Music

Kylie’s An Icon, A Legend, And She Is The Moment

by Ky Stewart  5 September 2023
Kylie Minogue new single Tension music video red wig

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If ‘Tension’ is anything to go by, Kylie Minogue’s upcoming album might be one of the best pop records of the year. In my mind, it already is.

I know that might be a big call but I stand by it: with ‘Padam Padam’ and now ‘Tension’, Kylie is teaching these young pop girlies how it’s done. Course, this shouldn’t come as a surprise — she’s had her foot on the neck of pop music for almost 40 years. 

The title track to Tension dropped late on Friday, which is not so convenient for the editor keen on me filing this piece, but highly convenient for me personally. I got to spend the entire weekend and a good part of Monday morning blasting ‘Tension’, and let me tell you, it’s a banger. It was always going to be tough to release a track that would be strong enough to follow up to ‘Padam Padam’, but Kylie’s managed to keep the hype rolling and then some.

We’re greeted to the world of ‘Tension’ with a house music piano beat. Like the single’s name suggests, the lead up to the chorus builds so much tension that when it hits, you can’t help but get up and move your body. The opening lyrics are “I’m a star ba-ba-babe” which is fitting for Kylie Minogue. A goddamn superstar.

What’s cool about this song is its individuality. Kylie navigates us through the pop realm she’s mastered for decades. We get taken from Euro-electro-techno style before we’re thrown into a ’70s disco vibe wrapped up in a pretty Euro pop dance bow. The song somehow feels both timeless and fresh — a not-so-easy feat to achieve, but then again I like to think Kylie dabbles in magic.

The lyrics are simple but they evoke so much sex positivity and lust. For a 55-year-old woman to make me, at 22, feel some type of way is truly a remarkable feat. Sometimes I fear that Kylie Minogue makes music just for me and by me I mean the gays, obviously.

In a few interviews, Kylie’s said she was surprised by the success of ‘Padam Padam’, but I wasn’t. Yes, the love that song got was wild but there’s always been something about Kylie Minogue’s work and the way its managed to capture exactly what the people need at any given time. ‘Tension’, and its accompanying music video, is no exception.

Kylie Minogue’s ‘Tension’ Music Video Hits Different

But can we talk about the music video? I’m utterly obsessed: she’s giving sex on a stick with this little all black dominatrix number. Then we see a giant Blade Runner-esque projection of Kylie and it’s all so fabulous.

‘Tension’ sees Kylie dancing around a room in a perfect throwback to previous music videos ‘Padam Padam’ and ‘Dancing’. As soon as I clocked the reference, I loved it even more. ‘Tension’ is about finding your inner sexual desire and freeing your body, a message Kylie’s long advocated for. But seeing glimpses of the older eras proved that this Kylie has been here the whole time, I just think the world is finally catching up to what many of us have seen in her forever.

Kylie Minogue is kinda like god to me, so there’s no doubt that I was always going to love this single. I have to say though, for someone who’s been in the industry as long as Kylie has, it’s refreshing to see her get the flowers she deserves while still making music that is genuinely very good. (As of right now, ‘Tension’ has reached Number 1 on both the UK and Australian iTunes charts.) I’ve always seen in her a deep respect and love for the art that she creates, and the fans who consume it.

Kylie Minogue’s new album Tension is out on September 22.

Ky is a proud Kamilaroi and Dharug person and writer at Junkee. Follow them on X. 

Image credit: Kylie Minogue ‘Tension’ Music Video