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The second of two posts about Hurts: so what's the Kylie duet like, then?

  • July 28, 2010
  • Popjustice

So as you know there is a Kylie duet on the Hurts album. It's the song 'Devotion'.

There is a version without Kylie in it, and a version with Kylie in it. The version with Kylie in it is about three times as good as the version without Kylie in it, in much the same way that human existence would itself be three times less bearable without the promise of a Kylie album and 'scent' every two or three years.

Anyway here's how the two versions of 'Devotion' differ. 

    No Kylie Version  Kylie Version
Plinky piano with what sounds like an accordion but might not be, beat comes in (at the rate of approx­im­ately 79 per minute), general intro business   No Kylie No Kylie
First verse — "inside the heart of every man there is a lust" etc etc   No Kylie No Kylie
Bridge — "here's hoping you'll help me to be brave"   No Kylie No Kylie
Chorus — "devotion save me now, I don't want to stray from the hallowed ground, I'll turn tempation down, I'm asking you to take me, to safety"   bb No Kylie No Kylie
Quiet bit in which a certain Australian pop warbler could walk out onto stage in order to sing second verse    No Kylie No Kylie
Second verse — "forgive my thoughts when I'm asleep, forgive these words I'm yet to speak" and so on   No Kylie KYLIE
Bridge — "here's hoping you'll help me to resist"   No Kylie KYLIE
Second chorus — same as first but a bit more epic   No Kylie KYLIE
Middle eight — "devotion, devotion, I'm a slave to the mercy of your love, for so long I've been so wrong" then big moody orches­tral bit   No Kylie No Kylie
Extravagant outro where you expect there to be a final chorus but there isn't   No Kylie KYLIE

In terms of vocal style think along the lines of 'Confide In Me' — this is a fantastic vocal per­form­ance which captures something that's not quite there in 'Aphrodite' and the bits where Kylie's whis­per­ing "devotion" and wailing "save me" while it's all kicking off in the song's final moments are really quite special. 

The rest of the Hurts album is brilliant as well obviously but it doesn't have Kylie in it.

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  • 1
    Congratulations to Charli XCX and Lorde: winners of the 2024 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize
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    The 2024 Twenty Quid Music Prize: Shortlist
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    The 2023 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: Shortlist
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    Fine, let's do a Substack then.
  • 5
    The 2022 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: shortlist
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    2021 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: Laura Mvula wins
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