MC LIVE: Kylie Minogue breaks the tension in Toronto

Kylie Minogue kicked off the North American leg of her worldwide Tension Tour on Saturday  night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto to a packed house of ~16,000 gays, gays, girls, and more gays, and it was f*cking glorious. While the tour itself is in support of her Tension and Tension II albums, the show was a celebration of her entire career, and also marked her first performance in Canada since 2011. Kylie delivered a one hour 45-minute set spanning all five decades of her career, leaving close to no stones unturned, making for the perfect mix of classic hits and new tunes. She never gave the audience one second to be bored; plus, when the new hits can get the crowd jumping as much as the classics, you know you won. 

Opening with her latest lead single “Lights, Camera, Action”, Kylie let it be known that her mic was ON honey, and it stayed that way for the entirety of the show. I know that should be standard, but it’s expected here and there for an artist to rely on some backing track just for stamina purposes; but not Kylie. Not only was her mic on for the entire show, she sounded amazing too. I’m talking just like she does on the record. Fans of Kylie would remember that she has been criticized for her voice over the years (similar to Madonna) and while I’ve always loved her voice, even I was impressed. Then again, there’s a reason she has been consistently on top of her game for close to 40 years. Queens doing queen things.

@mikecadoch

Come into my world 🎶 #kylieminogue #tensiontour #scotiabankarena #fyp #fever #comeintomyworld #toronto

♬ original sound - michaelcadoch

Kylie comes from the old school of pop stars where having a close and meaningful connection with your fans is the centerpiece to your success and stage persona. A touching moment in the show came when she handed out her “wild rose” for the evening to an adorable fan named Mitch in the audience, singing him a snippet of her 1995 hit “Where The Wild Roses Grow”, after having the audience say hi to him by name of course. I actually produced an interview with Kylie last fall, and the one thing I remember the most is that she took the time to remember and acknowledge the names of everyone involved in that interview. A class act, she really knows how to make her fans feel special, and that bond between her and the fans (particularly the LGTQ+ community) is a huge factor to her longevity. 

The highlight of the show for me was the entire section at the B-stage where this moment with the rose took place, along with fan requests and even an acoustic set of tracks from her 2020 album Disco. A giant disco ball turned the Scotiabank Arena into Studio 54 for 15 minutes and what a 15 minutes that was, a EUPHORIC fever dream. You could feel the energy in the arena light up, there’s just something about a mirror ball that makes all your worries go away. 

Every show I go to has a moment where the music takes me away, and her acoustic rendition of “Say Something” was that for me. I wish I had it filmed it, but some things really do require you to just close your eyes and feel. Kylie is the modern day disco queen if you ask me, so that disco ball will be following her for many years to come.

@divadowntown

Kylie Minogue - Say Something #kylieminogue #saysomething @Kylie Minogue #toronto

♬ original sound - divadowntown

@mikecadoch

The mic was ON!!! 🤍👑👸🏼 #kylieminogue #tensiontour #scotiabankarena #fyp

♬ original sound - michaelcadoch

Kylie may not have the dancing abilities of a Janet Jackson or Beyoncé, but the amount of natural stage presence and confidence that she exudes so effortlessly is astonishing. She has the audience in the palm of her hand throughout her entire performance, this is her “x factor”. The way that old-school Gwen Stefani would just work the stage without any set choreography, Kylie is the disco diva version of that. And the way the entire crowd lit up for tracks like “Timebomb”, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”, “All The Lovers” made it so that we were all having one big party with Kylie, not just watching a performance. 

@mikecadoch

The Queen herself!!! @Kylie Minogue KILLED IT in Toronto on the opening night of the North American leg of her “Tension Tour” 🤍 #kylieminogue #tensiontour #fyp #cantgetyououtofmyhead

♬ original sound - michaelcadoch

Kylie has always been criminally underrated in North America, but her career has come full circle. She is now performing in sold out arenas in the very territories that wouldn’t release her music back in the ‘90s, including two sold out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York next week. This triumphant second wave of success Kylie has been on since the release of “Padam Padam” in 2023 has resulted in one of my favourite pop concerts post-COVID. Kylie is on her North American Tour until the first week of May. If pop queens and legends are your thing, this one is not be missed.