Should Have Been Bigger: Kylie Minogue’s “Into The Blue”
In this franchise, we look back on songs that deserved a little more love and attention.
Kiss Me Once is Kylie Minogue’s most uneven album by some margin. There are a couple of real head-scratchers, but when it gets it right — the result is pretty magnificent. The lead single definitely falls into that category. Released in early 2014, “Into The Blue” ranks as one of the Aussie diva’s best singles of the 2010s. Making pop music for grown adults is an increasingly lost art, but this somehow manages to sound current and classy. In fact, “Into The Blue” is about as elegant as electro-pop gets.
“I drew the smile upon my face, I paved the road that would one day leave me lonely,” Kylie begins the song over Mike Del Rio’s shimmery synths. “No angel’s too good to fall from grace, if she lets go of whatever keeps her holy.” Instead of being a cautionary tale, life’s twists and turns have only made the pop icon stronger. And she celebrates her strength and defiance on the massive chorus. “When I get my back up against the wall, don’t need no one to rescue me,” she promises. “Because I am not waiting up for no miracle, yeah tonight I’m running free.”
Parlophone even got the video right. Kylie called on long-time collaborator Dawn Shadforth to direct and hit up hunky French actor Clément Sibony to play her love interest. All in all, it’s a near-flawless package… that just didn’t fly at radio. Ageism was a factor, but pop had already moved away from uptempo bangers in favor of less-is-more bops. Ultimately, “Into The Blue” topped Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart, but couldn’t crack the Hot 100. It’s disappointing because this good deserves to be more than a footnote in an iconic discography. Revisit the track below.
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