Olly Alexander discusses collab with Kylie Minogue and reveals the gift she gave him
He featured on her recent song 'A Second To Midnight'
The wonderful Olly Alexander from Years & Years joined us on the Hits Radio Breakfast Show to chat about his recent collaboration with none other than Kylie Minogue.
The pair worked together on the song 'A Second To Midnight' which came out on 6th October. Olly spoke about how much of an honour it was to work with Kylie: "I feel so lucky to have worked with her I mean obviously she is an icon, she's the legendary Kylie Minogue, but she's also just so down to earth, so nice, such a pro to work with, and so funny."
Olly also excitedly told us: "She sent me some wine, some Kylie wine." and revealed that each bottle has a Kylie signature on it.
'A Second To Midnight' also has a dazzling music video which shows the stylish pair hilariously switching outfits (down to the hair and accessories) throughout the song.
Olly talked about getting dressed up as Kylie: "I walked out to meet Kylie and neither of us saw each other until we both had our transformations finished and I just was like, 'this is just such a moment', and I never, ever expected this to happen in my life but it's so amazing. Getting to dress up as Kylie Minogue for the day, I mean, what could be better?"
He also talked about seeing Kylie dressed up as him: "She can rock any look though, honestly that woman can pull off literally anything."
Watch 'A Second To Midnight' by Kylie Minogue and Years & Years:
Olly also revealed that he would be hosting his own New Year's Eve special on BBC: "Either side of midnight I'm going to be performing all of my hits, I'm doing some very fun covers and and some collabs with some extra, extra special guests - Kylie Minogue and The Pet Shop Boys. And maybe one other, but I can't announce it yet."
He shared how he was feeling about the show: "I feel so privileged to be sharing this moment with the country, with whoever is tuning in, it's going to be so fun and I want it to be really special."
We can't wait to watch it!
Take a look through these incredible collabs from 2021:
Justin Bieber ft Daniel Caesar and Giveon – 'Peaches'
The soundtrack to all our summers and probably one of the catchiest TikTok songs of the past two years, Justin Bieber got together with R&B singer Giveon and fellow Canadian Daniel Ceaser way back in March to release the super chill 'Peaches'. It still plays on loop in our heads...
The Weeknd & Ariana Grande – 'Save Your Tears'
The Weeknd and Ariana are no strangers to getting together to work on a smash and their remix of his hit song 'Save Your Tears' in April went straight to the top of the charts. The song became both Ariana's and The Weeknd's sixth Number 1 single. Not bad, eh?
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic – 'Leave The Door Open'
Just when we thought Bruno Mars couldn't get any cooler he formed Silk Sonic, consisting of Bruno and Anderson .Paak. The debut feel-good single, 'Leave The Door Open', that came with a super vintage music video, was released in March.
Joel Corry, RAYE & David Guetta – 'BED'
Could it get any better than DJ's Joel Corry and David Guetta collaborating? Well, throw singer RAYE into the mix and you've got yourself a smash hit. 'BED' truly was the song of the summer as the world slowly but surely came alive again and people were allowed to party with their pals.
Anne-Marie, KSI & Digital Farm Animals – 'Don’t Play'
KSI, Digital Farm Animals and Anne-Marie gifted us 'Don't Play' in January, with the bop being the lead single from Anne-Marie's second studio album 'Therapy'.
Dua Lipa & Elton John (PNAU remix) – 'Cold Heart'
2021 was the year these two pop legends teamed up to give us the ULTIMATE collaboration: a mashed-up remix featuring portions of Elton's past singles 'Rocket Man,' 'Sacrifice,' 'Kiss the Bride,' and 'Where's the Shoorah?'. A huge contender for song of the year.
The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber – 'Stay'
Australian rapper The Kid LAROI has had a BIG year and it was topped off with his catchy AF single with Justin Bieber.
Lizzo & Cardi B – 'Rumours'
We all prayed for it to happen and we finally got two of the baddest babes in music to work on a track together. Cardi B and Lizzo released 'Rumours' in August which Lizzo named the start of her "new era".
Jonas Brothers & Marshmello – 'Leave Before You Love Me'
In May, the newly reformed Jonas Brothers gifted us a MASSIVE collaboration with record producer Marshmellow. They debuted their new song live for the first time during the 2021 Billboard Music Awards - a performance that is set to go down in history.
Doja Cat & SZA – 'Kiss Me More'
2021 was all about the female collaborations, and Doja Cat and SZA coming together for 'Kiss Me More' was the cherry on the cake.
Ariana Grande feat. Doja Cat & Megan Thee Stallion - '34+35' (Remix)
The best decision Ariana Grande made in 2021? Remixing her anthem '34+25' with the help of Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion.
Anne-Marie & Niall Horan - 'Our Song'
In May, Niall and Anne-Marie released their highly anticipated single 'Our Song' after teasing it for what seemed like YEARS. The single did so well there's recently been rumours of a second collaboration...
Jesy Nelson & Nicki Minaj - 'Boyz'
After months of teasing her solo career, former Little Mix bandmate Jesy finally dropped her debut solo single 'Boyz' featuring Nicki Minaj on Friday 8th October. The track samples P Diddy's hit 'Bad Boys For Life'.
Anne-Marie & Little Mix - 'Kiss My (Uh Oh)'
Little Mix and Anne-Marie joined forces to give us another pop anthem. The video features a heavily pregnant Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock stay in a hotel room whilst Anne-Marie and Jade Thirwall hit up the club. Proper vibes.
Kylie Minogue & Years & Years - 'A Second To Midnight'
Pop princess Kylie and frontman Olly Alexander got together and produced 'A Second To Midnight' in October, a delicious 80s sounding track.
Clean Bandit, Wes Nelson and Topic - 'Drive'
Love Island star turned popstar Wes Nelson produced a few Top 10 hits this year, including this acoustic/dance collaboration with Topic and Clean Bandit.
Craig David & MNEK - 'Who You Are'
Craig and MNEK finished our year off in style with the positive and uplifting 'Who You Are'. Could it be the first track from Craig's brand new album that he keeps on teasing? We hope so!
Becky Hill & David Guetta - 'Remember'
We don't care what anyone says, 'Remember' was one of the best songs of 2021 and will be a DJ fave for years to come. The pair released the track back in June and was the fourth single from Becky's debut studio album, 'Only Honest on the Weekend'.
Coldplay & BTS - 'My Universe'
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin hasn't been shy when it comes to his love for K-pop boyband BTS and reportedly wrote 'My Universe' especially for them. BTS told People: "He came out to Seoul to record together with us and the process was really natural and organic."
Little Mix, David Guetta & Galantis - 'Heartbreak Anthem'
Back in May, Little Mix provided the world with another incredible break-up theme song, getting a little help along the way from David Guetta and Galantis.
Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion and Jimmy Fallon - 'It Was A… (Masked Christmas)'
One of the more surprising collabs that came our way in 2021, Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion teamed up with none other than the talk show King himself Jimmy Fallon, bringing us a new Christmas bop in the form of 'It Was A… (Masked Christmas)'.
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