Aphrodite (album)

Aphrodite

11th studio album

Aphrodite is the eleventh studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue; it was released on June 30, 2010

Aphrodite
Studio album by Kylie Minogue
Released	30 June 2010
Genre	{{flatlist Dance-pop disco}}
Length	43:21
Label	Parlophone
Producer(s)	{{flatlist Andy Chatterley Cutfather Daniel Davidsen Jim Eliot Børge Fjordheim Pascal Gabriel Calvin Harris Sebastian Ingrosso Magnus Lidehäll Nerina Pallot Stuart Price Lucas Secon Damon Sharpe Fraser T Smith Starsmith Peter Wallevik Xenomania}}
Kylie Minogue albums chronology
(2007)	(2010)	(2014)
Singles from Aphrodite
1.	28 June 2010
2.	27 September 2010
3.	3 December 2010
4.	29 May 2011

"Aphrodite" is the eleventh studio album by Kylie Minogue. It was released on the 30 June 2010 under Parlophone. Recording began in 2009 when Kylie met with Nerina Pallot, but the sessions became unproductive; she then began working with British electronic music producer Stuart Price, who became the executive producer of the album. The two collaborated with various producers and writers on the album, including Jake Shears, Calvin Harris, Sebastien Ingrosso and Pascal Gabriel.

Upon its release, Aphrodite was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, many saying it was a return to form for Kylie. However, critics were divided on its production; many felt Price's production helped make the album cohesive, while some felt it made the album sound too similar to Kylie's previous work.

Commercially, Aphrodite was a success. In Australia, it peaked at number two on the Australian Albums chart, and was later certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number one on the UK Albums chart, a feat accomplished by Kylie's debut studio album Kylie (1988) during the same week 22 years earlier. Aphrodite was Kylie's fourth studio album to peak atop the UK albums chart and made her the first solo artist to have a number one album in four different decades in the region, achieving this in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. She also became a Guinness World Record-holder for achieving the most consecutive decades with top five albums in the United Kingdom. The British Phonographic Industry certified Aphrodite platinum. The album also achieved strong charting internationally, reaching the top-five in countries like Belgium, France, Greece, Spain and Switzerland. It became Kylie's second highest-charting album in the United States by peaking at number 19 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Four singles were released from Aphrodite. The lead single, "All the Lovers" was released on 28 June 2010, and was a commercial success, peaking at number three in the UK and reaching the top ten in numerous countries like France, Italy, Scotland and Spain. In Australia, it narrowly missed the top ten by peaking at number 13 on the singles chart. "Get Outta My Way" was released as the second single and reached the top 20 in the United Kingdom, but underperformed in Australia after failing to peak inside the top 50. Similarly, the third single "Better than Today" missed the top 50 in Australia, and additionally missed the top 20 in the United Kingdom. In response to their poor chart performances, Kylie stated that no further singles would be released. Despite this statement, "Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)" was released as the fourth and final single from Aphrodite, as a way to celebrate the reaction it received on tour, and peaked at number 50 in Australia. In the United States, all four singles released from the album peaked atop the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. To further promote the album, Minogue embarked on the successful Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour in 2011.

Background

Kylie released her tenth studio album X in 2007. Slated to be released as her comeback album, X went platinum in her native country Australia after it debuted at number one on the Australian Albums chart. In the United Kingdom, the album entered and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart and was eventually certified platinum. Critical reception towards X was generally favourable, although many critics felt that it lacked introspection from Kylie's side due to its lack of consistency and high amount of "filler" tracks. In retrospect, critics argued that the album did not serve as a worthy comeback for Kylie.

Soon she began working on her Aphrodite. Recording sessions began in April 2009 when Kylie met with British singer-songwriter Nerina Pallot, with whom she readied the track "Better Than Today". These sessions proved to be less successful, as her suggested songs were "rapidly supplemented with tracks from a wide range" of contributors. Kylie felt her sessions with Pallot did not yield any dance-pop tracks; fearing that she was "going down the same road, doing the rounds of all the pop dynamos but lacking any cohesive quality," she approached her close friend Jake Shears, male lead singer of American pop group Scissor Sisters, for advice. Shears encouraged her to work with Stuart Price, a Grammy award-winning British electronic music producer who had collaborated with Scissor Sisters on their third studio album Night Work (2010). Miles Leonard, chairman of Parlophone, enlisted Price as the executive producer of the album. He had previously served as the executive producer of Madonna's tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)

Promotion

Singles

"All the Lovers" was released as the lead single from Aphrodite on June 30, 2010; Kylie stated that she chose "All the Lovers" as the lead single because "it sums up the euphoria of the album perfectly". The song performed well commercially, peaking at number three on the UK singles charts and being later certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 200,000 units. The song performed well in Europe, peaking inside the top ten in France, Italy (where it was certified gold), Scotland and Spain. In Australia, "All the Lovers" narrowly missed the top ten, peaking at number thirteen; it was later certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 35,000 units. In the United States, the song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

"Get Outta My Way" was released as the second single, on 27 September 2010. While it was moderately successful in the United Kingdom, and reached number 14 on the UK Singles chart, it was a commercial disappointment in Australia and only managed to peak at number 69 on the singles chart. In the United States, the song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

"Better Than Today" was released as the third single from the album, on 3 December 2010. Although critics were generally favourable towards the song as a track on the album, some dismissed its release as a single due to its overly sweet-sounding composition. The single was less successful than "All the Lovers" and "Get Outta My Way". It peaked at number 55 on the Australian singles chart, and thus became the second single release from Aphrodite to miss charting inside the top 50. In the United Kingdom, it missed charting inside the top 20 by peaking at number 32 on the UK singles chart. In the United States, the song became the third consecutive single release from the album to peak at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. An old school arcade game-inspired music video was directed for the song by Kylie and her stylist William Baker.

Following the poor chart performance of "Get Outta My Way" and "Better Than Today", Kylie expressed her disappointment in Parlophone, saying:

“ "It's confusing. I felt a little let down with my releases from Aphrodite. I was caught out like a lot of artists were, with record companies figuring out how to do single releases these days. I remember doing a promo for one of the last singles and it just felt really old-fashioned. I'm pretty computer-savvy, something didn't feel right, but no one said anything to me. You get Britney releasing "Hold It Against Me" and Gaga's "Born This Way" available on iTunes the day you hear it first. That's how it should be. And there's me waiting for a mid-week chart figure like it's 1989." ”

Although Kylie mentioned that "Better Than Today" would be the last single to be released from Aphrodite, "Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)" was released as the fourth and final single from the album, on 29 May 2011. The single managed to reach the top 50 in Australia, peaking at number 50 on the singles chart. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, thus becoming the fourth single from Aphrodite to peak atop the chart. No official music video for the single was commissioned, although a lyric video for a remixed version of the song by Pete Hammond was released.

Tour

Main article: Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour

To promote Aphrodite, Kylie embarked on the Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour, beginning in early 2011. The tour was staged by the creative team behind Disneyland Resort's World of Color show, and the budget of the tour was reported to be around $25 million. Concert shows were held at Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and Africa. Kylie's costumes and wardrobe was designed by her frequent collaborators Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, owners of the Italian luxury industry fashion house Dolce and Gabbana. The concert shows were spectacles "loosely based around Greek mythology". The entire tracklist of the album, excluding only the song "Too Much", was included in the setlist of the tour; other songs were taken from Kylie's previous studio albums, such as Light Years (2000) and Fever (2001). The tour was a commercial success, and ranked at number 21 on Pollstar's year-end "Top 25 Worldwide Tours" list, with a total gross of $52.8 million and ticket sales of 527,683 units. A live album of the concert show held at the O2 Arena in London, was released as Aphrodite Les Folies: Live in London, on 7 June 2011.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"All the Lovers"	Jim Eliot Mima Stilwell	Eliot Stuart Price	3:20
2.	"Get Outta My Way"	Damon Sharpe Daniel Davidsen Lucas Secon Mich Hansen Peter Wallevik	Cutfather Davidsen Wallevik Price Secon Sharpe	3:38
3.	"Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)"	Fin Dow-Smith Miriam Nervo Olivia Nervo	Starsmith Price	3:37
4.	"Closer"	Beatrice Hatherley Price	Price	3:09
5.	"Everything Is Beautiful"	Tim Rice-Oxley Fraser T Smith	Smith	3:25
6.	"Aphrodite"	Nerina Pallot Andy Chatterley	Chatterley Pallot Price	3:45
7.	"Illusion"	Kylie Minogue Price	Price	3:21
8.	"Better Than Today"	Pallot Chatterley	Chatterley Pallot Price	3:25
9.	"Too Much"	Minogue Calvin Harris Jake Shears	Harris	3:16
10.	"Cupid Boy"	Luciana Caporaso Magnus Lidehäll Nick Clow Sebastian Ingrosso	Ingrosso Lidehäll Price	4:26
11.	"Looking For An Angel"		Price	3:49
12.	"Can't Beat the Feeling"	Borge Fjordheim Hannah Robinson Matt Prime Pascal Gabriel Richard X	Fjordheim Gabriel Price	4:09
Total length:				43:21

Japan bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Heartstrings"	Brian Higgins Gerard O'Connell Jason Resch Jaxon Bellina Kieran Jones Matt Gray Miranda Cooper	Xenomania	3:16
Total length:				46:37

iTunes Deluxe Edition bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Mighty Rivers"	Bellina Carla Marie Williams Cooper Higgins O'Connell Resch Tim Deal	Xenomania	3:57
Total length:				47:18

Amazon MP3 and BigPond bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Go Hard or Go Home"	Davidsen Hansen Secon Sharpe Thomas Sardorf	Cutfather Sardorf Davidsen Sharpe Secon	3:42
Total length:				47:03

Experience Edition DVD bonuses

No.	Title	Length
1.	"White Diamond Theme" (Live from For You, For Me Tour)	2:16
2.	"White Diamond" (Live from For You, For Me Tour)	3:06
3.	"Confide in Me" (Live from For You, For Me Tour)	4:51
4.	"I Believe in You" (Live from For You, For Me Tour)	2:59
5.	"Making of "All the Lovers" video shoot"	13:00
6.	"Behind the scenes of Aphrodite photo shoot"	2:32
7.	"Photo Gallery"	3:49
8.	"Exclusive interview with Kylie Minogue and Stuart Price" (Accessed online with code from collectable sticker)	39:36
Total length:		1:55:27

Les Folies Tour Edition

On 28 June 2011, a three-disc remix collection of Aphrodite, subtitled the Les Folies Tour Edition, was released. It contains remixes of the original songs by various producers such as Pete Hammond, Denzal Park, Muscles, and Bimbo Jones.

Disc 1
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"All the Lovers"	Jim Eliot Mima Stilwell	Eliot Stuart Price	3:20
2.	"Get Outta My Way"	Damon Sharpe Daniel Davidsen Lucas Secon Mich Hansen Peter Wallevik	Cutfather Davidsen Wallevik Price Secon Sharpe	3:38
3.	"Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)"	Fin Dow-Smith Miriam Nervo Olivia Nervo	Starsmith Price	3:37
4.	"Closer"	Beatrice Hatherley Price	Price	3:09
5.	"Everything Is Beautiful"	Tim Rice-Oxley Fraser T Smith	Smith	3:25
6.	"Aphrodite"	Nerina Pallot Andy Chatterley	Chatterley Pallot Price	3:45
7.	"Illusion"	Kylie Minogue Price	Price	3:21
8.	"Better Than Today"	Pallot Chatterley	Chatterley Pallot Price	3:25
9.	"Too Much"	Minogue Calvin Harris Jake Shears	Harris	3:16
10.	"Cupid Boy"	Luciana Caporaso Magnus Lidehäll Nick Clow Sebastian Ingrosso	Ingrosso Lidehäll Price	4:26
11.	"Looking for an Angel"	Minogue Price	Price	3:49
12.	"Can't Beat the Feeling"	Borge Fjordheim Hannah Robinson Matt Prime Pascal Gabriel Richard X	Fjordheim Gabriel Price	4:09

Disc 2

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)" (Pete Hammond remix)	7:54
2.	"Aphrodite" (Denzal Park remix)	6:21
3.	"Cupid Boy" (Stereogamous Dub)	7:00
4.	"Get Outta My Way" (Paul Harris Vocal remix)	7:15
5.	"All the Lovers" (WAWA & MMB Anthem remix)	6:16
6.	"Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)" (Muscles Club remix)	5:06
7.	"Better than Today" (Bimbo Jones remix)	3:07
8.	"Higher" (Taio Cruz featuring Kylie Minogue)	3:25

Disc 3

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"20 Minute Party remix"	Denzal Park	19:51

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer

Discography  · Videography  · Live in London  · North American Tour  · Hits  · Performances  · Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour  · Gallery "All the Lovers" "Get Outta My Way" "Put Your Hands Up" "Closer" "Everything Is Beautiful" "Aphrodite" "Illusion" "Better Than Today" "Too Much" "Cupid Boy" "Looking For An Angel" "Can't Beat the Feeling" "Mighty Rivers" "Heartstrings" "Go Hard or Go Home"