Kylie Minogue Can’t Wait for You to Dress Up as Kylie Minogue at Her Las Vegas Residency

Joe Lynch
·6 min read
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Most pop stars don’t suddenly experience a lot of firsts several decades into their career, but Kylie Minogue has always stood out from the pop pack.

Last year, the Aussie icon brought her branded rosé wine to the U.S. after dominating sales in the U.K.; on Nov. 3, she begins her debut Las Vegas residency at the Venetian’s Voltaire, making her the first headliner at the new venue. And unexpectedly this May — just two months shy of her debut album turning 35 — Minogue landed a viral smash with “Padam Padam,” a song that helped define the summer of 2023. The single, titled after the onomatopoeic sound of a heartbeat, instantly inspired an eclectic slew of memes, dances and lip-syncs from a generation who wasn’t even born when Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” hit the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10 in March 2002.

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With new album Tension out now and her Vegas residency kicking off soon, Minogue chatted with Billboard about joining TikTok, Padam-demonium and the most personal song on her latest album.

We have to start by talking “Padam Padam,” which was everywhere this summer, from Ariana Grande lip-syncing to Vice President Harris dancing to it in front of Stonewall. When did you realize the reaction to this song was different from other singles?

It felt very instantaneous. I didn’t know it was going to be this kind of, dare I say, zeitgeist-y [song with] more than a day of excitement on socials. But I had the feeling, “This is different from other times.” I was just loving it, I’m not gonna lie.

And it finally pushed you to become active on TikTok. Now that you’ve been doing it a bit, what do you think of that environment?

I’m into it now. My label tried to get me to do TikTok things before and it didn’t feel organic enough. But “Padam Padam” happened organically. I don’t think anyone on the team was thinking, “This is our TikTok moment.” In “Tension,” there’s less of a routine, but enough, and I’ve enjoyed seeing people extract what they want from the video and make it their own. It’s not, “this is how it goes – now you do it.” It’s a presentation, and then the users decide how they want to express themselves with it. People are so creative and hilarious. It’s amazing to me to have another big first in my career, and “Padam” did that.

Your last few albums have all had a theme: Kylie Christmas was the holiday album, Golden was the Nashville record, Disco was obviously the disco LP. Is there a theme for Tension?

We started searching for one. Initially, a kind of ‘80s vibe was floated. We did a block of writing with an ‘80s lilt in mind and then we abandoned it. Then there was no theme, and things really started to come together. It’s just what feels good — it’s servicing the song. And then making sure sonically they live in the same world enough to live as an album. Even a song like “Tension” is referencing different eras and sounds.

Was there one song that was the hardest to get right?

“Story” took a lot of chipping away.

It seemed very personal.

It is.

“10 Out of 10,” your collab with Oliver Heldens, is so much fun. How was working with him?

I’ve still not met Oliver! We were emailing back and forth, he was always very sweet over old-school emails, which I really like. We went back and forth with stems; it took me a long time to get that one down with the syncopation of it. A few songs (on Tension) took a while, and that was one of them. Whereas “Padam” took no time at all.

At the New York preview listening session over the summer, “Green Light” went off.

What a joy to hear the songs with people and get instant feedback – that tipped me over the edge. I tried to say, “this might be one of the slower ones” (to the crowd), and then, nuh-uh. It’s illuminating. It’s not like a 100 people got together in a room and came up with a plan – it was a natural, visceral reaction. And that helped us inform the run of singles, and “Tension” being a single. When we got past the fact that there was no theme for this album, the one thing I kept coming back to was my A&R Jamie Nelson, who was so important in this process. He said, “Just have fun – as long as it’s not boring.” And I don’t think any of the songs are boring. Mission accomplished on that front.

This is your 16th album now. What keeps you excited about making new music?

Writing with people I love, particularly Biff Stannard, Duck Blackwell and Jon Green on the last couple albums. There’s a history and an unspoken acceptance — we all complement each other. We enjoy writing together. Starting a day with nothing and writing a song is one aspect of creating that I love more and more, especially as I understand my strengths more in writing, and what risks I want to take. And now I self-record a lot — I travel with my studio — and I have my independence with that. I really, really had such a desire to get back into the studio.

You have a Las Vegas residency starting in November – you’ll be the first headliner to play the Voltaire. It’s called “More Than Just a Residency.” How are you making it more than what someone has seen before?

Well, that’s the club tag line [laughs]. But the presentation of the venue is custom-made: what they’ve come up with is a cross between a ‘30s cabaret club and Studio 54. That’s where it’s more than just a residency – there’s gonna be other entertainment leading up to the headline act, and if you want to stay (after my performance) you can carry on, there will be a DJ after it. It is more than just a residency — mine will stand alone as having another point of view.

Have you seen any shows in Vegas that inspired you?

Lady Gaga’s Jazz & Piano show, John Legend’s show and Silk Sonic. I was really inspired seeing the excitement. Vegas is its own beast.

Are you a gambler? Will we see you at the blackjack table?

I’m not. I’m a kind of 10-cent slot machine, give myself a 20-buck limit. It’s uneventful, me and gambling.

You mentioned how “Tension” references different eras and sounds. I love how cool the verses feel, but then there’s this euphoric chorus.

It’s a roller coaster of a song. I can’t get that one out of my head.

The video is amazing.

Yes, the many me’s.

Are those looks a hint of what’s to come at the residency?

If I can be four people at once, yes. There’s nods to all sorts of things in the video and it’s incredible seeing people come up with their own theories. I don’t know which character will be the one I see people dressing up as (in Vegas). I wouldn’t know where to place my bet. Maybe the controller, the bleached blonde. I encourage people who come to the show in Vegas to live your best life, be your best self and have a great time. That’s a good tag line, isn’t it?

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