"Padam Padam" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was released on 18 May 2023 by BMG and Minogue's company Darenote, and serves as the lead single from Minogue's sixteenth studio albumTension (2023). It was available in a variety of digital, physical, and streaming formats. Created as a demo by writer Ina Wroldsen and Peter "Lostboy" Rycroft, the latter also producing it, the track was sent to Minogue while she was in Miami.
Musically, "Padam Padam" is a dance-pop and synth-pop track with electronic music elements, and its lyrics are about sexual desire and attraction, with some lyrics and the title serving as onomatopoeia for the heartbeat. Upon its release, "Padam Padam" received critical acclaim from music critics, particularly for its catchiness and production style, and was regarded as a highlight of Tension and Minogue's career. The song has received numerous nominations and awards, including the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Pop Dance Recording at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, and has appeared on several end-of-year lists from publications.
"Padam Padam" was a commercial success and sleeper hit for Minogue's career, charting in multiple territories including her native Australia and being certified by associations in Australia, Brazil, Spain, and the United Kingdom. According to observers, the song marked the singer's commercial renaissance and was credited as a pioneer in bridging a generational gap between younger audiences and mature performers via social media and airplay.
Sophie Muller directed the music video for "Padam Padam" and was visually inspired by The Man Who Fell To Earth (1974) and Americana culture. Critics responded positively to the visual. Minogue has promoted the song through several live appearances and shows, and it was included on the set list of her More Than Just a Residency show in Las Vegas. Since its release, "Padam Padam" has become a viral phenomenon, receiving recognition for its cultural significance in popular culture and scholarly writings, and being dubbed an anthem by the LGBTQ community.
Background and development
On 6 November 2020, Minogue released her fifteenth studio albumDisco to critical and commercial success.[1][2][3] The album marked a musical departure from her country-pop-infused album Golden (2018), as she returned to her signature disco-influenced sound with pop and dance elements.[4] After wrapping up promotional activities for the album, Minogue appeared on BBC Radio 2 to talk about new music, saying, "Perhaps it's going a bit more electropop. Don't quote me that [...] but that's what's on the boil at the minute."[5] Minogue confirmed this in a June 2022 interview with Vogue, citing her 2003 single "Slow" as inspiration for the album's sound.[6] That same year, Norwegian singer Ina Wroldsen and English producer Peter "Lostboy" Rycroft met in London in February 2022 to work on new music, and in two days, they wrote "Padam Padam".[7] Regarding the song's title, Wroldsen stated, "I'm married to an Englishman, and my mother-in-law from north London would always go, 'Oh my heart's going ped-ou, ped-ou". Furthermore, Wroldsen said, "It was in my mind when I went to the studio, but 'ped-ou' doesn't sound very nice. So we created 'padam'."[7] After finishing the song, they weren't sure who would record it, so they considered pitching it to British singer Rita Ora or a Eurovision contestant.[8] Minogue's A&R Jamie Nelson sent Minogue the demo of "Padam Padam" while she was in Miami, and she fell in love with it.[9] She recorded it in a London hotel and is listed as the track's vocal engineer.[10][11] When asked about her reaction to the song, Minogue stated, "I loved the song, and the bonus is it felt like it was perfect for me."[12]
Composition
"I heard the demo and loved it. 'This is amazing'. And then once I'd self-recorded my vocals and put them in, I though 'What's more, this is amazing for me.' I really felt like I was fused to this song, and we became greater than the sum of our parts."[13]
—Minogue talking about hearing "Padam Padam" for the first time.
"Padam Padam" is a dance-pop and synth-pop song that includes electronic music and lasts two minutes and 46 seconds.[a]Shore Fire Media stated: "From the euphoric vocals, to the ridiculously infectious chorus and the heart-thumping electronic drum beat - this is an instant Kylie classic."[17] The song is written in 4/4 time and is based on a phrygian dominant scale of C (a Mixolydian scale with lowered 9th (2nd) and lowered 13th (6th), which contributes to its tense quality.[18][19] Lyrically, it explores sexual desire and attraction, with certain lyrics and the title serving as onomatopoeia for the heartbeat.[7][20] Sam Franzini, a writer from The Line of Best Fit, honoured this example by comparing its themes to the "Padam Padam" and Tension tracks, which share similar themes throughout.[20] Other music critics cited various inspirations and elements for the track. According to Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic, the song "pops through woozy production as a hypnotic groove throbs beneath the surface", while Pitchfork writer Harry Tafoya found the track's vibe to be "silly", with Minogue "vamping through pounding piano house to deliver some truly ridiculous lyrics."[21][22] George Griffiths of the Official Charts Company describes "Padam Padam" as "elastic, Eastern Europe-inspired electro-pop with a bite", and Quentin Harrison of Albumism also notices Eastern-European sounds.[16][23] When it appeared on Tension, Vera Maksymiuk of Riff wrote that it "sets the tone; mimicking a heartbeat".[24] Guy Oddy of The Arts Desk observed that it was slightly influenced by 1990s music, particularly house and electro music and that the song features a "sensual groove, fruity lyrics, and slightly autotuned vocals".[25]
Release and promotion
Minogue performing at the Sziget Festival in Budapest in 2024.
Minogue first teased "Padam Padam" on 12 May 2023 via social media.[26] Three days later, Minogue announced the song's release date and shared a preview.[27] It was released on 18 May 2024 by BMG and Minogue's company Darenote and serves as the opening track and lead single for Tension.[13] The cover artwork for the single was created by Studio Moross, who handled the promotional shooting and designs for Tension, and was taken from the "Padam Padam" video shoot; it features Minogue's thigh-high Mugler boots against a red-orange desert backdrop.[28][29] An alternate digital cover used on Minogue's website depicts Minogue in full from the music video.[30] Remixes by HAAi, Absolute, and Jax Jones were all released on digital and streaming platforms separately.[b] Three formats were available: a CD single, a cassette tape with the single and extended mix, and another cassette with all previously released remixes.[35] A vinyl edition was later released to coincide with the album's third single, "Hold On to Now".[36] The extended mix was later included on Minogue's remix album, Extension: The Extended Mixes (2023).[37][38]
To promote the song, Minogue made her first appearance on American Idol in May 2023, performing it and "Can't Get You Out of My Head" with Nutsa, one of the show's contestants.[39] The next month, she surprised everyone by performing the same songs at Capital's Summertime Ball.[40] She performed "Padam Padam" as part of her nine-track set at the iHeartMedia KTUphoria 2023 live show.[41] She also performed parts of the song during an interview on Andy Cohen's Sirius XM radio show as part of the single's American promotion, singing and impersonating Siri.[42][43] She performed "Padam Padam" twice at the Horse Meat Disco in June 2023 due to technical issues with the first performance.[44] A week before the album's release, Minogue and Tears for Fears co-headlined Radio 2 in the Park in Leicester's Victoria Park. She headlined the festival's second and final night with performances of "Padam Padam", "Tension" and "Hold On to Now."[45] Kylie attended the 2023 London Fashion Week launch at Lio London, where she performed several album tracks, including "Padam Padam" and "Tension".[46] On 27 September 2024, Minogue gave a free, limited-time concert at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, performing "Padam Padam" and other songs from her set.[47][48]
Minogue performed "Padam Padam" at the opening ceremony of the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix on 15 November 2023.[49] The next night, she performed several songs with Mark Ronson on the T-Mobile Arena stage in front of the Sphere.[50] The song was featured on her set list for the British live television series An Audience with....[51] Minogue performed the song at the BST Hyde Park show on 13 July 2024, and received critical acclaim for it.[52][53] On August 13, "Padam Padam" was included in her performance at the Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary.[54] "Padam Padam" was featured as a lip-sync song on the sixteenth season of the American reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race.[55] The track was used in the final episode as a lip-sync battle between contestants Nymphia Wind and Sapphira Cristál, with the former winning both the lip-sync and overall competition.[55]
Critical reception
“Padam Padam” garnered critical acclaim from music critics. Padam Padam" was described by Stereogum as "a sleek, thumping, catchy-as-hell dance-pop jam" upon its release, adding that "Kylie knows exactly how to deliver a song like that".[15]Retropop called the song "infectious" and "a punchy electronic extravaganza that promises to be 'in your head all weekend'".[56]NME editor Hollie Geraghty praised the song's "thumping earworm refrain", while Jon Stickler of Stereoboard described it as "the catchy pop banger" with a "infectious chorus."[57][58] Mary Varvaris of The Music wrote that the song "sounds completely 2023 while remaining unmistakably Kylie".[59] The song was described as a "shiny bubble of dance-pop joy" by Owen Myers of The Guardian, "unburdened by its performer's personal narrative, freeing Minogue up to play sunny showgirl once more."[60] According to David Smyth of The Evening Standard, "Padam Padam" is a "slinky, Eurovision-style firecracker catchy enough to cause sleepless nights".[61]
Its inclusion in Tension drew widespread praise. Noting it as Minogue's "catchiest chorus in decades", Yeung of AllMusic it as one of the album's top picks and career highlights, saying "listeners won't soon be able to get "Padam Padam" out of their heads."[62] Similarly, Harrison of Albumism chose it as one of the standout tracks from Tension.[23] Peter Piatkowski wrote for PopMatters that selecting "Padam Padam" as the lead single "was a smart decision by whoever made that call".[63] He also compared it to Minogue's single "Can't Get You Out of My Head," stating that "Padam Padam" is "just the kind of ear-worm pop hit that "Can't Get You Out of My Head" was", noting its catchiness.[63] Michael Cragg of Crack dubbed it her best lead single since "Slow", describing it as "hot, heavy, and primarily controlled by Kylie's deepest desires."[64]NME writer Nick Levine called the track "brilliant" and thought it was an "outlier" to Tension.[65] Guy Oddy of The Arts Desk described it as an "absolute banger and has been touted as one of her best tunes in years - with good reason."[25]
Jeremy Allen, writing for The Quietus, identified key elements to the success of "Padam Padam", including "red herring, borrowed judiciously and tethered to some icy electro in a minor key, adorned with subtle musical arabesques", and how those qualities worked for her with her singles "Confide in Me" in 1994 and "Can't Get You Out of My Head" while "keeping things fresh by always being adventurous."[66] Helen Brown of The Independent called the track an "Advance slam-dunker", while Devon Chodzin of Paste saw it as the album's "glimmering thesis statement—a bouncy cut under three minutes that recounts a sultry dance floor encounter and the possibilities it presents."[67] Despite its lack of personal depth, Harry Tafoya of Pitchfork praised its "charm" and called it one of the album's "camp highs", while Loud and Quiet writer Orla Foster thought the song was about "jumpstarting the pulse of your nightclub conquest."[68][69] According to Alexa Camp of Slant Magazine, "Padam Padam" is "an invasive earworm that feels like it could be a cover of a Reagan-era pop hit".[70]
Minogue became the fourth female solo artist to have a top-ten single in the UK in five decades, after musicians Lulu, Diana Ross, and Cher (pictured).[100]
In Belgium, "Padam Padam" debuted at number 48 on the Ultratop Singles Chart in Flanders before peaking at number 26 in the tenth week.[114] In the Netherlands, the song peaked at number 40 on the Dutch Single Top 100, marking Minogue's first Top 40 appearance since "Wow" in 2008.[115] It also peaked at number two on the region's Single Tip chart and 16 on the Airplay chart.[115] It also reached number 18 on the country's Dutch Top 40 chart.[116] In the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the song reached number 34.[117] In Germany, the song did not make the Top 100 Singles Chart, but it did reach number 14 on the Download Singles chart.[118] In Hungary, "Padam Padam" peaked inside the Single Top 40 and Dance Top 40 charts, as well as at number four on the Radio Top 40 chart.[119][120][121] "Padam Padam" also reached the top ten in Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia and South Africa.[c] In Asia, the song topped the International Media Forest chart provided by Israel.[126]
In the United States, it peaked at number seven on the Dance/Electronic Songs chart, marking Minogue's first top-10 single.[127] By early August 2023, "Padam Padam" had topped the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, becoming her second number-one single after "Red Blooded Woman" in 2004.[128] It also marked Minogue's debut on the Digital Songs chart, peaking at number 18.[129] After being sent to contemporary hit radio in the United States in August 2023, the song peaked on two Billboard Airplay charts: number 33 on Adult Pop Airplay and number 32 on Mainstream Pop Airplay, her first appearance since "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and "Slow".[130][131] Furthermore, "Padam Padam" peaked at number 190 on the Global 200.[132] In Canada, "Padam Padam" debuted at number 98 on the Hot 100 chart, becoming Minogue's first single to chart since "Timebomb" in 2012.[133] In South America, "Padam Padam" charted in several territories that received airplay from Monitor Latino, including the top ten in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Venezuela on their English-language charts.[d]
Music video
A shot of Minogue in a junkyard wearing a custom Mugler outfit.
The music video for "Padam Padam" was directed by British filmmaker and long-time collaborator Sophie Muller. It was shot in April 2023 at the Pink Motel, a former working motel in Sun Valley, Los Angeles that is now used for film and TV productions.[140] The visual was inspired by the films of American director David Lynch and Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976).[141] Muller described the music video as conveying "a sense of otherworldliness, a strangeness" that mirrored the track, adding, "There's something unusual about [the song], darkness and unease."[142][143] Minogue stated that she would rather film the video on location in the United States than in the studio.[141]
It begins with Minogue wearing a red dress and lying on a bed, with a static television in the background.[144] It then shows Minogue in a junkyard wearing a custom Mugler catsuit with a cape, alongside a group of backup dancers dressed in red.[144][145] Another shot shows Minogue in a roadside diner while the dancers perform the song in another red outfit. Minogue then dances with the backup dancers outside the Pink Motel.[144] Extra scenes from the original shoot were released on the music video's extended edit, along with a visualizer featuring Absolute's remix.[140][146][147] The music video premiered on Minogue's YouTube channel on 18 May 2023.[148] It received positive feedback from publications; Phoebe Luckhurst of The Australian described Minogue's "vampiric femme fatale" look and the set as a "candy-coloured Americana dreamland".[142] Mollie Davis of Good Housekeeping praised Minogue's performance, calling it "incredible". She elaborated, "In classic Kylie style, the music video for "Padam Padam" is "racy, electric, and features plenty of dancing."[149]
Impact and cultural signifiance
It's taken on a life of its own, and I am having the time of my life seeing what people are doing, people are hilarious. It's become a noun, a verb, an adjective. You know, friends leaving going: ‘Padam!' Like they've turned into minions or something."[150]
—Minogue's reaction to "Padam Padam"'s success.
Since its release, "Padam Padam" has been regarded as a cultural revelation in Minogue's career and current popular culture. Griffiths of the Official Charts Company coined the term "Padam-ic," which was later used by Laura Snapes of The Guardian to encapsulate the cultural impact of "Padam Padam", describing it as the "cultural moment in which frivolity and lightness seem to be breezing back after the COVID-19 pandemic and after an era in which culture has been taken very seriously".[151][152] According to Yeung of AllMusic, the song was a "surprise smash" and part of "this mainstream resurgence that once again connected her to a new generation of fans[...]".[153] When the song became an internet meme, Minogue was interviewed by Attitude, and she responded positively to the phenomenon.[154]
"Padam Padam" has been described as Minogue's biggest hit since music streaming became popular, in the same way that singers Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, and Dusty Springfield had commercial breakthroughs after unsuccessful career periods.[155] Other critics have pointed out that it is unusual for a middle-aged artist to achieve media success in recent decades.[e] According to Variety, chart analyst and historian James Masterton believes the single's success is significant because Minogue has "bridged a generation gap with a hit record that is reaching out both to her loyal (and ageing) acolytes but also a new generation of music fans," the latter attracted thanks to the TikTok platform, which "contributed to the explosion of Kylie's single; [...] bypassing all traditional media avenues."[160]
"Padam Padam" has also become an gay anthem for the LGBTQ community.[161][162] David Levesley of GQ wrote an article on how the track became an "unlikely gay anthem" and how the track's title "Padam" influenced the gay community's "catch-all gay communiqué".[101] Similarly, the phrase "Padam" has been recognised as a "gay codeword"; Paul Flynn of the Evening Standard observed it as a "gay codeword for everything and nothing. It is a question, a greeting, an exclamation, an insult, and, in some shady corner of the internet, very probably dubious sex practice by now. One Padam fits all."[163] Furthermore, Karen Tongson, popular culture and gender studies specialist at the University of Southern California, noted its positive significance in comparison to the violence against LGBTQ people in the United States through 2023, saying, "There's something about the release of "Padam Padam" that coincided with this sort of moment of despair and conflict, and that reminded us of the kind of intensity, lightness, and kind of queer joy, the celebratory nature of queerness."[164] "Padam Padam" has also been featured at several pride parades, including the New York Pride March, Pride in London, EuroPride 2023 in Malta, and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.[160][159][165] The song was also used by William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, to announce their participation in London Pride.[166]Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States, posted a video on Instagram of herself dancing to the song at a Pride event at the Stonewall Inn.[167]
Despite its popularity, critics questioned radio stations' agendas due to the perceived lack of airplay. Following fan backlash, BBC Radio 1 and Capital, which cater to a younger audience in the United Kingdom, decided to add "Padam Padam" to their playlists, marking Minogue's first appearance on BBC Radio 1 since 2010's "Get Outta My Way".[168] Following its inclusion on BBC Radio 1's C-List playlist, they responded to criticism by saying, "Each track is considered for the playlist based on its musical merit and whether it is right for our target audience, with decisions made on a case-by-case basis."[169] Lostboy, the track's producer, spoke out about the situation, saying that while its inclusion was a "small victory," it was ultimately "a bit of an insult...".[8] Lucy Anna Gray of The Independent wrote a lengthy article about the song, expressing similar concerns about its lack of airplay.[8] In contrast, Oddy from The Arts Desk wrote that "Padam Padam" "managed to persuade some national radio stations to rethink their policies on which tracks should be played on heavy rotation".[25]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 40. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
