Dannii Minogue

Dannii Minogue could have gone pretty much any direction she wanted in showbiz, as the sheer variety of her accomplishments since [i]Young Talent Time[/i] proves, but we're glad she's followed her passions and (razor sharp) instincts to focus on becoming one of the world's pre-eminent dance music stars. From cute 1990 debut single "Love and Kisses" and fun cover "Jump to the Beat," to 21st-century dance-floor stormers like "Perfection," via transitional electronic-influenced cuts like '97's "Everything I Wanted," Dannii has always landed herself right at the heart of the party. She's just getting warmed up . . . there's more from Dannii in Next Steps.

Dannii paved the way for dance-floor superstardom in the '90s, but she nailed it — really [i]nailed[/i] it — in the '00s. Six years after 1997's [i]Girl[/i], which had hinted at her potential for a stunning pop/club crossover career, she gave us [i]Neon Nights[/i], a superb collection of grooves including "Don't Wanna Lose This Feeling," the first track ever given permission to lift a sample from Madonna's "Into the Groove." Follow-up [i]Club Disco[/i] (2008) confirmed that Dannii was, quite simply, unstoppable, thanks to boogie faves "Touch Me Like That" and her rebooted version of "He's the Greatest Dancer."

Of all the many hats Dannii Minogue has chosen to wear — junior diva, soap star, fashion designer, talent show judge, breakfast show host, radio DJ, Shakespearean actress . . . the list is endless — the one that suits her best, as far as we're concerned, is world-conquering, club-thumpin' songstress. And, given that older sister Kylie has blazed a trail that could have left a lesser sibling eating dust, that's pretty incredible. That blast of shimmering trance, "Who Do You Love Now?" (2001), made to the top of the U.S. dance charts, and proved the prelude to a decade in which she would remain "queen of the clubs" — in fact, her run of club #1s in the U.K., stretching back to 1997's "All I Wanna Do," is nothing short of incredible, consisting of 12 consecutive chart-toppers to date, with many more no doubt to come. Behold, her royal Dannii-ness.