1990-1995: Early career

Minogue signed a recording contract with Australian-based Mushroom Records in January 1989. Her first album, Dannii, was released the following year and reached number twenty-four on the Australian albums chart. Outside Australia, the album was released in 1991, under the title Love and Kisses, and became a top ten hit. Minogue's debut single "Love and Kisses" peaked at number four on the Australian singles chart and was certified gold. In the UK, the song reached the top ten on the singles chart.

She released Love and Kisses and..., a re-worked version of her debut album, in April 1992. The album, a collection of dance songs, comprised tracks and remixes from Love and Kisses. It peaked at number forty-two on the UK albums chart, and sold nearly 60,000 copies. Several remixes by producer and DJ Steve "Silk" Hurley were successful in European dance clubs. Minogue credits these remixes for providing her with a "new image and sound to work with" on future releases.

Later that year, Minogue made her feature film debut in Secrets, which co-starred Noah Taylor. The film revolved around five Australian teenagers who become stuck in the basement of a hotel in an attempt to see The Beatles. The film was not well received by audiences or critics, with Minogue's performance being described as "not all that convincing".

Minogue released her second album Get into You—which included the songs "Show You the Way to Go", "This Is It" and "This Is the Way"—in October 1993. The album contained uptempo dance tracks and mature vocals, but despite her past chart success, failed to make the British top fifty. The following year, Minogue returned to television as a presenter, co-hosting Channel 4's morning show The Big Breakfast in the UK.

In 1995, Minogue released the singles "Rescue Me" and "Boogie Woogie", a collaboration with dance act Eurogroove. Released only in Japan, both songs reached number one on the Japanese singles chart. She began recording her third album in 1995; however, Minogue and her record label, Mushroom Records, parted ways in late 1995 following a contract disagreement.


1996-2001: Girl, presenting, and theatre

In 1996, she resumed her co-hosting duties on The Big Breakfast, presenting the Eggs on Legs road show segment. That same year, Minogue briefly hosted the children's show Disney Time and co-hosted, with Gareth Jones, the teenage Saturday morning entertainment show It's Not Just Saturday for sixteen weeks. Minogue made her stage debut in April 1997 as Rizzo in the musical Grease: The Arena Spectacular. In Australia, the show sold over 450,000 tickets during its first season. She resumed her role as Rizzo the following year, performing in New Zealand. At the 1998 MO Awards, Minogue was nominated for "Best Female Musical Theater Performer" for her role. Also in 1997, Minogue hosted Top of the Pops, a British music chart television programme, before returning to her recording career later that year.

Minogue's interest in dance music and clubbing heavily influenced her third album Girl, released in September 1997, which featured collaborations with musicians such as Brian Higgins of Xenomania. The album presented a more sophisticated and adult style of dance music, but despite generally positive reviews, failed to make the British top fifty, although the Unleashed Tour in late 1998 sold out in Britain. Minogue's single "All I Wanna Do", which the Daily Mirror described as a "bass-bumping, shuddering return", peaked at number four on the UK singles chart and was certified gold in Australia. The album's follow-up singles, "Everything I Wanted" and "Disremembrance", failed to reached the top ten, but reached number one on the UK dance chart.

Mushroom Records released two budget compilation albums in December 1998, as part of the label's twenty-fifth anniversary. Released only in Australia, The Singles comprised Minogue's most popular single releases, while The Remixes contained popular remixes. In January 1999, following her performance at the 1998 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Minogue released the festival's first official theme song, "Everlasting Night". It appeared on the compilation CD Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras of 1999, and its music video, co-directed by Minogue, featured drag queens whom she had met while performing at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras the previous year.

Minogue returned to the theater in the 1999 production of Shakespeare's Macbeth at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The play received mixed reviews; critic Matt Grant wrote that Minogue "lacks true conviction as she ploughs through the lines without capturing their full force", while Fiachra Gibbons singled Minogue's performance out, noting in her review that Minogue's "disco-queen-from-hell delivery works well" for her character, Lady Macbeth. Two years later, she appeared as Esmeralda in the musical production of Notre-Dame de Paris in London's West End. The musical received poor reviews from British critics who called it "lame" and its songs "reminiscent of the Eurovision song contest". At the 2002 Maxim Awards, she won "Best Stage Performance" for her role. In 2001, Minogue also appeared in the stage play The Vagina Monologues, which co-starred Kika Markham and Meera Syal.

In November 2001, Minogue released the single "Who Do You Love Now?", a collaboration with Dutch dance act Riva. Described by Sound Generator as a "nice serene and dreamy vocal on the dance floor anthem", the song peaked at number three on the UK singles chart, and reached number one on the dance charts. In the United States, the song was released to dance clubs, and reached number one on the Billboard Dance Club chart. In 2001, Minogue signed a six album deal with London Records, a subsidiary of Warner Music International.


2002-2004: Neon Nights and radio programme

In 2002, Minogue made headlines when the British National Party, a far right and anti-immigration political party, claimed that she supported their cause following comments she had made in an interview with Britain's GQ magazine. In the interview, Minogue was quoted saying that French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen had "struck a chord with people", and that "even the street signs [in Australia] are written in Asian". Minogue responded to the British National Party's claims in Gay Times magazine saying, "I am not a racist. That is not how I live my life. I have a Jewish manager, I perform in gay clubs, I come from a multi-cultural background and I am very proud of that".

In March 2003, Minogue released her fourth album, Neon Nights, which the BBC called "a pleasant cocktail of pop sophistication, club culture and accessibility". It consisted of 1980s inspired dance-pop songs and provided Minogue with some of the strongest reviews of her career. Neon Nights peaked at number eight on the UK albums chart (her highest ranking since her debut), and produced three top ten singles. The second single, "I Begin to Wonder", declared one of the "best things" on the album by Ireland's RTÉ, became her highest charting single, peaking at number two on the UK singles chart. Following extensive airplay by North American dance radio, Warner Music Group released the album in the United States in late 2003. Singles "I Begin to Wonder" and "Don't Wanna Lose This Feeling" were also substantial successes on the U.S. dance charts.

Minogue hosted her own radio programme, Dannii Minogue's Neon Nights, in June 2003. Broadcast in Australia and the UK, Minogue played songs by up-and-coming DJs, as well as her own music. Minogue was released from her recording contract with London Records in May 2004 due to low record sales. Later that year she signed a new contract with independent dance label All Around the World Records.

2004-2006: The Hits & Beyond

In October 2004, Minogue released the single "You Won't Forget About Me", a collaboration with the dance act Flower Power. Described by MSN Entertainment as a "real grower" and noted for its "snip snapping house beats and '80s flecked synths", the song peaked at number seven on the UK singles chart and became Minogue's third single to reach the top five on the United States Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

"I Can't Sleep at Night" was intended to follow in August 2005 but was shelved in favour of "Perfection", a collaboration with the Soul Seekerz which was eventually released at the end of November 2005. It made number 11 in the UK and 13 in Australia.

In February 2006, Minogue made headlines when surveillance tape stills from London strip club Puss 'N Boots were published by News of the World, a British tabloid newspaper, showing Minogue and a female lap dancer in full-contact sexual activity. A spokesman for Minogue downplayed the event and called it a "harmless girls' night out". The story, dubbed "Lezzigate" by fans hit the headlines again in 2007, coenciding with the launch of X Factor. The dancer involved, Jupiter, also sold her story.

Later that year, Minogue released The Hits & Beyond, her first official greatest hits album. Mushroom had previously ended her 4 album contract in Australia with a Singles collection only available in her home country but many of her avid, worldwide fans were able to purchase the album through import. Her first official greatest hits album comprised six new songs, including the album's lead single "So Under Pressure" which became her 14th Top 20 hit in the UK. The album debuted at number seventeen on the UK albums chart and only fell to number 24 the week after.

"So Under Pressure" was inspired by the cancer diagnoses of her sister Kylie Minogue as well as that of an unnamed friend. It became her tenth song to reach number one on the UK Upfront Club chart. Minogue has described the recording of "So Under Pressure" as a "real achievement" as she was "brave enough to put all [her feelings] into words". In September 2006, Minogue's cover of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" appeared on Spirit of Christmas, a compilation CD of holiday songs available through Myer department stores across Australia.

In November 2006, Minogue performed Sister Sledge's 1979 song "He's the Greatest Dancer" on BBC One's Children in Need telethon. A studio version of the song, remixed by Fugitive, appeared on the dance compilation Clubland 10, released in November 2006. The following month, "He's the Greatest Dancer" was released to UK dance clubs as a promotional single. It reached number one on the Upfront Club chart. In Australia, the song was released in April 2007 and debuted at number 26, falling to 29 the week after.


2007-present: television and return to music

In 2007, Minogue was a judge on the Network 7's variety show Australia's Got Talent. She is currently appearing as a judge and mentor in the fourth series of ITV's music talent show, The X Factor, alongside Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. It was revealed on September 29 that she is mentoring the boys category during the show. She had chosen Leon Jackson, Rhydian Jones and Andy Williams to represent her in the live rounds of the competition.

October onwards will see a total of five releases from Minogue; first, on October 29, reissues of her 1997 and 2003 albums Girl and Neon Nights, each containing a double-disc, the second disc of which includes remixes. On November 5 Minogue will release Unleashed, a collection of previously unheard material from her time with London Records, and The Video Collection, which includes every one of her music videos as well as bonus features. Finally, on December 3, a new single is to be released, entitled Touch Me Like That. The song is to be credited as Dannii Minogue vs Jason Nevins, and received its premiere on BBC Radio 1 on the Scott Mills Show, on the morning of October 3.

Minogue is also set to release another album digitally entitled Club Disco, through her record label All Around the World on 22 October 2007. The album includes all of her singles with All Around the World, some of new songs and remixes which will all be available for download on the All Around the World official digital store and Itunes.

Personal life

Relationships

In January 1994, Minogue married Australian actor Julian McMahon, whom she met in 1991 while working on the television series Home and Away. Minogue and McMahon were married for less than two years and divorced in 1995. Referring to the divorce, Minogue said that it was her "biggest regret and biggest downfall". In October 1995, she posed nude in the Australian edition of Playboy magazine. Commenting on the reason she posed nude, Minogue said she "just had a marriage break-up. Most women go to the hairdressers - I did Playboy. I chose the photographer, the location, what I did or didn't want to wear and everything else about the pictures. I found it a really liberating, empowering experience." The edition featuring Minogue sold out in under four days and became one of the best-selling editions in Australia.

Minogue became engaged to Canadian Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve in October 1999, but their relationship ended in 2001. In early 2002, Minogue began dating music producer and Bros bassist Craig Logan, whom she met while recording material for Neon Nights. Media reports in March 2002 claimed Minogue and Logan were engaged, but in December 2002, it was announced that they had ended their relationship.


Media portrayal and other activities

In 1983, Minogue's older sister, Kylie, appeared with her on Young Talent Time before commencing a commercially successful music career in 1987. Minogue has often been compared to Kylie and has struggled to find respect from critics and is often portrayed as a "wannabe" by the media.[48] Both Minogue and her sister deny a sibling rivalry, but she admits that she finds it "hard to be compared all the time to Kylie."

Internationally regarded as a gay icon, Minogue has performed multiple times at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and the London nightclub G-A-Y, to which she was the first of the Minogue sisters to do so. She credits her gay following for much of her success, commenting that gay culture has "always been a part of [her] music." Minogue openly supports gay rights causes for social equality and believes that same-sex marriages should be accepted by all government bodies.

Minogue is an ambassador for the Terrence Higgins Trust, an organization that works to increase awareness of AIDS. She joined the charity in hope that her endorsement would encourage people to discuss safe sex and the disease more openly. In 2004, she posed nude, wrapped only in a red ribbon, to promote World AIDS Day in Australia and the UK. She has long been a supporter of breast cancer research and, in October 2003, performed in a London comedy show titled Funny Women. The show raised money for breast cancer research, as well as awareness of domestic violence.


Discography

 Television

1978: Skyways 
1978: The Sullivans....as Carla (#2) 
1982-88: Young Talent Time....as herself 
1988: All The Way....as Penny Seymour 
1989-90: Home and Away....as Emma Jackson 
1994: The Big Breakfast....as a presenter 
1994-95: Fan TC....as a host 
1996: It's Not Just Saturday....as a host 
1996: Scoop....as a host 
1997: Disney Time....as a presenter 
1997: Top of the Pops....as a host 
1997-98: Live & Kicking ("Electric Circus" segments) 

....as a presenter

2007: Australia's Got Talent....as a judge 
2007: The X Factor....as a judge 

Awards and recognition

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