Wow (Kylie Minogue song)

"Wow"
Single by Kylie Minogue
from the album X
B-side	"Cherry Bomb" "Do It Again" "Carried Away"
Released	16 February 2008 (2008-02-16) (AUS/NZ) 18 February 2008 (2008-02-18) (UK) 6 June 2008 (2008-06-06) (Europe) 4 July 2008 (2008-07-04) (Germany) 30 August 2008 (2008-08-30) (USA)
Format	CD single, Digital download, 12" picture disc
Recorded	2007 Majestic Studios, Ibiza & Echo Studios, Los Angeles
Genre	Dance-pop, electropop, synthpop
Length	3:13 (Album Version) 3:10 (Edit/Single)
Label	Parlophone
Writer(s)	Kylie Minogue Greg Kurstin Karen Poole
Producer	Greg Kurstin
Kylie Minogue singles chronology
"2 Hearts" (2007) "Wow" (2008) "In My Arms" (2008)
Audio sample file info · help Music video "Wow" on YouTube

"Wow" is a song performed by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue from her tenth studio album X. The song was written by Minogue, Greg Kurstin and Karen Poole and was produced by Kurstin. "Wow" is a dance song, incorpitate with house and electropop beats. "Wow" was released as the second single on 16 February 2008 in Australia and New Zealand, and then in the UK two days after. The song also served as the third European single following "In my Arms". "Wow" was initially intended to be the lead U.S. single from the album, but was withdrawn and "All I See" was released instead in an attempt to appeal to a more urban market. The song was successful in most countries peaking in the top twenty countries including United Kingdom, Australia, France, New Zealand, United States and Denmark.

"Wow" received mixed to mostly favorable reviews from contemporary music critics, some reviews said that it doesn't have the "oomph factor to make us fall for fall her like we have in the past", but a majority of reviews call it "fantastic" The accompanying music video was directed by Melina Matsoukas, which featured Minogue in a futuristic outfit, in a club, dancing with alien-inspired outfits worn by the public. The video has received positive reviews, mostly about the futuristic style of format the video had featured.

Background and composition

"Wow" was composed and written by Greg Kurstin, Kylie Minogue and Karen Ann Poole. Minogue requested setting up a studio in Ibiza with previous writing partner Karen Poole, and newcomer to the fold Greg Kurstin, an American multi-instrumentalist musician and producer. Minogue had written other tracks while in Ibiza. Originally, it was said that they wanted "Wow" or "Like a Drug" as the first single, but it was "2 Hearts". The song is a electropop and dance-pop song, with strong elements of synthpop. Originally, "Wow" was meant to be the first single to be released in the U.S. but was withdrawn. Instead, "All I See" was released as the lead single and only single in the U.S. from X.

Minogue recorded extra tracks from the album sessions. "Cherry Bomb" was the first b-side track on the first UK CD Single. The b-side is a pure electropop song, written by Minogue, Karen Poole, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Jonas Quant. The next track was "Do It Again". It was featured on the second UK CD Single. It was written by the same writers for the single. The song is a electropop and dance-pop song. It also features some house elements. The third b-side track was "Carried Away". It was written by the same writers as from the single. The song was featured on the Australian CD Single. It is a house track, which features dance music and nu-disco styles.

Critical reception

"Wow" received mixed to positive reviews from pop music critics. Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy wrote that "Wow" "doesn't have the 'oomph' factor to make us fall for her like we have in the past", but the song's "disco swirls and whooshing synths are great fun". In a review for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis called the song "fantastic" and compared it to Minogue's songs with Stock, Aitken and Waterman. Pitchfork Media reviewer Tom Ewing wrote that the song's "excitement is infectious" even though its "funked-up electro sexiness may feel contrived".

The song was first performed live on The Kylie Show in November 2007, a one off showcase of new tracks from her 2007 album X. The performance had Kylie in pigtails and foil streamer dress on a circular stage with dancers in new wave costumes and wigs, who would walk up an down a catwalk throughout the song. The video is available on YouTube.

Additionally, the song was used in the series finale montage of the American TV Show So You Think You Can Dance "Wow" was also used as background music in a few commercials for ABC's Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters in April 2008. Minogue also performed the single "All I See" live on the show earlier in the year while promoting X in North America.

Music video

Minogue in a futuristic outfit in a video scene.

Two versions of the music video was released. The music video for "Wow" was directed by Melina Matsoukas and filmed in Los Angeles, California along with the video for "In My Arms" in early January 2008. The video features Minogue in dancing in a futuristic nightclub surrounded by dancers in alien outfits. The video begins with Minogue's silhouette dancing against a lighted background. She is then shown in a white tracksuit surrounded by a group of dancers. Scenes of Minogue and her dancers dancing in front of a lighted background are intercut throughout the video.

PerezHilton.com hosted the world premiere the music video on 29 January 2008. It was scheduled to premiere on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 30 January 2008, but was postponed. Media regulator Ofcom removed the video after they found it did not follow viewer guidelines due to the use of strobe lighting. The video was re-edited and broadcasted in the United Kingdom the following week. In the video appears Dani Artaud (also known as DaniGORE), from the band Millionaires, as an extra.

The video is Kylie's 2nd highest viewed on YouTube, with views of 36,238,185 as of 24 August 2009.

Chart performance

On 15 December 2007, Minogue performed "Wow" on the fourth season finale of The X Factor. Following the performance, "Wow" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number thirty-two on 24 December 2007, based solely on digital download sales. Ten weeks later, the song reached number five. In February 2008, the song topped the UK Upfront Club Chart. This eventually became Kylie's best selling single in the UK since 2002's "Love at First Sight" selling over 180,000 copies.

In Australia, "Wow" was officially solicited to radio on 14 January 2008. The song debuted at number eleven, and remained on the singles chart for six weeks. The song was released to American dance radio-stations and became a moderate success when it debuted within the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, eventually peaking at number nineteen. In the Romanian Singles Chart, the song debuted at number 63 in February, finally peaking at number 42 in June, becoming her first song ever to miss the top 20. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 17 on 24 February 2008. Following radio airplay, it later rose to number 16 on 9 March 2008.

Appearance in other media

• The song is featured in Beverly Hills Chihuahua and its soundtrack. In addition, it was in heavy rotation for ABC's primetime television lineup advertising.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Wow". The single was slightly mixed for its single release.

Digital download
(Released 18 February 2008)

1. "Wow"

UK CD single #1
(CDR6754; Released 18 February 2008)

1. "Wow"
2. "Cherry Bomb" (Minogue, Karen Poole, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Jonas Quant)

UK CD single #2
(UK: CDRS6754; Released 18 February 2008)

1. "Wow"
2. "Do It Again" (Minogue, Kurstin, Poole)
3. "Carried Away" (Minogue, Kurstin, Poole)
4. "Wow" (Death Metal Disco Scene mix)

UK 12" Picture disc
(12R6754; Released 18 February 2008)

1. "Wow"
2. "Wow" (CSS remix)
3. "Wow" (F*** Me I'm Famous remix by David Guetta + Joachim Garraud)
4. "Wow" (MSTRKRFT remix)

Australian CD single
(5144270082; Released 16 February 2008)

1. "Wow"
2. "Do It Again"
3. "Carried Away"
4. "Wow" (Death Metal Disco Scene mix)

Digital download Bundle #1
(Released 17 February 2008)

1. "Wow"
2. "Do It Again"
3. "Carried Away"
4. "Cherry Bomb"

Digital download Bundle #2
(Released 17 February 2008)

1. "Wow"
2. "Wow" (CSS remix)
3. "Wow" (MSTRKRFT remix)
4. "Wow" (F*** Me I'm Famous remix by David Guetta + Joachim Garraud)
5. "Wow" (Death Metal Disco Scene mix)

Digital download Bundle #3
(Released 17 February 2008)

1. "Wow"
2. "2 Hearts" (Mark Brown's Pach Ibiza Upper Terrace mix)
3. "Wow" music video (UK only)

EU CD Single #1
(Released 6 June 2008)

1. "Wow"
2. "Can't Get You Out of My Head" (Greg Kurstin Remix)

EU CD Single #2
(Released 4 July 2008)

1. "Wow"
2. "Wow" (Death Metal Disco Scene Mix)
3. "Wow" (CSS Remix)
4. "Wow" (Video)

Live performances

Kylie performed the song on X-factor 2007 and Brit Awards 2008

Kylie performed the song on the following concert tours:

• KylieX2008
• North American Tour 2009
• Aphrodite World Tour

The song was also performed on:

• The Kylie Show 2007 TV Special

Charts

Chart (2007/2008)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	11
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)	72
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	37
Denmark Airplay (Tracklisten)	20
European Hot 100 Singles	8
France (SNEP)	15
Germany (Media Control AG)	41
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)	19
Ireland (IRMA)	10
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)	36
New Zealand Airplay (RIANZ)	16
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	32
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	51
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	5
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)	19

Year-End Charts

Year	Country	Position
2008	UK Singles Chart	64
	Eurochart Hot 100 Singles	100

Personnel

The following people contributed to "Wow":

• Kylie Minogue – lead vocals
• Greg Kurstin - production, all instruments, mixing
• Karen Poole - backing vocals, vocal production
• Eddie Miller - additional engineering
• Geoff Pesche - mastering
• Recorded at Magnetic Studios in Ibiza and Echo Studios in Los Angeles

External links

• Official website
• "Wow" music video on YouTube