Kylie Minogue stuns in Perth as the Princess of Pop makes a triumphant return back home

Kylie Minogue’s first Australian concert in two years was a pop spectacle in its purest form: a neon-drenched, four-to-the-floor dance party where every beat was precision-tooled.

Kylie Minogue kicked off her long-awaited Australian tour in Perth over the weekend. Picture: Erik Melvin

Kylie Minogue has glided back into Australia, via the stage at Perth’s RAC Arena, to kick off her Tension tour in front of 13,500 adoring fans.

It was the Princess of Pop’s first Australian concert in two years – on a tour that will include this year’s mardi gras celebrations – and comes off the heels of an extraordinary career renaissance.

It was a pop spectacle distilled to its purest form: a neon-drenched, four-to-the-floor dance party where every beat was precision-tooled for maximum serotonin release, replete with several costume changes, back-up dancers, and Minogue suspended mid-air on a swing inside a giant laser cage.

Minogue, 56, opened up the concert with the live debut of ‘Lights, Camera, Action’ a new track around Benny Benassi’s naughty noughties hit ‘Satisfaction’ – a sample so gauche it loops back to genius.

The setlist was a greatest hits buffet: a blend of Disco, Tension, and Tension II, but it was the nostalgia that ruled the night.

Performances of ‘The Loco-Motion’, ‘I Should Be So Lucky’, ‘Better the Devil You Know’, and ‘Confide in Me’ were featured for the long-time believers, while all four major singles from 2001’s Fever were present and accounted for.

Of course, so was ‘Padam Padam’ – Minogue’s smash-hit single from 2023 that became the unofficial (and inescapable) soundtrack to Pride and won her a second Grammy, taking home the inaugural award for Best Pop Dance Recording.

Her first was back in 2004 when Come Into My World won Best Dance Recording.

Kylie Minogue performs at RAC Arena on Saturday night in Perth. Picture: Getty Images

“Oh Perth, what a special group of Lovers to share opening night with! The VIBES. The FEELS. I love you all so much,” the pop princess later posted on X.

Tension marks Minogue’s first full-length Australian tour since Golden in 2019 – a stripped-back affair in which the pop star played wineries and theatres.

With more than 70 dates spanning five continents – including a two-night stint at Madison Square Garden – the Tension tour feels less like a retrospective than a reaffirmation of Minogue’s status as one of pop’s most formidable architects.

The Australian leg of the Tension tour consists of 10 concerts across Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney, with indie artist and producer Mallrat as the support act.

In March, Tension will head to Asia before dates in North America, the UK, Europe and Latin America, wrapping up in Mexico in August.