Australian singer Kylie Minogue revealed the release date of her new studio album. The record, titled “Tension” will be released on September 22. The singer dropped her latest single from the project, “Padam Padam”, this Thursday, and it’s now available in all streaming services. This new music release also came out with an eleven-song track list, which can already be pre-ordered and pre-saved.
The first single was produced by Lostboy and came out with a video that was shot in Los Angeles, which was also directed by Sophie Muller. This release came following prior leaks of the album on TikTok and Reddit. Even though these had a bad sound quality, they gave out the snippets of the songs at an early promotion stage, so it’s only natural that Minogue and her team decided to drop the first song following the previous events.
In the words of the artist, the album is “a blend of personal reflection, club abandon and melancholic highs! I felt so much freedom when I recorded it”, and is credited with producers and co-writers Biff Stannard and Duck Blackwell, who have worked with the Australian hit-maker in previous music projects like “DISCO” (2020) or “Golden” (2018).
My new album 💎 TENSION 💎 is available to pre-order now! This album is a blend of personal reflection, club abandon and melancholic highs! I felt so much freedom when I recorded it and hope you love it! https://t.co/wNb6JwKjhf pic.twitter.com/XY05j5jUKv
— Kylie Minogue (@kylieminogue) May 18, 2023
Music producer Oliver Heldens said “Ten Out of Ten” (one of the songs on the album) is “inspired by 80’s synth pop and disco, 90s house and 00s Eurodance, with a modern dance music twist!”. The singer herself expressed that, in comparison to her two previous projects, this one did not have a theme, as it was about finding the heart, fun and fantasy in the moment and try to always use it in favor of the song. She also said she wanted to celebrate the individuality in each song and “dive in that freedom”.
“Tension” would be the sixteenth studio album in the singer’s career. Prior to this highly-anticipated confirmation, she released “DISCO”, an album that transported the pop diva back into the dance floor with 80s inspired aesthetic, visuals and sound. Despite being released during the quarantine time, it was critically praised and one of the responsible for the disco music “revival” during that year, along with Dua Lipa and her “Future Nostalgia” album and The Weekend’s “After Hours”.
The sound of the album has already provoked different reactions on fans, who have expressed that it has a very “Kylie sound”, which references the expectation her followers have about the type of music she’s released over the years. Despite this information coming from users listening to leaks on the Internet, it has been favorably received and it has the singer delving into pop sounds that take back influences from the 80s while maintaining a more “current” and “trendy” feeling in comparison to her previous album.