Kylie Minogue: Classic or Dud?

Hmm...maybe not a classic, but no dud. I mean, when it comes to vertically challenged Australians, better her than those Silverchair rugrats. Although maybe they're tall now.

She's definitely too small though.

I would say NOTADUD for 'Confide in me' and that video where she gets naked in a Barberella stylee.

But not classic

Here's a question: a lot of people I know who classify themselves as pop fans don't particularly care for Kylie, while a lot of indie fans I know overrate her. Did her Nick Cave/Manics collabs ruin her for the pop set with her annoying "realness"?

Next up has got to the Traci Lords: Classic or Dud, except I fear I'm the only person round here with her album ;)

And deservedly so, since Memento is much more fun than anything Kylie has done lately.

On the attractiveness front: I've always found her terribly UNattractive, actually. I never understood that. I like her for her music and NOWT ELSE. She just looks a bit...I don't know, nostrilly and she's very, very tiny.

Years ago she did not have big lips. Her right eyebrow did not touch her hairline like it does now, it was actually lower than the left one if you look at pics! Her boobs miraculously grew when she was seeing Micheal Hutchence, and her bum doesn't have a crease on it!!! Every bum has creases when you stand up. I dont rate her music either. I agree Better than the Devil you Know was OK, but her recent efforts such as at the Brit awards when she had her ar*e hanging out again, she wanted to be 'cool' by mixing her song with Blue Monday. SOoooo wasn't good.

She is an overrated, plastic, old tart who wants to get some clothes on and give women dignity, not make them look like they are gagging for it. Hopefully she'll go BACK out of fashion, AND SOON!!!!!!!

kylie's GREAT, CONSTANTLY OVERLOOKED single: what do i have to do?!

kylie overall: classic. since when has it been about 'artistry' and 'singing'? i'm shocked that this stuff has come up.

that's what i want - hologram pop stars.

YES!

It's amazing how Kylie jumped from my bad books into my good books with such a minute shift in style from the last album.

Both of their music style's is of course not their own, but Britney has this 'thing' about her that makes you want to watch her. She does actually look like what she does in the photos. And when people go on and on, criticising her about wearing skimpy stuff - we have to remember she is only 20 and has to entertain. However, Kylie is nearly 34 and is still prancing around like an old slut with her plastic, pinned up arse and nobody says a word!!! When are the papers gonna see sense and slate her for the old tart she is!!! She is revelling in all of this attention she is getting, and its about time it stopped! OK, Spears is rumoured to have had a boob-job (and propbably has), but when do you see them hanging out of her top, like the goofy- toothed dwarfs??? Those pics from her Fever tour are ridiculous. Her boobs are pushed up sooooooo much, you can see the plastic popping out of the flesh!!! And have you noticed that there's not a smile from the pop- pixie? She is just looking down on herself, revelling in her plasticness. I dont know, I think the country has been brainwashed. It was that song 'Cant get you out of my head' that done it. It must have had some kind of subliminal message saying "MEN: You will all adore Kylie - she is the perfect image of woman; and WOMEN: You will all not care that your men fantasise about Kylie every night in her hotpants, you must love her and want to be her".

Well, I think I must have been one of the few that escaped her propaganda tactics!

Is there anybody else out there??????????????????

Thank god she got rid of the bad perm and reinvented herself....

In a word -- well, in a photo:

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:kqdyhnklmmv34nmml6btyqv6/bafkreibw5d5k44pu2nnul77dl5jzfmqhndys4a4sckl5ojq7eba2jhbs4m@jpeg

Highlights for me - Spinning Around, Slow, Locomotion. Love at First Sight turned into a great disco-rock-funk outro. Kylie’s charisma and professionalism are palpable. Her singing voice also seemed stronger than I remember from the 2011 tour.

The previous US tour was very Aphrodite-focused while this one came off as more of a career retrospective. Something for everyone, though the demographic in SF skewed Gen X first and early millennial second.

Hopefully she comes back soon!

Curious what the request song was, I’ll be the one shouting “Fragile! or Somebody to Love!” on May 2.

She did a number of short solo snippets of requested songs: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/kylie-minogue/2025/chase-center-san-francisco-ca-b50b57e.html

I Should Be So Lucky got the mostly full treatment with guitar and backup vocals on the B stage.

Which was very great since that was how I first heard of her, so it was a bit of a full circle moment.

Her singing voice also seemed stronger than I remember from the 2011 tour.

despite her reputation, she’s always been a good singer, who has become an excellent one over time. as the years have gone on her voice has attained some richness and depth. I think I first really noticed her improvement on X, and I would say Disco, Infinite Disco, and Tension are the best she’s ever been. I mean that the singer of “I Should Be So Lucky” (a good performance) is the same singer as the latter album’s title track (total masterpiece of vocals) is simply remarkable.

So we saw her last night in Los Angeles, and considering she’s going to be turning 57 this month, the amount of energy she has is crazy. Two hours almost nonstop, only pausing for costume changes. Really, really impressive and a ton of fun. Probably the most enthusiastic crowd I’ve seen in a really long time at a show. There were the obvious hits, and a few really excellent deep cuts. If I had to pick some highlights, there was a really epic performance of Confide In Me, Shocked, Tension, All the Lovers, Two Hearts, and maybe Slow most of all — the latter with an incredible arrangement.

Amazon/Alexa/meaningless these days/etc but nevertheless: there is something really heartwarming about seeing Kylie back at the top of the singles chart, 22 years since she last managed this. The single is... fine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-358jALXlA

I remember seeing a height chart in Spin or Rolling Stone or one of those magazines, with Kylie on one end, and Mick Fleetwood at the other. I wonder if the documentary will delve into that.

i saw footage of her performing with Bono once, he made a cameo during her comeback show in Sydney iirc, and he didn't tower over her, exactly...maybe have forgotten his lifts.

I dunno
https://www.nme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/84_KlieandBono_L131106.jpg

It being a three part series, I hope they have some time to get to the bottom of this

Kylie certainly is closer to the bottom than to the top, height-wise. I assume part three will focus on her vs. Bono, with commentary from Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande. Even Lady Gaga is supposedly only 5'1". She comports herself like she is taller, Bono and Tom Cruise should take some tips!

started this, it's really irritatingly edited so I don't know if I'm going to make it through three episodes. Why is everything cut for people with extreme ADD these days?

Also a bit weird to pretend Locomotion didn’t exist

Also pete waterman is insufferable my god

ok this got much better after the first episode. worth a watch.

As an editor who also has ADHD I can't say I'm fond of this clumsy and inaccurate metaphor.

I just watched the first ep — it was just cut fast to do that literal thing of “capturing the whirlwind of her career” etc

But wheeew talk about Time Machine. i remember when Dannii was huge on Young Talent time, and that duet they did with those silver dresses is burned in my brain!

loved that Jason talked about their time together, he was honest & a good sport
I think I forgot she was still w Jason when she met Michael

Anyway! Enjoying it so far, she seems quite candid so that bodes well!

I just watched this, LOVED all the 80s footage (her first album was the first album I had - begged my dad to buy me the tape).

Disagree with Veg (:-0) about Jason! I think he's super playing up on this whole thing from 40 years ago and sounds like he was jealous and somewhat dickish - I mean fair enough, what teenage boy wouldn't be at that time with that much attention...

So weirdly, although I enjoyed the whole thing, and she shares something at the end that I really feel for her about - I feel like I watched her being 'open' and sweet etc but actually still don't know anything about her? Like there was a lot about 'finally getting to be who she wants to be' and 'doing what she wants' but never got any sense of artists she loved, people she worked with, music-wise etc (ending it on a Christmas album?!). (Nick Cave is pretty funny though!) I guess there was a lot to get through and she seemed like a very fun, fairly grounded young woman from the start.

Re Jason - but that’s what I mean about him being honest. I liked that he admitted that he was jealous and still maybe felt a bit petty - he could’ve lied through the whole thing & played it off. I’m not saying he bared his soul but at least he showed a little humanity, even if it’s a bit negative

Also re Kylie revealing without revealing— I think that’s a v Australian thing, and a bit of a UK thing too if I’m being generous. Like “ok enough feely stuff onto the next topic” or talking candidly for a *bit* but act like they’ve excavated a massive emotional thing, rinse repeat. Especially digging into it on camera.
her being willing to do the project doesn’t mean she is personally able to go as far as we all want
And not to be captain obvious but given how much she got barbecued by the tabloids & music press I am not surprised she is still guarded —that she’s even somewhat open now, like yes I guess they are crumbs in the scheme of things but coming from her, getting anything like that at all, it’s a big deal imo

The stuff about Michael Hutchence was so moving
I love that she still holds a candle for him, it says a lot about his impact on her

And not to be captain obvious but given how much she got barbecued by the tabloids & music press I am not surprised she is still guarded —that she’s even somewhat open now, like yes I guess they are crumbs in the scheme of things but coming from her, getting anything like that at all, it’s a big deal imo

Oh totally! I love her and enjoyed seeing this. I didn't actually get a 'guarded' vibe at all watching it - just later I thought 'huh, would still like to pick her brains about that'. I admit I would have completely ignored/been oblivious to all the tabloid shit at the time so came in with an attitude of "I loved her when I was little, but I don't actually know anything about her" so this was great.
The people on 80s TV absolutely laying into her seems really weird now - like I know we still do this probably worse than ever, but in a more snide and subtle way than outright "haha you are stupid and dumb, pretty lady!"

I remember the whole “Singing Budgie” thing

Yeah I didn't mind the guardedness -- if anything it feels just right in terms of keeping enough to yourself. I mean the second cancer diagnosis she talks about at the very end, that's enough of a 'breaking news' situation in and of itself.

I thought the nice thing was realizing all her immediate family are still there. As someone fortunate enough to say similar who is just a couple of years younger than her, it's incredibly valuable.

It is a little odd that they mostly skipped over “Locomotion”, since that single pre-dated her Stock Aiken Waterman success. Maybe it was a rights/clearance thing & they couldn’t play it.

I interviewed Jason once, and was really struck by his honesty and realness, so seeing him on the doc reinforced that.

The Nick Cave stuff is sweet, he really likes her as a person which was nice to see.

Yeah I loved that section so much. I forgot about the Poetry Olympics reading! so adorable <3

Yeah for all that he's done shit that leaves me increasingly colder -- dinner with Rod Dreher, really? -- nice to see him both be open and supportive of her as well as perfectly well aware about how he comes across to her world in general!

I also liked his observations about pop music & her place in it, getting her to embrace that part of herself & stop trying to be “indie” etc

Also the way he described the Bad Seeds as a group of guys in permanently bad moods or whatever was v funny

I actually had no idea about Locomotion being recorded and being massive first! Here it was just the second SAW single off the album (as far as I knew as a kid, ha)

Yeah that threw me too, "I Should Be So Lucky" is what I remember from her first here.

It was her first single with Mushroom, released as “Locomotion” in Australia in 1987; and then remixed by SAW when she signed with London label PWL & re-released as “Loco-Motion” in 1988 in UK, US, Canada etc

You see, Waterman needed to add the dash to show the level of his creative contribution.

I Should Be So Lucky was her first single in UK & US but for little me back home in Australia it was her second single :) Confusing!

Wikipedia has a bit more insight on the Locomotion/Loco-motion rename & re-recording shenanigans

“…The producers decided to totally re-record Minogue's version of the song, with Pete Waterman slating her original Australian recording, which he claimed was poorly produced.[52] Original producer Mike Duffy instead blamed the decision to re-record on Waterman's alleged wish to claim the prestige and royalties that looked set to roll in from the track's looming placement of the soundtrack of the 1988 film Arthur 2: On the Rocks, starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli.[52]”

LOL
ladies and gentlemen, 1988

So about that ahem “Prestige & royalties”

oh I had no idea about that, I do remember the OG locomotion being a hit in Aus and KM being very winning in the video clip

keen to compare the two versions now to see how SAW managed to elevate it into a masterpiece

i watched the whole thing last night, and it was vv entertaining. Kylie is just a very likable person, one can see how she melted the stone heart of Nick Cave (nice edit on him saying he wasn't a fan or anything, cut to a vintage photo of him sitting next to a Kylie branded fanny pack or whatever.)

it was curious how they barely touched on the Light Years/Fever one-two punch, and didn't give any mention whatsoever to Body Language through Disco, aside from hearing bits of several songs here and there. They really did a yada yada yada all the way from CGYOOMH to Padam Padam.

The big revelation at the end wasn't a surprise, since I heard about it ahead of time, but it was vv moving, and def gives "Story" such a huge clout now.

cut to a vintage photo of him sitting next to a Kylie branded fanny pack or whatever

From the Live Seeds photos IIRC, referring to the live album released from the Henry's Dream tour.

They really did a yada yada yada all the way from CGYOOMH to Padam Padam.

Well I think it's no accident that her personal life during that time was similarly yada'd aside of course from the cancer bout. Did they even mention that one French guy's name? I think it was just a few shots of them on his motorbike.

French guy = Oliver Martinez who I think is maybe namechecked once? And she’s dated or been connected w at least other 4 dudes since then.

Honestly I’m down with the show’s “no one of note since Michael tbh” edit

All of the recent dudes are v handsome so she def still has good taste seemingly

Yeah given the one comment about how she's still searching for someone like Michael to some kind of degree I like the idea that they just simply failed to meet the necessary level, whatever their other qualities. Which, why wouldn't that be the case, she's Kylie, they are not.

Exactly!

I kind of like how she has that Madonna-esque quality in that regard

it was curious how they barely touched on the Light Years/Fever one-two punch, and didn't give any mention whatsoever to Body Language through Disco, aside from hearing bits of several songs here and there. They really did a yada yada yada all the way from CGYOOMH to Padam Padam.

Yes, this is what I mean - these were all HUGE and enduring hits so a bit of music nerdery might have been good - but perhaps that's been done before and I just haven't seen it...

i do think overall this was good but it does suffer a bit from being a documentary which has clearly been made by folks raised on reality TV. there's not much that's allowed to breathe or linger, except for when Kylie pauses for a moment at her house to listen to the quiet.

i would also have really enjoyed hearing a bit more about the music over the last twenty plus years, considering the sheer quality of the work if nothing else. X being a big comeback, Aphrodite maybe being her best, Disco being a pandemic album she had a big hand in producing herself at home, let alone Tension.

Yeah I’d def love a more music-focused, nerdier documentary too

A perfect little bonus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAerJav0xQw