It's no secret to many that I am a huge fan of Kylie Minogue. Yes, that's right, I said Kylie Minogue. If you are American, you are probably laughing at this point. But if you are from Europe or Down Under, her name has much more meaning, and in fact your interest may be rising.

First off, let me say this: despite the success of her 2002 US release album "Fever" and her subsequent appearences in television programs such as Saturday Night Live and on commercials, Kylie has yet to reach the superstardom she experiences abroad, though she maintains many hits on the Billboard Club Charts and gets good airplay on Dance Music radio stations.

What does this mean? It means, quite frankly, that I am the only adult male heterosexual American fan that I have ever met. If there's an American Kylie club, I must be the President. In fact, I'm THE MEMBER. I have meetings in my garage and talk to myself. It's a sad and lonely affair.

But internationally, she is like Madonna...constantly reinventing herself, constantly churning out hits. Everyone knows who she is. She sells out concerts in Australia and the UK. She's the finest and most successful artist to come from Oz since the Bee Gees (Remember Saturday Night Fever?) and Olivia Newton-John (remember Xanadu?).

Here's a brief bio:

Kylie Ann Minogue (pronounced: /mɪn'oʊg/) (born May 28, 1968) is an Australian singer and actress. She rose to prominence in the late 1980s as a result of her role in the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing her career as a pop singer and recording artist.

Signed to a contract by British songwriters and record producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman, Minogue achieved a string of hit records throughout the world, but her popularity began to decline by the early 1990s, leading her to part company from Stock, Aitken and Waterman in 1992. For several years she attempted to establish herself as an independent performer and songwriter, distancing herself from her earlier work. Her projects were widely publicised, but despite a couple of hit singles, her albums failed to attract a substantial audience, resulting in the lowest sales of her career.

In 2000, she returned to popularity as a dance/pop music artist and became well-known for her provocative music videos and expensively mounted stage shows. Minogue has established one of the longest and most successful careers as a performer in contemporary pop music, and in Europe and Australia has become one of her generation's most recognisable celebrities and sex symbols. In Australia, after being dismissed early in her career by many critics, she has been acclaimed for her achievements; she holds the record for the highest concert ticket sales for a female performer, and is the only female performer to place nine singles at number one on the Australian singles chart.

That was a mouthful.

But anyway, her work spans so great a variety, from infectious 80s hits to sultry and soulful mid-90s stuff to her contemporary dance and pop hits. Never has an artist affected me in such a profound way, and I doubt another ever will. She is far beyond the mere club act that she is perceived by many of us Yanks.

If you have interest, check out the album "Utlimate Kylie", a double disc career spanning compilation that covers most of the bases. Of course some of her stuff is harder to obtain because it was never released in the US, but it can found on most websites.

I'd start out with "Can't Get You Out Of My Head", which I'm sure most of you have heard. Then I'd move on to the recent "I Believe In You", "Slow", "Red Blooded Woman", "Light Years", and "On A Night Like This". If you're still in the game, check out some of her old stuff such as "I Should Be So Lucky", "Got To Be Certain", "Better The Devil You Know", and "Where The Wild Roses Grow". The rarer "Difficult By Design", "Tears', and Automatic Love" will take you in a different direction.

And for a true treat, look for the extremely rare rendition of ABBA's "Dancing Queen", which she performed live at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Closing Ceremonies. I am fortunate enough to have a recording of this song in my library.

So check it out!

P.S. If you are a Kylie fan, give me a shout here and let's talk Kylie! If enough of us come out of the woodwork, maybe we can even start a thread.

Special thanks to Eirtae, the biggest Kylie fan I know, for giving me hope that I'm not going insane and her music really is good.