Released 28 November 1988 Recorded Sydney, Australia Length 3:58 | Format CD single
vinyl single Genre Pop | |
B-side "All I Wanna Do Is Make You Mine" | ||
"Especially for You" is a song performed by the Australian recording artists Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, from Donovan's debut album Ten Good Reasons (1989). The single was released on 28 November 1988 and was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman.
Contents
"Especially for You" received many positive reviews from older and contemporary critics, who deemed it one of the strongest of each singer's album, but also dubbed the song a classic. The song had commercial success, reaching number one in the UK, Ireland, Greece and Belgium and peaking inside the Top 5 in countries including Australia, New Zealand, France, Finland and Switzerland. In 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 20th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.
Minogue also performed this song as a duet with Kermit the Frog on the show An Audience with... Kylie Minogue in 2001.
Background
Minogue and Donovan both appeared on the Australian TV series Neighbours but before they recorded the song, Minogue had left the series to concentrate on a music career. By 1989, Donovan had also left the series to focus on his burgeoning music career. After the success of them on the show, Minogue had released her studio album Kylie, while Donovan was working on his studio album Ten Good Reasons. However, the album was not complete without the song, so the singer's production company Stock, Aitken & Waterman had composed and written a song for the singer's so they could sing a duet on the track.
The single was released on 28 November 1988 and was written by Stock Aitken Waterman. The song was later featured on the American version of Enjoy Yourself. In May 2012, it was announced that Minogue and Donovan would be performing the song at the Hit Factory Live concert in July of that year, their first performance together since 1989.
Years after the single was released, the song was featured on four compilations released by Minogue and two by Donovan. These are the compilations that the song was featured on respectively:
Chart performance
"Especially for You" debuted at number two in Australia and stayed at that position for four consecutive weeks. This is Donovan's highest peak in Australia, but not Minogue's, after setting a record with her first three singles debuting at Number One. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number four, until peaking at number two. To date, this is Donovan's only single to peak in the Top 20, and is currently Minogue's highest and longest single to date in that country, staying for 21 weeks. The song then debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, staying there for four weeks, rising to number one for three consecutive weeks. The song stayed in the chart for 14 weeks in total. It was Kylie's 2nd Number One of 7, and Jason's first Number One of 4. In 2014 the song became one of only 154 singles in UK Official Charts History to reach 1 million sales.
In the European markets, the song debuted at number 39 on the French Singles Chart and rose to number three for two consecutive weeks. This was Minogue's highest single in France until "Can't Get You Out of My Head" (2001). The song debuted at number 73 on the Dutch Top 40, peaking at number four for a sole week, and was her highest until "Can't Get You Out Of My Head". The song spent a sole week at number ten in Norway, making it one of her lowest singles on that chart. The song had debuted at number 15 in Sweden, until peaking at number twelve for a solitary week. In Switzerland, the song peaked at number two for a single week, staying in the charts for fifteen weeks. This was Minogue's highest until "Can't Get You Out Of My Head". The song peaked at number twelve in Austria for one week.
Legacy
In 2012, Minogue and Donovan announced they would reunite to perform at the Hit Factory in July 2012, almost 23 years after they recorded the song. "Especially for You" was Kylie's biggest-selling single in the United Kingdom until 2001's "Can't Get You Out of My Head". The duet is also the bestselling Stock Aitken Waterman-penned single ever, selling more than one million copies to date as at December 2014.
Track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Especially for You".
- "Especially for You (Extended)" - 5:01
- "All I Wanna Do Is Make You Mine" (Extended) - 6:00
- "Especially for You" - 3:58
- "Especially for You" - 3:58
- "All I Wanna Do Is Make You Mine" - 3:34
- "Especially for You" (Extended) - 5:01
- "All I Wanna Do Is Make You Mine" (Extended) - 6:00
Live performances
Minogue performed the song on the following concert tours:
The song was also performed on: