"Hold On to Now" is a song by Kylie Minogue, taken from her sixteenth studio album Tension (2023).
Background and composition[]
"Hold On to Now" was one of the first songs to be written for Tension. It was co-written by Kylie, along with its producers Richard Stannard, Duck Blackwell and Jon Green. "Hold On to Now" was recorded in Biff's studio in Brighton, a pool studio in Bermondsey and Kylie's mobile Infinite Disco studio. Running at a length of three minutes and fifty-seven seconds, it is the longest track on Tension. "Hold On to Now" is written in the key of A major, at a tempo of 120 beats per minute. The outro of the song features the House Gospel Choir, who joined Kylie during her Infinite Disco live stream.
"Hold On to Now" was, at one point, slated for release as the lead single from Tension, before "Padam Padam" was chosen. After this, it was set to be released as the album's second single, before "Padam Padam" went viral and changed the playing field. Kylie confirmed that the decision to release the title track as the second single was audience-led.
Reception[]
The synth-driven sound of "Hold On to Now" and "earnest" songwriting have been compared to the works of Swedish singer Robyn. Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of Financial Times labeled the song as "euphoric electronic pop with a Robyn-esque tinge of melancholy." Hannah Mylrea of Rolling Stone UK described it as "late-night shimmer", and compared it to "Get Outta My Way" for "conjuring the same jubilation." Harry Tafoya of Pitchfork called the song "Robyn-esque plea for romantic faith." Nick Levine of NME stated that the song, "feels like an upbeat successor" to "Say Something", adding that it is the "sonic equivalent of a burst of confetti." Alexa Camp of Slant Magazine labeled it "lightweight and anthemic", and commented that the song is in the "vein" of songs such as "All the Lovers" and "Into the Blue". Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic noted that the "encouraging uplift" of the song, "sparkles and builds to a joyous chorus, atop intergalactic synths and subtle New Order-esque guitar noodling." Annabel Ross of The Sydney Morning Herald described the track as a "twinkling power ballad that hits the upper limits of tolerable schmaltz" Lyrically, Ross interpreted the song is about "Minogue being lonely, and she searches for something more meaningful."
Commercial performance[]
In the United Kingdom, "Hold On to Now" entered at number 25 and number 26 on the Singles Downloads Chart and Singles Sales Chart respectively, during the release week of Tension. On the Official Singles Chart, it debuted at number 81 in September 2023, marking the first time since 2008 that Kylie had three songs in the top chart simultaneously.
In New Zealand, the song entered at number 21 on their component Hot Singles chart in October 2023.
Live performances[]
| Dates | Show | Channel | Country |
|---|
| 2023 | |||
| 17 September | Radio 2 in the Park | BBC | England |
| 1 December | An Audience With... Kylie Minogue | ITV | |
| Dates | Location | City | Country |
|---|
| 2023 | |||
| 27 September | Shepherd's Bush Empire | London | England |
| 2024 | |||
| 2 June | Outloud Festival | West Hollywood, CA | United States |
| 4 June | Capital Maritime Party | Athens | Greece |
| 21 June | Mawazine Festival | Rabat | Morocco |
| 13 July | BST Hyde Park | London | England |
| 7 August | Sziget Festival | Budapest | Hungary |
| 18 August | Electric Picnic | Stradbally | Ireland |
| 21 September | Singapore Grand Prix | Singapore | |
| 22 September | |||
| Tour | Dates | Performances |
|---|
| More Than Just a Residency | 3 November, 2023―4 May, 2024 (All dates) | 20 |
| Tension Tour | 15 February—25 June, 2025 29 June—12 July, 2025 15 July, 2025 7—26 August, 2025 |
63 |
| Total: | 83 |
Notes[]
Kylie debuted "Hold On to Now" during her headlining set at Radio 2 in the Park in September 2023, and also performed it during her exclusive show at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on 27 September. The song was more notably included in the set list for More Than Just a Residency, where it appeared in the second section of the show; "Hold On to Now" was also performed throughout Kylie's 2024 summer shows, including her headline set at British Summer Time in Hyde Park.
Formats and track listings[]
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Charts[]
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Digital Tracks (ARIA) | 24 |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) | 21 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 81 |
| US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard) | 32 |
Lyrics[]
Way out in the way out
Stars keep on trying to shine
And there’s a lonely heartbeat
Beating like mine
Wondering why
Some moments are magic
Some are only tripping the line
And every word we’re hearing
Sounds like goodbye
But we got the night
Baby, what are we holding on to?
Baby, where do we wanna run to?
Oh, we'll figure it out somehow, -how, -how
Keep holding on to now, -now
Dreaming we'll be dancing forever
Floating on this feeling together
Yeah, we'll figure it out somehow, -how, -how
Keep holding on to now, -now
Can you just imagine, -magine
Taking control
And every second's yours to have and to hold
Shining like gold
Baby, what are we holding on to?
Baby, where do we wanna run to?
Oh, we'll figure it out somehow, -how, -how
Keep holding on to now, -now
Dreaming we'll be dancing forever
Floating on this feeling together
Yeah, we'll figure it out somehow, -how, -how
Keep holding on to now, -now
Hold on to now
Hold on to now
Baby, what are we holding on to?
Baby, where do we wanna run to?
Oh, we'll figure it out somehow, -how, -how
Keep holding on to now, -now
Dreaming we'll be dancing forever
Floating on this feeling together
Yeah, we'll figure it out somehow, -how, -how
Keep holding on to now, -now
We're all just going, going round
So let it go, and go around
The world could all be falling down
But we'll be holding on to now
We're all just going, going round
So let it go, and go around
The world could all be falling down
But we'll be holding on to now
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