BST Hyde Park | Day 8

Her most recent album, “Tension”, has been described as “pop perfection” by critics - and the Queen of Pop herself delivered exactly that as she hit the Great Oak Stage at American Express presents BST Hyde Park on Saturday night. Arriving among an explosion of pyrotechnics, a disco ball and a giant glistening crown, Kylie got to work with the title track from her critically-acclaimed record - before performing 18 further hit tracks from her 45-year career.

“I never thought I’d be in front of thousands of people singing, ‘Touch me right there’, " she laughed, following “Tension”. “Don’t make me cry, don’t make me cry - we only just started… there’s so many of you. Hyde Park, are you ready to have some fun?”

Hit after hit, including “Come Into My World”, “In Your Eyes”, Get Outta My Way”, “Things We Do For Love”, “Confide In Me”, Red Blooded Woman”, “Slow”, “Better The Devil You Know”, “Hold On” and “Midnight Ride” filled the air as Kylie bounced between the main stage and her runway, a team of 16 dancers providing an extraordinary backdrop of dance moves in her wake.

“Here’s the thing, I knew we were going to be here tonight,” she continued. “I knew you were going to be here tonight, but you still take my breath away. British Summer Time, I’m really aware it was nine years since I last played this stage... But we are here and I am so so grateful.”

The 56-year-old left no stone unturned when it came to performing her biggest and best-selling songs, a juxtaposition of new and old - from “Padam” to “Locomotion” lighting up the stage. At one point, she even slowed the show right down to have a singalong of hits with the crowd. “Any requests?” she asked, before singing, “Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi”, “2 Hearts” and “Got To Be Certain” a cappella - 65,000 voices singing along with her. “Hyde Park is just like [a] huge hug. Hyde Park just gives,” she added.

Highlights from the setlist could have been every single one of her tracks, from “Spinning Around” and “All The Lovers” to “Cant Get You Out Of My Head” - with Brazilian superstar Anitta, one of Kylie’s support acts, joining her on stage. A pick ‘n' mix of “One More Time”, “Wow”, “Shocked” and “I Believe In You” added even more spectacular tunes to the set.

Throughout the 90-minute performance, Kylie whipped through five stunning changes of outfit - starting with a red latex jumpsuit, she also donned a sleeveless golden gown, a sheer black bodysuit with silver tassels, a black and white dress with white thigh-high boots and a glistening long black one-piece with magenta cloak.

The global pop icon brought the night to a close with the encore to end all encores, with “One A Night Like This” leading neatly into her brand new single, “My Oh My” - where she was joined by her collaborating artists, Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo. “Hyde Park, we love you!” she exclaimed.”I’ve been waiting for this moment all night… It’s my dream, I’m finally in a girl band.”

To end, Kylie once again took to her runway for “Love At First Sight”, bidding farewell to her sold-out audience among a sea of streamers. “I’m on cloud nine,” she smiled, as the audience applauded and cheered.

_____

The final support artist of the evening was MARINA, the artist formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds. “Hyde Park, how are we doing?” she asked. “It’s been two years since I played London… Thank you for being here.” Unsurprisingly, Marina dazzled instantly in a skin-tight black dress and knee-high boots, with sweeping blue eyeshadow and pink lipstick.

Launching with “Froot”, MARINA performed the very best of her catalogue, such as “Are You Satisfied?”, “I Am Not A Robot”, “Oh No!”, “To Be Human”, “Hollywood” and the mighty “Man’s World”, the latter of which was performed on the piano. The synth-pop artist, who is celebrating 19 years in music, smiled as chants of “We love Marina” echoed through the audience.

“I just want to take a moment to thank Kylie for having me here today,” she announced, beaming. “Thank you Kylie! It’s so rare to meet such an incredible human being, someone so humble this far into an incredible career, She’s incredible and we love her.”

“Hello, London. I’ve come straight from Brazil to tell you how to party!” declared Brazilian star, Anitta. South America’s biggest musical export for a generation, who is currently touring her 2024 LP, “Funk Generation”, was flanked by a stream of dancers as she performed her 45-minute set. Jam-packed with internationally-adored songs from her six studio albums, including the likes of “Boys Don’t Cry”, “Bola Rebola” and “Rave de Favela”, she took the audience by storm.

Earlier this afternoon, 28-year-old Ella Henderson dazzled in a gold sequin two-piece outfit, her hair pulled back into pigtails. “Alright Hyde Park? Who’s ready for a dance?” she asked. “Because we are all here to see Kylie, right? And have a dance.” Henderson launched into a selection of her best-known songs, which includes "Alibi" and "Under The Sun”. The former “X Factor” star ended her performance with the catchy “Ghost”, which she described as “the song that made it all happen for me.”

Kicking off the party on the Great Oak Stage were DJs, ALTÉGO, who have racked up over one million Instagram followers and 10 million streams in recent weeks. The twins were tasked with getting Hyde Park in the mood for Kylie - and they certainly delivered with back-to-back pop mixes, including “Music Sounds Better With You”, “Gimme Gimme Gimme”, “Free From Desire” “Show Me Love” and “Unwritten”. “”Hello BST, how are we doing?” they said, reminding the crowd that England’s football team were through to the final of Euro 2024. “It’s coming home!”

Tom Rasmussen has performed across the UK from the Royal Opera House to Glastonbury - and today, they took on The Rainbow Stage at BST Hyde Park. Having released their debut album, “Body Building”, in 2023, Rasmussen’s lyrics - sometimes dark, often complex - reflect their own journey with their body. They told Hyde Park: “I”ve had a glass of vino, a glass of Kylie’s prosecco and I’m feeling quite good!”

Hailing from Doncaster, Adam Taylor, known as ADMT, brought joy to the Hyde Park line up today with his critically raw lyrics and gentle stage presence. The singer-songwriter, 29, showcased the poignant “Lost” and his recent releases “”Dream”, “Good For You”, plus his most recent track, “Man Now”. Speaking recently, ADMT told Notion: “I guess growth is everything… recognition, social media etc is amazing and I’m super grateful for that, but also my growth as a writer and musician is equally important.”

Celebrated for his reflective and diaristic lyrics, Brit artist Fred Roberts opened The Rainbow Stage at American Express presents BST Hyde Park today, with a personal dedication to the Queen of Pop herself - in the shape of a “Padam, Padam” t-shirt. “Hello Hyde Park, how we feeling?” he declared, before giving everyone a taste of “Object of Desire” and “Disguise” from his latest EP, “My Youth”.

Australian pop trio Blusher, Brit R&B act Say Now and Spanish-British songstress Grace Gachot completed the penultimate day of pop at BST Hyde Park.