Overview

"Spinning Around" is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her seventh studio album Light Years (2000). It was written by Ira Shickman, Osborne Bingham, Kara DioGuardi, and Paula Abdul and produced by Mike Spencer.

Abdul said she wrote the song about her divorce to second husband, clothing designer Brad Beckerman who is now an executive at Live Nation.

The song also turned out to be the first major songwriting project for DioGuardi, who had not been offered any notable projects previously.  Kara DioGuardi served as a judge on American Idol for its eighth and ninth seasons.  DioGuardi was a roommate with Abdul at the time the song was written.  Kara talks about the making of the song and her time with Paula in her biography "A Helluva High Note -  Surviving Life, Love, and American Idol" published by Harper Collins.

"Spinning Around" was initially intended to be recorded by Abdul for her own album, but the album never materialized.

In an interview discussing the development of Light Years, Minogue revealed that the song had initially been found by her A&R executive Jamie Nelson as a demo in New York, who believed it would be "perfect" for the singer. After listening to the demo, Minogue agreed to record it and felt the song had the potential to be a hit.

"Spinning Around" Producer Mike Spencer said the demo version of the song Abdul was attached to was "a lot slower - much slower in fact. It was a different song - the tune, production and concept were all different."

The disco-influenced dance-pop song was released as the lead single from Light Years on June 13th 2000 in Australia, and June 19th in the United Kingdom.

Upon its release, the song was a success and became Minogue's "comeback" single following the critical and commercial disappointment of her sixth studio album Impossible Princess (1997). It entered the Australian Singles Chart at #1, becoming Minogue's first chart-topper since "Confide in Me" (1994).

The song also debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, where it became her first single to peak atop the chart in a decade. Elsewhere, it reached the Top Five in Ireland and New Zealand. "Spinning Around" was certified platinum and silver in Australia and the United Kingdom, respectively.

The song was a commercial success. In Australia it was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) prior to its release on the strength of pre-orders. On the chart date of 2 July 2000, it debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart and remained on the position for one week. The following week, it dropped off to number five and stayed within the top ten for four consecutive weeks in total. It was Minogue's first number one single in the country since "Confide in Me", which was released six years back.

"Spinning Around" charted for a total of 12 weeks and was later certified platinum by the ARIA for shipments of 70,000 units. The song also performed well in New Zealand, entering the RIANZ Singles Chart at number eight and peaking at number two. It spent a total of 17 weeks on the chart and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for sales of 7,500 units. It also won the 2000 ARIA Music Award for Best Pop Release.

The song debuted atop of the UK Singles Chart on July 1st 2000, becoming Minogue's first number one single in a decade. Her previous chart-topping single was "Tears on My Pillow" from her second studio album Enjoy Yourself (1989). In total, "Spinning Around" is Minogue's fifth number one single in the United Kingdom.

Minogue became one of the two artists to have a number one single in three consecutive decades, achieving this in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The other artist to hold this distinction is American recording artist Madonna, whose song "American Pie" topped the UK singles chart in March 2000. "Spinning Around" charted within the top 40 for a total of 11 weeks.

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified the song silver for shipments of 200,000 units. "Spinning Around" was deemed a successful "comeback" single for Minogue and helped re-launch her career along with parent album Light Years.

The music video for "Spinning Around" was directed by Dawn Shadforth, and features Minogue dancing and enjoying herself in a disco. It became popular for the gold hot pants she sported in most of the scenes and led to her buttocks gaining extensive coverage from the media.

The hot pants Minogue wears in the video are considered to be "iconic" and have been displayed in fashion exhibitions Minogue has been subject of. In February 2014, Minogue donated the hotpants to the Performing Arts Collection museum at the Arts Centre in her hometown of Melbourne.

Kylie’s “Light Years” album and subsequently “Spinning Around” was not initially released in the United States. After the worldwide success of “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” from Minogue’s follow-up album “Fever”, which was released in the U.S., Minogue’s music catalog has since been added to the US iTunes store for digital download. Kylie’s latest album is “Golden” (2018).

To promote the “Light Years” album, Kylie went on to tour through Europe, the United Kingdom and Australia. “Spinning Around” was the final performance each night and has been performed by Minogue during all of her concert tours since its release.

On January 13th, 2021 during an interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Paula mentioned she will perform her own rendition of Spinning Around when she resumes the second leg of her Las Vegas Residency once the COVID-19 epidemic ends.