OK! Q&A: Kylie Minogue On Why Drag Queens Make A Better Kylie Than *She Does*

Kylie Minogue is ready to let the good times roll. The Aussie songstress says her new album, Disco — a high-energy throwback to dance records of the 1970s and early '80s — was inspired by the iconic Studio 54 club in New York City.

"During the Golden Tour, we had a Studio 54 segment and it was so much fun," reveals 52-year-old Minogue. "I was like, 'Ah, I love it here! I would love to just live in this world.'" So that's exactly what she did while recording from a makeshift studio in her London home during the pandemic.

"The music, the fashion, the attitude — everything about that time is inspiring," she adds. Here, the Grammy winner talks about letting loose and branching out.

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Tell us more about the inspiration behind Disco.

KM: Of all of the lanes in the highway of different music that I've done, I'll always go back to disco. And it's having such a resurgence now!

Why do you think that is?

Pop is cyclical, and I also think the state of the world is making it resonate in a way that none of us expected. There's some escapism, which we're all collectively looking for.

Did you channel any specific artists during the process?

I had Prince's "Purple Rain" at the front of an album stack, so I'd step back from the mic and he'd be in my view. He was my pin-up when I was 14 years old!

Did you get the chance to meet him?

Yes! I went to Paisley Park. We were pretty much the same size, both in our high heels! He wrote a song for me, which I never got to record. At the time I was thinking, "If you could see your 14-year-old self's face right now!"

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How was recording at home alone?

I felt a little bit intimidated. Things would arrive, and there's boxes and packaging with signs saying, "Don't drop this mic." I was like, "Where does this cable go? How do I do this?" But we made it work.

You've become an icon to the gay community. How does that feel?

It developed very organically, and I'm so proud. Around 1990 is when I first heard about drag queens being me. I have been to drag nights and I feel like I am not getting the gold cup for being Kylie, because they are out-Kylie-ing me easily! Laughs.

Were you going out to clubs a lot before lockdown?

Not so much. My heavy clubbing days were in the '90s, when you didn't have phones and you weren't tweeting and TikTok'ing or any of that. You were just there, and it was incredible. But right now I would love to make the biggest disco ever and have everyone there. That's my ultimate dream!

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What's the last big party you went to?

My 50th birthday. I've had quite a few people contact me throughout lockdown saying, "If I'd have known that was the last big, crowded, epic, loving party that I would have gone to..." Well, basically most people stayed until 4 a.m. anyway, so I don't how much more they could have done, but maybe we could have appreciated it in a different way.