Jump to the Beat

"Jump to the Beat" is a song written by Narada Michael Walden and Lisa Walden. It was originally released by American singer Stacy Lattisaw in 1980 when it became a big hit in the UK, peaking at No. 3. It was later covered by Australian singer Dannii Minogue on her debut album, Love and Kisses, in 1991.

Stacy Lattisaw was only 13 years old when "Jump to the Beat" was released in May 1980. Although it was not released as a North American single, and therefore did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100, it reached No. 1 (along with another song "Dynamite!") on the Billboard dance charts.^[1] Released in edited form as a single internationally, it became a big hit during the summer of 1980 in the UK, where it peaked at No. 3 in July.^[2] It was to be her only major hit there although she continued to achieve success in the US with later singles. The song also performed well in Europe, hitting the charts in a number of countries. The song was included on Lattsaw's second album, Let Me Be Your Angel.

Australian singer Dannii Minogue released a cover of "Jump to the Beat" in 1991. Her version was produced by Les Adams, Emma Freilich (L.A. Mix) and Andy Whitmore and received a mixed reception from music critics. It was released as the third single from her debut album, Love and Kisses in the third quarter of 1991 by Mushroom and MCA Records. The song reached the top five in Ireland and the top ten in the United Kingdom, and became Minogue's second top ten single. In Australia, the song did not perform as well, charting outside the top forty. In North America, the single was released as Minogue's debut release in November 1991; however, it failed to generate much interest outside of the United Kingdom and Australia. The accompanying music video was directed by Australian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer Paul Goldman.

Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote, "Kylie's younger sister bows with a hyper pop/house jam that is fueled with a fun, sing-along chorus and a groove that should easily rope in programmers at both club and crossover radio levels. Rap by Einstein is miscellaneous, while Minogue's chirpy voice endears."^[7] Marc Andrews from Smash Hits named the song one of the highlights on the Love and Kisses album, describing it as a "dance-fantastic single".^[8] Retrospectively, Matthew Hocter from Albumism noted that "with a clearer focus on that New Jack Swing sound" and the addition of some "heavy on house music" covers "Jump to the Beat" and "Baby Love", "the younger Minogue demonstrated that she had a very soulful approach to music."^[9] John Lucas from AllMusic named the song "a fairly perfunctory cover".^[10]

• Dannii Minogue – lead vocals
• Colin "Einstein" Case – rap vocals
• Les Adams, Emma Freilich, Andy Whitmore – production
• Phil Bodger – remix, additional production
• Simon Fowler – photography