Kylie Minogue

In America, Kylie Minogue is known for 1988's giddy dance-pop remake of Little Eva's "The Loco Motion" and 2002's neo-disco tour de force "Can't Get You Out of My Head." But in every other corner of the English-speaking world (and not a few non-English- speaking ones), the pint-sized Australian is an icon to rival Madonna. Her backside, while far smaller than that of Jennifer Lopez, is the recipient of as much scrutiny overseas. She became wildly famous in the mid-'80s via her role as Charlene in the Australian soap Neighbors, and quickly became the preferred vehicle of the English Stock-Aitken-Waterman production juggernaut. Her percolating hits "I Should Be So Lucky," "Got to Be Certain," "Hand on Your Heart," as well as "The Loco Motion" are delightful trifles, each as cheesily and identically redolent of the late '80s as a pair of stone-washed jean shorts. These and 24 other cuts (as well as eight remixes) are collected on Greatest Hits 87--97, which samples a decade's worth of dance pop that moved every disco in every nation other than the U.S. to distraction.

In 2001 Minogue resolved to do what had eluded scores of international superstars -- break into the U.S. If Fever didn't exactly send Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera scurrying away in terror, the calling-card single "Can't Get You out of My Head" was easily the best and most omnipresent dance track of the new century. Like Madonna, Minogue was not a virtuosic singer but a canny trend spotter -- hence "Love at First Sight" is a not only wholesale tribute to Daft Punk's metadisco opus Discovery, but a damn great one. Completed by the cleverly phrased "Come Into My World" ("Come, come" she trills, as if coaxing a climax out of her partner) and 10 equally effective tunes, Fever is a dance-pop masterpiece. 2003's Body Language, on the other hand, mined dance-pop styles that were a bit more obscure -- electro, the modern house stylings of Basement Jaxx -- and thus fell a little short. But Minogue finally took over the entire world with Fever, and thus fulfilled her destiny. (ROB KEMP)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide