Kylie Minogue Tension Tour review: Princess of Pop had Perth spinning around with jaw-dropping performance

Kylie Minogue proved to Perth fans on Saturday night that she remains as mesmerising as she is timeless as she performed the first concert of her global Tension Tour at RAC Arena. Minogue greeted the packed stadium from a perch suspended within a diamond-shaped strobe light on stage. Appearing with a long black sequined tail falling gracefully — perhaps a nod to an era when she was maligned as a singing budgie — Ms Minogue kicked off with a medley of recent hits from the Tension album and some of her more popular hits, like Spinning Around. Speaking to the crowd 15 minutes into her set, Minogue appeared as delighted to be at the concert as her adoring fans. “I was just having a moment,” she said, looking visibly moved. “I was trying to prepare for what it would be like to see you all,” she said. Within the first half an hour, she moved into some of her old-time hits like Better the Devil You Know and Do the Locomotion — a song she first sang when she was just 17 years old. While fans have been treated to many incarnations during her career — from Indie Kylie to Moody Kylie and Disco Kylie — she now earns the title of Timeless Kylie. Concertgoers aged from six to their 60s danced along as she delivered hits spanning across decades. Minogue is one of only a handful of musical legends to have a top ten hit in each of the last five decades — along with Madonna, Elton John and U2. As well as her strong vocals, she owns the stage as powerfully as she did decades ago. It is hard to believe she is 56 years old. Her style in the Tension tour kicked off with a classic black and silver dress, with silver boots and fishnet stockings. Several costumes changes saw her wearing bright red street-style clothes, a black and gold cape and a vintage style black and green dress. Futuristic looking back-up dancers added an air of mystique to the high-octane performance. In the second half of the show, Slow and Padam Padam proved crowd favourites. The last official song was All the Lovers, but she kept the crowd dancing in the encore with Tension and Love at First Sight. The concert ended with an emotional touch as Kylie thanked her fans for being with her in her younger years – a time she claimed she did not know what she was doing. Some of the concertgoers left to continue the party in Northbridge, but others were left feeling a little more nostalgic with the soundtrack to their youths ringing in their ears. The global tour is set to conclude in 2025 in Mexico after 70 shows.