Kylie Minogue at The O2 in London review: Simply unimprovable

“And we’re still together…” said a fan on stage at Kylie Minogue’s O2 gig last night, after revealing he’d attended 15 of her shows in 1987 alone — and hundreds more since. (Apologies if we misheard the numbers, Mr. Big Kylie Fan!) It was a brilliantly entertaining moment that put Kylie’s legacy into perspective. How many pop stars who found fame in the ’80s are still packing out arenas? And how many share such deep, affectionate bonds with their fans that moments like this can unfold so naturally on stage?

For what it’s worth, this writer is on his sixth Kylie live experience — and a pattern is beginning to emerge. Or rather, a through-line: she’s never anything less than perfect. In fact, if Attitude launched a pop music university and offered a course titled Pop Music Perfection, there’d be a compulsory module called The Anatomy of a Kylie Concert.

Ambitious production design? Check. Aggressively up-to-the-minute looks? Check. Choreography so intense it’s exhausting just to watch? Check. A meticulously balanced setlist spanning eras, peppered with the occasional curveball? Check. Even the lighting was top-tier, and unusually creative throughout. At one point, refracted beams from a giant disco ball transformed the arena into something otherworldly; at another, angled lasers carved the silhouette of a colossal gemstone into the air.

With more than 40 years in the game and over 100 singles to her name, Kylie simply has it down. It all comes so naturally – she radiates joy from start to finish, even when performing ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’, ‘Spinning Around’ – and now ‘Padam, Padam’! – for the millionth time. Just being in her orbit is a lift. Many of her songs trade on that very feeling. Tonight, for example, she delivers Tension album cuts like ‘Hold on to Now’ and ‘Things We Do for Love’ — tracks casual fans may not know, yet still find themselves bopping along to. Why? Because they bottle her sunny essence just as precisely as ‘The Loco-Motion’ did back in 1986.

Perfect she may always be, but last night, she was arguably never better. Kylie’s voice has long been more distinctive than powerhouse, but as the notes soared effortlessly on ‘On a Night Like This’, before giving way to the cool, steely control of ‘Confide in Me’, her vocal confidence was unmistakeable. And when breaking into an impromptu a cappella rendition of the haunting chorus from ‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’, the moment was nothing short of breathtaking. Where would we be without this woman?