A diva who shouldn’t grow up just yet
Kylie Minogue
Is Britain’s favourite pop star having a mid-life crisis? The blonde in jeans and a nice top we met at the start of this show looked more like she was going out to dinner than headlining the O2.
Kylie Minogue turned 50 this year, and she wants you to know that she’s grown up, thank you very much. And while it might be rather taxing still to be hailed as a sex kitten at 50, Dolly Parton – whose influence is all over Minogue’s pointedly titled and very safe new album Golden – is
72, which gives the Australian a good 20 years’ more dancing.
Indeed, much of Minogue’s opening night at the O2 felt like she was trying to carve out a new character that she is not quite ready to embrace. She began with a kitschy Barbara Cartland-and-her-cowboys look for Golden’s title track, before donning a succession of sensible outfits that made you weep for the sensations of her 2005 Showgirl tour.
Honed over 30 years, Kylie’s voice filled the arena with soaring, growling ease. What it never did was let go. In a set filled with euphoric numbers from her impressive back catalogue, her performance felt like a dress rehearsal for another concert. “You got this one?” she asked the audience before I Believe in You, like a cheery aerobics instructor on autopilot.
It’s not like she shied away from delivering the hits that gave her her early success. Indeed no fan favourite, from Confide in Me to Where the Wild Roses Grow, was left untouched. “Traditionally, you guys sing this to me,” she said on Better the Devil You Know. Especially For You was lacking the Jason Donovan cameo her recent Hyde Park set had, although the sight of the O2 lit up by phone torches was magical. The dance hits that gave her mega-fame were given muddy middle-of-the-road makeovers. Can’t Get You out of My Head was sent to an early grave; a pared-back version of All The Lovers fared better. As her dancers morphed from cowboys into biker characters, it all went slightly Kyliedoes-am-dram, with flashbacks to the flop Blondie jukebox musical, Desperately Seeking Susan. When she stopped trying to be Dolly, and embraced the full glitter and joy of her dance years, then Kylie did come alive. Delivered in a haze of sparkly capes and edgy dance moves, Locomotion and Spinning Around were thrilling. The entire cast suddenly looked about 20 years younger, and the audience breathed a sigh of relief because there she was at last, glitter cannons and all.
The greatest divas know exactly who they are, and thrive on it. Kylie might have a confused relationship with her dance past, but it’s there that she is truly a star. Those sensible jeans aren’t for her just yet.
As dancers morphed from cowboys into bikers, it all went slightly am-dram