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"Success"
Australian artwork
Single by Dannii Minogue
from the album Love and Kisses
Released	3 September 1990 (1990-09-03)
Genre	Dance-pop freestyle
Length	3:42
Label	Mushroom MCA
Songwriter(s)	Dannii Minogue Alvin Moody
Producer(s)	Alvin Moody Vincent Bell Bruce Forest (remix)
Dannii Minogue Australian singles chronology
"Love and Kisses" (1990) "Success" (1990) "I Don't Wanna Take This Pain" (1990)
Dannii Minogue European singles chronology
"Love and Kisses" (1991) "Success" (1991) "Jump to the Beat" (1991)
Alternative cover
European artwork
Music video
"Success" on YouTube

"Success" (also formatted as "$ucce$$") is a dance-pop song performed by Australian singer Dannii Minogue. The song was written by Minogue and Alvin Moody, and produced by Moody and Vincent Bell for Minogue's debut album, Love and Kisses (1991). It was released as Minogue's second single in September 1990 in Australia. It was remixed and released in May 1991 in the United Kingdom. The song's lyrics discuss the highs and lows of being a celebrity. It entered the top 40 in Australia, Ireland, and the UK. Minogue performed this song when she was invited to perform on The Royal Variety Show in front of Elizabeth II.

Background

Six months after signing a recording contract with Mushroom Records in Australia, Minogue traveled to New York City to begin recording songs for her debut album. While in the United States, she worked with record producers Alvin Moody and Vincent Bell. The recording studio, located in Brooklyn, had been the site of several shootings. This made it difficult for Minogue to get to it because taxicab drivers would not drive her there. Minogue found the recording experience in New York City both "awesome" and "terrifying". "Success" was the first song Minogue co-wrote and its lyrics discuss the highs and lows of being a celebrity.

Critical reception

In a review for Allmusic, John Lucas called the song "rather dated" and said "its aspirational lyrics became something of an albatross for Minogue given her struggle to achieve the career momentum of her sister". Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Aussie vixen takes another shot at a U.S. club hit with a beat-savvy pop/house confection." He complimented Minogue's "chirpy delivery and the song's contagious nature." Caroline Sullivan from Smash Hits commented, "This is a groovy little piece of bouncebeat, like some superior Janet Jackson number. You know the video is going to have loads of dancing, with Daniel flinging herself hither and yon, and it'll be bee-rilliant."

Minogue wanted the video to incorporate visual ideas from the Australian nightclub scene. While conducting research for the video, she saw "these brilliant kids dancing" and asked them to be a part of the video. The video was released commercially on The Videos in 1996 and The Hits & Beyond special edition companion DVD in 2006.

Chart performance

"Success" was officially released in Australia on 3 September 1990, debuting on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 51 for the week ending 16 September 1990. The song peaked at number 28 in its fifth week on the chart and spent 11 weeks in the top 100.

In the United Kingdom, "Success" was released on 6 May 1991, debuting at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart. Two weeks later, the song reached its peak of number 11 and remained there for three consecutive weeks. In Ireland, the track reached number 15 on the Irish Singles Chart.

Music video

The music video for "Success" was directed by Paul Goldman and Craig Griffin and filmed in Australia. The video features Minogue dancing and having her makeup done. It begins with Minogue dancing in a studio with four male dancers. She is then shown dancing by herself in front of a red background. Scenes of Minogue having her makeup applied, a young boy dressed as a boxer and her dancers practicing are intercut throughout.

Formats and track listings

Australian 7-inch and cassette single

1. "Success"
2. "Success" (Instrumental)

Australian maxi-cassette single

1. "Success" (Filthy Lucre mix)
2. "Success" (Rich'n'Real mix)
3. "Success" (Expensive mix)
4. "Success" (instrumental)

Australian CD single

1. "Success"
2. "Success" (instrumental)
3. "Success" (Filthy Lucre mix)
4. "Success" (Rich'n'Real mix)
5. "Success" (Expensive mix)

Australian 12-inch single

1. "Success" (Filthy Lucre mix)
2. "Success" (Rich'n'Real mix)
3. "Success" (instrumental)

UK CD single

1. "Success"
2. "Success" (12-inch version)
3. "Success" (Funky Tony dub)

Personnel

• Dannii Minogue – lead vocals
• Alvin Moody, Vincent Bell – production
• Bruce Forest – remix, additional production
• Paul Cox – photography

Charts

Release history

References

1. ^ Lucas, Josh. "Love and Kisses - Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
2. Valent, Dani. "The Real Dannii". The Age (Melbourne) Magazine. Issue #24. 6 October 2006.
3. ^ The Hits & Beyond (CD liner notes). All Around the World. June 2006.
4. Lucas, Josh. "The Hits & Beyond > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
5. Flick, Larry (23 May 1992). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 68. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
6. "Success". Smash Hits (Review). 1 May 1991. p. 43. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020.
7. ^ "Dannii Minogue – $ucce$$". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
8. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
9. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 4 May 1991. p. 31.
10. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
11. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Success". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
12. "Dannographii: Success". DanniiMusic.com. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
13. "Dannii Minogue – $ucce$$" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
14. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 24. 15 June 1991. p. 21.
15. "サクセス | ダニー・ミノーグ" [Success | Dannii Minogue] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 10 September 2023.

• 1990 singles
• 1990 songs
• 1991 singles
• Dannii Minogue songs
• MCA Records singles
• Mushroom Records singles
• Songs written by Dannii Minogue