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Speakerphone (song)

"Speakerphone" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her tenth studio album X (2007). It was produced by Bloodshy & Avant duo Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg, who co-wrote it with Henrik Jonback and Klas Åhlund. The song featured dance, electronic, and funk elements. It heavily used Auto-Tune and vocoder, which caused some critics to liken it to music by Britney Spears and Daft Punk. "Speakerphone" received mixed responses from critics. The song appeared on the Canadian Hot 100 and the Hot Canadian Digital Singles Billboard charts.

"Speakerphone"
Song by Kylie Minogue
from the album X
Released21 November 2007
Genre
Length3:54
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bloodshy and Avant
Audio video
"Speakerphone" on YouTube

"Speakerphone" was performed on the KylieX2008 and For You, for Me concert tours. In 2008, Fanny Pak performed to the song for the season two premiere of America's Best Dance Crew. In 2009, a competition was held for fans to create a video for the song, which was won by Hungarian animator Rudolf Pap.

Background and release

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Bloodshy & Avant duo Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg produced "Speakerphone" and co-wrote it with Henrik Jonback and Klas Åhlund.[1] Kylie Minogue talked about the song, which was included on her tenth studio album X, in an interview, "Xposed – Interview with Kylie".[1][2] She described the song as catchy, and said she particularly enjoyed the lyrics.[2] She likened her vocals to a "quite straight delivery", which she compared to a person singing or humming around their home.[2]

"Speakerphone" was released on 21 November 2007 as part of X;[3] it was removed from the album's Chinese edition, along with "Like a Drug" and "Nu-Di-Ty", due to censorship laws.[4] On 20 January 2015, the song was uploaded to Minogue's YouTube account as part of a X playlist.[5][6]

Composition and lyrics

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"Speakerphone"
Critics noted the song's heavy use of Auto-Tune and vocoder.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Opening with a harp instrumental, "Speakerphone" includes the lyrics "track repeat go on and on" and "set [our] mind on Freaky Mode".[7][8][9] Critics labelled the song as a dance, electronic, and funk song.[8][10][11] Writing for the New York Times News Service, Kelefa Sanneh called it a "meta-dance song intoxicated with itself".[8] Likening the lyrics to a sexual version of Operation, NewNowNext.com's Louis Virtel said the song is about "connecting our collarbone to our neckbone to our jawbone".[9]

In the song, Minogue's voice is heavily processed through Auto-Tune and vocoder.[12][13] Critics compared the style to the "robotic hypno-funk" of Daft Punk and noted that its use of "array of robo voices" had similarities with the music of Britney Spears.[10][14] Music journalist Craig Mathieson described Minogue's vocals as "taken to fetishistic levels, wiping the person and leaving the digital construct", and said she had "disappear[ed] into the ether".[13] In 2013, the composition was a subject of a lawsuit in which Salsoul Records claimed Minogue and Warner Bros. duplicated the "entire rhythm" of Gaz's 1978 song "Sing Sing" for "Speakerphone".[15]

Reception

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The song received mixed responses from critics. Music journalist Robert Christgau and the Scripps Howard News Service's Chuck Campbell cited it as one of the album's high points.[10][16] British GQ's Alexis Petridis praised "Speakerphone" as "cool electro".[11] Louis Virtel included it on a listicle on Minogue's top 50 songs, and called it an earworm.[9] VH1's Christopher Rosa recommended "Speakerphone", as well as Minogue's other songs "Too Much" (2010) and "Love Affair" (2001), for people unfamiliar with her music.[17] PopMatters' Evan Sawdey preferred Minogue's robotic vocals on "Speakerphone" to those of Britney Spears in her fifth studio album Blackout (2007), writing that she "never falters once, hitting the mark each and every time".[18] In a 2010 Instinct interview, Minogue described the song as one of the "moments that were a bit ahead of their time".[19] During a 2012 HuffPost interview, she said that people questioned why "Speakerphone" or "Like a Drug" were not released as singles.[20]

Some critics identified the song as one of the album's low points.[12][21][22] The Morning Call's Andy Hermann labelled "Speakerphone" and "All I See" as "clunkers".[21] The Vancouver Sun's Amy O'Brien dismissed "Speakerphone" as a "forced attempt at originality", saying that she wanted to skip it.[22] AllMusic's Chris True felt the song would have been more appropriate for Robbie Williams' seventh studio album Rudebox (2006),[3] and Pitchfork's Tom Ewing believed it was too similar to Daft Punk's music.[7] Criticizing the vocoder as excessive, Dave Hughes of Slant Magazine wrote that the song indicated a hip hop influence on the overall album, which he felt was "wholly inappropriate" for Minogue.[12]

Despite never being released as a single, "Speakerphone" charted on the Canadian Hot 100 at number 87 based on high downloads from the album.[23] It also peaked at number 56 on the Hot Canadian Digital Singles Billboard chart on 15 December 2007.[24]

Promotion

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A picture of a woman singing on stage while sitting in a gold hoop. 
Minogue singing "Speakerphone" on the KylieX2008 tour

Minogue was initially concerned about how she would perform "Speakerphone" live due to its layered vocals.[2] She performed the song on the KylieX2008 and For You, for Me concert tours in 2008 and 2009, respectively.[25][26] It was the opening number for KylieX2008, in which Minogue descended on stage in a gold hoop.[25] During the first Australian show, Minogue wore a gladiator-style dress,[25] and for her Auckland performance, she had an Egyptian-inspired costume instead.[27]

During For You, for Me, "Speakerphone" was the second song on the set list after "Light Years" from the 2000 album of the same name.[28] For the performance, Minogue was accompanied by backup dancers dressed like robots.[26] Minogue's performances of "Speakerphone" were included in the video album KylieX2008 (2008) and the live album Live in New York (2009).[29][30] The first half of For You, for Me was streamed live on 12 December 2009 via Minogue's YouTube account.[31]

"Speakerphone" was also performed by Fanny Pak for the season two premiere of America's Best Dance Crew in 2008.[32] In 2009, a competition was held to make a video for the song; it was won by Hungarian animator Rudolf Pap.[33]

Charts

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Chart (2008) Peak
position
Canadian Hot 100[23] 87

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b X (liner notes). Kylie Minogue. Parlophone. 2007. 5139522.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ a b c d Minogue, Kylie (21 November 2007). "Xposed – Interview with Kylie". X (Interview). Parlophone.
  3. ^ a b True, Chris. "AllMusic Review by Chris True". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019.
  4. ^ X (liner notes). Kylie Minogue. EMI. 2007. 50999 513952 0 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ "X". Archived from the original on 8 July 2019 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Kylie Minogue – "Speakerphone" – X". 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ a b Ewing, Tom (30 November 2007). "Kylie Minogue: X Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Sanneh, Kelefa (27 November 2007). "Diva Delights". The Chicago Tribune. p. 33-27. Retrieved 26 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b c Virtel, Louis (28 May 2017). "Kylie Minogue's 50 Best Songs, Ranked!". NewNowNext.com. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Campbell, Chuck (15 February 2008). "Kravitz gets lost in love". The Record. p. G20. Retrieved 26 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (8 February 2018). "The Spice Girls reunion tour proves that in pop, personality is everything". British GQ. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019.
  12. ^ a b c Hughes, Dave (18 February 2008). "Review: Kylie Minogue, X". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019.
  13. ^ a b Mathieson (2009): p. 7
  14. ^ Sperounes, Sandra (1 December 2007). "Quick Hits (and Misses)". Edmonton Journal. p. 39. Retrieved 26 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Kylie Minogue Stole Rhythm For 'Speakerphone,' Suit Says". Law360. 9 October 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019.
  16. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Reviews: X". robertchristgau.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015.
  17. ^ Rosa, Christopher (28 May 2015). "9 Reasons Why Americans Should Get on Board With Kylie Minogue". VH1. Archived from the original on 23 January 2016.
  18. ^ Sawdey, Evan (31 March 2008). "Kylie Minogue: X". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018.
  19. ^ D'luv (14 July 2010). "My Kylie Minogue Interview (Part Two), And 'Aphrodite' Charts in the U.S. Top 20". Chart Rigger. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019.
  20. ^ Michelson, Noah (13 November 2012). "Kylie Minogue Discusses 25-Year Music Milestone, 'Holy Motors,' And Best Advice She's Received". HuffPost. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  21. ^ a b Hermann, Andy (5 April 2008). "Disc Reviews". The Morning Call. p. 36. Retrieved 26 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ a b O'Brian, Amy (27 November 2007). "Blond bombshell Minogue cranks up the sex appeal". Vancouver Sun. p. 31. Retrieved 26 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ a b "Kylie Minogue – Chart history: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  24. ^ "Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales: "Speakerphone"". Billboard. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019.
  25. ^ a b c "Kylie opens tour in spectacular style". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 December 2008. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019.
  26. ^ a b Harrington, Jim (1 October 2009). "Review: Kylie Minogue's like a bad Madonna impression". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on 9 May 2017.
  27. ^ Schulz, Chris (31 January 2009). "Gig review: Kylie Minogue in Auckland (+pics)". New Zealand: Stuff. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  28. ^ Underwood, Brian (12 October 2009). "Review: Kylie Minogue @ Hammerstein Ballroom". Flavorwire. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014.
  29. ^ Smith, Michelle (December 2008). "Super 16 Captures KYLIE Concert" (PDF). VisionARRI. ARRI Rental Group Marketing Department. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  30. ^ Smirke, Richard (4 December 2009). "Kylie Minogue To Release New York Live Set". Billboard. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013.
  31. ^ "Kylie". Kylie. Archived from the original on 7 December 2009.
  32. ^ Phillips, Jevon; Crabtree, Sheigh (17 June 2008). "'America's Best Dance Crew 2': Step up for the season premiere". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015.
  33. ^ "Kylie "Speakerphone" Competition Winner Announced!". Kylie.com. 10 May 2009. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009.

Bibliography

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