Kylie Minogue - Fabulous at Forty

02-08-2008 08:15

After battling breast cancer and surviving three decades in the cutthroat world of pop, turning 40 this year was a breeze for Kylie Minogue. "I'm not scared. I think it's going to be quite liberating," Kylie said shortly before her big day in May. Her inner strength and ability to constantly transform herself continues to attract a wide array of fans, and earlier this year she was voted the celebrity who is growing old most glamorously - pipping Madonna to the top spot. "It's difficult to age with dignity in the pop business, but I'd like to think I've managed it so far," she says modestly.Kylie took a break from the charts last year to record her 10th studio album 'X', and marked her comeback with sultry song '2 Hearts' last November. The track reached number four in the UK singles chart, while 'X' has so far achieved platinum status in Britain and shifted a respectable one million copies worldwide. In fact, it seems the only thing she has failed to achieve is cracking America. Although she appeared on several US TV talk shows to promote 'X', Kylie failed to set the American charts alight with her brand of electropop. "It's a notoriously difficult market. To know where I fit is very difficult," she recently admitted. Despite her US disappointment, 2008 has so far proved a golden year for the Australian pop superstar. Highlights include receiving an OBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace and a knighthood from France, but the most significant landmark in her career came when Kylie embarked on 'KylieX2008' - her first full tour since her cancer diagnosis in 2005.News of the tour sparked a frenzy across Europe and having established a reputation for staging dazzling spectacles, tickets for the UK leg of her tour sold out in just 30 minutes - forcing tour organisers to add a further seven dates to cope with demand. Kylie's ambitious plans for the 53-date tour suffered various setbacks, including reports she was warned to shelve the tour because it could "seriously damage her health", as well as problems with the elaborate stage and a throat infection scare.She also shocked fans by declaring "the showgirl is behind me", insisting her latest transformation would be more sophisticated couture than feathers and glitter.However, her loyal fan base needn't have worried. 'KylieX2008' - which cost an estimated £10 million to stage - did not disappoint, and was packed with camp costumes, hotpant-wearing male dancers, acrobats, a 12-piece band and high-energy dance routines.One of the highlights saw Kylie arrive on stage perched on a giant Damian Hirst-like glittering golden skull. Wearing a full-length scarlet dress and matching military visor cap, she delivered a steamy rendition of new track 'Like a Drug'. The diminutive star, clad in outlandish costumes designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, proved age was only a number as she donned a tight-fitting blue and white cheerleader outfit and performed 'Heart Beat Rock' while doing the splits as her hunky male dancers held her high in the air. The shows also gave Kylie a chance to show off her chameleon-like character. She incorporated Japanese geishas, Samurai-wielding dancers, sailors, fairies, showgirls, 80s shell suits and even Barry Manilow's hit song 'Copacabana' into a lively two-hour set.