of the world is not likely to get that much attention. And this is all the more reason why we should listen to her. The girl is not only a looker. Her music also sounds great. Fever, in fact conjures up a sophisticated ambiance for dancing that trendy Pinoys will surely appreciate.

Fever hews to the same formula used in her other albums. Strong dance hooks, assured, sexy delivery and hints of trance influence. Sure to follow Can’t Get You Out of My Head into the charts is Come Into My World plus Your Love which Kylie co-wrote. The other songs in the album are More More More, Love at First Sight, Leave It to Me, Fragile, In Your Eyes, Dancefloor, Love Affair and Burning Up.

Going back to the Top of the Pops Awards, the other winners of the Gong trophy were: Top Pop, Westlife; Top R&B, Destiny’s Child; Top Rock, U2; Top Dance, Fatboy Slim; Top Newcomer, Nelly Furtado; Top Album, Travis, the Invisible Band; Artist on Top of the World, Jennifer Lopez; and the first inductee into the Top of the Pops Hall of Fame, Sir Paul McCartney. The almost 50-year-old Top of the Pops is a TV show that features news about the UK music scene and performances by leading artists.

Top Christmas albums

According to Billboard Magazine, the merry sound of Mannheim Steamroller dominated album sales during the Christmas Season in the US of A, besting even the long-awaited new album by Barbra Streisand and the first Yuletide outing by the year’s number one group Destiny’s Child and of R&B diva Toni Braxton.

The top 20 hit list is as follows: Christmas Extraordinaire by Mannheim Steamroller; Now That’s What I Call Christmas by Various Artists including Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync; Christmas Memories by Barbra Streisand; 8 Days of Christmas by Destiny’s Child; Christmas Eve and Other Stories by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra; Dream a Dream by Charlotte Church; Faith: A Holiday Album by Kenny G; A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi; These are Special Times by Celine Dion; The Christmas Shoes by New-Song;

Home for Christmas by ‘N Sync; Our Favorite Things by Tony Bennett, Charlotte Church, Placido Domingo and Vanessa Williams; Snowflakes by Toni Braxton; The Christmas Attic by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra; A Very Special Christmas 5 by Various Artists; The Time-Life Treasury of Christmas by Various Artists; What a Wonderful Christmas by Anne Murray; The Magic of Christmas, songs from Call Me Claus by Garth Brooks; and Merry Christmas by Mariah Carey.