When Kylie Minogue turned from tomboy mechanic Charlene into an unlikely pop-princess with the launch of her number one hit Locomotion in 1988, who would have thought that 20 years on, she would still be wowing fans the world over.
It's hard to believe that 20 years have passed since the songstress from Melbourne made the leap from a successful acting career into the world of pop. And yet, those 20 years have seen Kylie Minogue reinvent herself so many times, achieve an enviable number of professional accolades and most recently, fight her way courageously through treatment for breast cancer. All the while, Kylie has not only maintained and revamped her iconic celebrity status over and over, but has held a special place in the heart of every Australian through it all.
Kylie's career on soap opera Neighbours blossomed in the late 1980s until she launched herself from this popular platform into what was to be one of the most successful musical careers of her time. After a string of successful hits with British songwriters and producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman such as I Should Be So Lucky, Better The Devil You Know and Especially For You — the hit duet with Jason Donovan, Kylie's image began to wane in the late 90s.
Feeling stifled by Stock, Aitken and Waterman, Kylie signed to Deconstruction Records which is commonly regarded as the beginning of a new phase in her career, but the eponymous Kylie Minogue (1994) received mixed reviews and it wasn't until she released the brooding Where The Wild Roses Grow with Nick Cave, that Kylie was finally accepted as an artist who could perform outside of the pop safety net.
Kylie signed to Parlophone and after a string of style revamps with the disco-inspired album Light Years (2000) she realised her biggest career success to date with the release of Fever and its lead single Can't Get You out of My Head which reached number one in over twenty countries and sold more than four million copies worldwide. Kylie had embraced the electropop era and along with great artists like Madonna, was forging a path for other musicians to follow.
After another album Body Language (2003), the unstoppable Kylie Minogue released her second official greatest hits album in November 2004, entitled Ultimate Kylie, and commenced the Showgirl Tour. This was intended to be the most extensive of her career and was a hit in the United Kingdom, however the Australian leg of the tour was cut short when Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after arriving in Melbourne.
After a long and heroic battle with breast cancer, Kylie resumed her tour with the newly named Showgirl - Homecoming Tour at a performance in Sydney. Since then, Kylie has been an unstoppable force with a new lease on life that can only come from having that very life threatened. Recently, the Australian Grammy and BRIT award-winning pop-diva was also honoured by Queen Elizabeth II on Her Majesty's 2008 New Years Honours list. Kylie is currently in the midst of doing what she does, and loves best — performing. Her KYLIE X TOUR 2008 which began in May, will continue through Europe until August this year.
And so, our enduring pop-princess turns 40; a landmark birthday in a landmark life. Kylie is said to be celebrating in Paris with an intimate private dinner with parents Carol and Ron, sister Dannii and brother Brendan.
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