I Should Be So Lucky

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"I Should Be So Lucky"
Single by Kylie Minogue
from the album Kylie
Released	December 1987: Worldwide
Format	CD single: Asia Vinyl single: Worldwide Cassette single: Worldwide
Recorded	London, England
Genre	Pop–dance
Length	3:24
Label	PWL
Writer(s)	Stock, Aitken & Waterman
Producer(s)	Stock, Aitken & Waterman
Chart positions
#1 (Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, South Africa, Switzerland & UK) #25 (Canada) #28 (U.S. Billboard Hot 100)
Kylie Minogue singles chronology
"Locomotion" (1987)	"I Should Be So Lucky" (1987)	"Got to Be Certain" (1988)

"I Should Be So Lucky" is a pop dance song written by English songwriting team Stock, Aitken and Waterman for Kylie Minogue's debut studio album Kylie (1987). The song was produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman and received a mixed reception from music critics. The song was released as the first single in the winter of 1987 and reached number one in Australia, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. It reached the top ten in France, Greece and Italy and the top thirty in Canada. In the United States, "I Should Be So Lucky" was released to success on the Billboard dance charts, where it reached the top ten on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The song was also a modest hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number twenty-eight.

Contents 1 Writing and recording 2 Formats and track listings 2.1 European vinyl single 2.2 North American vinyl single 2.3 Asian CD single 3 Music video 4 Chart performance 4.1 Chart performance 5 In Cookie 6 In Venus 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Writing and recording

After the success of her debut single "Locomotion" in Australia, Minogue traveled to London to work with Stock, Aitken and Waterman, a successful British writing and production team. They knew little of Minogue and had forgotten that she was arriving; as a result, they wrote "I Should Be So Lucky" in forty minutes while she waited outside the studio. The tune is essentially a sped up version of Pachelbel's Canon, composed around the year 1680.[1] Mike Stock wrote the lyrics for the song in response to what he had learned about Minogue prior to her arrival. He believed that although she was a successful soap star in Australia and very talented, there must be something wrong with her and figured that she must be unlucky in love.

Minogue recorded the song in less than an hour, which Stock attributes to her good ear for music and her quick memorisation skills. After Minogue finished the recording session she returned home to Australia to continue work on the soap opera, Neighbours.

[edit] Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "I Should Be So Lucky".

[edit] European vinyl single

1. "I Should Be So Lucky" — 3:24
2. "I Should Be So Lucky" (Instrumental) — 3:24

[edit] North American vinyl single

1. "I Should Be So Lucky" (Extended mix) — 6:08
2. "I Should Be So Lucky" (Bicentennial remix) — 6:12
3. "I Should Be So Lucky" (Instrumental) — 3:24

[edit] Asian CD single

1. "I Should Be So Lucky" (Extended mix) — 6:08
2. "Got to Be Certain" (Extended) — 6:36

[edit] Music video

"I Should Be So Lucky" featured a music video that was directed by Chris Langman and Andrew McVintty and was filmed in late 1987 at Channel 7 Studios in Melbourne, Australia. The video features Minogue walking through her home, explaining why she should be so lucky in love. The scenes of Minogue in her home are intercut with scenes of her dancing in front of a coulourful chalkboard background. The video for "I Should Be So Lucky" presented a cute, wholesome, young "girl-next-door" image of Minogue to the public, with scenes of Minogue giggling and making funny faces to the camera. The video was subject to a parody on the British satire programme Spitting Image, featuring a Kylie puppet blithely dancing around (destroying, even) the set singing 'I've been very lucky', complete with Stock, Aitken and Waterman puppets appearing to give their thoughts. [2]

The music video has been included on multiple VHS and DVD collections released by Minogue with its most recent inclusion on the companion DVD to her second greatest hits album Ultimate Kylie (2004).

[edit] Chart performance

On December 29, 1987, "I Should Be So Lucky" was released in the United Kingdom. The song became Minogue's first number one single when it debuted at number ninety on the singles chart before climbing the chart in the weeks that followed peaking at number one, and spent a total of five weeks in the top position. The song became the first song in the UK to remain at the top of the charts for five weeks in ten years and became one of the years biggest hits, selling over 675,000 copies. Outside of the UK, the song was also successful. It reached number one in six countries including Finland, Germany (where it remained at number one for three weeks and was certified Gold^[1]), Japan and Switzerland. In Australia, "I Should Be So Lucky" became Minogue's second number one hit on the singles chart. With number ones in both Australian and the UK, Minogue became the first artist ever to hold simultaneous number one's in both countries.

Due to favourable reception of the song worldwide, "I Should Be So Lucky" was released in the United States and Canada. The song found success on the U.S. Billboard Dance Chart, where it reached number ten becoming one of Minogue's many successful singles on the U.S. dance chart. It was also a modest success on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number twenty-eight, remaining on the chart for fourteen weeks. In Canada the song went top thirty, peaking at number twenty-five.

[edit] Chart performance

Chart (1987)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	1
Finnish Singles Chart	1
German Singles Chart	1 (3 wks)
Hong Kong Singles Chart	1
Israeli Singles Chart	1
Japanese Tokyo Hot 100	1
Lebanese Singles Chart	1
South African Singles Chart	1
Swiss Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	1 (5 wks)
Greek Singles Chart	2
New Zealand Singles Chart	3
Canadian Singles Chart	25
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	28

Preceded by "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany

UK number one single February 14, 1988

Succeeded by "Don't Turn Around" by Aswad

[edit] In Cookie

"I Should Be So Lucky," as well as an instrumental version of the song, was featured prominently in the 1989 film Cookie, as well as the film's trailer and TV commercials.

[edit] In Venus

In the 2006 film Venus, starring Peter O'Toole and Jodie Whittaker, the song is used to reinforce the age and cultural differences between the two characters. O'Toole's Maurice has just quoted Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" and Whittaker's Jessie doesn't know the author. But when Jessie recites the chorus from "I Should Be So Lucky" likewise Maurice doesn't know who wrote it -- Jessie's idea of a classic.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Kylie.com — official website.