Kiss Me Once is the twelfth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was released on 14 March 2014 by Parlophone, her first musical effort since her 2010 release Aphrodite'''. After celebrating her 25th career anniversary, Minogue signed with the American agency Roc Nation, which is managed by American rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z. Intending to create a different music experience, Minogue and her agency enlisted a variety of producers and collaborators, including musicians Sia, MNEK, Pharrell Williams, and Tom Aspaul, to name a few.
Musically, Kiss Me Once is a pop album that incorporates elements of dance music, electropop, R&B, dubstep, and disco. The album's lyrics cover a wide range of topics, including love, sex, empowerment, and having fun. Kiss Me Once received mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics, with many praising Minogue's personality and charm throughout the record. However, critics were divided on the album's content, production quality, and lyrics.
Commercially, Kiss Me Once debuted at number one in Australia and number two in the United Kingdom. Despite peaking in the top ten in several markets, sales were below expectations and moderately successful. Kiss Me Once yielded five singles: "Into the Blue", "I Was Gonna Cancel", "Sexercize", "Million Miles", and "Beautiful". The first two served as the album's official releases, performing moderately in commercial markets, while the latter three served as promotional singles.
To promote the album, Minogue went on her Kiss Me Once Tour between September 2014 and March 2015. The tour did well commercially, but concert reviewers gave it mixed reviews. On March 23, 2015, a live recording and video were shot and released. Retrospectively, Kiss Me Once was seen as a misstep in Minogue's career by publications and critics, due to its lack of commercial success and appeal to audiences. After leaving Roc Nation the following year, Minogue expressed reservations about the project.
Background
Minogue began a year-long celebration of her 25 years in the music industry in 2012, which became known as "K25." Her 20-minute medley performance at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in front of 15,000 people kicked off the anniversary on March 3. Two weeks later, Minogue embarked on the Anti Tour in Australia and the United Kingdom, which featured B-sides, demos, and rarities from her discography. She released the single "Timebomb" in May, followed by the greatest hits collection The Best of Kylie Minogue in June. In October, Minogue announced two new releases: the compilation album The Abbey Road Sessions, which includes reworked and orchestral versions of her previous songs recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios, and the K25 Time Capsule box set. and the K25 Time Capsule box set that contained 25 mini-CDs.
Following the conclusion of her K25 celebrations, Minogue parted ways with her long-term manager Terry Blamey and his team, announcing a musical hiatus shortly after. She then announced on Instagram and Twitter in February 2013 that she had signed a management contract with American rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z's imprint Roc Nation. British publications reported on Minogue's involvement with new music, speculating that she had been working with Australian musician Sia, which Minogue confirmed. Minogue told the American magazine Rolling Stone in May 2013 that the album was "bringing out something different... which is cool." She also admitted that she needed to "do something different," but added that the album "will keep the DNA of what a Kylie track is, because I'm on it." I enjoy moving the goalposts and experimenting with different sounds."
Production and recording sessions
Minogue began initial sessions for the album in January 2012 in London and Los Angeles. From March to July, Minogue used Twitter to announce collaborations with Norwegian team Stargate, American producer Darkchild, American rapper Brooke Candy, MNDR, and American musician and producer will.i.am. On May 27, one day before her 45th birthday, Minogue teased a "interesting" collaboration, which was later revealed to be a duet with Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias.