Kylie Minogue’s Fever is one of the defining albums of early ’00s pop, but it came about, in part, from Minogue finding herself at a crossroads. The Australian actor and singer had explored different aspects of pop since her cover of Little Eva’s “The Loco-Motion” established her as a dual threat in the late ’80s: She’d gone from fronting plush Stock Aitken Waterman tracks to digging into the ’90s alt boom’s electro side. In 2000, she released “Spinning Around”, which combined a buoyant synth-disco beat with lyrics that brought self-actualisation to the dance floor. The success of that single—and its attendant album, Light Years—laid the groundwork for 2001’s Fever. With tracks like the Village People-nodding “Your Disco Needs You” and the string-laden “Loveboat”, Light Years felt like a disco dress-up exercise at times. But Fever is both informed by its time and slightly ahead of it, with Minogue asserting herself as a new kind of diva—one who could command a dance floor with the power of a few sultry la-la-las. Those cooed syllables made the lead single, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”, one of 2001’s biggest songs. Written by pop auteurs Cathy Dennis and Rob Davis, it proved to be an ideal fit for Minogue’s lithe soprano, its understated longing allowing her to flaunt her voice’s versatility and its percolating beat proving to be fertile ground for the then-nascent genre of mash-ups. The rest of Fever has a similar composure. “Love at First Sight”, led by Minogue’s joyous belt, heads back to the disco, then transports everyone inside to the 22nd century; “Come Into My World” is all heavy breathing and pulsing synths, its come-on working for the dance floor and bedroom alike. “Burning Up”, meanwhile, brings acoustic guitars into its spaced-out mix, foreshadowing her country-electro turn on 2018’s Golden while also showcasing her playful side. Minogue was in her early thirties during the Fever era, and her confidence provided a foil to the hyperactive teen-pop that ruled the charts at the time. She’d already been in the entertainment business for more than a decade by the time it came out, and she’d weathered its slings and arrows with poise and verve. Fever is the sound of Minogue planting her flag in pop’s summit, inviting listeners to a dimly lit, desire-fueled party happening there.