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Kylie Minogue – Rod Laver Arena
Kylie Minogue Brings the Party Home to Melbourne
Returning to Rod Laver Arena for her Tension tour, Kylie Minogue delivered the first of three spectacular nights of pop brilliance – as well as her biggest tour since 2011 – proving once again why she remains Australia’s ultimate pop royalty. Across a dazzling, multi-act production, the singer-songwriter took fans on a journey through her extensive career, weaving in new material alongside iconic nostalgic hits in a show filled with high-energy choreography, stunning visuals, and plenty of heartfelt moments.
Before Kylie took the stage, Mallrat opened the night with a set that highlighted her unique indie-pop sound. Introducing herself as a long-time Kylie fan, she referred to Kylie as both our Princess and our Queen throughout the night. Performing an array of new tracks from her most recent album Light hit my face like a straight right, we enjoyed the recent live additions of Pavement, Hocus Pocus and Hideaway. The set also included all the fan favourites, including Wish on an Eyelash, Groceries and Charlie.
With the arena buzzing, lasers lit up the stage as the sound of Lights Camera Action rang out. Elevated above the crowd in a sparkling diamond-shaped platform mirroring her Tension II album cover, Kylie Minogue appeared like a vision, floating in the air as she sung to the entire stadium. Leading straight into In Your Eyes, Kylie shimmered in a gold sequin dress as she greeted the crowd with a ‘It’s gonna be a good night.’ The hits kept rolling with Get Outta My Way and What Do I Have to Do?; each met with deafening cheers as fans sang along to every word.
Slowing things down momentarily, Kylie delivered a reimagined Come Into My World, before launching into Good As Gone. Taking a moment to properly welcome her hometown crowd, she beamed; ‘Do you know what a pleasure it is to say this? Good evening, Melbourne – welcome home!’ Keeping the momentum going, Spinning Around had the entire arena on their feet, with Kylie and her dancers moving in sync across the multi-leveled stage.
A brief interlude of Taboo played as the next act unfolded; introducing a costume change into a striking red ensemble for On a Night Like This. The night’s nostalgic tone deepened with Last Night I Dreamt I Fell in Love, which she described as her Valentine’s song, before a wave of cheers erupted for Better the Devil You Know. Dancers sporting inflatable costumes added a surreal, playful element to the performance. Without missing a beat, Kylie powered through Shocked, Things We Do for Love, and The Loco-Motion; the latter performed among the crowd as she made her way to the B-stage. Reflecting on her journey and the song that launched her career, she shared ‘much of my life has been on the stage, and that makes me think about where it all began.’ With a blast of confetti, she transported everyone back to the ’80s.
Act three began with the shimmering Hold On to Now – a track celebrating the present moment. Introducing her band and backup singers, she then surprised the audience by gifting a rose to a fan while singing a snippet of Where the Wild Roses Grow. When asking for requests, an unexpected crowd plea for Did It Again led to an impromptu performance of the song – its first live rendition since 2015. Keeping emotions high, she followed with an acoustic version of Say Something, marking the moment by reflecting on the years and three albums released since her last Melbourne show. The segment ended with a mashup of Supernova, Real Groove, Magic, and Where Does the DJ Go?, bringing a full disco-dance explosion as they returned to the main stage.
The fourth act brought one of the night’s most dramatic shifts, as Kylie emerged draped in a cloak, to perform a spine-tingling Confide in Me. The intensity escalated with Slow, which continued to build as the audience were transported from disco to rave, before bursting into the electrifying Timebomb and Edge of Saturday Night.
With each act building in energy, Kylie’s final stretch of songs saw her fully embrace the dancefloor energy of Tension. She commanded the stage with futuristic visuals as she powered through the title track. Then, as the opening synths of Can’t Get You Out of My Head echoed through the arena, the crowd erupted. She closed the main set with All the Lovers; a euphoric moment of unity, as she called out to the crowd ‘You were always all the lovers, right?’ Confetti rained down, as the audience continued to dance and sing their hearts out.
The encore saw Kylie return for Padam Padam, a song that has cemented itself as one of her modern classics. The grand finale, Love at First Sight, brought the night to a joyous conclusion, as she asked ‘should we finish with one last song? We all believe in love, right?’ As she dropped her hands to the floor, streamers filled the arena, and she bid Melbourne farewell with a ‘I love you so much. Thank you, goodnight!’
With a flawless setlist, breathtaking production, and an energy that never wavered, Kylie Minogue’s return to Melbourne was nothing short of a triumph – a reminder that she remains an unstoppable force in pop music.