Kylie Minogue, was there ever a pop queen whose career is as astonishing and trailblazing?

Well over 30 years have passed since she made the transition from soap opera sweetheart on Neighbors to chart-topping music icon with a cover of Carole King’s 'The Loco-motion' and her first number 1, 'I Should Be So Lucky'.

The Aussie icon emerged on stage in a sequin black one-piece in a cloud of smoke left from the 30-second lead-up with red-hot fireworks that could be felt thousands of meters back. It was an astonishing, wildly immaculate performance, replete with pyrotechnics, dancers, jaw-dropping back-up singers and wardrobe changes; only befitting an artist of such pop royalty.

Kylie Minogue at Electric Picnic 2024. Copyright Liam Murphy

She kicked off with the glacially cool title track of her lauded 2023 album Tension, a collection that has introduced the pop icon to a whole new generation of fans thanks especially to its viral/absolutely everywhere lead single 'Padam Padam'. She beseeched the nearly 75,000-strong all-ages revellers to sing along, and is visibly emotional after they do so, word for word, with vibrant fervour.

Kylie Minogue at Electric Picnic 2024. Copyright Liam Murphy

“Look at the moon, Is that a full moon? It’s a full moon,” she paused with delight, pointing to a harvest moon over the bright white ferris wheel.

 

“Is that a full moon?” she followed up with a beaming smile. “Whatever it is, it’s beautiful. Thanks for putting the weather on today!"

 

“You’re not helping me focus,” she laughed with the audience as they cheered at her every word.

 

Kylie Minogue at Electric Picnic 2024. Copyright Liam Murphy

After performing a slew of old and new hits, Kylie brought out American DJ The Blessed Madonna to perform, live for the first time, their new single 'Edge of Saturday' - a dance earworm that proves Kylie is not only one of the most historic pop singers in the world, but she's constantly pushing at the fringes of her ambition and succeeding in spades.

Kylie Minogue and The Blessed Madonna at Electric Picnic 2024. Copyright Liam Murphy

A certain demographic needed only 'Padam Padam' to make it a concert to remember. Neither at the start nor the end, and with a costume change out of her padam red long since happened, buried deep in the set and hustled off stage without so much as a pause, in favour of another career salvation, the 2001 hit and her biggest-ever single 'Can’t Get You Out Of My Head'. Two days on, and I still can't get the la-la-la-la-la-la-la-las out of my head.

As if that wasn’t enough, she has 'Where the Wild Roses Grow' and 'All the Lovers' still left to sing, the latter replete with a wardrobe change into a stunning fuschia bolero. As she broke into an encore, Kylie never lost the high-octane energy she started the set with. It's a testament to just how staggering she is as a performer, singer, artist and pop culture icon.

Posting a video of her weekend to social media in the early hours, the Australian singer wrote: "When they called it Electric Picnic, they really meant ... ELECTRIC. I'm going to be buzzing for a while. Thank you thank you thank you Ireland!!!"

No, no, Kylie. Thank YOU.

Kylie Minogue at Electric Picnic 2024. Copyright Liam Murphy