Word Is Out

"Word Is Out"
"Word Is Out"
Single by Kylie Minogue
from the album Let's Get to It
B-side	"Say the Word - I'll Be There"
Released	26 August 1991
Studio	PWL (London, England)
Genre	New jack swing; R&B;
Length	3:34
Label	Mushroom; PWL;
Songwriters	Mike Stock; Pete Waterman;
Producers	Mike Stock; Pete Waterman;
Kylie Minogue singles chronology
Music video
	"Word Is Out" on YouTube

"Word Is Out" is a song by Australian singer and songwriter Kylie Minogue, recorded for her fourth studio album Let's Get to It (1991). Written and produced by English production team Mike Stock and Pete Waterman, without Matt Aitken who had left the SAW team by then, it was released as the lead single to the record on 26 August 1991. A departure from her previous music, the track aimed to replicate the swing beat sound, with "New York City" by American R&B group Guy serving as the main plot track.^[5] The artwork for the cover was photographed by Ellen Von Unwerth in 1991 for the British edition of Esquire.

The track did receive favorable reviews from music critics and has gone on to be named one of Minogue's most underrated singles.^[6] In the United Kingdom, the track broke her streak of top-10 hits when it debuted at number 16 on the singles chart there. The track did however crack the top ten in Minogue's native Australia and Ireland but had no success in mainland Europe.

Critical reception

Chris True from AllMusic chose the track as one of Let's Get to It's track picks.^[7] Larry Flick from Billboard commented, "Folks who think Kylie Minogue is too light for them may change their minds when they hear "Word Is Out". With a little help from remixer Tony King, she has eschewed the frothy hi-NRG tone of past hits in favor of an easy paced-house sound, replete with disco-flavored strings and percussion."^[8] On Michael Wilton's review of the second night of her Anti Tour in Sydney, Australia—where she performed an a cappella rendition of the song—for musicOMH, he stated that "Word is Out" is "wildly underrated."^[6] Writing Minogue's biography for her special on Australian music video program Rage, they stated: "While in the past, her material had always been high energy, 'Word Is Out' showcased a far more seductive side to Kylie that many had suspected was there."^[9] In another hand, Nick Griffiths from Select called it one of the "odd songs" in the album.^[10] Sophie Lawrence reviewed it for Smash Hits, writing, "Sounds like Madonna's "La Isla Bonita" a bit, doesn't it? She's just been brilliant ever since "Better The Devil You Know". You could listen to this 100 times and never get bored."^[11] In 2023, Robert Moran of Australian daily tabloid newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald ranked the song as Minogue's 168th best song (out of 183).^[12]

Commercial performance

The song was released as the first single in the summer of 1991 and was a top-20 hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number 16 and ending Minogue's run of 13 consecutive UK top-10 hits.^[5] In Australia, with the more laid back Summer Breeze Mix as the main mix, it peaked at number 10, becoming Minogue's 10th single to chart within the top 10. The Summer Breeze Mix received a UK release on a one-sided limited edition 12-inch vinyl single that has an engraved autograph on the B-side, making it highly collectable for fans.

Music video

Directed by James Lebon, it was filmed in London's famous Camden market and featured British television presenter Davina McCall as one of Minogue's dancers.^[13] An Australian version of the video later appeared on her 2002 (also the updated version in 2003) Greatest Hits DVD as one of the bonus features.^[14] The video was criticised by both Mike Stock and Pete Waterman, who felt the aesthetic allusions to street prostitution alienated Kylie's fanbase and contributed to the single's underwhelming chart performance.^[5]

Live performances

Minogue also did an a cappella "sing-along" rendition of the song as requested by fans on her Anti Tour's concert in Big Top at Luna Park, Sydney, Australia on 20 March 2012.^[3] musicOMH's Michael Wilton said the performance was "decent."^[6]

Let's Get to It Tour
Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour (Impromptu a capella performance during technical difficulties)
Anti Tour (Acapella performance in Sydney)

Track listings

Australian CD and cassette single^[15]^[16]

"Word Is Out" – 3:41
"Say the Word - I'll Be There" – 4:00
"Word Is Out" (Summer Breeze 12-inch mix) – 7:41

Australian 12-inch single^[17]

A1. "Word Is Out" (Summer Breeze 12-inch mix) – 7:41

A2. "Word Is Out" (instrumental) – 3:31

B1. "Word Is Out" (UK 12-inch mix) – 5:53

B2. "Say the Word - I'll Be There" – 4:00

UK 7-inch and cassette single^[18]^[19]

"Word Is Out" – 3:34
"Say the Word - I'll Be There" – 4:00

UK 12-inch single^[20]

A1. "Word Is Out" – 5:53

B1. "Say the Word - I'll Be There" – 4:00

B2. "Word Is Out" (instrumental) – 3:31

UK and Japanese CD single^[21]^[22]

"Word Is Out" (7-inch version) – 3:34
"Word Is Out" (12-inch version) – 5:53
"Say the Word - I'll Be There" – 4:00

Charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[23]	10
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[24]	37
European Airplay Top 50 (Music & Media)^[25]	35
European Hit Radio (Music & Media)^[26]	32
Ireland (IRMA)^[27]	8
Luxembourg (Radio Luxembourg)^[28]	8
UK Singles (OCC)^[29]	16

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	26 August 1991	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl CD cassette	PWL	^[30]
Japan	21 October 1991	CD	PWL	^[31]
Australia	18 November 1991	12-inch vinyl CD cassette	Mushroom	^[32]

References

^ Word Is Out (Australian CD single liner notes). Kylie Minogue. Mushroom Records. 1991. D11046.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Word Is Out (Australian cassette single sleeve). Kylie Minogue. Mushroom Records. 1991. C11046.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ ^a ^b Levine, Nick (22 May 2010). "Music The Sound - Kylie: Revisited #4: Let's Get To It". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
^ Copsey, Robert (8 February 2013). "Kylie Minogue signs to Roc Nation: What does it mean?". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 71: Happy Together to Word Is Out on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c Michael Wilton (20 March 2012). "Live Reviews: Kylie Minogue @ Luna Park, Sydney". musicOMH. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
^ Chris True. "Let's Get to It —Kylie Minogue". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
^ Flick, Larry (28 September 1991). "Dance Trax: American Record Pool Joins 'L.A. Dance' Benefit" (PDF). Billboard. p. 37. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
^ Staff writer(s) (3 August 2002). "Kylie Minogue Special". Rage. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
^ Griffiths, Nick (December 1991). "Reviews: New Albums —- Let's Get to It - Kylie Minogue". Select. Emap Metro. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
^ Lawrence, Sophie (21 August 1991). "Review: Singles". Smash Hits. p. 41. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
^ Moran, Robert; Ross, Annabel (25 September 2023). "Every Kylie Minogue song ranked". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. ISSN 0312-6315. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
^ Hope, Hannah (21 March 2014). "Davina McCall: I want Kylie to give me a McCall, we were really good friends". Daily Mirror.
^ "Kylie Minogue: Greatest Hits". 18 November 2002 – via Amazon.
^ Word Is Out (Australian CD single liner notes). Kylie Minogue. Mushroom Records. 1991. D11046.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Word Is Out (Australian cassette single sleeve). Kylie Minogue. Mushroom Records. 1991. C11046.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Word Is Out (Australian 12-inch single sleeve). Kylie Minogue. Mushroom Records. 1991. X14215.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Word Is Out (UK 7-inch single vinyl disc). Kylie Minogue. PWL Records. 1991. PWL 204.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Word Is Out (UK cassette single sleeve). Kylie Minogue. PWL Records. 1991. PWMC 204.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Word Is Out (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Kylie Minogue. PWL Records. 1991. PWLT 204.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Word Is Out (UK CD single disc notes). Kylie Minogue. PWL Records. 1991. PWCD 204.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Word Is Out (Japanese CD single liner notes). Kylie Minogue. PWL Records. 1991. ALCB-371.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ "Kylie Minogue – Word Is Out". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 38. 21 September 1991. p. 25.
^ "European Airplay Top 50". Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 40. 5 October 1991. p. 22.
^ "European Hit Radio/EHR Top 40". Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 40. 5 October 1991. p. 27.
^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Word Is Out". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
^ "Radio Luxembourg Singles". umdmusic.com. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 24 August 1991. p. 19.
^ "ワード・イズ・アウト | カイリー・ミノーグ" [Word Is Out | Kylie Minogue] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
^ "New Release Summary – Product Available from: 18/11/91 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 95)". ARIA. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via Imgur.

[1] Word Is Out (Australian CD single liner notes). Kylie Minogue. Mushroom Records. 1991. D11046.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[2] Word Is Out (Australian cassette single sleeve). Kylie Minogue. Mushroom Records. 1991. C11046.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[DigitalSpy-3] Levine, Nick (22 May 2010). "Music The Sound - Kylie: Revisited #4: Let's Get To It". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 12 September 2015.

[4] Copsey, Robert (8 February 2013). "Kylie Minogue signs to Roc Nation: What does it mean?". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 15 September 2015.

[:0-5] "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 71: Happy Together to Word Is Out on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 6 May 2024.

[musicOMH-6] Michael Wilton (20 March 2012). "Live Reviews: Kylie Minogue @ Luna Park, Sydney". musicOMH. Retrieved 15 September 2015.

[AllMusic-7] Chris True. "Let's Get to It —Kylie Minogue". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 12 September 2015.

[8] Flick, Larry (28 September 1991). "Dance Trax: American Record Pool Joins 'L.A. Dance' Benefit" (PDF). Billboard. p. 37. Retrieved 11 October 2020.

[9] Staff writer(s) (3 August 2002). "Kylie Minogue Special". Rage. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 September 2015.

[select-10] Griffiths, Nick (December 1991). "Reviews: New Albums —- Let's Get to It - Kylie Minogue". Select. Emap Metro. Retrieved 16 September 2015.

[11] Lawrence, Sophie (21 August 1991). "Review: Singles". Smash Hits. p. 41. Retrieved 20 October 2020.

[12] Moran, Robert; Ross, Annabel (25 September 2023). "Every Kylie Minogue song ranked". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. ISSN 0312-6315. Retrieved 28 February 2024.

[13] Hope, Hannah (21 March 2014). "Davina McCall: I want Kylie to give me a McCall, we were really good friends". Daily Mirror.

[14] "Kylie Minogue: Greatest Hits". 18 November 2002 – via Amazon.

[15] Word Is Out (Australian CD single liner notes). Kylie Minogue. Mushroom Records. 1991. D11046.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[16] Word Is Out (Australian cassette single sleeve). Kylie Minogue. Mushroom Records. 1991. C11046.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[17] Word Is Out (Australian 12-inch single sleeve). Kylie Minogue. Mushroom Records. 1991. X14215.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[18] Word Is Out (UK 7-inch single vinyl disc). Kylie Minogue. PWL Records. 1991. PWL 204.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[19] Word Is Out (UK cassette single sleeve). Kylie Minogue. PWL Records. 1991. PWMC 204.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[20] Word Is Out (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Kylie Minogue. PWL Records. 1991. PWLT 204.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[21] Word Is Out (UK CD single disc notes). Kylie Minogue. PWL Records. 1991. PWCD 204.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[22] Word Is Out (Japanese CD single liner notes). Kylie Minogue. PWL Records. 1991. ALCB-371.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[sc_Australia_Kylie_Minogue-23] "Kylie Minogue – Word Is Out". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 20 February 2018.

[24] "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 38. 21 September 1991. p. 25.

[25] "European Airplay Top 50". Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 40. 5 October 1991. p. 22.

[26] "European Hit Radio/EHR Top 40". Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 40. 5 October 1991. p. 27.

[sc_Ireland2_-27] "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Word Is Out". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 February 2018.

[28] "Radio Luxembourg Singles". umdmusic.com. Retrieved 27 April 2025.

[sc_UK_Kylie_Minogue-29] "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 February 2018.

[30] "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 24 August 1991. p. 19.

[31] "ワード・イズ・アウト | カイリー・ミノーグ" [Word Is Out | Kylie Minogue] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 11 September 2023.

[32] "New Release Summary – Product Available from: 18/11/91 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 95)". ARIA. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via Imgur.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

v t e Kylie Minogue songs
Singles discography Songs recorded
1980s singles	"The Loco-Motion" "I Should Be So Lucky" "Got to Be Certain" "Je ne sais pas pourquoi" "Especially for You" "It's No Secret" "Turn It into Love" "Hand on Your Heart" "Wouldn't Change a Thing" "Never Too Late"
1990s singles	"Tears on My Pillow" "Better the Devil You Know" "Step Back in Time" "What Do I Have to Do" "Shocked" "Word Is Out" "If You Were with Me Now" "Give Me Just a Little More Time" "Finer Feelings" "What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" "Celebration" "Confide in Me" "Put Yourself in My Place" "Where Is the Feeling?" "Where the Wild Roses Grow" "Some Kind of Bliss" "Did It Again" "Breathe" "Cowboy Style"
2000s singles	"Spinning Around" "On a Night Like This" "Kids" "Please Stay" "Your Disco Needs You" "Can't Get You Out of My Head" "In Your Eyes" "Love at First Sight" "Come into My World" "Slow" "Red Blooded Woman" "Chocolate" "I Believe in You" "Giving You Up" "2 Hearts" "Wow" "In My Arms" "All I See" "The One"
2010s singles	"All the Lovers" "Get Outta My Way" "Better than Today" "Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)" "Timebomb" "Flower" "Limpido" "Into the Blue" "I Was Gonna Cancel" "Crystallize" "Only You" "100 Degrees" "Every Day's Like Christmas" "At Christmas" "Wonderful Christmastime" "Dancing" "Stop Me from Falling" "Golden" "A Lifetime to Repair" "Music's Too Sad Without You" "Sincerely Yours" "New York City"
2020s singles	"Say Something" "Magic" "Real Groove" "A Second to Midnight" "Kiss of Life" "Padam Padam" "Tension" "Hold on to Now" "Dance Alone" "Midnight Ride" "My Oh My" "Edge of Saturday Night" "Lights Camera Action" "Someone for Me"
Featured singles	"GBI (German Bold Italic)" "Higher" "Right Here, Right Now" "The Other Boys" "Really Don't Like U" "On oublie le reste" "Starstruck"
Promotional singles	"I Guess I Like It Like That" "Too Far" "Butterfly" "Sometime Samurai" "Whistle" "Skirt" "Sexercize" "Beautiful" "This Wheel's on Fire" "I Love It" "10 Out of 10"
Other songs	"Love Is on the Line" "Santa Baby" "Speakerphone" "Any Which Way" "Aphrodite" "Boys & Girls" "Love Made Me Do It" "Miss a Thing" "Supernova" "Marry the Night" "Visiting Hours" "Things We Do for Love"

Word Is Out

Hub talks

Word Is Out

Word Is Out

Hub rules

Word Is Out

Hub overview

Add your contribution

Inside this hub

Media Collections

Timelines

Articles

Notes collections

Notes

Days in Chronicle

Root Wikipedia Article

Word Is Out

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Music video

Live performances

Track listings

Charts

Release history

References

Add your contribution

Related Hubs