Tina Arena Goes Disco!

It's been a busy couple of weeks for Tina Arena. First came the surprise announcement that she will host the UK auditions of Australian Idol with Darren Hayes (I can't wait to see Tina back on Australian TV but can someone please explain why we need UK auditions?) and the news that her magnificent "Songs Of Love & Loss" album is being re-released on the 21st of April complete with a bonus disc of live performances. However, the most exciting Tina development as far as I'm concerned is her brilliant cover of the Bee Gees' "Night Fever" for a French film soundtrack.

"Night Fever" is perfect fodder for this woman's formidable pipes and she delivers a stunning interpretation. I love Tina's recent output but it's fantastic to see her in a less serious mood. Watching Tina perform the song on a French TV show (below) gave me flashbacks to the glory days of Young Talent Time! The camp sequined costumes, the obvious miming (Edit: I'm told this was actually performed live. All I can say is - WOW!!), the hilarious dance routine - the only thing missing is Johnny Young! As far as I'm aware there are no plans to release "Night Fever" as a French single but that shouldn't stop her Australian label snapping this disco delight up as fast as they can. Tina hasn't produced anything this fabulously entertaining since the trashy "Symphony Of Life" remixes and it should be made available to legally download by her legion of loyal fans!

Dannii's Dirty Box - Now Open!

Just a quick post to let you all know that I've re-opened Dannii's Dirty Box due to overwhelming public demand. No, really! I've even commissioned a stunning video clip commemorating Dannii's participation in Olivia Newton-John's charity walk along the Great Wall of China (above). The featured song is "Round The World" from Dannii's soon to be released "Club Dildo" compilation. Enjoy!

Kylie's #139 Smash Hit

Kylie's US Career - In The Toilet

In the week's least surprising news, Kylie's "X" debuts at #139 in America with 5,588 copies sold dragging the total to a miserable 11,732. That's what you get when you release an album 4 months after the rest of the world, push a lead single with no video clip and devote a massive 48 hours to promotion! The questions remains - why did they bother at all? The whole debacle was so half-hearted, it would have made a lot more sense for Kylie to spend the week promoting in Australia or better yet, putting her feet up before the tour. The US is clearly not interested, that ship sailed with "Fever". If she had performed on the Australian Dancing With The Stars instead, I have no doubt "X" would be sitting in the top 40 come Sunday. I hope this massive flop is the final nail in the coffin that is Kylie's US career. Please Min, stick to the markets that appreciate you and hurry up and release "The One"!!

A Club Dildo Exclusive!

I wrote a pretty scathing post about the Australian release of Dannii's "Club Disco" album last week, complaining about everything from the bonus disc to the glaring omission of the exquisite "Do You Believe Me Now". Well, it seems I opened my big mouth without knowing all the facts! Carl, the A&R Manager of Dannii's Australian label, was kind enough to contact me about my rant and explained the reasons behind the choices that were made. The visions I had of lazy record execs cynically cashing in on Dannii's devoted fanbase couldn't be further from the truth. Here's what Carl had to say:

In regards to the Roger Sanchez collaboration, we were only given rights by our overseas partner for the digital release of this track, so it’s very unfortunate but we could not include it on the physical release. A shame as it’s my favourite too but it will be an exclusive addition to the iTunes release.

Initially we were only given the rights to release a single CD (the same as the UK release minus "Do You Believe Me Now") but as I felt this was very similar to her previous "Hits & Beyond" I wanted to add ‘something’ more to make it worthwhile. After some persuading, the remix disc was born although we were limited to what we could include on the disc. The final result is a collection of Dannii and her team’s favourite remixes so I hope you like them. In addition, both the UK and Australian release of "Touch Me Like That" had an error on the listed ‘Space Cowboy Remix’ so this is the first time it’s been made physically available in this country. We’ve also included the original of "Touch Me Like That" which was not on the UK release

In a perfect world I would have loved to include all the rare, unreleased tracks that Dannii has recorded over the years but we just didn’t have access to all of them. There were certain restrictions that we couldn’t get around within the timeframe we had to work with. Although due to the overwhelming response, it’s something we will consider putting together down the line.

After clearing all that up, I took the opportunity to shamelessly dig for further details!

When is "Club Disco" being released?
The 3rd of May.

Will the Australian version have the same cover as the UK release?
It will have a similar cover to the UK release (with a bit of added ‘sparkle’) and the booklet will contain lyrics as well as some hot pics from her recent photo shoots.

Will there be a single - be it digital or radio? "I Will Come To You" or "Xanadu" would be amazing choices!
There will not be a new single, digital or physical at this stage although if the overseas label or a punter (hint, hint) sends us a good remix of one of the tracks, we’d definitely consider a single release down the line.

Will Dannii bother to promote "Club Disco" now that she's back in Australia for Australia's Got Talent?
Dannii will be performing on a couple of TV shows whilst she is here as well as some radio spots and an array of press interviews - so there will be no shortage of all things ‘Dannii’ over the coming months. (Dannii is rumoured to be performing "Xanadu") on the It Takes Two Finale on the 22nd of April - Mike).

Can you please change the title to "Club Dildo"?
As for your suggestions regarding the title…I’m sure we’d sell more copies and get more media attention that way…if Dannii notices we could put it down to an embarrassing typo. I’ll put it forward in the production meeting!

An Evening With Melissa Tkautz!

Pop goddess Melissa Tkautz celebrated the release of her fabulous comeback single "I Want Your Love" on Friday night - and invited 50 of her biggest fans to join the party! Industry showcases are usually as appealing as an unairbrushed photo of Madonna but I was never going to miss the opportunity to spend an evening in the presence of a legendary diva like Melissa. I didn't know what to expect when I arrived at Trademark but I was pleasantly surprised to discover a fun mix of industry types and diehard gay fans. After an hour and a half of boozing and schmoozing (emphasis on the boozing!) the crowd settled around the stage in eager anticipation of Mel's arrival. I somehow found myself standing next to the lovely Cosima De Vito, which kept me well amused until the lights were dimmed.

I've seen Melissa perform many times over the past decade but Friday's showcase was the first occasion I've had the pleasure of hearing this national treasure perform with a full band - although admittedly for only two songs! Mel kicked off the show with a sultry acoustic rendition of her breathtaking #87 hit "Easily Affected". I've made no secret of my love for this anthem. I honestly believe it's one of the best slices of Aus-pop released this decade and its failure to set the charts on fire still irks me. The song sounded brilliant in its pared back form but I was having trouble concentrating on the music, such was spectacle of Melissa's ravishing beauty in her stunning sequined gown! The next tune to receive the acoustic treatment was "True Love", an album track from her hugely underrated "Lost & Found" opus. I suspect "True Love" might be recycled for Melissa's forthcoming album because she has been performing it at all her recent shows.

Opening the show with a duo of acoustic treats was a great ploy to showcase Melissa's heavenly vocal ability but I think most fans breathed a silent sigh of relief when she announced she would use a backing tape for the next few songs. The acoustic set was wonderful but as Mel said herself, she is the kind of performer who usually "rocks up to a nightclub at 2am to belt out a number" and for that we thank her! I was ecstatic when Melissa launched into a killer rendition of "Lies". It's one of my favourite tracks from "Lost & Found" and the revised version of the song on her unreleased 3rd album is even better. "Lies" was followed by an adorable interpretation of "The Glamorous Life".

The best was definitely yet to come. As I mentioned earlier, I had never seen the Tkautz perform with a full band in all my years of devoted fandom - so I was intrigued when Melissa called a group of musicians (including Nick Skitz) to the stage to assist her on "I Want Your Love". I was completely blown away by the results. The band sounded amazing and Melissa really fed off their energy. The live version of "I Want Your Love" has a much harder rock edge than the single and it's all the better for it. Melissa really needs to explore this sound in the future. I'm not suggesting she channel Pat Benatar but a move towards electropop could be her calling! The band stuck around for the big finale - a rousing and completely unexpected rendition of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock & Roll". Mel unleashed her inner rock chick and had the crowd eating out of the palm of her pretty hand. The showcase was over after only 6 songs but this was definitely a case of quality over quantity. Melissa displayed her usual vocal prowess as well as an unexpected versatility. No wonder she's still so well loved by her army of gay fans. "I Want Your Love" was released on Saturday. Support this local icon by downloading the song from iTunes or buying a physical copy from Chaos.

Dannii's Baps - Unleashed On America!

I'm sorry for the Minogue onslaught but I just couldn't resist posting this stunning image of Dannii trawling the Dancing With The Stars backlot for hot lesbian action! Honestly, is there a more fabulous woman on God's green earth? While most pop divas busily work on new material and actively promote their own career, Dannii is happy to tag along on her sister's US promotional visit and somehow manages to upstage her by walking around the carpark with her baps hanging out! It's good to see that Dannii has been hitting the minibar in Kylie's hotel (I imagine she's sleeping on a foldout in the bathroom surrounded by Min's discarded wigs). The poor bitch looks a drink away from dropping her knickers and belting out an impromptu version of "Vibe On"! Words can not describe how much I love this woman - it's almost enough to make me re-open Dannii's Dirty Box. In another exciting Dannii development, it appears she's rooting a Formula 1 driver called Lewis Hamilton, who just happens to be 14 years her junior. Read all about the brewing scandal here. The Sun comments:

Lewis clearly knows his way around shiny bodywork and Dannii is in pole position. I reckon this pair could burn some serious rubber together.

Now that's what I call journalism!!

Kylie Rocks The USA!

I can't think of a better way to celebrate my 300th post than writing a quick review of Kylie's first American performance in almost 5 years. Last night over 20 million viewers tuned in to watch Dancing With The Stars and were treated to a double dose of Kylie. Ms Minogue kicked off the show with "All I See" before returning to give "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" yet another spin. Despite some severe audio problems, I vastly preferred "All I See". The music was too quiet and someone clearly fucked up with the backing vocals (ie. you couldn't hear them at all - which is a problem when they constitute half the song!) but Kylie looked stunning in her red sequined gown and drag queens across America will be scurrying to get their hands on Kylie's glorious hooker wig! I loved the way she moved around the stage and interacted with the dancers. Kylie looked like she was having a great time and the audience were in a Minogue induced frenzy! Check out "All I See" below.

Kylie returned at the end of the program to perform "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" and her vocals were pitch perfect. The same, however, can not be said for her fagtacular costume change:

Dear Kylie, the cop from the Village People called and he wants his uniform back! It's not Min's finest fashion moment but her face looks amazing and I kind of love the fact that Kylie has the nerve to appear on US television wearing Dannii's lesbian pride outfit from 1997. Represent! If I'm honest, I could do without hearing "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" ever again but Kylie gets this rendition just right (below). It would have been nice to hear another song from "X" but I believe she was contractually obliged to dust off an old hit. I have no idea what American audiences made of our holy icon and I couldn't care less. The US will probably never fully appreciate the Kylie phenomenon and that's ok. I just can't wait for the Aussie Queen of pop to drag her trunk of trannytastic gowns back home and deliver another dose of Minogue magic! "X" was released in America yesterday - top 150 here we come!