On a Night like This
Encyclopedia
- For the song by the American country music group Trick Pony, see On a Night Like This (Trick Pony song)On a Night Like This (Trick Pony song)"On a Night like This" is the title of a song written by Doug Kahan and Karen Staley, and recorded by American country music group Trick Pony. Released in April 2001, it was the second single from the album Trick Pony...
"On a Night Like This" is a song by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
, taken from her seventh studio album Light Years (2000). The song was released as a CD Single on 25 September 2000, and was released digitally after the physical release date. With the success of "Spinning Around
Spinning Around
"Spinning Around" is a song by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was written by Ira Shickman, Osborne Bingham, Kara DioGuardi, and Paula Abdul, and produced by Mike Spencer. It was originally intended for Paula Abdul's "comeback" album. However, as the album never came into fruition, it...
", "On a Night Like This" served as the second single on the album.
The song was given a mixed to positive reception by music critics, with some saying it is a dreamy and elegant song, however others commented that the song's power and strength was "not at Minogue's best". The song became a success in some parts of the world. The song peaked at number one in Australia, number two in the United Kingdom and in top twenty positions in parts of Europe. The song, also with her previous hit Spinning Around
Spinning Around
"Spinning Around" is a song by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was written by Ira Shickman, Osborne Bingham, Kara DioGuardi, and Paula Abdul, and produced by Mike Spencer. It was originally intended for Paula Abdul's "comeback" album. However, as the album never came into fruition, it...
did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
Background and release
"On a Night Like This" written by Steve Torch, Graham Stack, Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling, and was produced by Mark Taylor from Metro and Graham Stack. The song was recorded in Dreamhouse in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Minogue also recorded a b-side to the single called "Ocean Blue", written by Minogue and her co-writers. The song was recorded at the same studio in England.
"On a Night Like This" is a dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song, with strong elements of nu-disco
Nu-disco
Nu-disco is a 21st century dance music genre associated with a renewed interest in 1970s and early 1980s disco, mid-1980s Italo disco, and the synthesizer-heavy Eurodisco aesthetics. The moniker appeared in print as early as 2002, and by mid-2008 was used by record shops such as the online...
and small portions of europop
Europop
Europop refers to a style of pop music that first developed in today's form in Europe, throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and ’90s...
music. The song was mixed by Mark Taylor and Graham Stack at the same studio Kylie recorded in.
"On a Night Like This" was released in Australia and New Zealand on 25 September 2000 by Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...
physically, and released worldwide by Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
digitally. Before Minogue had recorded the song, Swedish singer Pandora
Pandora
In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. As Hesiod related it, each god helped create her by giving her unique gifts...
had recorded the song in 1999, before Minogue had signed to Parlophone. The song, however, wasn't released, and it was later covered by Heavy Metal band for their extended play. Thus, this became Minogue's most covered song threw her Light Years era.
After Light Years was finished, her tour On a Night Like This Tour
On A Night Like This Tour
On a Night Like This Tour is a Kylie Minogue concert tour in support of her seventh studio album Light Years that began in March 2001. Having hit the headlines around the globe for her hugely successful performance at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and having subsequently performed again at the...
was named after the single, and featured the artwork as the same. The artwork featured Minogue laying on a villa looking towards the camera, while the golden sun shines threw the backlight of her.
Composition
"On A Night Like This" is a midtempo dance-popDance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song. Pandora Radio describes the song as featuring house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and nu-disco
Nu-disco
Nu-disco is a 21st century dance music genre associated with a renewed interest in 1970s and early 1980s disco, mid-1980s Italo disco, and the synthesizer-heavy Eurodisco aesthetics. The moniker appeared in print as early as 2002, and by mid-2008 was used by record shops such as the online...
influences, dancable grooves, acoustic guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
riffs, a prominent use of synthesizers and other vocal harmonies.
Music video
A Music video for the song was filmed in August 2000 in Monte CarloMonte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, by directer Douglas Avery. The video was known for its fashion imagery and a wished atmosphere of wealth and luxury. The designer of Kylie's known dress was by Versace
Versace
Gianni Versace S.p.A. , usually referred to as Versace, is an Italian fashion label founded by Gianni Versace in 1978.The first Versace boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978, and its popularity was immediate. Today, Versace is one of the world's leading international fashion houses...
. Critics praised the music video for its elegances and styles, where some dismissed it.
Background
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "On a Night Like This" was directed by Douglas Avery, filmed in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, and was loosely based on Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
's 1995 crime drama movie Casino
Casino (film)
Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
, while Kylie herself portrayed a character loosely based on Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
's bored trophy wife
Gun moll
Gun moll is a term that refers to the female companion of a male professional criminal. In some contexts, gun moll more specifically suggests that the woman handles a firearm....
, while Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
actor Rutger Hauer portrayed her mob boss partner.
Synopsis
The video starts with a mob-related scene, as the men are speaking in FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. The video translates with subtitles "Matters are not handled in this way/Here in Monte Carlo/Things are closely watched/The authorities are extremely vigilant/The things you ask of us/Are not so easy". As the song starts, it shows Minogue on a diving board over a pool, and jumps in with while wearing an expensive Versace
Versace
Gianni Versace S.p.A. , usually referred to as Versace, is an Italian fashion label founded by Gianni Versace in 1978.The first Versace boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978, and its popularity was immediate. Today, Versace is one of the world's leading international fashion houses...
. After she sings through the chorus, she undresses, becoming nude, and throws her dress across to the window looking at the mob men. As the second verse starts, she appears in more Versace label, with expensive diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
jewellery
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
, in a Limousine
Limousine
A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
. As the chorus comes, she appears in a Monte Carlo casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
, and she wins money. She later goes back home, where her mob boss lover see her with ignorance, as she comes into the hallway and she smashes a green glass vase
Vase
The vase is an open container, often used to hold cut flowers. It can be made from a number of materials including ceramics and glass. The vase is often decorated and thus used to extend the beauty of its contents....
. As the song ends, she steps on a porch and undresses again, where he has no other reactions but stare. The video ends with her stepping down the porch, fades to black.
Reception
On MUZU.TV it was rated five stars as it was reported a "loved track". From June 2011, the song has nearly reached over two million views on youtubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
Video controversies
While the video enjoyed moderate success throughout most of the world, it still managed to garner considerable controversy. According to reports by NMENME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, the original clip supposedly contained scenes that would have resulted in a mass banning. The Directors Cut had been noted to contain Minogue in full-frontal nudity
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
, however, NME reported that plans to release such a music video were scrapped. Despite this, the edited version still turned heads thanks to a see-through dress sported by Kylie."
Chart performance
In Australia, the single debuted at number one and spent two non-consecutive weeks there. It spent a total of seventeen weeks in top fifty, becoming one of Minogue's longest charting singles. As with her previous number one single "Spinning AroundSpinning Around
"Spinning Around" is a song by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was written by Ira Shickman, Osborne Bingham, Kara DioGuardi, and Paula Abdul, and produced by Mike Spencer. It was originally intended for Paula Abdul's "comeback" album. However, as the album never came into fruition, it...
", "On a Night Like This" was also certified platinum and became the twenty-seventh most successful single of the year 2000 in Australia. It was also successful in the UK where it peaked at number two. It was a moderate success elsewhere, peaking at number thirty-five in New Zealand on RIANZ.
Critical reception
"On A Night Like This" has received mixed reviews from music critics.Although Allmusic highlighted it as an album track, it gave it a mixed, giving it two-and-a-half stars out of five. Nick Levine from Digital SpyDigital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
said that the song is a "catchy dance-pop song". One NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reviewer compared it to Spiller
Spiller
Cristiano Spiller is an Italian DJ.He had a #1 hit in the UK, Italy, Australia and other countries with the hit single, "Groovejet ", featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor, released in 2000...
's song Groovejet, writing that the song "works because it doesn't revolve awkwardly round a random disco beat". Another NME reviewer described the song as lacking passion and "unremarkable".
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "On a Night Like This."Australia CD 1 (MUSH019722)
- "On a Night Like This" — 3:32
- "On a Night Like This" [Rob Searle Mix] — 7:58
- "On a Night Like This" [Motiv8 Nocturnal Vocal Mix] — 7:31
- "On a Night Like This" [Bini and Martini Club Mix] — 6:34
- "On a Night Like This" [Video]
- It has two possible covers with different ratings given for the video.
UK CD 1 (CDRS6546)/NZ CD Maxi (8893100)
- "On a Night Like This" — 3:32
- "Ocean Blue" — 4:22
- "Your Disco Needs You" [Almighty Mix] — 8:22
- "On a Night Like This" [Enhanced Video]
Europe CD 1/Australia CD 2 (MUSH019725)
- "On a Night Like This" — 3:32
- "Ocean Blue" — 4:22
- "Your Disco Needs You" [Almighty Mix] — 8:22
- "On a Night Like This" [Halo Mix] — 8:05
UK CD 2 (CDR6546)
- "On a Night Like This" — 3:32
- "On a Night Like This" [Rob Searle Mix] — 7:58
- "On a Night Like This" [Motiv8 Nocturnal Vocal Mix] — 7:31
Europe CD 3 (EMI 8893360)
- "On a Night Like This" — 3:32
- "Ocean Blue" — 4:22
- "On a Night Like This" [Video]
Live performances
Kylie performed the song on the following concert tours:- On A Night Like This TourOn A Night Like This TourOn a Night Like This Tour is a Kylie Minogue concert tour in support of her seventh studio album Light Years that began in March 2001. Having hit the headlines around the globe for her hugely successful performance at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and having subsequently performed again at the...
- KylieFever2002
- Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour
- Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour
- KylieX2008KylieX2008KylieX2008 was the tenth concert tour by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue, in support of her tenth studio album, X . Originally announced as just a European tour, rumors of Minogue taking the tour to Australia, Asia, and America had surfaced in the international media...
- Aphrodite World Tour
The song was also performed on:
- An Audience with KylieAn Audience with...An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by ITV Studios, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a light hearted revue/tribute style.The show began as An...
2001 TV Special - Money Can't BuyMoney Can't BuyMoney Can't Buy was a one-off, invitation only concert in support of Kylie Minogue's 2003 album, Body Language held at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, England. This event cost £1 million to stage and tickets were not available for sale...
2003 TV Concert
Pandora version
The song was first released by the SwedishSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
artist Pandora
Pandora (singer)
Anneli Magnusson , known by her stage name Pandora, is a Swedish eurodance artist. She was most popular during the mid 1990s in the Nordic countries,in Asia and Australia in the end of 1990s to mid 2000s but is still active and releasing material more recently as United DJs vs...
in late 1999
1999 in music
-Events:*January 7**After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation.**Paul McCartney attends the first of his stepdaughter Heather's first housewares collection in Georgia....
. It was included on her album No Regrets. Pandora claims that the song was written during her recording sessions in the studio. Months after her release, she began to receive fan mail inquiring on other versions. Because of different contractual circumstances with the writers, the song was given to two other singers, Anna Vissi and Kylie Minogue. In December 2007, Pandora released three new remixes of the song.
Anna Vissi version
The song was released by GreekGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
singer Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi , known as Anna Vishy in Cypriot Greek, is a Greek-Cypriot recording artist and actress...
in early 2000. It was included on her debut English album Everything I Am
Everything I Am
Everything I Am is the title of the debut English-language album by Greek singer Anna Vissi. It was created under Vissi's affiliation with Sony Music Entertainment international who granted her collaboration with successful American songwriters and producers...
, which featured additional songs by Stack and Taylor. Vissi performed "On a Night Like This" at the Miss Universe 2000
Miss Universe 2000
Miss Universe 2000, the 49th Miss Universe pageant was held at Eleftheria Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus on May 12, 2000. 79 delegates from around the universe competed for the crown. At the conclusion of the final night, Lara Dutta of India was crowned as the new Miss Universe 2000 by Miss Universe...
pageant held in Nicosia
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
on 12 May 2000, watched by a worldwide audience.
Charts
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
Year-End charts
| Year | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Australian Singles Chart | 27 |
| UK Singles Chart | 129 | |
Certifications
| Country | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|
| Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
Platinum |
External links
- On a Night Like This — song page on official web site.
- "On a Night Like This" official music video on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
posted by EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
.