[2] The backlash resulted in Impossible Princess having little impact on British record charts—it initially peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart and sold only 18,000 copies in the first two weeks of release.

[15] Minogue was inspired by the music of the 1970s, which she discovered when she was a child via her parents' record collection, including the soundtrack from Grease (1978), Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" and "Dim All the Lights" (both in 1979).

[16] The label did not want to make another Pete Waterman Limited (PWL) record, but quality pop music with the help of great contributions and collaborations.

[22] Before signing with Parlophone, Minogue spent a week with her frequent collaborator Steve Anderson at Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, where most of the production of Impossible Princess was done.

[33] Minogue made several demos with a set of writers and producers arranged by Brian Rawling, including Steve Torch, Graham Stack, and Mark Taylor.

Music's Gary Crossing referred to the album as a "largely undemanding collection of disco, Hi-NRG, Ibizan trance, funk, 60s film and TV themes and Latin-flavoured tunes".

[44] Elements of house, electronica, psychedelic pop, Eurodisco, and French Touch were highlighted by Nick Smith of musicOMH and Ian Gormely of Exclaim!.

[48] "So Now Goodbye"—a track that blends house, disco, and electronica elements—draws inspiration from Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" (1978), Madonna's "Lucky Star" (1983) and the work of American band Earth, Wind & Fire.

(1978) and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (1975), while Chris Charles of the BBC News described it as "ABBA and the Pet Shop Boys getting down at the hottest gay club in town".

[62] Crossing found "Bittersweet Goodbye", the album's only sentimental ballad, to be a "strange concoction" of Olivia Newton-John, Kate Bush and Cocteau Twins.

[48] Minogue called Light Years an uplifting and vibrant record, with mostly happy songs that reflect her easy nature when she was making the album.

[75] Harrison highlighted Minogue's ability to focus on themes of flirtation, fun, and romance "without undercutting her previous growth as an artist" on Impossible Princess.

[78] Clarke viewed "On a Night Like This" and "So Now Goodbye" as the up-tempo disco antics that successfully depict the notions of "grabbing the best looking man in the club, then ditching him when you feel like it".

[87] German fashion photographer Vincent Peters shot the artwork for Light Years, while Mark Farrow was selected to design the cover.

[93] William Baker, who helped through the album process, said that he wanted a cover that was "a visual statement about [Minogue] reclaiming the throne of the Princess of Pop" and the result shows she has "returned to her rightful place!

"[90] Crossing found the glossy sleeve artwork "leaves very little to the imagination" and that Minogue is "unashamedly playing [her] 'never mind the book, have a gander at the cover' card".

[48] Charles found it tacky,[94] while John Earls of Classic Pop noted its commercialized nature, commenting that the artwork is better suited for a Ministry of Sound compilation and the cover is the only dull aspect of Light Years.

[100] Smith felt the track was hard to find,[65] while Earls commented the decision was made at "the peak of the CD boom" and "Password" is a worthy reward.

[112] The book contains a nude sketch of Minogue, and several celebrities such as Elle MacPherson, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, actor Barry Humphries, and singer Boy George.

[112] Minogue appeared on the controversial cover of the June issue of GQ shot by Terry Richardson, wearing a white tennis dress showing her naked bottom with the banner "Kylie: At Your Service".

[114] On 17 June 2000, before the album's release, Minogue appeared specially at London's G-A-Y nightclub where she performed several songs, including "Spinning Around", "Better the Devil You Know" and "Step Back in Time".

[35] Wearing a pink showgirl costume, she performed ABBA's "Dancing Queen" (1976) and "On a Night Like This" to an audience of 100,000 people at the 2000 Sydney Olympics closing ceremony in October.

[119] In Australia, Minogue played a record-breaking nine concerts at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, beating the previous record held by AC/DC for the most dates performed at the venue in a single tour.

[130] The plot is loosely based on Martin Scorsese's 1995 crime drama movie Casino, with Minogue portraying a trophy wife; Dutch actor Rutger Hauer served as her on-screen husband.

[48] Dwyer praised the "breezy disco hedonism" nature of Light Years, while Pearse wrote the album is among "some decidedly classy classic pop creations".

[54] In their negative reviews, T'Cha Dunlevy of The Gazette and Sandra Sperounes of Edmonton Journal dismissed the record as lightweight and unimaginative, and said that Minogue "is still doing her best Madonna's impression.

[153] It was one of three of Minogue's studio albums to receive a four-star rating from British writer Colin Larkin in the Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2011) with Rhythm of Love (1990) and Fever (2001).

Cinquemani stated house tracks "On a Night Like This" and "Butterfly" predicted the rise of EDM music and created the template for Minogue's releases over the next 15 years.

[43] A reviewer from Sputnikmusic credited the album for bringing nu-disco to the public, predicting the direction for her later releases, and influencing pop projects for two decades—namely Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005), Arcade Fire's Reflektor (2013), and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Julien" (2019).

[57] In a 2010 article, Karina Halle of Consequence noted Minogue's flamboyant musical style has been passed down to contemporary pop artists like Lady Gaga.