Especially for You

"Especially for You" is a song performed by Australian recording artists Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan from Donovan's debut album, Ten Good Reasons (1989). The song was released as his album's second single on 28 November 1988 and was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW).

For other uses, see Especially for You (disambiguation).

"Especially for You"
Single by Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan
from the album Ten Good Reasons
B-side"All I Wanna Do Is Make You Mine"
Released28 November 1988
StudioSydney, Australia
GenrePop
Length4:01
LabelPWL
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stock Aitken Waterman
Kylie Minogue singles chronology
"Je ne sais pas pourquoi"
(1988)		 "Especially for You"
(1988)		 "It's No Secret"
(1988)
Jason Donovan singles chronology
"Nothing Can Divide Us"
(1988)		 "Especially for You"
(1988)		 "Too Many Broken Hearts"
(1989)
Music video
"Especially for You" on YouTube

"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 five in several other 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,[1] and in 2021, Classic Pop magazine ranked it number 23 in their list of "Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs".[2]

Background

Minogue and Donovan had both appeared on the hit Australian TV series Neighbours, building a considerable following as an onscreen couple in both Australia and the UK. They were also the subject of much media and public speculation about their off-screen romance, which at the time of this release they were still denying, in an effort to protect their privacy.[3]

Minogue had released the album Kylie, while Donovan was working on his debut album Ten Good Reasons. Both singers were produced by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, fuelling speculation in the British press that they were planning to release a duet.[3] SAW and the two singers all denied any plan to do so, with the producers fearing the project would be too "crass" and "commercial", and Minogue expressing concerns a duet would again stir up unwelcome interest in her romance with Donovan.[3]

However, interest continued to rise, as the proposed track was anticipated to coincide with the wedding of Kylie and Jason's TV characters, Charlene Mitchell and Scott Robinson, on British TV, and would also be a strong contender for Christmas number one on the UK charts.[3] An order of 250,000 copies by British retailer Woolworths finally forced the producers to make the record, with the team feeling they could not shun that scale of demand from the market.[3]

The song's title was inspired by a greeting card, with Stock and Aitken fleshing out the lyrics along that theme.[3] With time running short, Aitken and Waterman flew to Sydney to record the vocals with Minogue and Donovan, with the session running all night.[3] Work on mixing was then done in London, with Waterman saying he and Stock hated the first completed version so much that he considered completely dumping the record.[3] A last minute remix by engineer Pete Hammond, which changed the drums and moved the harmony vocals to the opening of the track, satisfied the team and the track was then rushed to release.[3]

The song was released as a single on 28 November 1988 in the UK, and was later included on both Donovan's debut album, and the American version of Minogue's second album, Enjoy Yourself.

The song has been included on several compilations released by the singers.

Chart performance

"Especially for You" debuted at number two in Australia and stayed at that position for four consecutive weeks. This marked Donovan's highest peak in Australia, but not Minogue's, after setting a record with her first three singles debuting at number one, and who then went on to have four more number ones. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number four, and peaked at number two. To date, this is Donovan's only single to peak in the top twenty, and was at the time Minogue's longest-charting single in that country, staying for 21 weeks, before being surpassed by "Can't Get You Out of My Head" (2001), which peaked at number one.[4] 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 Minogue's second number-one out of seven,[5] and Donovan's first of four.[6] In 2014 the song became one of only 154 singles in UK Official Charts History to reach 1 million sales.[7]

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 peaking single in France until 2001's "Can't Get You Out of My Head". The song debuted at number 73 on the Dutch Top 40, peaking at number four for a sole week, and was her highest peaking song until "Can't Get You Out of My Head". The song spent a sole week at number ten in Norway. 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 peaking song until "Can't Get You Out of My Head". The song peaked at number twelve in Austria for one week.[8]

"Especially for You" was Minogue'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, selling more than one million copies to date as of December 2014.[9]

Live performances

Minogue performed the song on the following concert tours:

The song was also performed on:

Donovan performed the song on the following concert tours:

  • Doin' Fine Tour 1990
  • Ten Good Reasons & Greatest Hits Tour 2016

In July 2012, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan performed the song at the Hit Factory Live concert, their first performance together since 1989.[12] On 9 September 2018, Donovan joined Minogue on stage to perform the song as part of Minogue's headlining set at Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park.[13]

Track listings
  • CD single
  1. "Especially for You" (extended) – 5:01
  2. "All I Wanna Do Is Make You Mine" (extended) – 6:00
  3. "Especially for You" – 3:58
  • 7-inch single
  1. "Especially for You" – 3:58
  2. "All I Wanna Do Is Make You Mine" – 3:34
  • 12-inch single
  1. "Especially for You" (extended) – 5:01
  2. "All I Wanna Do Is Make You Mine" (extended) – 6:00
  • 7-inch & Cassette single 2022 Reissue
  1. "Especially for You" - 3:58
  2. "Especially for You" (Instrumental) - 3:58

Charts and certifications

Certifications
Certifications for "Especially for You"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[35] Gold 35,000^
France (SNEP)[45] Silver 200,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[46] Gold 1,090,000[47]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

References
  1. Westbrook, Caroline (25 July 2015). "The Nation's Favourite 80s Number One: 12 more classic 80s chart-toppers which didn't make the cut". Metro. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  2. "Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs". Classic Pop. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  3. "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 40: Especially For You on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  4. Steffen Hung. "Kylie & Jason - Especially for You". charts.nz. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  5. Official Charts. "Kylie Minogue". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  6. Official Charts. "JASON DONOVAN". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  7. Justin Meyers. "Kylie and Jason's Especially for You hits one million UK sales. Kylie: "I'm thrilled!"". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  8. "Kylie & Jason - Especially for You". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  9. "'Especially for You' Hits 1m Sales In UK". Smooth Radio. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  10. Kylie Minogue - Especially for You (Aphrodite Tour 2011 Live in Manila) on YouTube
  11. Comic Relief, BBC (21 March 2014). "Kylie Minogue and David Walliams perform Especially For You". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  12. "Kylie Minogue has confirmed she is duetting with Jason Donovan at PWL Hyde Park - 06-Jun-2012". Home.nzcity.co.nz. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  13. "Kylie and Jason dance again in Hyde Park". BBC News. 9 September 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
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  20. "European Airplay Top 50" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 5. 4 February 1989. p. 19. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 22 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
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