I Should Be So Lucky

Background and composition

After the success of her debut single "Locomotion" in Australia, Minogue traveled to London to work with Stock Aitken Waterman, a successful British writing and production team. They knew little of Minogue and had forgotten that she was arriving; as a result, they wrote "I Should Be So Lucky" in forty minutes while she waited outside the recording studio. Mike Stock wrote the lyrics for the song in response to what he had learned about Minogue prior to her arrival. He believed that although she was a successful soap star in Australia and very talented, there must be something wrong with her and figured that she must be unlucky in love. Minogue recorded the song in less than an hour, which Stock attributes to her good ear for music and her quick memorization skills. After Minogue finished the recording session she returned home to Australia to continue work on the soap opera, Neighbours.

"I Should Be So Lucky" is a dance-pop oriented song, which features elements of bubblegum pop and new wave music. According to the music sheet on MusicNotes.com, which was published by Universal Music Publishing Group, the song is set in the key of C Major. Minogue's vocals span from D4 to C5.The song is set in common time and moves at a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute. Instrumentation of the song features synthesizers, keyboards and guitars. According to PopMatters, they said the song features "numerous orchestra hits to the uncomfortably thin sounding drum machine." Waterman has said the tune was inspired by Pachelbel's Canon. Stock told the Guardian: "Anyone who thinks I Should Be So Lucky is easy should try to play it. It's in four keys, all of them really awkward, and you can't even strum it unless you're a really good musician."

"I Should Be So Lucky" received positive to mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, who thought that the song was an instant highlight and good song within the 80's, while some dismissed the lyrical content. Despite this, the song received commercial attention around the world, where the song peaked in the top ten in many countries including Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the Dance charts in the U.S.

The song was also known to many in the late 1980s and early 1990s as one of Minogue's signature songs, which many critics entering the song on their best track or worst track list. And additionally, in 2011, "I Should Be So Lucky" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's Sounds of Australia registry.

"I Should Be So Lucky" later appeared on six of Kylie's hit compilations including Greatest Hits (1992), Greatest Hits 1987–1999 (2003), Greatest Hits 87–97 (2003), Ultimate Kylie (2004), her compilation The Best of Kylie Minogue (2012) and The Abbey Road Sessions (2012).

Critical reception

"I Should Be So Lucky" garnered positive reviews from some music critics. Nick Levine, from Digital Spy, called it "standout track". Chris True from AllMusic had reviewed the album, and highlighted the song as an album standout. But as a separate rating, they gave the single three stars out of five. In the review of The Best of Kylie Minogue (2012), Tim Sendra highlighted it as an album standout. Hunter Felt from PopMatters gave it a positive review, stating "something about Kylie’s innocent yet forceful vocals and the sheer catchiness of the song itself [...] So the song became a beloved secret, and I never bothered to try to tune my friends in on “I Could Be So Lucky”, or, crazier yet, proclaim that this “has-been” would be a critical and commercial darling in a few years time." However, he did say the song was cliché. However, Mark Edwards from Stylus Magazine gave it a scathing remark by saying "Listening to the first tracks on Ultimate Kylie, you want to skip straight through, because early songs like “I Should Be So Lucky” and “Locomotion” are unlistenable—horribly naff, squeaky songs" and criticized Stock, Aitken and Waterman songs they produced in the 80's by stating "[the songs] transport the listener back to a time when every single in the UK charts was either written by Stock, Aitken and Waterman or sung by an Aussie soap star, or both." OK! called the song a "classic".

The song won the Highest Selling Single award at the 3rd annual ARIA Awards.

Commercial performance

"I Should Be So Lucky" was released on 29 December 1987. It was a commercial success, reaching atop the Australian Kent Music Report chart for six consecutives weeks, and became her second number-one single after Locomotion. The song was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and ranked at number five on the Year-end chart for 1988. In New Zealand, the song entered at No. 15 on New Zealand Top 40 and peaked at No. 3 on 27 March 1988, spending twelve weeks on the chart. In United Kingdom, "I Should Be So Lucky" was released on 29 December 1987. The song entered at No. 90 on the UK Singles Chart, climbing to No. 54 the following week and three weeks later, it was No. 1 and remained at the top position for five weeks. It spent seventeen weeks on the chart. It was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for the shipment of 600,000 copies. The song was one of the best-selling singles of 1988, with estimated sales of over 675,000.

Elsewhere, "I Should Be So Lucky" peaked on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Dance Club Play. The song reached No. 10 on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart on 4 June 1988 and no. 28 on the Hot 100 on 16 July 1988. In Canada, the song reached at No. 61. Across Europe, "I Should Be So Lucky" also topped the singles charts in Germany, Ireland and Switzerland. It became a top-five hit in Austria, France and Norway, as well as a top-thirty hit in Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden. It peaked at No. 1 in Finland, Israel and Hong Kong. The song was certified silver by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) and gold in Germany.

Music video

The music video for "I Should Be So Lucky" was directed by Chris Langman and filmed in November 1987 at Channel 7 Studios in Melbourne, Australia. The video features Minogue walking through her home, with scenes of her dancing in front of a colourful chalkboard background intercut throughout. It presented a cute, wholesome, young "girl-next-door" image of Minogue to the public, with scenes of her giggling and making funny faces to the camera.

Another version of the video was made for live television promotion. This version of the video shows Kylie riding in a car with several friends through Sydney with passersby waving to her as she rides by them.

The video premiered in the UK in January 1988. The complete version of "I Should Be So Lucky" featured in the music video has been released commercially through multiple VHS and DVD collections. Its most recent inclusion is on the companion DVD to her 2012 greatest hits album, The Best of Kylie Minogue. Outtakes from the music video were used in Kylie: The Videos.

As satire

The British satirical programme Spitting Image made a send-up of "I Should Be So Lucky" entitled "Kylie Minogue", in which Minogue is depicted as being brought to life in a way similar to Frankenstein's monster in an old 1930s movie. The action shifts between the laboratory to an apartment similar to that of the original video. The song also pokes fun at her performance in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, in which as Charlene Mitchell, later Robinson she was best known at the time, and implies that she was lucky to have been chosen over other soap stars, namely Paul Henry who was Benny Hawkins in the British drama Crossroads. Stock, Aitken and Waterman are combined together as a large tape player providing creature-Minogue's voice which at one point is distorted to sound like Rick Astley.

"Kylie Minogue" is track 4 on the 1990 Spitting Image CD 20 Great Golden Gobs.

British comedians French and Saunders included a send-up of the song during the third season of their show (broadcast 26 April 1990). The sketch features the recording of the song with an orchestra and vocals by three opera divas, played by French, Saunders, and British mezzo-soprano Sarah Walker.

Cover versions and usage in media

in 1988, Hong Kong singer Sarah Wong covered this song in Cantonese. The sketch comedy television show French & Saunders made a parody of "I Should Be So Lucky". Right after the release of the original song. Brazilian pop artist Simony recorded a version in Brazilian Portuguese entitled "Acho Que Sou Louca" (translation: I Think I'm Crazy). Japanese singer Wada Kanako covered this song in Japanese named "Lucky Love". In 1992, the Egyptian pop singer Simon recorded a cover of the song with new lyrics in Arabic titled "Bahibak Aawy". French guitarist Noel Akchote's 2007 album So Lucky includes an instrumental cover. In September 2007, a cover version of "I Should Be So Lucky" appeared on the album Dolce Vita by Spanish singer Soraya Arnelas. Also that year, Japanese duo mihimaru GT released a hip hop cover version of the song. It was released as a double A-side single, along with the song "Ai Kotoba", in Japan in November 2007. In 2008, Northern Kings recorded a rock version of this song included on their second album Rethroned.

The Kylie Minogue recording is featured in the 1989 film Cookie.

Irish rock band U2 included snippets of the "I Should Be So Lucky" lyrics into their live version of "Angel of Harlem" on their Australian tour dates upon dedicating their song to Minogue.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "I Should Be So Lucky".

Live performances

Minogue performed the song on the following concert tours:

The song was also performed on:

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the Kylie liner notes.