"New Sensation" by INXS

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  3520

Date:  05/14/1988

Debut:  63

Peak:  3

Weeks:  17

Genre:  Rock

Pop Bits:  The Aussie band's sixth album, Kick, was quickly becoming their most successful effort in the US. By this point in time, it had peaked at #3, gone double-platinum, and had spawned two big hits including the #2 "Devil Inside." The results were terrific for the band, but they were not done yet. This third single would be issued out and it would also become a big hit getting to #3. It also got to #8 at Rock. With the tune peaking at #3, INSX had the rare occurrence where the peak position of the first three singles from an album coincided with the order in which they were released. The first single, "Need You Tonight," hit #1, then "Devil Inside" at #2, and then "New Sensation" at #3.

ReduxReview:  After two singles that had sleek, sexy grooves, the band pushed out this rockin' track. It was upbeat, positive, hooky, and refreshing. In other words, a perfect follow-up. It had a similar feel to their other hit "What You Need," but the song wasn't a rehash or a copy. It stood on its own and sounded great on the radio. It was a no-brainer that this was going to become their fourth Top 10 hit.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  This track has a small inside joke included. As the song was being recorded, band member/guitarist Tim Farriss wanted to play a trumpet solo in the instrumental break. However, the band's other guitarist/sax player Kirk Pengilly wanted to do a sax solo, which he had done on the band's first US Top 10 hit "What You Need" (#5). It seems that following discussions about which instrument would have the solo, Pengilly won out. As a joke reference to the situation, singer Michael Hutchence says "trumpet" in the song right before the sax solo. While on record it was a quirky reference, it wasn't quite right in a visual way. For the associated music video it seemed weird to have Hutchence say "trumpet" and then show a sax, so his reference was removed from the video's music track.

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