Yesterday, Kylie Minogue released her 79th (!!!) single. It’s called “Padam Padam” and it’s the lead from her upcoming 16th album, Tension. While the album isn’t out until September 29th, “Padam Padam” threatens to overtake every gay bar speaker for the next few months. It’s barely 24 hours old, but it has the type of chorus that could take it from being a smash amongst the community that’s propped up Kylie’s career since the beginning to something that crosses over into TikTok, radio, and maybe a car commercial or two.
“Padam, padam, I hear it and I know
Padam, padam, I know you wanna take me home
Padam, and get to know me close
Padam, padam, when your heart goes…”
Throughout her 35 years in the music industry, Kylie’s sound sonically shifted with the times and trends. In the late 80s and early 90s, she made bright, easily digestible synth pop. In the mid-late 90s, her music grew up along with herself and she explored 90s R&B and indie dream pop. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that Kylie put on super short gold shorts and dove deeper into the world of dance. “Spinning Around” and its parent album Light Years marked a rebirth. Kylie quickly followed up Light Years with Fever, which would become the biggest record of her career. This was due to the massive, culture-shifting song “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” Over twenty years later, the track still sounds fresh and laced with addictive qualities. Its brilliant hook indeed won’t leave your head, and Kylie’s delivery is the perfect blend of detached, sexy, and longing.
With the last two decades, Kylie cemented herself as a club staple with a specific brand of “emotopop” - something you can move your hips to but with an air of melancholy. Some of the best examples of this include “I Believe In You” (2005), “The One” (2007), “All The Lovers” (2010), and “Say Something” (2020). When you listen to these tracks, they strike a euphoric chord alongside the deep beats you feel in your chest. It’s a physical and emotional experience to listen to a Kylie Minogue song. These songs are engineered for release. They have the right starts and stops to bring an entire dancefloor to its knees.
Like many, I came into the Kylieverse with “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” in 2002. This was the first song of hers to cross over in the US since her 1987 cover of “Locomotion,” which came out 6 months before I was born. I first heard “…Head” and I was hypnotized by the entire package - the earworm chorus, the dark throb, the futuristic video. Something inside me shifted. She released the Fever album in the states after the single caught on. I remember buying Fever alongside Alanis Morissette’s Under Rug Swept from my small town Wal-Mart on the same day. I was a confused 14 year old surrounded by closed minds and open fields. Having Kylie’s discography to explore gave me something to focus on. An endless hit parade showing off her versatility.
In Chicago in 2009, I had my one and only opportunity to see Kylie Minogue live. She did a small US tour called For You, For Me. It was a celebration of her music and her career by the devoted fan base she’d cultivated without much of a presence in America. The hunger for her was palpable and yes, feverish. If you were a fan at those shows, it was because you were a diehard and craved the opportunity to experience songs like “Better The Devil You Know” and “Confide In Me” in a live setting. I of course was a huge fan, but I left that arena entirely devoted. Kylie emerged from the ceiling on a skeleton head disco ball. She performed hit after hit, always playing up the crowd’s energy like a maestro. Mid-way through the show I attended, the sound at the UIC Pavilion went down. As the crew tried to fix the problem, Kylie briefly bantered with the audience. Towards the front, a swath of people started chanting “Your disco needs you!” - a song from Light Years and a known fan favorite. Kylie relented and cheekily told the crowd to stop yelling at her. On the spot, she performed the entire song a capella, including the trademark operatic bits. This intimate moment was the highlight of the entire night, underscoring the relationship Kylie has with her fans and displaying her raw talent.
Kylie Minogue is an entertainer. She knows how to work a crowd, she knows how to make moments. She occupies a similar space to Dolly Parton, someone Kylie repeatedly expresses adoration for and someone who is universally liked. Like Dolly, Kylie is easy to enjoy and root for. No problematic past, no shocking scandals, no drama. She’s joy personified, and you feel that in her music.
That’s what makes “Padam Padam” so exciting to me. For an artist to thrill you this deep into their career, it takes a special mix of the right elements. I had the new single lodged in my head after one listen, and replayed it… a lot yesterday. I woke up with it in my head today, already pumped to listen to it again. As someone who has Kylie tattooed on his arm, I’ve been trying to tap into exactly why this song in particular is clicking. I think a large part is that “Padam Padam” has the Kylie DNA pumping through every vein and channel. It’s the first single since 2014 that wasn’t tied to a theme. Kylie released a holiday album in 2015, the introspective and reflective Golden in 2017, and DISCO in 2020. Tension will be the first record that’s simply made of Kylie-branded pop with herself as the connective tissue. It’s so good to have her back.
Ahead of Tension, here’s my ranking of her studio albums (sans Kylie Christmas). I might make a few people angry…
Body Language - adventurous. sleek. vibed out.
Fever - sexy. cool. free.
Kylie Minogue - soulful. of its time. VOCALS
Impossible Princess - daring. raw. experimental.
Light Years - camp. playful. European
Aphrodite - euphoric. heavenly. light.
X - gritty. dynamic. inventive.
Golden - warm. reflective. celebration.
Rhythm of Love - confident. mature.
DISCO - release. strings. escapism.
Kiss Me Once - sexy. adaptive. confused.
Enjoy Yourself - pure. pleading. growing
Let’s Get To It - maturing. coasting. groundwork.
Kylie - innocent. youthful. sunny.