iTunes Festival: Kylie Minogue's Timeless Set of Classics Proved Her Worth As One Of Pop's Greatest Icons
The pop queen smashed London's
Camden Roundhouse
Camden Roundhouse
by Adam Miller (entertainmentwise.com)
This year’s iTunes Festival has been an absolute ball from start to finish, and last night was no exception as it was the turn of Ms. Kylie Minogue to headline London’s Camden Roundhouse. Taking the night off from her Kiss Me Once arena tour to play one of her most modest gigs of her career was always going to be an unforgettable experience for die-hard Kylie fans, but even we couldn’t brace ourselves for what was in store.
Opening for the pint-sized pop star was man of the moment, MNEK who could not have provided a better start for the evening. Kicking off his set with Every Little Word, the rising star’s old-school soul had us all captivated from the first note. Honestly, we’re not sure that we’ve ever been so engaged by a support act ever. Honestly, ever. Following his miniature set which included a stunning rendition of the 2003 Lumidee smash Never Leave You (Uh Oh) as well as his Gorgon City Ibiza anthem Ready For Your Love, it seemed the audience almost forgot who they’d really come here to see.
For a crowd to be chanting: “We want more!” when Kylie Minogue is waiting in the wings really was the best possible testament to MNEK’s talents. The 19-year-old has already caught the attention of Madonna who’s recruited the teenager to work on her upcoming album, and we would bet our bottom dollar that a we’ll be flocking to see him in his very own headlining show at the festival next year.
And then came Kylie. For whatever reason, Kylie’s 12th studio album failed to set the charts alight. It certainly hasn’t been down to content, but even if she can’t shift albums she can still shift tickets as she embarks on another sold out arena tour, and last night’s electrifying show proved exactly why.
While her over 40’s peers continue to desperately chase the charts, Kylie remains ahead of the game by simply being Kylie and last night’s specatcle really was a masterclass in pop perfection from start to finish. With a setlist of hits which spanned nearly 30 years, Kylie’s back catalogue still managed somehow remain beautifully cohesive - a feat that not many other artists can boast.
Arriving sandwiched in between a suitably kinky pair of lips to open with Kiss Me Once album track Les Sex, followed by Calvin Harris penned banger Into My Arms and then 80s classic Step Back In Time, the diva from Down Under reminded us just why she’s remained so relevant for so long, which is simply just being really bloody great at being a pop star .
Classics including Love At First Sight, Wow, Can’t Get You Out Of My Head and our personal favourite, Slow had the entire room in hysterics while the Aussie starlet’s set list crafted the perfect blend of hits and old and new. Other than the unnecessary five outfit changes which was just time that could have been put to better use, Kylie couldn’t really have put a foot wrong.
In her final ensemble of the night, a turquoise PVC skirt with matching bow-tie, the 46-year-old closed the night with her latest single Into The Blue before getting the 3,000 strong audience to do the Locomation to close – a fitting nod to her incredible timeline at the top.
You don’t catch Kylie in her 40s stripping off to brag about her ‘Booty’ and neither does she need to rely on guest spots from whatever young rapper is the flavour of month for us to stay interested. She’s camper than Christmas, and frankly she was the best gift we could have possibly asked for. To anyone who has tickets for this Autumn’s Kiss Me Once tour, you're in for a treat. To those of you who don’t, do something about it immediately!
*Setlist*
01 Intro
02 Les Sex
03 In My Arms
04 Sexy Love
05 Wow
06 Step Back In Time
07 Spinning Around
08 Your Disco Needs You
09 On A Night Like This
10 Slow
11 Skirt (Interlude)
12 Sexercize
13 Can't Get You Out Of My Head
14 Beautiful
15 Kiss Me Once
16 Get Outta My Way
17 Love At First Sight
18 All The Lovers
19 Into The Blue
20 The Locomotion
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Thanks to Kane at Say Hey for the audio and art!
Thanks to RetroSound from SayHey for the video!