There’s something reassuring about seeing Kylie Minogue live. Whether she’s playing Glastonbury, an arena or a club in Las Vegas, the 56-year-old pop icon is such a pro that you know you’re in safe hands. However, that knowledge doesn’t make tonight’s show in Hyde Park any less dazzling. As she arrives on stage in a red vinyl jumpsuit and launches into the robotic title track from her 2023 album Tension, a current of electricity seems to spread through the crowd. They are hyped up and Kylie can feel it. “Don’t make me cry,” she says dabbing at her eyes. “We only just started.”
She manages to hold off, and instead blasts through a show so stacked with hits that it leaves you breathless. Kylie knows what her fans want to hear, and while she does sprinkle in some newer songs, such as her recent Orville Peck collaboration Midnight Ride, and Hold On To Now from her Tension album, the setlist is mostly a glorious celebration of 35-plus years of pop perfection.
New arrangements keep things sounding fresh: Come Into My World is beefed up into a trance tune; Confide In Me gets an extra dose of drama thanks to chest-shaking percussion and embellished vocals; and towards the ending of Slow, the slinky synths give way to a final euphoric chorus filled with hard beats.
Midway through the show, Kylie pauses to take requests, singing snatches of I Should Be So Lucky, 2 Hearts and Step Back In Time a capella. Despite us being in a park with tens of thousands of people, this section feels surprisingly intimate as she chats and jokes with the audience.
Given the vast number of T-shirts with the title printed on, though, the song many fans are excited to hear is clearly last year’s surprise hit Padam Padam. It doesn’t disappoint, as Kylie struts around the stage with a wide grin on her face. “I’m on cloud nine,” she says gleefully.
Whether she’s talking about her performance tonight or the fact that she’s still here after all this time in the industry is hard to tell. Either way, as she looks out to the crowd, her eyes sparkling with emotion, you can tell that both feel pretty good.
