"Success" (also formatted as "$ucce$$") is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music 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 ra ...

song performed by Australian singer

Dannii Minogue Dannii Minogue (; born 20 October 1971) is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. As a child, she became known for her appearances on the television talent show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988). She went on to play the r ...

. 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 Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

. 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 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Background

Six months after signing a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival ...

in Australia, Minogue traveled to New York City to begin recording songs for her debut album.Valent, Dani. "The Real Dannii". ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

(Melbourne) Magazine''. Issue #24. 6 October 2006. While in the United States, she worked with

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

s Alvin Moody and Vincent Bell. The recording studio, located in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, had been the site of several shootings. This made it difficult for Minogue to get to it because

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

drivers would not drive her there.''The Hits & Beyond'' (CD liner notes). All Around the World. June 2006. Minogue found the recording experience in New York City both "awesome" and "terrifying". "Success" was the first song Minogue co-wrote and its

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, ...

discuss the highs and lows of being a

.Lucas, Josh. "Love and Kisses - Review"

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Retrieved 15 April 2008.

Critical reception

In a review for

, John Lucas called the song "rather dated" and said "its aspirational lyrics became something of an

albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Paci ...

for Minogue given her struggle to achieve the career momentum of her

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' 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 ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' commented, "This is a groovy little piece of bouncebeat, like some superior

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

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 A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

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 ''The Hits & Beyond'' is the second greatest hits album by Australian singer Dannii Minogue. It was released by All Around the World Records on 16 June 2006 in Ireland and the United Kingdom on 19 June 2006. The album was then released by Cent ...

'' 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 ki ...

in 2006.

Chart performance

"Success" was officially released in Australia on 3 September 1990, debuting 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 ...

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 The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

Music video

The

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

for "Success" was directed by Paul Goldman and Craig Griffin and filmed in Australia."Dannographii: Success"
DanniiMusic.com. Retrieved 14 April 2008. The video features Minogue dancing and having her

makeup Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or created sy ...

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 Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and her dancers practicing are intercut throughout.

Formats and track listings

Australian 7-inch and cassette single # "Success" # "Success" (Instrumental) Australian maxi-cassette single # "Success" ( Filthy Lucre mix) # "Success" (Rich'n'Real mix) # "Success" (Expensive mix) # "Success" (instrumental) Australian CD single # "Success" # "Success" (instrumental) # "Success" (Filthy Lucre mix) # "Success" (Rich'n'Real mix) # "Success" (Expensive mix) Australian 12-inch single # "Success" (Filthy Lucre mix) # "Success" (Rich'n'Real mix) # "Success" (instrumental) UK CD single # "Success" # "Success" (12-inch version) # "Success" (Funky Tony dub)

Personnel

* Dannii Minogue – lead vocals * Alvin Moody, Vincent Bell –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

* Bruce Forest – remix, additional production * Paul Cox – photography

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Success (Song) 1990 songs 1990 singles 1991 singles Dannii Minogue songs MCA Records singles Mushroom Records singles Music videos directed by Paul Goldman Songs written by Dannii Minogue