‘I am such a chameleon’: Kylie Minogue

I don’t want to be limited by anything. I’m a Gemini, I’m an air sign and I’m me,” pop icon Kylie Minogue tells us boldly in our Zoom interview earlier this week. The Australian singer-songwriter was talking to us from London on the day of the release of her 16th studio album, Tension.

Kylie is a pop culture phenomenon who has been relevant and a chart topper for more than three decades now. Few from her generation are putting out music and going viral on social media like her. Earlier this year, the song Padam Padam, (that’s the sound of a heartbeat by the way) became a summer anthem, just like Spinning Around did in 2000 and Can’t Get You Out Of My Head did in 2001. And 20 years later, nothing has changed.

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With Tension, Kylie plays with concepts and genres fearlessly. There are disco numbers and there are more downtempo beats. Love, life, dance, relationships — all come alive as themes in the album. “Unlike my last two albums, there wasn’t a ‘theme,’ it was about finding the heart or the fun or the fantasy of that moment and always trying to service the song. I wanted to celebrate each song’s individuality and to dive into that freedom. I would say it’s a blend of personal reflection, club abandon and a melancholic high,” begins the songstress. The Grammy-award winner opens up to us about the album, her life and the special affection she has for Harry Styles. Excerpts from the interview:

We have to start with Padam Padam. The hit song became a summer sensation and also really resonated with the LGBTQIA+ community. Why do you think your music and your persona is loved by the community so much?
It has been a long standing relationship between the LGBTQIA+ community and me. Which happened very organically, very naturally, and with a lot of heart and soul. There are probably many layers to it. But it includes love, respect, understanding and support. Add to that, I have 35 years of songs to enjoy and embrace. The release of Padam Padam also happened to coincide with various Pride Months around the world. I think it was the timing too. It was so much fun to see that… to see the song being embraced that way.

Congrats on the release of the new album Tension. Story and some of the other songs are very personal. As a public figure you usually keep your personal life away from the limelight. Do you instead, like to express yourself through music?
I am such a chameleon. I’m very comfortable with ambiguity and the possibility to shape-shift. So, I equally love to dive into a song like Padam Padam, or Tension, which is very out there. These are the songs where I’m playing a role. And then there are songs like Story. There’s another part of me that loves to be able to have that satisfaction of expression. I acknowledge more internal feelings in songs like these. I don’t think I’ve ever really, in a very black and white way, told my story. That’s just my preference. I like to keep some kind of poetry or some kind of mystery around that. Also, because I’m still trying to figure out all that, myself. We’re all works in progress, aren’t we? Over this amount of time, since the late ’80s, of course people know a lot about me, they know a lot about who I am. I just think it’s a natural human instinct, for me, to protect a lot of what is not part of my public persona. It helps keep me sane. I’ve always very naturally compartmentalised that — that is work and this is real life. It’s just keeping them a little separate. But with some songs, of course, the circles overlap.

You always come across as humble and down to earth, in spite of being one of the world’s biggest pop icons. How do you keep yourself grounded?
Family. Friends. Common sense (laughs) . I think for sure i t is because of the way I’ve been raised and my understanding of work. Nothing is handed to you on a plate. You have to work for it. And you have to work well. And be self driven. Part of it is also because I started acting when I was a teenager (in the soap opera Neighbours). I learnt early on that it’s not about me. It’s about the team. There is also always plenty to bring you back down to earth. Sometimes, you actually feel like you’re super sonic… it is all so high octane. You’re performing and, even now, you’re doing lots and lots of promos. But you have to come down. I’m only human, so, there are times when I drop. It’s about trying to find that terra firma in the middle and to be able to handle both extremes.

You’ve donned many hats and played with many genres. But was there ever a time you felt boxed in by how the media or fans perceive you?
I have felt that in the past, a long time ago. But now, I think, after all these years… it’s become not only accepted but expected that I do shape-shift and I do morph with the times. I like to be changeable. I would go back to the very beginning when I was an actor. There was an idea that because I was an actor, I couldn’t be a singer, which all seems super old fashioned now. People have the means to do whatever
they want — you wanna host a TV show, you film it on your camera. You know what I mean? But back then in the early days, I really felt like I had to revolt against that notion that you do this, so you can’t do that. I’m a Gemini, I’m an air sign and I’m me. I don’t want to be limited by anything. So that made no sense to me. I wasn’t really offended by it, but I didn’t get it.

So, would you host a TV show or go back to acting?
I’d love to have the opportunity to act. It’s something I don’t do often. Like anything you need to keep working that muscle. Whenever I do go on set and get to be a character, it’s so much fun just to step out of being ‘Kylie.’ I remember when I did Holy Motors with Leos Carax (French film director) in 2012, it was so refreshing. You’re in the hair and makeup trailer and you’re in your wardrobe. It doesn’t matter if you don’t look as good as you’re supposed to look. I’m not me and there is a real kind of liberation in that. I absolutely love it. I took part in something which is on hold at the minute because of the strike in the United States, but fingers crossed, I’m sure there is something coming up.

Among the newer crop of pop singers, do you have any favourites?
So many of them. He is not a beginner by any means, but I’d say Harry Styles. Just seeing someone full of light and the joy that he gives is incredible. And I know that behind that there is a lot of hard work. In recent times he will be one that just smashed it. Absolutely smashed it.

You were diagnosed with cancer in 2005. Looking back after so many years, what kind of perspective has it given you?
Even when I hear about anyone diagnosed with cancer now, it does something to me. That diagnosis was a while ago now, but some of the sensations are still very real. I would say for anyone who’s going through that or something similar I have a lot of empathy and when you combine with some experience of trauma like that, there is a lot more understanding. One of the things that was the most helpful to me was, of course, family. When people say, “just try and stay positive,” I don’t stick with that because you can’t always be positive. You can aim to be that way, but when the lows come and that’s inevitable, just lean on the people around you.

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So, when are you coming to India?
I’m trying to schedule this ASAP. You have no idea how much I want to come and see you. Know that it will be as soon as I can, from my heart.

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