"So Under Pressure" is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song performed by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n singer

Dannii Minogue Danielle Jane Minogue () is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on th ...

. The song was written by Minogue,

Terry Ronald Terry Maxwell Ronald is an English author, singer, songwriter, and music producer. Biography Born in South London, Ronald was a founder member and lead singer with the pop band '' Gun Shy'', who released one single "Just To Be Your Secret", which ...

and LMC, and produced by Lee Monteverde for Minogue's fifth album ''

Club Disco ''Club Disco'' is the fifth studio album by Australian singer Dannii Minogue. It was released by All Around the World (record label), All Around the World digitally on 5 November 2007 worldwide. It was also re-released in Australia on 27 May 200 ...

'' (2007) and was also used as the lead single for her greatest hits compilation '' The Hits & Beyond'' (2006). The song's

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

discuss the

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

diagnoses of Minogue's sister Kylie and an unnamed friend. The song was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on 12 June 2006 in the United Kingdom. It entered the top forty in Australia, Ireland and the UK and became Minogue's tenth consecutive Upfront Club Chart number one. The song's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, directed by Phil Griffin, features Minogue in a variety of high pressure situations. She has described it as "the hardest video I've ever done".

Background and reception

In 2005, Minogue began writing and recording material with longtime collaborator

and British dance group LMC. During one of their sessions, they penned "So Under Pressure", which was inspired by the

diagnoses of her sister Kylie as well as that of an unnamed friend. Minogue has described the recording of "So Under Pressure" as a "real achievement" as she was "brave enough to put all er feelingsinto words".

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer John Lucas called the track one of "Minogue's more inventive moments".

Chart performance

"So Under Pressure" was officially released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 12 June 2006. The song debuted on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on 19 June 2006 at number 20."2006 Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive"

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

. Retrieved 2 September 2013. The following week, "So Under Pressure" fell to number sixty and exited the chart in its third week of release. The track became Minogue's tenth consecutive Upfront Club Chart number one in the UK."Club Queen"
DanniiMusic.com. 29 June 2006. Retrieved 23 November 2007. from the original on 10 July 2006. In Ireland, the song reached number 31, remaining on the

singles chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

for one week. "So Under Pressure" proved popular in Irish

dance clubs A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

where it reached number six on the Dance Singles Chart. The track was released in Australia on 29 July 2006. It debuted on 8 August 2006 at number 16 and became Minogue's eighth top-20 single. The song remained on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

for five weeks, exiting on 5 September 2006. It was the 30th-highest-selling dance single in Australia for 2006.

Music video

The

was directed by Phil Griffin in mid-2006."Dannographii: So Under Pressure"
. DanniiMusic.com. Retrieved 21 November 2007. Minogue described the video:

"I tried to put different things in the video that made me feel under pressure and it really did! It was the hardest video I`ve ever done so I kept thinking, why on earth did I come up with this concept? People don’t realise but I definitely have that Australian tomboy side to me. I love snakes and sharks and jumping out of planes and stuff. Growing up it never occurred to me that it wasn’t a girly thing to ride a bike, covered in mud holding frogs and collecting lizards!".

The music video's crew did not believe that Minogue could work with the python, but she said that it did not bother her at all. The music video was released commercially on '' The Hits & Beyond'' special edition companion

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

, released in June 2006. The video opens with a scene of Minogue in a white room dressed in a black swimsuit. She is then shown lying on top of a white platform with a python wrapped around her body. Scenes of Minogue and her three dancers walking a catwalk, posing for photographs and dancing are intercut throughout the music video. The video concludes with Minogue trapped inside a spinning

perspex Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite ...

box.

Formats and track listings

UK CD single 1 # "So Under Pressure" (radio edit) – 3:20 # "So Under Pressure" (Soulseekerz remix) – 7:48 # "So Under Pressure" (extended mix) – 6:43 # "So Under Pressure" (Steve Pitron remix) – 7:13 # "So Under Pressure" (Riffs & Rays remix) – 8:05 # "So Under Pressure" (Thriller Jill remix) – 8:19 # "So Under Pressure" music video UK CD single 2 # "So Under Pressure" (radio edit) – 3:20 # "Feel Like I Do" (Danni Minogue, Jean-Claude Ades,

Hannah Robinson Hannah Robinson (born in Derbyshire) is a British songwriter. Her best-known compositions include Rachel Stevens's UK No. 2 hit "Some Girls", Ladyhawke's "My Delirium" and Annie's "Chewing Gum". Robinson began her career as a vocalist and in 2 ...

) – 3:48 UK 12-inch vinyl single # "So Under Pressure" (extended mix) – 6:43 # "So Under Pressure" (Soulseekerz remix) – 7:48 Australian CD single 1 # "So Under Pressure" (radio edit) – 3:22 # "So Under Pressure" (Soul Seekerz remix / Soul Seekerz extended) – 7:47 # "So Under Pressure" (extended mix / LMC extended mix) – 6:42 # "So Under Pressure" (Steve Pitron remix) – 7:12 # "So Under Pressure" (Riffs & Rays remix) – 6:47 # "So Under Pressure" (Thriller Jill remix) – 8:02 Australian CD single 2 # "So Under Pressure" (Soul Seekerz extended / Soul Seekerz remix) – 7:48 # "So Under Pressure" (LMC extended mix / extended mix) – 6:42 # "So Under Pressure" (Express Theory mix) – 5:52 # "So Under Pressure" (Soul Seekerz dub) – 7:48 # "So Under Pressure" (radio edit) – 3:22 # "Feel Like I Do" – 3:49 # "So Under Pressure" music video

Personnel

The following people contributed to "So Under Pressure":''The Hits & Beyond'' (CD Liner Notes). All Around the World. June 2006. * Dannii Minogue – lead vocals * Justine Riddock – backing vocals * Lee Monteverde – keyboards * Chris Martin – guitar * Terry Ronald – backing vocals, additional vocal production * Recorded and mixed at AATW Studios

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2006 singles 2006 songs Dannii Minogue songs Songs written by Dannii Minogue Songs written by Terry Ronald Central Station Records singles