Australian pop queen Kylie Minogue stays tuned to a high-energy rhythm with “Tension II”, available Friday, and invites her audience to continue the dance during a tour in 2025, which will pass through France via Paris and Lyon.
France left Kylie Minogue a year ago with “Tension” and her very electro “Padam Padam”, the title a nod to Edith Piaf, thanks to which the 56-year-old popstar won a Grammy Award in February. The singer continues to explore the path of letting go, mirror ball version, with a sequel, “Tension II”, as she told AFP during a visit to the City of Lights.
QUESTION: This album features nine previously unreleased tracks, including “Lights Camera Action,” and your latest collaborations with other stars like Sia. Why did you release it so quickly after the previous one?
ANSWER: I’ve never done a sequel like this before. This was not initially planned. We just had a lot of songs (while creating “Tension”, Editor’s note), there were more and more. So I said +let’s make a new album+. And I think “Padam Padam” opened a lot of doors for me, writers and producers sent me songs. There was all this opportunity there.
Q: You will be on tour from February 2025, the biggest in 14 years according to your label BMG. What state of mind are you in?
A: Adrenaline, excitement and nervousness are all very similar feelings. I’m not sure I know the proportions. We go to so many places and I haven’t done that in a few years. I’m very excited to see everyone, to have new Music to play in the show.
Q: How do you plan to keep up this pace?
A: Once you’re up and running, you stay in shape anyway. For the concert, even if I say to myself, +go for 90% tonight+. No, I’m going 100%! I can’t do anything about it. But above all it is about preserving the voice. I don’t go out, I don’t do anything. I’m really focused to the point where it’s really boring.
Q: Far from a party girl image…
A: For example, my band might go to the bar after the show. And for a singer, probably the worst thing you can do is speak over the noise. So I’d like to, but I won’t. I might find some good TV shows to watch instead.
Q: After more than 30 years of career and countless hits, are you still as passionate?
A: Music more than ever. I understand it more. I understand myself better. I understand what I can bring, how I can interpret the songs. It’s so different considering who I am today, compared to who I was at 19. I was a baby and I just sang what was put in front of me.
Q: With an assumed turn to the electro side, do you still consider yourself a pop singer?
A: Pop music is always changing, it’s cyclical and made up of all kinds of things. A few years ago, I had an album that sounded like country pop (“Golden” in 2018, Editor’s note). I don’t want to be locked into anything. In my relationship, in my way of thinking, in my clothes. Having the ability to move and change is such a part of me. I think I’ve managed to move through this world quite well. It’s the evolution and change that I love.
