"I Should Be So Lucky" is a 1987 song performed by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue from her debut studio album Kylie (1988). Released on 29 December 1987 by Mushroom Records and PWL Records, the song became a worldwide breakthrough hit; its image of Minogue on the front cover was shot by David Levine. The song was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman for Minogue, and they went on to produce Minogue's first four studio albums.
The song received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, although some dismissed the lyrical content. Despite this, it received commercial attention around the world, topping charts in countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany, and peaked in the top ten in countries including New Zealand and Japan, and on the Dance charts in the U.S.
Minogue voiced a special rendition of "I Should Be So Lucky" for BBC Sport's opening film to front England's semi-final match against Australia at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Recording and development
After the success of her debut single "Locomotion" in Australia, Minogue traveled to London to work with Stock Aitken Waterman, a successful British writing and production team. They knew little of Minogue and had forgotten that she was arriving; as a result, they wrote "I Should Be So Lucky" in forty minutes while she waited outside the recording studio. Mike Stock wrote the lyrics for the song in response to what he had learned about Minogue prior to her arrival. He believed that although she was a successful soap star in Australia and very talented, there must be something wrong with her and figured that she must be unlucky in love. Minogue recorded the song in less than an hour, which Stock attributes to her good ear for music and her quick memorization skills. However, she left the studio angry, not knowing what the song sounded like after she was fed it to sing line by line.
After Minogue finished the recording session, she returned home to Australia to continue work on the soap opera, Neighbours. The track was then shelved and forgotten about by the producers, and was only mixed and completed after threats by Mushroom Records general manager Gary Ashley to fly to the UK. Stock later told The Guardian: "We had to get the song together in about 40 minutes and she left not having had a happy experience. We didn’t know we had a hit on our hands and so when it went to No 1 for five weeks, someone said: 'What’s the follow-up?' We didn't have one. So I went out to Australia at the start of 1988 and met her in a bar with Jason and her manager. I basically crawled 100 yards on my knees and apologised profusely."
Composition
"I Should Be So Lucky" is a pop and hi-NRG song which features elements of bubblegum pop and new wave music. According to the music sheet on MusicNotes.com, which was published by Universal Music Publishing Group, the song is set in the key of C major. Minogue's vocals span from D4 to C5. The song is set in common time and moves at a moderate tempo of 116 beats per minute. Instrumentation of the song features synthesizers, keyboards and guitars. According to PopMatters, the song features "numerous orchestra hits to the uncomfortably thin sounding drum machine." Waterman has said the tune was inspired by Pachelbel's Canon, a claim that has been refuted by Stock and Aitken. Stock told The Guardian: "Anyone who thinks 'I Should Be So Lucky' is easy should try to play it. It's in four keys, all of them really awkward, and you can't even strum it unless you're a really good musician."