Kylie Minogue has been entertaining us with her music since 1987 and has more than earned her status as a legend with many career highlights to date, but just over 12 months on from the start of her ‘Tension’ album campaign, could this have been one of her best years yet? Come with me on a journey through the highlights of the past year, some of which (being over 35 years into her music career) even Kylie may have to pinch herself at!
It all started on the 29th March 2023 when Kylie announced a collaboration with Dutch DJ/Producer Oliver Heldens titled ’10 out of 10’. At this stage nothing was known about the forthcoming album, but this song acted as a buzz track to get us Kylie fans hungry for more.
Padamonium!
On 12th May, Kylie announced that her 16th studio album would be called ‘Tension’ and teased the intro of the first single ‘Padam Padam’ alongside the otherworldly album artwork. When that song dropped mere days later the world went wild for the ear-worm. The video saw Sophie Muller on director duties at the famous The Pink Motel, with amazing choreography – and of course the Padam red was born. In a first for Kylie, the track became something of a viral sensation with memes and Tik Tok videos galore. The result being that ‘Padam Padam’ became Kylie’s first Top 10 UK single (peaking at No.8) since her collab with Taio Cruz on ‘Higher’ in 2011. In Australia, it peaked at No.19 (her first Top 40 since 2012’s ‘Timebomb’) but has just this month been certified Platinum by ARIA, proving its enduring longevity.
Hello Wembley!
Kylie made no secret of the fact that with ‘Padam Padam’ she was chasing global domination, kicking off the campaign with her first performance of the track on American Idol’s finale. A fortnight later and she surprised thousands of music lovers at Wembley Stadium by literally popping up on to the stage as a secret performer at Capital FM’s Summertime Ball – the crowd couldn’t believe their eyes as she performed ‘Padam’ as well as ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’.
Vegas High
Aside from the previously mentioned American Idol performance, Kylie also headlined KTUphoria gig in New York State in June before announcing her Las Vegas ‘More Than Just a Residency’ shows in August which would being in November and run on selected weekends. The first lot of dates sold out within a week of her announcement and a second run was quickly announced that will see Kylie performing at The Voltaire until early May. The intimate venue allows around 1000 fans each night to get up close and personal to Kylie as she sings songs from throughout her career.
Baby Break The Tension
For anyone worried that ‘Padam Padam’ was a fluke, they needn’t have, Kylie had the perfect follow up single waiting in the wings in album title track ‘Tension’. The 90s house piano, hooks aplenty and a cheeky theme made ‘Tension’ an instant Kylie classic whilst still sounding fresh and futuristic. The video sees Kylie in multiple guises with influences from films such as ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Paris, Texas’ with many fans thinking the video was all about self love! Released at the end of August, the track peaked at No.19 in the UK giving Kylie her first run of two consecutive Top 20 hits since 2010’s ‘All The Lovers’ and ‘Get Outta My Way’.
Radio 2 Live Headliner
On 17th September, Kylie took the Sunday headline slot for BBC Radio 2’s Live Weekend in Leicester’s Victoria Park and treated fans to a sneak peak of another new track from the album ‘Hold On To Now’ alongside the previous two singles and a batch of her biggest hits. Her set was greeted by rapturous applause and rave reviews from fans and critics alike. Earlier that same weekend, Kylie teased tracks from her ‘Tension’ album at a special London Fashion Week event.
‘Tension’ goes No.1
Released on 22nd September, Kylie’s 16th studio album ‘Tension’ met with some of the best reviews of any of her albums and shot straight to No.1 in both the UK and Australia. It became her 9th UK No.1 and her 8th Australian chart topper and in the US it landed at No.21 on the Billboard 200; the third highest charting album of her career there (behind Fever #3 and Aphrodite #19).
Pop Up Surprise
To mark the release of ‘Tension’ Team Kylie set up a pop-up shop on London’s Regent Street which was open for just a few days and contained a plethora of Kylie goodies for purchase as well as costumes and props from the recent videos on display. Fans queued to get their hands on the Kylie merch including ‘Slow’ towels to mark the 20th anniversary of ‘Body Language’, limited clear vinyl version of ‘Tension’, candles and more. Kylie even made a surprise appearance and shared a glass of Kylie Wine with lucky fans.
Exclusive O2 gig
On 27th September Kylie celebrated ‘Tension’ release week by putting on a special show at the 02 Shepherds Bush Empire; 20 years after she did a similar one-off show for ‘Body Language’ at Hammersmith Apollo. The money-can’t-buy show saw competition winners, media and VIPs including Michelle Visage and Alex Scott raising the roof as Kylie delivered hit after hit as well as her first live performance of ‘Tension’ track ‘Story’. Over 100,000 people entered the ballot to win a place at the 2000 capacity venue, I was lucky enough to be there and the atmosphere was electric with Kylie having the time of her life.
Awards Galore
Mid-November and Kylie started her awards haul by winning Best Pop Release (Padam) at the ARIAs. Unfortunately she couldn’t be there as she was preparing to perform at the Formula 1 Opening Ceremony in Las Vegas. Just a couple of months later and Kylie was awarded her second ever Grammy (her first was for ‘Come Into My World’ in 2002) for the inaugural Best Pop Dance recording for ‘Padam Padam’, beating fellow Aussie Troye Sivan, who she sat with at the ceremony. The awards kept coming and on 2nd March Kylie took to the stage in London to accept the coveted BRITs Global Icon award, recognising her contribution to music; she also performed a medley of hits with a costume reveal many of Rupaul’s Drag Race contestants would be jealous of. That same week she also picked up another Icon award, this time from US Billboard Women in Music, where she was intorduced by Bebe Rexha who has expressed her interest in working with Kylie on future music.
An Audience With
Kylie saw out 2023 with another live show, but this one was filmed for ITV as part of their famous ‘An Audience With’ series. Filmed at the Royal Albert Hall, Kylie took questions from celebrities including Jonathan Bailey, Andrew Scott, Billy Porter and many more, as well as performing plenty of her hits. There was also a touching moment with Pete Waterman after Kylie delivered her torch-light version of ‘I Should Be So Lucky’. It’s not her first rodeo though, Kylie first did An Audience With back in 2001 to support the release of ‘Fever’ where she famously sang ‘Especially For You’ with Kermit the Frog.
Barbie, I’m that cherry on top
To mark International Women’s Day, Mattel announced eight one-off Barbie dolls that had been made to honour role models and our Kylie was one of them alongside Shania Twain, Helen Mirren and more . Kylie’s Barbie was serving the Padam look but it isn’t the first time she’s been made into a doll, with two Kylie dolls being released in the early noughties; one with her Fever Tour silver nemesis look, the other her Dolce & Gabbana mini dress from the World Music Awards 2002.
Wigging out with Sia
Having worked together on 2014’s ‘Kiss Me Once’ album, where Sia co-produced the album with Kylie (as well as writing some tracks for the set), it’s only natural that the pair would look to team up again and in February it was announced that Kylie would be joining Sia on ‘Dance Alone’, a track from Sia’s forthcoming new album. Kylie had some fun borrowing Sia’s famous wigs and donning them for some shots on her socials to tease the release of the disco-tinged bop as well as looking fine in the video for the song.
Queens of Pop Assemble!
Not content with sneaking sister Dannii on stage to sing ‘All The Lovers’ with her at World Pride set in Sydney in early 2023, Kylie joined Madonna on stage at one of her Celebration Tour dates in Los Angeles. Needless to say the attending crowd erupted as did social media around the world as the two gay icons were finally pictured together for the first time in their long careers. Madonna introduced Kylie as a survivor before the pair sang an acoustic version of ‘I Will Survive’ and an impromptu acapella of ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’. The beautiful moment proved the pair have nothing but love and respect for each other.
Kylie becomes an Influencer
Just this week, Kylie gets to add another accolade to her belt – Time Magazine have named her an Icon and one of its 100 Most Influential People of 2024. The annual list identifies the movers and shakers across multiple fields from Entertainment to Sports, Leaders to Pioneers and this year Kylie makes the list alongside the likes of Dua Lipa, Michael J Fox and Max Verstappen. Kylie’s write up comes courtesy of Chris Martin and I couldn’t have said it any better myself!
Having been a Kylie fan since ‘I Should Be So Lucky’, I am so excited for her that she seems to be more passionate and inspired than ever in her career and is enjoying both deserved recognition and new experiences. With a couple of summer shows confirmed (BST in London and WeHo Pride in LA) and rumours of a possible ‘Tension’ repack, a new album and tour, Kylie is showing no signs of slowing down. Could the next 12 months be even more exciting? We will have to wait and see.
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