Live Review: Kylie – 13th July 2024 – BST Hyde Park, London, UK
5 min read
Kylie | Photo by Phoebe Fox
Over the last 30 years pop icon Kylie has enjoyed several resurges in popularity. Her latest can be easily attributed to the global success of lead Tension single, Padam Padam which very quickly became a classic Kylie hit in 2023 in the same way that Spinning Around and Can’t Get You Out Of My Head did for the pint sized Aussie superstar in the early noughties.
Following a hugely successful Las Vegas residency this year, the pop megastar and LGBTQI+ icon announced that she was going to be performing as part of the line-up of this year’s BST Hyde Park series and every gay man in a 200 mile radius was online to snap up tickets for what was to be the hottest ticket in town, and one that is part of an already phenomenal line up of the BST Hyde Park series with the likes of Stevie Nicks, Shania Twain and Kids collaborator, Robbie Williams already headlining previous days over the last couple of weeks.
Saturday nights performance by the recent Brits 2024 Global Icon winner was without doubt one of the greatest live shows we have been in attendance for. From the opening Tension, the nostalgic disco dance through the singers remarkable 35-year catalogue was in full speed as the singer emerged on stage dressed in figure hugging red latex following several explosions of pyrotechnics and beneath a large disco ball and giant diamond themed crown that hovered overhead. Come Into My World was then reimagined with a new trance coating that transformed Hyde Park into one giant rave with 65,000 overzealous fans jumping up and down and living their best lives as they belted back each word of the track.
Clearly overcome by the reception from fans, Kylie told the crowd, “Here’s the thing, I knew we were going to be here tonight, I knew you were going to be here tonight, but you still take my breath away”.
In Your Eyes, Get Outta My Way and a punchy rendition of Red Blooded Woman were pop perfection early in the set while the crowd was treated to a live debut of Tension track, Things We Do for Love before a gorgeous reworking of Kylie fan favourite, Confide In Me was delivered in spectacular, cinematic form as she appeared on her raised stage in a stunning golden floor-length dress to perform the classic 1994 self-titled album hit.
The set then works its way through much of Ms Minogue’s hit’s drenched catalogue with the likes of the sensual Slow, the 80’s rich and incredibly danceable Better the Devil You Know, her Jake Shears collaborative hit, I Believe In You and Noughties juggernaut, Spinning Around all finding a worthy place with the set before Kylie and her troupe of talented backing dancers and backing singers perform a cheesy but crowd pleasing dance routine for very early career gem, The Loco-Motion.
From the moment the first beat swept over the crowd, right through to the final note being sung by the Aussie pop superstar, Hyde Park was lit up by the mammoth Great Oak Stage screens in vibrant candy colours and themes that helped make this show a true pop spectacle.
Support act Anitta was welcomed back on stage toward the end of the night to duet with Kylie on the stellar performance of Can’t Get You Out Of My Head and further nods to the singers most recent global hit record were offered up with a flowing performance of Hold On To Now, affording an opportunity for the crowd to catch their breath between all of the energetic pop bangers being delivered by the singer who looked like she was having the best time of her life on stage.
Dancers then presented themselves on stage dressed in cowboy attire and lampshade-esque hats as the singer delivered a stellar version of recent Orville Peck collaboration, Midnight Ride with Peck being cast over the giant screens singing back to her and dishing up some impressive line dance moves.
In the mid-section of the set, Kylie took to the middle of the Golden Circle area to have a semi-acapella request style sing through some of the hits that didn’t make the set as full-length additions, with snippets or choruses of Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi, 2 Hearts, Step Back in Time and Got To Be Certain being dished up before gliding through a performance of early career hit, I Should Be So Lucky for the pop hungry crowd.
It was however Tension’s megahit, Padam Padam that everyone was waiting for and as soon as the opening synth beats of the hit washed over the audience, fever in the crowd went explosive with the entire crowd jumping and dancing with their friends and strangers around them showing that music really does bring people together in the most spectacular of ways.
Spreading herself over the steps of the stage, Kylie then closed the main section of her set with a stadium worthy performance of Aphrodite hit, All The Lovers before returning moments later to offer a spectacular encore of One A Night Like This and ending with Love At First Sight. In between she managed to throw in a surprise guest appearance by fellow pop starlets, Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo for what the singer described as “I’m living my girl band dream” before gifting the crowd with a catchy performance of new single, My Oh My which was revealed to fans online earlier this week.
We’ve seen Kylie perform 5 times over the years and one thing is certain when it comes to a Kylie show – you are going to get one of the greatest performances you have ever seen. Whether it’s the suitcase of hits that’s bursting at the seams, the incredible live vocals, the vibrancy of her stage design, props and visuals or the tight display of choreography delivered by her talented backing dancers – every Kylie show is a 5 star spectacle and Saturday’s Hyde Park performance was one of the very best by one of the greatest entertainers of our time.
Set list:
Tension
Come Into My World
In Your Eyes
Get Outta My Way
Things We Do for Love
Confide in Me
Red Blooded Woman
Slow
Better the Devil You Know
Hold On to Now
Midnight Ride
Spinning Around
The Loco-Motion (Carole King cover)
Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi / Got to Be Certain / Step Back in Time / 2 Hearts / I Should Be So Lucky
One More Time / Wow / Shocked
I Believe in You
Padam Padam
Can’t Get You Out of My Head
Where the Wild Roses Grow
All the Lovers
Encore:
On a Night Like This
My Oh My (with Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo)
Love at First Sight
::: RenownedForSound.com’s Editor and Founder –
Interviewing and reviewing the best in new music and globally recognized artists is his passion.
Over the years he has been lucky enough to review thousands of music releases and concerts and interview artists ranging from top selling superstars like 27-time Grammy Award winner Alison Krauss, Boyz II Men, Roxette, Cyndi Lauper, Lisa Loeb and iconic Eagles front man/songwriter, Glenn Frey through to more recent successes including Newton Faulkner, Janelle Monae and Caro Emerald.
Brendon manages and coordinates the amazing team of writers on RenownedForSound.com who are based in the UK, the U.S and Australia.
