Kylie Minogue loves a puzzle. Waiting for a concert to begin, she’ll chip away at crosswords, sudoku grids and the New York Times' Spelling Bee to keep her nerves at bay. Her friend, author Kathy Lette, once claimed the pop star is a fiend at Scrabble, saying: “She knows how to score big and doesn't mess around.
" (Coincidentally, Kylie’s name is a valid Scrabble word, scoring a respectable 12 points.) But when she plays Wordle, the daily word-guessing game, she has an unusual strategy: Deliberately getting it wrong. "It's annoying if you get it in two lines," she says.
"I want it to be more of a challenge. "I like to get down to the pointy end, where everything's at stake." You could call it a metaphor for her career.
Kylie thrives on challenges, and she's faced more than a few over the last 37 years - from spiteful critics and creative mis-fires to a life-changing encounter with breast cancer. Right now, she's on a high, thanks to her global hit Padam Padam. Released just in time for Pride month in 2023, the slinky, sinuous club anthem became an unexpected viral smash.
Its onomatopoeic title, meant to represent a heartbeat, was quickly adopted as gay slang for anything and everything. In the UK, Padam Padam gave Kylie her first top 10 hit in more than a decade. In February, she Padam-ed her first Grammy Award in 20 years.
In March, she was Padam-ed a "global icon" at the Brit Awards. In the fluctuating market of pop stardom, Kylie's stock has never been higher. "It's s.