Kylie Minogue says she has “lived and learned” from her romantic missteps, and feels “liberated” to be single at 55.
But despite having sung about love for almost 40 years, the I Should Be So Lucky star admits her own journey has left her clueless about what will come next. Kylie is set to perform at Saturday’s BRIT Awards, where she will collect the Global Icon Award.
And four days later, she will be honoured in Hollywood with an Icon Award at the Billboard Women in Music Awards. Her profile is higher than ever after global hit Padam Padam – a song about finding love on the dancefloor – won her the second Grammy of her career.
And while Kylie admits to having had some romances she could have “done without”, she is happy to embrace those lows as part of the process of her emotional growth. When asked about her “philosophy on love at this moment”, the singer laughed: “Right now? Well, I’m single and enjoying this freedom and the liberty. I think we can make different choices at this time than we may have at other times. I guess, don’t be afraid… I have, definitely.”
Kylie’s raft of dating dramas – and her 2005 battle with breast cancer – have highlighted both her vulnerability and her indomitable strength, leading her army of fans to rally behind her. She admitted: “There’s some romances I maybe could have done without, but it’s all part of what makes us human and our understanding of everything.”
While Kylie’s three-year relationship with her Neighbours co-star Jason Donovan was one of the 1980s’ biggest showbiz romances, it was her time with INXS frontman Michael Hutchence that inspired her music to get edgier. But her most public falling-out was with model James Gooding, who she met in 2000. They split after two-and-a-half years when he cheated on her. And Kylie was left devastated again by her break-up from French film star Olivier Martinez, who had been her “rock” during her cancer recovery.
The singer added: “I’m trying to think of something great to say, but hey, you fall in love. What can you do? And you live and you learn. I don’t know what I know any more.” Kylie, famed for her glamorous costume changes, is currently in the middle of a sellout Las Vegas residency at Voltaire, at The Venetian Resort.
While the Aussie star has an “open invite” to return, the residency is due to end in May and sources say she is set to confirm a UK arena tour and more US shows. Kylie made her comments about love at last Sunday’s People’s Choice Awards in LA, where she got pulses racing once again with Padam Padam.
Of the passion that drives her, she said: “Tomorrow’s a different day… there’s a song that hasn’t been written, there’s a song that hasn’t been sung.” She may not have been lucky in love yet but – however often her outfits change – it seems Kylie will always wear her heart on her sleeve.