TThere’s something comforting about watching Kylie Minogue live. Whether she’s playing Glastonbury, arenas or Las Vegas clubs, the 56-year-old pop icon is a pro, so you can rest easy. But that knowledge doesn’t take away from how good tonight’s show was in Hyde Park. When she struts onstage in a red vinyl jumpsuit and launches into the robotic title track from her 2023 album, Tension, there’s an electric current running through the crowd. The crowd is excited, and Kylie feels it. “Don’t make me cry,” she says, wiping her eyes. “We’re just getting started.”
She held back, instead delivering a smashingly successful show packed with hits that were sure to take your breath away. Kylie knows what her fans want to hear, and although she sprinkles in a few new songs – her recent collaboration with Orville Peck on ‘Midnight Ride’ and ‘Hold On To Now’ from the ‘Tension’ album – the setlist is primarily a brilliant celebration of over 35 years of pop perfection.
New arrangements keep the sound fresh: Come Into My World powers up into a trance tune, Confide In Me gains more drama with heart-stirring percussion and embellished vocals, and towards the end of Slow, slinky synthesizers give way to a final euphoric chorus filled with hard beats.
Midway through the show, Kylie paused to take requests, singing a cappella versions of I Should Be So Lucky, 2 Hearts and Step Back In Time. Despite being in a park with tens of thousands of people, this section felt surprisingly intimate, with Kylie chatting and joking with the crowd.
But judging by the sheer number of T-shirts selling with the title emblazoned on them, it’s clearly last year’s surprise hit, “Padam Padam,” that fans are excited for, and the sight of Kylie strutting across the stage with a beaming smile doesn’t disappoint. “I’m awesome,” she says gleefully.
We’re not sure if she’s talking about tonight’s performance or the fact that she’s still here after all these years in the industry, but either way, as she looks out to the audience and sees her eyes sparkling with emotion, we can tell she’s in a pretty good mood either way.
