Kylie Minogue - Aphrodite

There have always been parallels between America’s Madonna and Australia’s Kylie Minogue. Both are dance-pop artists with fervent followings. Kylie, nine years younger, was still a popular TV actress when Madonna’s reign began. But the Aussie songstress quickly made up for lost time, becoming the only act whose first 13 releases all went Top 10 in Britain. While Madonna-level fame in America has eluded her, Kylie seems content with her iconic status. “Madonna’s the Queen of Pop, I’m the princess,” she once said. “I’m quite happy with that.”

Still, Kylie remains the primo pop diva for her most ardent fans. “I love Kylie—she’s the anti-Madonna,” confesses Rufus Wainwright. “Self-knowledge is a truly beautiful thing and Kylie knows herself inside out. She is what she is and there is no attempt to make quasi-intellectual statements to substantiate it.” Kylie released the celebratory and hopeful album X in 2007, after successfully battling breast cancer. Now, with Aphrodite, the 42-year-old star has issued a bold followup that exemplifies Rufus’ point: its feelgood songs are bursting with confidence.

Furthering the parallel, Aphrodite is executive produced by Stuart Price, who produced Madonna’s American Life and Confessions on a Dance Floor albums. But where Madonna’s music can be humorless and heavy-handed, Kylie’s is both joyful and restrained. Aphrodite’s highlights include the Coldplay-esque “Looking for an Angel,” the gorgeous “Everything is Beautiful” and the spirited title track. And the euphoric “All the Lovers” is a classy electro-dance number that promises to become a summer anthem of Madonna-like proportions.