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In a remarkable testament to the fluidity of generational appeal, Kylie Minogue, a stalwart of the pop industry, has witnessed the augmentation of her fan base. The single Padam Padam, a prelude from her impending album Tension, slated for release this Friday, had many in France wondering if Minogue was covering the famous song of the same name by Edith Piaf, but she admits that the similarities start and end with the name.
This viral TikTok hit this summer, precipitated by the viral traction of Padam Padam on the TikTok platform, encompasses a demographic previously unacquainted with her foundational compositions that originally propelled her into stardom. Padam Padam has reinstated Minogue’s omnipresence on global dance terrains, a reminiscent phenomenon considering her emergence over three and a half decades ago. This resurgence is accentuated by a younger demographic replicating the long choreography on TikTok, marking a novel engagement metric for the Australian songstress.
“To have this new generation loving it – they’re so open-minded and accepting of me at my age – it gives me more energy,” the 55-year-old told AFP during a visit to Paris.
“It’s funny because I see people who have discovered me through Padam and they’ve never heard of Locomotion or Can’t Get You Out of My Head, which is alarming but also exciting,” she said.
Tracing Minogue’s trajectory, in 1987, at a nascent age of 19, her single Locomotion facilitated her metamorphosis from a daytime television actress in Australia’s Neighbours to an internationally acclaimed pop figure. This ascent was subsequently cemented by I Should Be So Lucky, a linchpin that drove her debut album Kylie to reach over five million sales. Preliminary indicators were merely harbingers, as her record company enumerates her accolades to encompass more than 80 million record sales and in excess of five billion career-wide streams.
Intertextuality and Continued Success
Padam Padam, a nomenclature resonating with Piaf’s magnum hit, engendered speculations in France. Addressing these inferences, Minogue asserted the convergence to be solely titular. Reflecting upon this serendipitous association, she remarked humorously, “A lot of crazy things have happened to me in my life and that’s another one — being linked in the same sentence as Edith Piaf,” she said with a laugh.
“I did wonder if the French would be ‘d’accord’,” she added. Minogue’s contemporary relevance, especially with Padam Padam, was evidenced during a listening session in Paris. Attendees, privy to an impromptu performance, witnessed her seamless integration into the audience, evoking a semblance to Little Red Riding Hood. She candidly admitted, “I was completely blown away… Every song release, I have nerves and excitement, but I can honestly say I did not see this coming.”
With AFP.