Photography by William Baker
Nearly three decades into a career already stuffed with naughty-girl coos and "best booty" accolades, Kylie Minogue has finally given us her definitive sex album. What not to expect from Kiss Me Once, her 12th studio effort? Big Political Statements or some accompanying humpy coffee table book. What you should expect? A classy, breezy, PG-13 party with a guest list that includes Sia (who exec-produced with Minogue) and Pharrell Williams (who wrote and produced the funky track "I Was Gonna Cancel"), plus song titles like "Sexy Love," "Sexercise," and "Les Sex" -- all of which prove the Aussie vixen has more on her mind these days than a little frenching.
On a Recent Instagram Photo She Posted
"I was in the gym, and I mean, I'm sorry, if there's a stationary exercise bike and I know I've got a song called 'Sexercise' and I'm wearing a little dress and heels, you'd have to hold me back--I'm getting on the bike. I was probably only on it for 15 seconds, but it seems to be a lasting image."
On "I Was Gonna Cancel"
"I had a couple of days in the studio with Pharrell, and on my second I really didn't want to face anyone. I told myself on the way there, 'You can do this, just keep it together.' Well, I didn't. I got through the door and the first person I saw was Pharrell and I burst into tears. I must've said I was gonna cancel, so he took a situation I didn't want to be in and just wrote the most positive song around it."
The Joy of Sex
"It was Sia who said to me about halfway through the album, 'We need some sex.' And I was like, 'I think you're right. We need a bit of heat on this.' So we went from having no songs that did that to having three. I think when you look at them on paper and you see 'sex, sex, sex' it does look like a bit too much -- but anyway, don't good things come in three? We don't want sex. We don't want sex, sex. Let's have sex, sex, sex."
On Her Drag Following
"I turned up to a drag queen night years ago in Melbourne. I'd gone to see another band, with a totally different feel -- a grungy, hippie kind of band -- so I was dressed for that. And then I ended up at this gay bar, and they were having a Kylie night, and of course I got dragged on stage. I felt the least Kylie out of anyone. I'd been out-Kylied by, like, four queens."
Kiss Me Once is Available March 18 on iTunes.
THE ULTIMATE KYLIE VIDEO TIMELINE
