"Especially For You" is a song performed by Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, from Donovan's debut album Ten Good Reasons (1989). The single was released on 28 November 1988 and was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. The song was also included on the American edition of Kylie's second studio album Enjoy Yourself (1989).
"Especially For You" received many positive reviews from older and contemporary critics, who deemed it one of the strongest of each singer's album, but also dubbed the song a classic. The song had commercial success, reaching number one in the UK, Ireland, Greece and Belgium and peaking inside the Top 5 in countries including Australia, New Zealand, France, Finland and Switzerland. In 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 20th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.
Kylie also performed this song as a duet with Kermit the Frog on the show An Audience With... Kylie Minogue in 2001.
Background[]
Kylie and Jason both appeared on the Australian TV series Neighbours but before they recorded the song, both left the series to concentrate on a music career. Kylie released the album Kylie, while Donovan was working on his studio album Ten Good Reasons. Both singers' production company Stock, Aitken & Waterman wrote a song for the singers so they could sing a duet on the track. The song was released as a single on 28 November 1988 but later was included on the American version of Kylie's second album, Enjoy Yourself.
Years after the single was released, the song was included on various compilations released by the singers:
Kylie Minogue's compilations
· Greatest Hits (1992)
· Greatest Hits: 87-97 (2003)
· Greatest Hits 87–99 (2003)
· Ultimate Kylie (2004)
· K25 Time Capsule (2012)
· Step Back in Time: The Definitive Collection (2019)
Jason Donovan's compilations
· Greatest Hits (1991)
· Greatest Hits (2006)
In July 2012, Kylie and Jason performed the song at the Hit Factory Live concert, their first performance together since 1989.
Live performances[]
| Tour | Dates | Performances |
|---|
| Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour | 19 March―7 May, 2005 (All dates) | 38 |
| Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour | 11 November, 2006―12 January, 2007 18―23 January, 2007 |
33 |
| Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour | 15 June, 2011 5 July, 2011 |
2 |
| Kiss Me Once Tour | 24 September, 2014 29 September, 2014 |
2 |
| A Kylie Christmas | 11 December, 2015―10 December, 2016 (All dates) | 3 |
| Golden Tour | 18 September, 2018―17 March, 2019 (All dates) | 33 |
| Kylie Summer 2019 | 20 June―6 December, 2019 | 16 |
| Tension Tour | 20 May, 2025 | 1 |
| Total: | 128 |
Notes[]
Kylie first performed the song during her episode of An Audience With... Kylie Minogue in 2001, where she sang a duet with Kermit the Frog. The song then appeared in the encore of Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour, a retrospective of Kylie's career; this tour was cancelled due to Kylie's breast cancer diagnosis, and was renamed Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour in 2006/07, where a new set list was introduced; "Especially For You" again appeared in the encore. The song was then performed during the encore of the Christmas shows in both 2015 and 2016, and was also performed during Kylie's headline set at Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park in 2018, where Jason Donovan joined her onstage. The song was then included on the Golden Tour; the song was also included in the set list for her 2019 Summer shows.
Lyrics[]
Especially for you
I wanna let you know what I was going through
All the time we were apart I thought of you
You were in my heart, my love never changed
I still feel the same
Especially for you
I wanna tell you I was feeling that way too
And if dreams were wings, you know
I would have flown to you
To be where you are, no matter how far
And now that I'm next to you
No more dreaming about tomorrow
Forget the loneliness and the sorrow
I've gotta say it's all because of you
And now we're back together, together
I wanna show you my heart is oh so true
And all the love I have is especially for you
Especially for you
I wanna tell you, you mean all the world to me
How I'm certain that our love was meant to be
You changed my life, you showed me the way
And now that I'm next to you
I've waited long enough to find you
I wanna put all the hurt behind you
Oh, and I wanna bring out all the love inside you, oh
And now we're back together, together
I wanna show you my heart is oh so true
And all the love I have is especially for you
You were in my heart, my love never changed
No more dreaming about tomorrow
Forget the loneliness and the sorrow
I've gotta say, it's all because of you
And now we're back together, together
I wanna show you my heart is oh so true
And all the love I have is especially for you
Together, together
I wanna show you my heart is oh so true
And all the love I have is especially for you
Together, together
I wanna show you my heart is oh so true
And all the love I have is especially for you
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