Golden (Album)

Golden is the fourteenth studio album by Kylie Minogue. It was released on 6 April 2018 by Darenote Limited and BMG. A large portion of the record was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, where she found new inspiration with its music, and also recorded some material in London and Los Angeles, California. The album was co-produced by Kylie, alongside a variety of producers including Ash Howes, Richard "Biff" Stannard, Sky Adams, Alex Smith, and Mark Taylor, among others. Each track was co-written by Kylie, making it her first album since Impossible Princess (1997) to do so.

Musically, Golden is a pop record that is heavily influenced by country and dance music. Described by Kylie as one of her most personal efforts, the lyrics encompass a wide range of themes including failed relationships, death, dancing and having fun. Upon its release, Golden received generally positive reviews from music critics, a majority of whom commended Kylie's honesty and personality through her songwriting skills, as well as its catchiness. However, critics were divided by the composition and her experimentation with country music. Commercially, the album entered the top twenty in several markets, including Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; it became the singer's first album to peak at number one in both Australia and the United Kingdom since Feverin 2001.

Golden has spawned three singles and one promotional recording. "Dancing" was released on 19 January 2018 to critical success, some highlighting as one of Kylie's best singles to date. Commercially, it achieved moderate success in several nations. "Stop Me From Falling" served as the second single on 9 March 2018, and has achieved minor impact on record charts around the world. In order to promote the album, Kylie made appearances on several shows including the Saturday Night Takeaway, The Graham Norton Show, Good Morning America, The Late Late Show with James Corden and Sounds Like Friday Night. A music video for "Golden" was released on 28 May 2018, with Kylie later confirming the track as the third single from the album. A day later, the song impacted Italian radio stations. Furthermore, she conducted her mini-tour Kylie Presents: Golden in small gig-sized venues, and will further plan to commence her international Golden Tour in September 2018

Background and Production
In 2016, Kylie released her final studio album with long-term record label Parlophone, entitled Kylie Christmas: Snow Queen Edition — which was a re-packaging of the singer's original studio album a year prior. Between 2014 and 2017, Kylie continued to use herself as a featuring artist to the works of Giorgio Moroder and Fernando Garibay, and eventually expanded her work with film and television. In February 2017, Kylie signed a new record deal with BMG Rights Management which will release her upcoming album internationally. In December 2017, Kylie and BMG had struck a joint-deal with Mushroom Music Labels — under the sub-division label Liberation Music to release her new album in Australia and New Zealand.

Throughout that year, Kylie worked with writers and producers for her fourteenth studio album including Amy Wadge, Sky Adams, DJ Fresh, Nathan Chapman, and teamed with previous collaborators Richard Stannard, The Invisible Men and Karen Poole. Early production started in London and Los Angeles, and eventually ended with her recording majority of the album's content in Nashville, Tennessee. She commented about the process and inspiration in these locations in October 2017, stating; "I did a lot of work on the album before that but Nashville had a profound effect on me." Additionally, Kylie co-wrote every song on Golden, making it her first album since Impossible Princess (1997) to do so; she described the songwriting process in the latter location as "therapy".

Compostition
Kylie commented that the content of Golden was originally "synth-pop dance songs" that her fans would "expect from her". However, her A&R manager had suggested incorporating country music into the record, which she acknowledged positively. She traveled to Nashville in July 2017 for two weeks to record four songs, and explained that it "all started to make sense. We managed to find this country inspiration but bring it back into my world". She described the result as being "Dolly Parton standing on a dance floor". During the songwriting process, Kylie "kept writing songs" without intention, and found the results to be very "cathartic"; additionally, the singer believed the song's lyrics came off more "authentic" and "story-telling" than her previous music.

The album opens with the lead single "Dancing", a dance-pop and country hybrid that does not include a bridge section. Lyrically, it deals with Kylie's view on death, with the lyrics "When I go out, I wanna go out dancing," describing how the singer wants to feel in that situation before death. "Stop Me From Falling" includes a similar sound, but "bristles with good-time handclaps and a goshdarn toe-tappin’ basslines," alongside with instrumentation of a banjo. The title track, a self-empowerment anthem, was described as a take on soundtracks from Spaghetti Western films, namely referencing Ennio Morricone's theme song to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with the yodeling. The fourth track, "A Lifetime to Repair", is one of the album's first tracks that talks about fail relationships. Sonically, Helen Clarke from MusicOMH said the song was "structurally weird; half of it is made up of lolling country guitars and drawling vocals, the other half the glittery pop she’s best known for." "Sincerely Yours", a light pop ballad, opens as a "love letter" to her fans and was musically compared to the work of Tegan & Sara for it's "flimsy" strings and vocal hooks. The sixth track "One Last Kiss" was noted for it's "basic" Country rhythm, featuring live guitar riffs, drums and a banjo.

"Live a Little" was compared to "Dancing" because of its blend of dance-pop and country music. The lyrics "slept by candlelight, scared of running out of time" explains her expectations of age, and wanting to feel free and have fun. "Shelby '68" was compared to the work of Taylor Swift with its "ill-fitting Tennessee twang" and midtempo rhythm. The song has a title reference to her father's mustang and the year of Kylie's birth, and also features audio from the vehicle, recorded by Kylie's brother Brendan. "Radio On" was deemed one of the album's highlights due to its stripped production to acoustic guitars and violins. Critics noted the concentration of her "thin" vocals and how she talks about her willingness to forget a previous break-up by "listen to the radio". "Love" talks about the effects of love and even mentions previous breakups with the lyric, "lying in your lover’s T-shirt". "Raining Glitter" was selected as one of the album's best tracks for utilizing her previous experimentation of dance and disco music with country music, and also described as a "joyful" and "fun" anthem. The track "combines lilting acoustic guitar, disco beats, [and] a whooping vocal effect" that was compered to the Spiritual Life / Ibadan remix of Beth Orton's "Central Reservation." The closer of the standard track list is "Music's Too Sad Without You", a collaboration with American musician Jack Savoretti. Musically, it was compared to the work of American artists Beck and Lana Del Rey.

Release
Golden was released on 6 April 2018 in physical and digital formats, and served as Kylie's first record with BMG. The album is being distributed in various formats including a standard digipak and a deluxe edition that features the bonus tracks—"Lost Without You", "Every Little Part of Me", "Rollin'" and "Low Blow"—a large 32-page coffee table book that includes the vinyl and CD, and a cassette tape. Additionally, a signed white label vinyl was released through her official website, and also featured an exclusive picture disc vinyl that is housed with an alternative cover art for Golden. On Kylie's website, the album was placed in several bundles that included various content including T-shirts, vinyl copies of the single "Dancing", and promotional pictures of the singer. A clear vinyl was issued through selected markets in the United Kingdom, limited to 4,000 copies. Furthermore, 4,000 cassette capes were made available through the singer's website; after they sold out, an additional 1,000 copies were printed and signed personally by Kylie.

The creative direction and design for Golden was developed by Australian art director and graphic designer Leif Podhajsky, whereas the photography was taken by British photographer Simon Emmett. In a lengthy article talking about the artwork, Idolator's Mike Wass commented, "She casually poses on a sofa with tousled hair and minimal make-up. There's even a (sequined) guitar next to her, not an instrument you would normally associate with the Queen of dance/pop."

Promotion
Kylie was interviewed by Graham Norton on BBC Radio 2 and performed on Saturday Night Takeaway her greatest hits, including the single "Dancing", on 24 February 2018. On 13 March, Kylie debuted "Golden", "One Last Kiss", "Radio On", "A Lifetime to Repair", "Raining Glitter", "Shelby '68“, “Love” and "Sincerely Yours" at Café de Paris nightclub, during her promotional tour Kylie Presents: Golden. On 22 March, she performed a special concert for Spotify fans on Porchester Hall. The next day, she performed "Dancing" on Sport Relief. On 25 March, 60 Minutes Australia aired an interview during which Kylie discussed her life, new album and personal relationships. To mark the release of the album, Kylie will make a appearance on The Graham Norton Show on 6 April. The next day, she performed a free concert on London's G-A-Y nightclub. On 9 April, Kylie talked about the album and performed "Stop Me from Falling" on The One Show. On 10 April, she travelled to Germany for an interview on ZDFmediathek. On 11 April, she was interviewed on The Project. On 12 April, Kylie was interviewed on BBC Breakfast and performed "Dancing" at the ECHO Awards. The next day, she performed again on Let's Dance Germany. On 16 April, she was interviewed on Lorraine. On 21 April, Kylie performed "Stop Me From Falling" at the Queen's Official Birthday on Royal Albert Hall. On 25 April, she was interviewed on ET Canada. On 4 May, Kylie performed on Sounds Like Friday Night. On 15 June, she performed "Islands in the Stream" on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show. In September 2018, ylie embraked on the the Golden Tour.

To promote the album in the United States, Kylie performed and was interviewed on Late Night with Seth Meyers (25 April), BUILD Series (26 April), Good Morning America (27 April), White Party Palm Springs (29 April), The Late Late Show with James Corden (30 April) and New York City LGBT Pride March (24 June).