Kylie Minogue in Rush red.
Photo: Capital FM
Pride Month has indisputable powers. Who knows how it happened (probably gay witches made a potion comprising a vodka soda, Rush, one of Liza Minnelli’s hairs, and a drop of the lighter fluid Angela Bassett poured in Waiting to Exhale), but a Kylie Minogue song has its grip on the world. “Padam Padam,” the new single from the Aussie superstar, released on May 18, has become a bit of a viral sensation, leading her to perform a surprise live performance of the track at Capital’s Summertime Ball in the U.K. on June 11, bedecked in red and with a slew of sexy backup dancers in pleather. N-nobody died? Well, it was still important. The song, which has even made its way to Parliament, is classic Minogue — a catchy piece of electropop with a deceptively simple chorus that makes you wonder, How has nobody come up with that before? She’s just that girl.
Minogue is thoroughly enjoying what appears to be approximately her 78th career renaissance since her first hit in 1987, “Locomotion.” “I think the last moment like this would have been ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head,’” she told Hits Radio. “‘Padam Padam’ has really taken us all by surprise, and I couldn’t be happier about it. It’s taken on a life of its own, and I think this only happens once in a lifetime! That it’s happening again is just wild to me.” A big part of the song’s success is its extreme meme-ability. The title comes from an Édith Piaf song and represents the sound of a heart beating. That kind of meaningful but meaningless content is perfect internet fodder. Minogue herself shouted out one of her favorite takes on the song. “Big up Hobbycraft Wimbledon massive,” she said in a KISS-FM interview. TikTok and Twitter have taken to the song, increasing its popularity and making sure you can never go too long without the refrain appearing out of nowhere — much as Minogue does every 20 years on the pop charts — and forcing its way into your brain.
The song unofficially became the grand marshal of New York Pride, leaving the digital world for the real one. It was played approximately every 15 minutes somewhere in the city, and for every “Padam, Padam,” a new angel got their jockstrap. It also took home the grand prize of Record of the Year at the very real awards show the Las Culturistas Culture Awards (and received a tribute rendition by Patti Harrison, in character as a version of Minogue whose appendix bursts twice during the performance). The real Minogue celebrated her continued dominance over the ears of twinks, bears, otters, and the like by performing at the gay circuit party Horse Meat Disco. During the performance, there were issues with the sound, and Minogue told the audience, “Frankly, I think it’s going to work better if we all just sing it together.” And sing it together they did.
Meanwhile, drag performers are also taking to the song, like current Drag Race All Stars contestant Jimbo, who tapped her way into the audience’s hearts while dressed as Shirley Temple. Katya performed the song in New York while Trixie DJ-ed. Thorgy Thor played the song on the violin. And the track made it into Paris Hilton’s DJ set, which isn’t drag, but in terms of the audience breakdown, it may as well be. Other DJs have taken to the song too. “I’ve made a point to play ‘Padam Padam’ at every single party all Pride Month long,” DJ fur trap told the New York Times. “It is as if Kylie implanted these switches in the brains of all the gays that were set to turn on the first time they heard ‘Padam Padam’ and now we’re all her ‘Padam’ zombies.” Padam? Padam.
This story has been updated with additional reporting, memes, and “Padam, Padam” performances.
