Kylie's best "Should have been a single" moments

Kylie is touring North America currently and I will be off to see the Aussie pop goddess this Friday in Atlanta. It's always fun to speculate about the set list and when you think about Kylie songs you can't help but think that some of her best songs were never released or were relegated to b-sides or unreleased status. I've asked people from a few other blogs to write about their fave best Kylie "should have been a single" moments as well as my own.











Jump (Possibly, Amazing)
"Tightrope" from "fever Aussie edition" (2001) & B-side "love at first sight" UK

When Kylie unleashed her "fever" the track "tightrope" started out as an Aussie bonus track but proved so popular that she later released it in the UK as a b-side.What was so great that fans worldwide were frothing rabid racoons for the track? Well, everything."Tightrope" is the kind of pop that Kylie does so well. The track was of course dance-pop with a nod to Ibiza complete jangly tambourine, moody synths and a melody dipped in melancholy. Kylie sings the chorus "I'm in so deep, can't eat, can't sleep-I'm high upon a tightrope" with a sense that she is completely distraught and uncertain. The middle eight proves to be the best part where the music suddenly gets quiet and puts Kylie's vocal front and center quietly declaring "no more time should pass us by" before ending with the chorus. It's all spine tingly amazingness.

I really can't find too much fault with the Fever era singles but I always felt like "tightrope" would have made an amazing 5th single had it not been a bonus track or b-side. One of Kylie's best moments.



Jason (Olga Loves Yuri)
“White Diamond” from "Showgirl live" (2006) & "X" UK version (2008)

Let’s take a step back (in time), before the release of X, Kylie Minogue’s 10th studio album. Kylie had battled breast cancer and emerged victorious. Resuming the tour that her diagnosis delayed, Kylie recorded a live album, Showgirl Homecoming Live, in her native Australia. This album (taken from a performance in Sydney) contained a brilliant track written for Kylie by the Scissor Sisters. Of course, Kylie fans will know that I am talking about “White Diamond.” What we heard on Showgirl was an electropop/dance track that hinted at the direction of new Kylie material. However, fans waited and waited for a studio version of the live track, and yet, it never materialized. Instead, promotion for new album X propelled forward, and “2 Hearts” was chosen as the lead single, while a ballad version of “White Diamond” was relegated to “bonus track” status on the UK version of the album. Granted, the ballad version is gorgeous and became the staple of the Kylie-mentary White Diamond, but it was never released. And it should have been. I can’t think of a more appropriate transition from the horrors of breast cancer to the success and victory of remission than “White Diamond.” Kylie sings, “Like a pure white diamond / I’ll shine on and on and on and on.” Whether you prefer the electro or ballad version, this fantastic “single that never was” is an opportunity that was absolutely missed.



D'luv (Chartrigger)
“Things Can Only Get Better” from Rhythm Of Love (1990)

I’m going pretty old-school here. Kylie went through her phase of “That right, I’m tellin’ you how the world is–so sit your ass down and listen, chylde!” songs early on, a la “Enjoy Yourself” and this funky house jam. The lyrics are pretty trite (“If you’re feeling you’re lost and lonely and feel so afraid, remember things can only get better!”), but I think the driving pace, urgent melody and that cheeseball guitar solo combine for what’s ultimately a potent dance-pop cocktail. And thank Christ for the “Original 12” Mix” on Greatest Remix Hits Vol. 4!