Kylie Chats About X

Feature, By Christian Taylor, 30th November, 2007

Kylie’s X has been out for almost a week now and reactions have been mixed. Some have called the new look and sound “trampy” and “cheap” and that after her illness she should be sporting a different image. The Guardian in the UK said that the album was very much “business as usual”, while others have hinted that this will be her last one altogether.

“I think it’s safe to say that I’ve never had to prepare for an album before like I have had to for this one,” said Kylie in an interview just before the album’s release. “I think before I just rolled on, rolled on. And this one is much more of a celebration than anything I’ve ever done before, with some room for some reflection which is good.”

And in amongst the smooth production, the reflection is very much there. “I was [only aware of a little part of how much my illness had swept around the world at the time], I didn’t dare have the news on or the radio or anything. I had the reality, I didn’t need anything else,” says Kylie. “I did receive a lot of letters and cards from all sorts of people, and they all helped. And what I didn’t know about I definitely felt. I felt those good vibes and well wishes. And I’ve kept a lot of the little cards, I cherish them, because at the time I really loved them.”

She said that she didn’t want to release an album full of material about her cancer treatment, but at the same time she felt it would be unfair to her fans if it was absent altogether. Cosmic, as well as No More Rain and Stars, are the tracks that touch on this for her.

“I felt like I was on the couch [writing Cosmic]. I always have a notebook with me… it’s full of bits of serviette with notes and papers and scraps and I came across these phrases I’d written a few months before that, which started with ‘I wanted to write a song called Cosmic’. I think I wrote the song in Melbourne towards the end of my treatment… [That song is basically a list] of things I wanted to do. Things that were not necessarily bothering me, just things that I felt I had to address.”

Kylie says that she wasn’t daunted by tackling the new album, she was more excited to be well again and thrilled to be back in the studio. She says X was almost named something else, but when the album’s title track was dropped at the last minute, they simply went with what the fans online had been calling it all along.

“X – clean and simple,” says Kylie.

Same Same have five Kylie giftpacks to give away, consisting of a red 12 inch vinyl edition of 2 Hearts, a limited edition copy of X including a DVD as well as Kylie’s official 2008 calendar. To enter, click here.

Check out Same Same’s All About Kylie page here.

Share your thoughts on the album here.

Discuss the documentary White Diamond here.

Join the Kylie Fan Club here.

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