Wow (Kylie Minogue song)

"Wow"
Single by Kylie Minogue
from the album X
B-side
  • "Carried Away"
  • "Cherry Bomb"
  • "Do It Again"
Released 15 February 2008 (2008-02-15)
Format
Recorded

August 2007;

Genre Dance-pop
Length 3:13
Label Parlophone
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Greg Kurstin
Kylie Minogue singles chronology
"2 Hearts"
(2007)		 "Wow"
(2008)		 "In My Arms"
(2008)
Audio sample
file info · help

"Wow" is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her tenth studio album, X (2007). It was written by Minogue, Greg Kurstin and Karen Poole, while production was handled by Kurstin. Minogue requested to set up a studio in Ibiza with Poole and Kurstin with her while they recorded the track along with other tracks recorded. The song was released as the second single from X on 15 February 2008 by Parlophone,

"Wow" features instrumentation from guitars, electronic synthesizers, keyboards and drum machines, along with pianos through some verses. The song is set in a dance-oriented beat with many other electronic elements. Upon the song's release, the song received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who praised the production and release as a single; however, critics felt that the single was badly timed, as some people referred to this as the first single. Nevertheless, the single was a commercial success. The song managed to peak inside the top 20 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs, as well as charting inside the top twenty in countries including her native Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, New Zealand and Hungary.

The song has been performed on three of Minogue's concert tours. It was featured on her first world tour, KylieX2008, in her act Cheer Squad, where the songs "Heart Beat Rock" and "Shocked" were also performed. It was then featured on her KylieUSA2009 tour, along with a more rock-oriented version being performed at the Aphrodite World Tour. In 2014, Minogue performed the song on the Kiss Me Once Tour and in 2015 on the Kylie Summer 2015 Tour. Along with the promotion in her tours, the song has been featured in many media productions. It has been used as background music in Desperate Housewives, The Kylie Show and was included in the soundtrack of the film Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

Additionally, the song has been released twice in the United Kingdom with alternative versions instead of the single version. The accompanying music video was directed by Melina Matsoukas, which featured Minogue in a futuristic outfit, in a club, dancing with alien-inspired outfits worn by the public. The video has received positive reviews, mostly about the futuristic style of format the video had featured.

Background and recording

"Wow" was composed and written by Greg Kurstin, Kylie Minogue and Karen Ann Poole. Minogue requested setting up a studio in Ibiza with previous writing partner Karen Poole, and newcomer to the fold Greg Kurstin, an American multi-instrumentalist musician and producer, during the summer of 2007. Minogue had written other tracks while in Ibiza. Originally, it was said that they wanted "Wow" or "Like a Drug" as the first single, but it was "2 Hearts". Then "Wow" was then intended to be released as the second single worldwide, however this did not manage to be after her single "In My Arms" was released one day before this single was on 15 February. Then after the lead single of "2 Hearts", Minogue intended to be the lead U.S. single from the album, but was withdrawn and "All I See" was released instead in an attempt to appeal to a more urban market. And after that release of "All I See", the song had failed to enter mainstream charts in North America or Canada. So instead, it was released as Minogue's first club single in North America. In Australia, "Wow" was officially solicited to radio on 14 January 2008.[1] Three new additional tracks were featured on the CD Single, these being "Cherry Bomb", "Do It Again" and "Carried Away", which were recorded during the album sessions.

Musically, "Wow" is a strong dance-pop song. According to the sheet at MusicNotes.com, which was published by EMI Music Publishing, the song is written the key of D Major.[2] Minogue's vocal range span from the key note of F#5 to the key note of E5.[2] Additionally, the song is set in common time and has a tempo of 124 beats per minute.[2] According to the website, the song takes in influences of club music, along with dance-pop, eurodance, europop and pop rock music.[2] Lyrically, the song talks about someone who stands out, with the title referring them as "Wow". In the United Kingdom, the song's composition differs a lot, where it is edited.[3]

Reception

Critical response

The image of a young blond woman. She is wearing a black coat. Her hair is short, straight and parted from the left to the right. She has bright red lips and appears to be speaking to someone on her left while looking down.
"Wow" was compared to Madonna's (pictured) 1983 single "Holiday"

"Wow" received mixed to positive reviews from contemporary music critics. The Boston Globe had compared "Wow" with American singer Madonna's 1983 single "Holiday", but added ""Wow" is "Holiday" on studio steroids".[4] Kelefa Sanneh from The New York Times had said that "Wow"; "updates 80s-era Madonna".[5] Evan Sawdey MusicOMH gave it a very positive review, as he compared the songs to Minogue's previous songs "Shocked", "Too Far", "Come into My World" and "The Loco-Motion", saying in his extended review; "it’s jam-packed with peppy melody, built around a simple, addictive piano melody that is soon shot into the pop stratosphere." He also said that the song is a "great track".[6] Dave Hughes from Slant Magazine gave it a positive review, saying ""Wow" is a pretty great summation of the commercially successful aspects of Minogue's career to date—a hyperactive juvenile disco track full of fun, big-budget whooshes and drops, something utterly disposable that she sells without shame." They also highlighted the song as an album standout.[7]

However, Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy wrote that "Wow" "doesn't have the 'oomph' factor to make us fall for her like we have in the past", but the song's "disco swirls and whooshing synths are great fun".[8] In a review for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis called the song "fantastic" and compared it to Minogue's songs with Stock, Aitken and Waterman.[9] Pitchfork Media reviewer Tom Ewing wrote that the song's "excitement is infectious" even though its "funked-up electro sexiness may feel contrived".[10]

Chart performance

"Wow" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number thirty-two on 24 December 2007, based solely on digital download sales.[11] Ten weeks later, the song reached number five. In February 2008, the song topped the UK Upfront Club Chart.[12] This eventually became Minogue's best selling single in the UK since 2002's "Love at First Sight" selling over 180,000 copies. The song was also very successful in France, where the song debuted at number fifteen, then descended to ninety-eighth. The song then re-entered to peak at number eighty-eight, but stayed in the French Singles Chart for twenty-two weeks in total. The song had also European chart peaks, where it peaked at number thirty-three on the Austrian Singles Chart and number fifty-one on the Swiss Singles Chart,

In Minogue's native Australia, The song debuted at number eleven where it peaked, and remained on the singles chart for eight weeks.[13] It debuted at number thirty-four on the Swedish Singles Chart, until rising to number thirty-two, where it peaked, and stayed in the charts for five weeks. In the Romanian Singles Chart, the song debuted at number 63 in February,[14] finally peaking at number 42 in June,[15] becoming her first song ever to miss the top 20. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number seventeen on 24 February 2008. Following radio airplay, it later rose to number sixteen on 9 March 2008.[16]

In North American, the song was released to American dance radio-stations and became a moderate success when it debuted within the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, eventually peaking at number nineteen. The song also peaked at number twenty-five on the U.S. Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay, and managed to peak on competent charts, having peaked at number sixteen and seventeen on the Euro Digital Tracks and Euro Digital Songs.[17]

Music video

Two versions of the music video was released. The music video for "Wow" was directed by Melina Matsoukas and filmed in Los Angeles, California along with the video for "In My Arms" in early January 2008.[18] The video features Minogue in dancing in a futuristic nightclub surrounded by dancers in alien outfits. The video begins with Minogue's silhouette dancing against a lighted background. She is then shown in a white tracksuit surrounded by a group of dancers. Scenes of Minogue and her dancers dancing in front of a lighted background are intercut throughout the video.

PerezHilton.com hosted the world premiere the music video on 29 January 2008.[19] It was scheduled to premiere on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 30 January 2008, but was postponed.[20] Media regulator Ofcom removed the video after they found it did not follow viewer guidelines due to the use of strobe lighting. The video was re-edited and broadcast in the United Kingdom the following week. In the video appears Dani Artaud (also known as DaniGORE), from the band Millionaires, as an extra.

The video is Minogue's 2nd highest viewed on YouTube, with views of 36,238,185 as of 24 August 2009.[21]

Live performances and other media

Since its release, Wow has been performed at all of Minogue's tours except the Anti Tour. The song premiered in 2008, in the KylieX2008 tour. This was featured in the second act entitled Cheer Squad where Minogue and the dancers emerged on the stage dressed as an American cheer squad. The song was performed following a performance of Heart Beat Rock. Minogue wore a blue leotard paired with white hot pants and heels. The outfit changed a lot throughout the tour, starting with the blue version, then a pink version of the same outfit, then changed to an outfit similar to the male dancers. In 2009, the song was performed as part of Minogue's For You, For Me Tour. It was performed as the last song in the fourth act following a dance interlude of Heart Beat Rock. This act was dubbed as the Heart Beat Rock Segue. Minogue later performed the song on her world tour (Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour) in 2011. The song was performed as the third song of the first act. It was performed on all legs of the tour and in some performances in 2012-2014 until Minogue's BBC Maida Vale performance. The song begins with the opening of the Death Metal Disco Scene Mix before the original plays and remains until the end. More recently, the song was performed on Minogue's Kiss Me Once Tour. It was performed as the fifth song in the first act following performances of "Les Sex", "In My Arms", "Timebomb" and "Sexy Love". It was a more rock oriented version beginning with guitars instead of pianos and having a stronger bass and drum beat.

The song was also performed on:

The song was also featured in Beverly Hills Chihuahua and its soundtrack.[23] In addition, it was in heavy rotation for ABC's primetime television lineup advertising. Additionally, the song was used in the series finale montage of the American TV Show So You Think You Can Dance "Wow" was also used as background music in a few commercials for ABC's Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters in April 2008. In the Philippines, the song's instrumental is used for the title card of daily music countdown show MYX Daily Top 10 starting May 2013.

Formats and track listings

  • Australian CD maxi single / UK CD maxi single
  1. "Wow" — 3:13
  2. "Do It Again" — 3:21
  3. "Carried Away" — 3:14
  4. "Wow" (Death Metal Disco Scene Mix) — 6:27
  • European CD single
  1. "Wow" — 3:16
  2. "Can't Get You Out of My Head" (Greg Kurstin Remix) — 4:05
  • European CD maxi single
  1. "Wow" — 3:16
  2. "Wow" (Death Metal Disco Scene Mix) — 6:29
  3. "Wow" (C.S.S. Mix) — 3:17
  4. "Wow" (Video)
  • UK CD single
  1. "Wow" — 3:10
  2. "Cherry Bomb" — 4:16
  • UK 12" picture disc
  1. "Wow" — 3:10
  2. "Wow" (CSS Remix) — 3:14
  3. "Wow" (F*** Me I'm Famous Remix by David Guetta & Joachim Garraud) — 6:22
  4. "Wow" (MSTRKRFT Remix) — 4:45
  • Digital download
  1. "Wow" (Edit) — 3:13
  2. "2 Hearts" (Mark Brown’s Pacha Ibiza Upper Terrace Mix) — 7:01
  3. "Wow" (Video) — 3:11
  • Digital download (EP)
  1. "Wow" (Edit) — 3:09
  2. "Do It Again" — 3:21
  3. "Carried Away" — 3:14
  4. "Cherry Bomb" — 4:15
  • Digital download (Remixes)
  1. "Wow" (Edit) — 3:09
  2. "Wow" (CSS Remix) — 3:12
  3. "Wow" (MSTRKRFT Remix) — 4:46
  4. "Wow" (F*** Me I'm Famous Remix by David Guetta + Joachim Garraud) — 6:22
  5. "Wow" (Death Metal Disco Scene Mix) — 6:27

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2007–08) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[24] 11
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[25] 72
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[26] 37
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[27] 2
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[28] 2
Denmark Airplay (Tracklisten)[29] 20
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[30] 8
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[31] 29
France (SNEP)[32] 15
Germany (Official German Charts)[33] 41
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[34] 19
Ireland (IRMA)[35] 10
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[36] 36
New Zealand Airplay (RIANZ)[16] 16
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[37] 2
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[38] 19
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[39] 32
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 51
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[41] 5
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[42] 19
US Hot Dance Airplay (Billboard)[43] 25

Year-end charts

Year Country Position
2008 UK Singles Chart[44] 64
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles[45] 100

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[46] Silver 200,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Personnel

The following people contributed to "Wow":[47]

Release history

Country Date Format Label Ref.
Australia 15 February 2008 CD maxi single Parlophone [48]
United Kingdom 17 February 2008 Digital download [49]
Digital download (EP) [50]
Digital download (Remixes) [51]
18 February 2008 CD single [52]
CD maxi single [53]
12" picture disc [54]
France 2 June 2008 Digital download [55]
Germany 4 July 2008 EMI [56]
CD maxi single [57]
United States 28 July 2009 Digital download (EP)
[58]

References

  1. ↑ McCabe, Kathy. "Wow! Kylie's online fanbase". The Daily Telegraph. 12 January 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Musicnotes.com: Unsupported Browser or Operating System". musicnotes.com.
  3. ↑ Kylie Minogue - Wow itunes.com.
  4. ↑ "Back at it, Kylie mines gold from glitter". boston.com.
  5. ↑ "Jordin Sparks, Amy Winehouse, Loren Stillman, Kylie Minogue, Gram Parsons, Flying Burrito Bros - Music - Review - New York Times". nytimes.com.
  6. ↑ "Kylie Minogue". PopMatters.
  7. ↑ Dave Hughes (18 February 2008). "Kylie Minogue: X - Album Review - Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine.
  8. ↑ Fletcher, Alex. "Kylie Minogue: 'Wow'". Digital Spy. 18 February 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  9. ↑ Petridis, Alexis. "Kylie Minogue, X". The Guardian. 23 November 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  10. ↑ Ewing, Tom. "Kylie Minogue, X [Parlophone/Capitol; 2007]". Pitchfork Media. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  11. ↑ "UK Singles Top 75 (Monday 24 December 2007)". aCharts.us. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  12. ↑ "'Wow' Tops The Club Charts". Kylie.com. 7 February 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  13. ↑ australian-charts.com - Kylie Minogue - Wow
  14. ↑ Romanian Singles Chart
  15. ↑ "Romanian Top 100" Please see "Issue 23" of the year 2008
  16. 1 2 9 March 2008 - RadioScope New Zealand at the Wayback Machine (archived 25 May 2010). Archive from the original on 9 March 2008.
  17. ↑ Wow - Kylie Minogue | Billboard
  18. ↑ Adams, Cameron. "Kylie Minogue keeps mum on tour plans". Herald Sun. 15 January 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  19. ↑ "Perez Hilton to World Premiere "Wow" Video on evening of 29 January 2008". PerezHilton.com. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  20. ↑ "Video Exclusive on Channel 4 at 11:05pm 30 January 2008". UK-TV-Guide.com. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  21. ↑ Video on YouTube
  22. ↑ Levine, Nick. "Kylie to appear on 'X Factor' final". Digital Spy. 12 December 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  23. ↑ Beverly Hills Chihuahua soundtrack IMDb. Retrieved 2011-01-19
  24. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Kylie Minogue – Wow". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  25. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Kylie Minogue – Wow" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  26. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Kylie Minogue – Wow" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  27. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Kylie Minogue – Wow" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  28. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Kylie Minogue – Wow" (in French). Ultratip.
  29. ↑ "Kylie Minogue – Wow Hitlisten.nu" (in Danish). Tracklisten.
  30. ↑ "Kylie Minogue – Chart history" European Hot 100 for Kylie Minogue.
  31. ↑ "Kylie Minogue: Wow" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  32. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Kylie Minogue – Wow" (in French). Les classement single.
  33. ↑ "Musicline.de – Minogue,Kylie Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  34. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  35. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 8, 2008". Irish Singles Chart.
  36. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Minogue,Kylie – Wow" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  37. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2008-03-01". Scottish Singles Top 40.
  38. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200823 into search.
  39. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Kylie Minogue – Wow". Singles Top 100.
  40. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Kylie Minogue – Wow". Swiss Singles Chart.
  41. ↑ "Kylie Minogue: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
  42. ↑ "Kylie Minogue – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Kylie Minogue.
  43. ↑ "Chart Highlights: Pop, Dance Club Songs & More". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2008-03-29. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  44. ↑ "Year-end UK Singles and Album Chart" (PDF). UK Singles Chart. UKChartsPlus. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  45. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". MusiCharts.net. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  46. ↑ "British single certifications – Kylie Minogue – Wow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 10, 2015. Enter Wow in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  47. ↑ X (CD liner notes). Parlophone. November 2007.
  48. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20080113212431/http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23039320-5001026,00.html
  49. ↑ https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003XHUBTM
  50. ↑ https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001KPWVVU
  51. ↑ https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001KO9U3I
  52. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wow-CD1-Kylie-Minogue/dp/B0012RGN06
  53. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wow-CD2-Kylie-Minogue/dp/B0012RGN0G
  54. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wow-VINYL-Kylie-Minogue/dp/B0012Q3VMA
  55. ↑ http://www.amazon.fr/Wow-Kylie-Minogue/dp/B002A7RWIO
  56. ↑ https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B002YBABL6
  57. ↑ http://www.amazon.de/Wow-Minogue-Kylie/dp/B0018O5PH0
  58. ↑ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FTCVFQ
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