| Showgirl: Homecoming Live | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 8 January 2007 (2007-01-08) | |||
| Recorded | 12 November 2006 (2006-11-12) | |||
| Venue | Sydney Entertainment Centre (Sydney, Australia) | |||
| Length | 116:09 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Steve Anderson | |||
| Kylie Minogue chronology | ||||
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Showgirl: Homecoming Live is the fourthlive album by Australian singer-songwriterKylie Minogue. It was first released on 8 January 2007 as a doubleCD set, byParlophone in the United Kingdom, before an international release took place in the following months. Produced bySteve Anderson, the album was recorded on 12 November 2006, during one of Minogue's concerts of herShowgirl: Homecoming Tour in Sydney, Australia at theSydney Entertainment Centre. The concert featuresU2's vocalistBono as a featured artist on the song "Kids".
Showgirl: Homecoming Live received mixed reviews frommusic critics, who were ambivalent over its content as well its overlong length, and thought the concert would be more appreciated visually rather than in audio. Commercially, the release attained moderate success worldwide; it reached number seven in the United Kingdom and was later certifiedsilver by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of over 60,000 copies. The album also charted within the top 30 in Australia, Croatia and Scotland.
Showgirl: Homecoming Tour was the ninth concert tour by Australian singerKylie Minogue. It supported her second major greatest hits compilation,Ultimate Kylie (2004), and visited Australia and the United Kingdom. Minogue was originally scheduled to perform in Australia and Asia during herShowgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour in 2005, but the dates were postponed due to herbreast cancer diagnosis.[2] In a statement, the singer said she was "looking forward to bringing the Showgirl tour to Australian audiences and am sorry to have to disappoint my fans"; her Australian tour manager, Michael Gudinski, would later declare the tour dates would be postponed until the end of 2006, when Minogue could be fully recovered.[3] The tour was officially announced on 22 June 2006 byFrontier Touring Company, initially comprising only dates in Australia, but due to popular demand, shows in the United Kingdom were also announced.[4][5]
The tour contained a revised set list and new costumes.[6] To accommodate Minogue's medical condition and conserve her strength, both alterations to the choreography and longer breaks between show sections were introduced.[6] It received positive reviews, with critics deeming the concert an "extravaganza",[6] and a "perfect comeback".[7] The tour was also a commercial success, selling 215,000 tickets for twenty concerts in Australia, becoming the best selling tour by a female artist in the country.[8] The album was recorded on 12 November 2006, during Minogue's second concert at theSydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney; the concert featuredU2'sBono on the song "Kids".[9][10] The record was first released on 8 January 2007 in the United Kingdom, coinciding with Minogue's tour in the region.[11] It was later issued internationally in countries such as Australia and Japan.[12][13]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Advertiser |   [14] |
| AllMusic | [15] |
| This is Local London | [16] |
| Daily Record | [17] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [18] |
| Gaffa | [19] |
| The Gazette | [20] |
| musicOMH | [21] |
| The Times | [22] |
| The Winnipeg Sun |  [23] |
Showgirl: Homecoming Live received mixed reviews frommusic critics. Lizzie Ennever ofBBC Music gave the album a positive review, writing that "if you're a true Kylie fan, this is an essential addition to your collection; if you're not, you might just find yourself becoming one".[10] ForThe Daily Telegraph's Cameron Adams, the record "lets you focus without [visual] distraction on the songs that made it all happen", and viewed Minogue's performance with Bono on "Kids" as its "money shot".[18] Michael Hubbard frommusicOMH stated that it "makes the listener wish they'd been at the concert", but pointed out that "missing the show's visual elements feels like only getting half of the story".[21] Echoing a similar opinion, Chris Toh fromTorque said that the main exercise of the album was "one of imagination", since most of Minogue's concerts are a dramatic spectacle.[24] For the staff ofMSN Music, "without the lavish visuals, dance routines and fireworks Kylie does have a habit of sounding a little flat and out-of-breath at times" in the album, but declared that "whether she's in tune or not, it's still great to have her back!".[25]
T'Cha Dunlevy fromThe Gazette said the album "lacks the visual impact of the original Showgirl tour DVD", but considered it "fun for fans".[20] Giving the release two-and-a-half out of five stars, Darryl Sterdan ofThe Winnipeg Sun wrote that it "does deliver the best of both worlds", complimenting the live renditions of "Come into My World" and "Slow", but felt "the world needs live CDs from Kylie the same way it needs radio shows about actualShowgirls".[23]The Observer's Emily Stokes called it a "never-ending" record which has "rougher patches than her Greatest Hits", but showed "Kylie at her most girlishly versatile", citing theSamsara section and the new version of "The Locomotion" as examples.[1] In a similar vein, Steve Jelbert fromThe Times also criticized the album's length, calling it "overlong" and commented the record suffers "the usual pitfalls of live albums", making it sound like "a tape of a wedding reception disco".[22] Also in a more negative review, Sharon Mawer fromAllMusic stated that "Minogue will continue to have hit singles and albums because the public loves her whatever she does, but this album did nothing to enhance her reputation or add to her impressive catalog."[15]
In the United Kingdom,Showgirl: Homecoming Live opened at number seven on theUK Albums Chart.[11] It spent five weeks on the chart and was later certifiedsilver by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of over 60,000 copies.[26][27] It was less successful in Scotland, peaking at number 14.[28] The album also charted moderately in other European countries; in Austria, it reached number 55, charting for only one week.[29]Showgirl: Homecoming Live attained more success in Croatia, where it peaked at number 25 on the national charts, as well as number six on the chart counting only international artists.[30][31] In Australia, the release debuted at number 28 on theARIA Charts, on the issue dated 18 February 2007, and dropped out of the chart at number 43 the following week.[32]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Overture – The Showgirl Theme" | 2:44 |
| 2. | "Better the Devil You Know" | 3:46 |
| 3. | "In Your Eyes" | 3:06 |
| 4. | "White Diamond" | 3:33 |
| 5. | "On a Night Like This" | 4:30 |
| 6. | "Everything Taboo Medley" (Shocked /What Do I Have to Do? /Spinning Around) | 8:22 |
| 7. | "Temple Prequel" | 2:57 |
| 8. | "Confide in Me" | 4:26 |
| 9. | "Cowboy Style" | 3:29 |
| 10. | "Finer Feelings" | 1:25 |
| 11. | "Too Far" | 4:33 |
| 12. | "Red Blooded Woman /Where the Wild Roses Grow" | 4:34 |
| 13. | "Slow" | 4:39 |
| 14. | "Kids" (featuringBono) | 6:05 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rainbow Prequel" | 1:10 |
| 2. | "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" | 2:43 |
| 3. | "Come into My World" | 3:05 |
| 4. | "Chocolate" | 2:45 |
| 5. | "I Believe in You" | 3:28 |
| 6. | "Dreams /When You Wish Upon a Star" | 3:56 |
| 7. | "Burning Up /Vogue" | 3:21 |
| 8. | "The Locomotion" | 4:43 |
| 9. | "I Should Be So Lucky /The Only Way Is Up" | 3:26 |
| 10. | "Hand on Your Heart" | 4:19 |
| 11. | "Space Prequel" | 1:54 |
| 12. | "Can't Get You Out of My Head" | 3:55 |
| 13. | "Light Years /Turn It into Love" | 8:13 |
| 14. | "Especially for You" | 4:28 |
| 15. | "Love at First Sight" | 6:35 |
Credits adapted from theliner notes ofShowgirl: Homecoming Live.[33]
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[32] | 28 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[29] | 55 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[34] | 92 |
| Croatian Albums (HDU)[30] | 25 |
| Croatian International Albums (HDU)[31] | 6 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[35] | 113 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[36] | 59 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)ERROR in "Scotland": Invalid date format. Expected: YYYYMMDD or YYYY-MM-DD.[28] | 14 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] | 54 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[26] | 7 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[27] | Silver | 60,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 8 January 2007 | Parlophone | [38] | |
| Italy | 12 January 2007 | EMI | [39] | |
| Australia | 3 February 2007 | Warner Music Australia | [12] | |
| Germany | 8 February 2007 | EMI Music Germany | [40] | |
| Japan | 27 June 2007 | EMI Music Japan | [13] |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)| Studio albums | |
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| Fragrances | |
| Related articles | |
