- By Mark Savage
- BBC music correspondent
1 hour ago
Image Credit: Eric Melvin
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“Padam Padam” is the star’s 52nd UK Top 40 hit
Kylie Minogue has landed her biggest solo hit in more than a decade with the infectious dance anthem Padam Padam.
It’s the star’s first song to break into the UK Top 10 since 2010’s ‘All The Lovers’ peaked at number three.
This makes Kylie one of only four women, along with Cher, Lulu and Diana Ross, to have made the UK top 10 in five decades.
The singer said the song’s success, which went viral on TikTok, “really surprised us all.”
She has not been in the top 10 in any capacity since appearing as a featured artist on Taio Cruz’s 2011 single “Higher.”
Padam Pandemic
Padam Padam is also a hit in Ireland, the Netherlands, Argentina, Chile, Germany, El Salvador, New Zealand and Kylie’s home country of Australia.
The title is said to be inspired by Edith Piaf’s song of the same name, mimicking the sound of a racing heart.
“It’s onomatopoeic,” Kylie explained. “D-dum, d-dum, like a heartbeat”.
But since its release last month, the word “Padam” has been adopted by fans, particularly during Pride month, to represent everything from “hello” and “goodbye” to a vocal seal of approval.
What do you think of her outfit? Padam. how do you drink your coffee Padam. is it hot outside Padam Padam.
“People are hilarious. It’s become a noun, a verb, an adjective,” Kylie told Zoe Ball.
“You know, friends who go and say, ‘Padam!’ Like they turned into minions or something. It’s taken on a life of its own and I’m having the time of my life just seeing what people are doing.”
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Louis Staples wrote in Harper’s Bazaar that the phrase fits the story of “queer people using art as part of a coded language that only we—the initiated—understand.”
“A historical example would be the Castro District in San Francisco in the 1970s, at the time of Harvey Milk, when there was a whole fashion code for gay men that not only mandated different colored handkerchiefs but also everyday wear like converse and plaid shirts meant everything different things,” he stated.
“Padam Padam seems to have infiltrated the same gay lexicon, the acronym many of us use to communicate with one another.”
“That’s a crazy thought,” Kylie told Capital Radio. “Because what does it mean? It means whatever you want.”
Padam Padam is the second song from the star’s forthcoming album Tension, which is due out in September.
Following the disco vibes of her last record and the country-pop songs of 2018’s “Golden,” she said the musical reference point for her new material is her slow-burning and sensual 2003 single “Slow.”
Coincidentally, this song was Kylie’s last number one in the UK.
But with Padam Padam’s streams increasing week by week, the singer could return to the top 5 very soon.
Image source: Official Charts Company
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Niall Horan poses with his number one trophy on the official charts
Elsewhere on the charts, One Direction star Niall Horan’s second number one album, The Show, was closely followed by McFly with her seventh studio album, Power To Play.
Dave and Central Cee have their number one single for the second time with the relaxed summer jam “Sprinter”. Another high-profile rap collaboration — J Hus and Drake’s Who Told You — is the week’s highest signing at two.
And Sam Fender and Harry Styles are both getting a boost after playing big shows in the UK this week.
Fender’s “Seventeen Going Under” returns to the top 40 at No. 29, while Styles’ singles “Late Night Talking” and “Satellite” are at No. 30 and 31, respectively.