Three Aussie Divas - Past, Present & Future

I feel like it's Christmas! After a veritable drought, new Dannii projects are sprouting up everywhere. Could 2007 finally be Holidannii's year? With any luck the rest of the world will finally realise what we have always known - that Dannii is not only the greatest dancer but the world's greatest living entertainer! The next few months promise a smorgasbord of Dannii activity. Firstly, there is her highly publicised role on "X Factor" and confirmation that channel 7 executives are willing to postpone the second series of "Australia's Got Talent" for six months just to ensure they snare Dannii's services. It seems that Dannii's old record companies are already bracing for Dannii-mania with 2 Disc re-releases of "Girl" and "Neon Nights" announced yesterday. I'll believe it when I'm holding copies in my hand but the tracklists are enough to get me salivating:

DANNII MINOGUE
‘Girl’
DELUXE EDITION

COMPACT DISC ONE

01. All I Wanna Do
02. Heaven Can Wait (Album Version)
03. So In Love With Yourself
04. Am I Dreaming?
05. Everybody Changes Underwater
06. Everything I Wanted (Album Version)
07. It It Moves – Dub It
08. Disremembrance (Album Version)
09. It’s Amazing
10. Movin’ Up (Extended Mix) - UNRELEASED
11. Keep Up With The Good Times - UNRELEASED
12. Someone New (Radio Edit) - UNRELEASED
13. Coconut
14. All I Wanna Do (Trouser Enthusiasts Radio Edit) - UNRELEASED
15. Everything I Wanted (Xenomania Radio Edit)
16. Disremembrance (Trouser Enthusiasts Radio Edit) - UNRELEASED ON CD

COMPACT DISC TWO

01. All I Wanna Do (12” Extended Mix)
02. Everything I Wanted (Xenomania 12” Club Mix)
03. Heaven Can Wait (Trouser Enthusiasts Cloud Nine Mix) - UNRELEASED IN UK
04. Disremembrance (Full Orchestral 12” Mix) - UNRELEASED
05. All I Wanna Do (Qattara’s Club Mix)
06. Everything I Wanted (Jupiter 6 Soul Surround Mix)
07. Disremembrance (Twyce As Nyce 1:40AM Club Mix) - UNRELEASED
08. Movin’ Up (Getting Harder Mix) - UNRELEASED
09. Keep Up With The Good Times (Xenomania 12” Mix) - UNRELEASED
10. All I Wanna Do (Tiny Tim & The Mekon Dream Dub) - UNRELEASED ON CD


DANNII MINOGUE
‘Neon Nights’
DELUXE EDITION

COMPACT DISC ONE

01. Put The Needle On It
02. Creep
03. I Begin To Wonder (Album Version)
04. Hey! (So What)
05. For The Record
06. Mighty Fine
07. On The Loop
08. Push
09. Mystified
10. Don’t Wanna Lose This Feeling (Album Version)
11. Vibe On
12. A Piece Of Time
13. Who Do You Love Now? (Radio Edit)
14. Come And Get It (Radio Version) - UNRELEASED
15. Nervous
16. Just Can’t Give You Up - UNRELEASED
17. Hide And Seek
18. Don’t Wanna Lose This Groove (Radio Edit)
19. Est-Ce Que Tu M’Aimes Encore? - UNRELEASED OUTSIDE FRANCE
20. Goodbye Song
21. It Won’t Work Out (Acoustic Version) - UNRELEASED

COMPACT DISC TWO

01. Don’t Wanna Lose This Groove – Extended Version (DANNII VS MADONNA)
02. Begin To Spin Me Round – Extended Version (DANNII VS DEAD OR ALIVE)
03. Who Do You Love Now? – Riva’s Bora Bora Club Mix - UNRELEASED OUTSIDE NETHERLANDS
04. Put The Needle On It – Jason Nevins Freak Club Creation Mix - UNRELEASED IN FULL
05. Hide And Seek – Thriller Jill Original Extended Mix - UNRELEASED
06. Come And Get It – Jerome Isma-Ae Remix - UNRELEASED
07. Put The Needle On It – Tiga’s Cookies Dub
08. Creep – Jon Dixon Club Mix - UNRELEASED
09. I Begin To Wonder – Almighty Transensual Club Mix - UNRELEASED
10. Put The Needle On It – Cicada Vocal Mix
11. Come And Get It – Sharam Jey Remix - UNRELEASED
12. Don’t Wanna Lose This Feeling – Jupiter Ace Speared Thru The Heart Mix - UNRELEASED

It just seems too good to be true. The idea of an Almighty Transensual Club Mix of "I Begin To Wonder" is almost too fabulous for me to stand! However, the Dannii explosion doesn't end there by any means. Warners are also rumoured to be on the verge of announcing the release of two Holidannii compilations. That makes four scheduled albums this year! I'd be more than satisfied if Warners just hurry up and release the much delayed "Platinum Collection". Never one to rest on her laurels, Dannii has also been up to her old tricks of wearing very little clothing by modelling for Next lingerie! As you can see, Dannii looks truly spectacular! Kylie must be so jealous by her younger sister's amazing figure. In this hilarious interview (which waxes lyrical about Dannii's "strong Australian teeth") Dannii confirms that she's packing 32DDs! Check out Dannii's sexy photo shoot on Next's website. All we need now is some new music and another lesbian scandal!

While I'm still riding my Dannii high, I thought it would be fun to shine a light on two other fabulous Australian divas - one from the past and one who promises great things in the future. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about Roxane Lebrasse, an ex-Australian Idol contestant who had the bad luck of recording a pseudo-cover of Salt 'N' Pepa's "Push It" at exactly the same time as Sophie Monk and appeared to have lost her record deal as a result. Well, common sense has prevailed and Roxane's fabulous anthem "Sexy" is scheduled for release tomorrow. I absolutely love the song but I'm even more enamoured by the film clip. This has to be the trashiest Australian video since Marcia & Deni took blue screen technology to a stunning new low in their amazing "Stomp" extravaganza. I live for this kind of shit - cheap effects, bad dancing and weirdos wearing pig masks! Take pity on this tragic fledgling diva by downloading "Sexy" from iTunes or purchasing a copy from Chaos or Sanity. If the remixes are any good, I'll post one next week. In the meantime, brace yourself for Roxane's stunning video:

Roxane should have many years of hitmaking in front of her but if "Sexy" bombs, she can take some solace in Carol Hitchcock's story. 20 years have passed since the release of Carol's one and only flop, "Get Ready", but that spectacular pop moment is still remembered and cherished by lesbians and PWL aficionados around the globe. Carol can lay claim to being the first Australian diva to work with Stock/Aitken/Waterman, recording "Get Ready" while Kylie was still living in Dannii's shadow. As a Hi-NRG cover of The Temptations' Motown classic, with a memorable video and spectacular production, "Get Ready" appeared to be Carol's launching pad to fame and fortune. Unfortunately, the song stalled at #56 in the UK and only just scraped into the Australian top 40. It's a shame because Carol possessed more charisma than most PWL artists. Who else in the history of the Hit Factory can boast working as a nightclub bouncer or appearing on "Prisoner" (Cell Block H)? If anyone knows what happened to Carol, please let me know.

A big thanks to Brian for sending me an MP3 of "Get Ready" - my vinyl copy had really taken a beating!