KYLIE

"Kylie", a three part, Netflix limited series about the global pop superstar from Down Under, with this documentary about her life and career told largely through Kylie Minogue herself. And with the singer very much involved in this film, directed by Emmy winner, Michael Harte, what we see is a honest and largely unfiltered account of her journey from acting into music and the incredible ups and downs that went with her meteoric rise to become a beloved pop icon.

The film begins with Minogue telling the story of how she was whisked off to England to quickly record a couple of tracks with the production team of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. But having forgotten that she was arriving and unaware who she was, they had her waiting for hours before getting her in the studio, record the vocals and sending her on her way. The team found out later that Minogue was a star of the wildly popular Australian soap opera, "Neighbours" and when the single they recorded with her, "I Should Be So Lucky" was released in 1987, it became an instant global hit. A self-titled album was released with her smash hit cover of Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion" helping her become a true pop star. Minogue reveals that she had originally wanted to actually get into music, which was her first love, but acting fell her way first.

After being written off of "Neighbours", Minogue went full steam ahead with her successful music career with Stock, Aitken and Waterman, recording two more albums, but soon became frustrated with the lack of creative input during recording. She soon gained more control, taking her sound from bubblegum pop to more mature and sexier. After one more album with the team, she parted ways by 1992 and signed with indie label, Deconstruction. With her fifth studio album, "Kylie Minogue", the singer sought out more harder edged producers to enhance her dance-pop sound. And while her music was initially well received but by "Impossible Princess" in 1997, which Minogue wrote most of the lyrics and brought indie and techno to her sound, the response was critically mixed and became her lowest selling album. Deciding to take a hiatus from recording music, when she returned three years later, Minogue entered the new century with a sound more aligned to what first brought her fame with "Spinning Around" which took her back to the top of the international charts.

"Kylie" features plenty of concert footage, home movies and music video clips that covers her extensive career. In addition to Minogue, there are interviews with family which includes her sister, Dannii who had her own success as a pop singer; producer, Pete Waterman; Jason Donovan, her co-star on "Neighbours" who she shared a romance on and off screen; and fellow Aussie, indie rocker, Nick Cave with the two coming together for an unlikely creative collaboration and deep friendship. Minogue also goes into detail about her brief love affair with the late INXS singer, Michael Hutchence, her deep love and respect for the LGBTQ communities and regarding her harrowing ordeal with breast cancer which became a media nightmare not only for herself but for her family. My only real critique of "Kylie" is that it just feels way too short, missing many other highlights over her forty year profession. Perhaps there will be a second part? In the meantime, sit back and enjoy learning more about the Princess of Pop in her own words.



A concert film of Minogue's Tension Tour was released on May 27th on Netflix. And the new song, "Light Up", which closes the documentary, was co-written with Chris Martin of Coldplay and is an uplifting anthem about unconditional love and human potential.

SUNDAY BEST: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ED SULLIVAN

For twenty-three years, "The Ed Sullivan Show" was the popular destination for millions of Americans every Sunday night to be entertained by some of the greatest musical acts of all time on television. It was this program that brought the seductive swagger of Elvis Presley into people's homes and helped jumpstart the British invasion by being the first to introduce The Beatles and other English acts to these shores, creating a heated frenzy amongst teenage girls and helped inspire some young boys to want to play rock & roll when they grew up.

But there was something else that this variety show did that was daring and far-reaching. "The Ed Sullivan Show" would feature African-American musicians performing on the show regularly, at a time when this concept was not widely acceptable. The host fearlessly held firm to his belief of having the best talent on his show despite concerns from the show's producers and threats from sponsors. The riveting Netflix documentary, "Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan", directed by the late Sacha Jenkins, reveals how this television pioneer was responsible for helping to shift the culture by showcasing these incredible artists in a way that revealed not only their prestigious abilities but their humanity.

Born in Harlem at the turn of the 20th century, at a time when the neighborhood was largely made up of Irish, Jewish and Italian immigrants, Sullivan came from a family that loved music; performing, singing and listening. He was also a natural athlete in school, excelling at playing football, baseball, basketball and track. It was around this time when Sullivan played these sports with Black athletes in the area, never believing that were inferior players and always treated them with respect.

Beginning his career as a journalist, Sullivan wrote a sports column for several newspapers throughout the city. While working for the New York Daily News, Sullivan was dispatched to writing a column, "Little Old New York", which focused on gossip involving Broadway shows which he knew very little about at the time. But he would thrive, moving to radio and producing vaudeville shows to become a powerful force in entertainment news.

In 1948, Sullivan was hired to host a weekly television variety show on CBS, "Toast of the Town" on Sunday nights. Critics were not kind and Sullivan himself would admit he was a bit stiff and uncomfortable in those early days as the master of ceremonies. Yet audiences were drawn to him, appreciating him for his average guy appeal and discerning eye for selecting top talent to appear on the program. Officially renamed "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1955, Sullivan brought to the show the very best of classical, rock, country, world and Broadway.

But the focus of "Sunday Best" is the impact the show had for the numerous African-American performers that made appearances from the very beginning. Sullivan first had on performers who had appeared on vaudeville (Pigmeat Markham and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson) and popular entertainers of the day (Louis Armstrong, Pearl Bailey, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr.). He would later have the early appearances of now legendary soul performers (Jackie Wilson, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, James Brown) and virtually every artist who had recorded for Motown, most notably the Supremes who appeared on the show seventeen times. He treated each of these performers like he did with any of his other guests, offering a firm handshake or a kiss on the cheek which was considered highly controversial at the time. Sullivan received plenty of pushback by several Southern CBS affiliates voicing their concerns of having so many Black acts on the show. He always made it very clear that they did not have to air his program if this was a issue for any station. And throughout the entire run of "The Ed Sullivan Show", there were never any cancellations.

Jenkins, who died from complications of multiple system atrophy back in May, has made a brisk and compelling film that highlights the importance of what Sullivan had done by supporting and nurturing these African-American performers. Harry Belafonte, Motown founder, Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson and Dionne Warwick are just a few who share warm remembrances of their time participating on the show. And while Sullivan did have a reputation for being petty and vindictive if he felt that his guests did not follow his guidelines or disrespected him, "Sunday Best" keeps the genial host in a positive light.

Here are the full performances of sixteen of the artists that appear in the documentary from "The Ed Sullivan Show":