Kylie Minogue brings 'Aphrodite Live' stateside

The last time Kylie Minogue brought her heart-stopping, body-rocking live show to the states it was on her first US tour... the year was 2009. Incredibly in her 20-odd year career Minogue hadn't toured the US before; but when she touched down for her aptly named For Me, For You Tour, it was monumental. Since then she has released an eleventh hit album - Aphrodite which she collaborated on with Stuart Price (the Thin White Duke executive produced the project), which has yielded some of Minogue's biggest and most commercially accessible hits to date. Hence, the anticipation by her fans for her return to North America with her Aphrodite Live Tour.

Minogue is currently crisscrossing most of Europe and the UK with the more elaborately staged Aphrodite-Les Folies Tour, critically received as one of her best yet. The show features the signature Kylie couture costume changes, an army of dancers and gorgeously modeled set pieces and fountains of spraying water to douse her adoring fans. Piping in backstage on a recent stop in Manchester, England, Kylie was more than happy to address her US audience on her return to North America.

In Europe the tour needs some 25 trucks to move the sets and music equipment from city-to-city. It will be slightly scaled down for stateside, but will be still very Kylie. "I would love to bring everything," she says, "but that's just not possible.

"There are so many different elements of this production," she continues. "It's a massive spectacle and the stage is so technically advanced, but I genuinely think the best part is the emotion within that room! I'm still armed with a lot, so I think everyone is really going to like it."

Cult of Kylie?

During the 2009 tour, when Kylie commanded the audience in New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom, her fans reveled in the presence of this dance deity and exhaled in relief that she finally was performing on this side of the Atlantic.

"There's such a group of supporters [in the states] that have been with me for a long time," Kylie expressed. "It's been a weird level of success for me in the states, but I'm so thrilled to be able to come back and share that kind of history with you. It's like we're members of some kind of secret society." The cult of Kylie, if you please.

Of any other pop-act, Minogue's career appears to parallel Madonna's in terms of longevity. The two have often even paid silent homages to one another during their acts, but while Madge has attained a level of international fandom that is immeasurably iconic, Kylie has only been mildly embraced by the stateside mainstream audience who've launched lesser-experienced artists into the stratosphere.

The bottom line is although Minogue is a phenomenon everywhere but here and is still paying her dues to North American audiences. She, though, has nothing to prove to her gay fan base, which has been with her ever since the "Locomotion" (1987).

Creatively she has never compromised when delivering the most beautifully staged performances. She also has blurred the lines of sexuality with her act. Although never as blunt or bold as Madonna in her execution, Kylie hasn't shied away from expressing love in its many relatable forms, often pairing boys with boys for dance numbers as well as partnering her female dancers. "We just represent what feels appropriate for that song," she explains, "for that visual representation. It works on so many different levels. I don't think it's ever been a particular standpoint to take. In my life, that's just the way it is."

William Baker her long-time collaborative partner, and as Kylie puts it herself "her gay husband," feverishly work together to deliver the memorable performances and staged number that have become her signature, but Minogue admits, she doesn't consciously approach her artistic expression to appease one segment of her diverse fan base. "I don't segregate my audiences and I think that's why it's so harmonious - and why it works."

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Watch Kylie Minogue's video for "All The Lovers" from her Aphrodite CD:

A little Scotch helps

Minogue has always had a genuine skill in selecting music, especially in the dance genre, that reaches all her fans. Take, for instance, her 2001 hit "Can't Get You Out of My Head." "What a wonderful play on words," she said marveling at the title. It was with that song's success she returned to the US dance club charts, leading to a string of Grammy nominations and a win for "Come Into My World." "I knew that I wanted that song before I had even heard the whole song," she said of her comeback hit. "That song spoke to so many people."

The strenuous process of preparing for a tour of this magnitude can take its toll on the performer. "It's the same every time," Minogue explains, "It's very demanding mentally; the physical fatigue you can understand."

Certainly loading up into a venue, running a sound check, marking dance routines and making sure every detail is intact is all part of her life as one of the world's greatest pop-superstars. The demand to deliver to her fans is always at the forefront of her motivation, so Kylie endures. "I try to stay calm, but then I realize I'm not going to be calm. I try to balance it out." And right before going on stage, "A shot of Scotch helps," she insists.

And what is Kylie looking forward to most when stopping off on her US dates? "I love a good crappy American diner," she laughs. "I don't know why... really terrible coffee, or water with the beans run through it, as we like to call it." Understandably the mini-bite sized Minogue must maintain her girlish figure, especially on tour, but there's one high caloric treat she can't resist: "Something makes you want a stack of pancakes." What she also likes about the States is her level of anonymity. "I can also walk around and not be recognized as much - that's really refreshing." That Kylie Minogue indulges in bad diner breakfasts and the thrill of being anonymous set her apart from most celebrities of her stature.

Though she's in heavy preparation for her second US invasion, Kylie already has her mind on the next steps, mentally outlining what her next project will be. "I've had a few muses over what to do. One of those things is trying to find balance - I don't know if I want to do another big tour just yet... but perhaps doing songs that are much loved by fans but perform them in a tiny venue and strip everything back." No lights, no dancers...just Kylie. She admits, "The hardest part might be choosing the song." She also hasn't ruled out the luxury of a Vegas residency "I would be really excited to do that."

But wherever Minogue decides to venture next, she can comfortably bargain that her fans will be happily waiting. They waited this long for her to land on US soil, sing her hits and wow us with her joie de vie - come late April put your hands up: this Goddess of Love has answered your call.

Kylie Minogue brings the Aphrodite Live Tour to the United States beginning with her first stop in Boston's Agganis Arena on April 29 before hitting New York City for three nights at the Hammerstein Ballroom May 2 - 4, leading all across the nation before wrapping things up appropriately enough on May 22 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

The remaining dates on Kylie's current U.S. tour are: May 2 - 4, 2011; New York, NY at Hammerstein Ballroom. May 6, 2011, Atlanta, GA at Fox Theatre. May 7, 2011, Fort Lauderdale, FL at BankAtlantic Center. May 8, 2011, Orlando, FL at Hard Rock Live Orlando. May 10, 2011, Houston, TX at Verizon Wireless Theatre .May 18, 2011, Dallas, TX at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie. May 20, 2011, Los Angeles, CA at Hollywood Bowl. May 21, 2011, San Francisco, CA at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, May 22, 2011, Las Vegas, NV at Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

For tickets and more tour information go to www.kylie.com

Watch Kylie Minogue's video for "Can't Get You Out of my Head":