| Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| by Kylie Minogue | ||
| Associated album | 'Ultimate Kylie' | |
| Start date | 11 November 2006 | |
| End date | 23 January 2007 | |
| Legs | 2 | |
| No. of shows | 20 in Australia 14 in Europe 34 in Total | |
| Box office | US $40.11 million ($45.62 million in 2015 dollars) | |
| Kylie Minogue tour chronology | ||
 (2005) |
(2006-07) |
 (2008-09) |
Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour was the ninth concert tour by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. Minogue was originally scheduled to perform in Australia and Asia during Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour in 2005, but she was forced to cancel the tour when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Minogue resumed the tour on 11 November 2006, performing at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, with a new set list and costumes. The dance routines from Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour were reworked to accommodate her medical condition and longer breaks were also introduced between sections of the show to conserve her strength.
Critical reception
Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour received positive reviews from critics. Christine Sams in a review for The Sydney Morning Herald described the show as an "extravaganza" and wrote that it was "nothing less than a triumph". The Age's Patrick Donovan wrote that Minogue "looked fit and healthy and was in good voice". He also wrote that she was "at her best prowling the stage in a catsuit, playing up to the crowd". CBBC Newsround described the tour as the "perfect comeback" due to its "range of songs, excellent dancers, stage lighting and Kylie's love of performing".
Broadcasts and recordings
Minogue performance in Melbourne, Australia on 11 December 2006 was filmed for television and DVD release. The concert premiered on 13 January 2007 in the United Kingdom on Channel 4. On 4 March 2007, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation broadcast the performance without commercial interruptions. The concert was released to DVD on 10 December 2007 as a double disc set with Minogue's documentary film White Diamond.
Minogue's second Australian concert in Sydney on 12 November 2006 was recorded and released as a live album in January 2007. Showgirl Homecoming Live featured a guest appearance by U2 lead singer Bono on the song "Kids". The album reached number seven on the UK Albums Chart and was certified silver.
Concert Synopsis
Across the tour, each show was split into seven acts with the addition of an encore.
The show began with an instrumental introduction, dubbed the "Showgirl Theme Song" that features writing on the video screen introducing Kylie. Kylie then rose out of the stage on a platform dressed in a pink showgirl outfit. She opened the show with "Better the Devil You Know", which was quickly followed by a performance of "In Your Eyes". After addressing the audience, Minogue introduced and sang previously unreleased song "White Diamond". Minogue then performed "On a Night Like This", which begins in the style of a ballad, before resuming with the original after the first chorus. The ending is in the same style as the beginning of the song, where Minogue is taken below the stage, closing the section.
The second section, Everything Taboo, began with a dance interlude, that uses excerpts of "Shocked" and "Do You Dare?", before Minogue rose out of the centre of the stage as the DNA intro of "Shocked" is heard. She sang up to the middle eight, before a short segue is played using excerpts of "It's No Secret", "Keep on Pumpin' It", "Give Me Just a Little More Time" and "What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)", which led into a one-verse-one-chorus performance of "What Do I Have to Do", which was followed by another segue using an excerpt of "Over Dreaming (Over You)" and then a performance of "Spinning Around" (sampling the instrumentatal of "Finally"), which was followed by a dance interlude after the middle eight using excerpts of "Step Back in Time" and "Such a Good Feeling".
The third section, "Samsara" began with a dance interlude dubbed the "Temple Prequel", followed by a performance of "Confide in Me", where the dancers treat Minogue as if she were a puppet. This was followed by a performance of "Cowboy Style", which was followed by a small interlude of "Finer Feelings", where the backing vocalists sang whilst Minogue performed a dance; this was then followed by a performance of "Too Far".
The fourth act, Athletica began with a dance interlude of the Sandstorm Dub of "Butterfly", where acrobat Terry Kvasnik danced round the stage; after this, the same version of "Red Blooded Woman" was performed, still using the excerpt of "Where the Wild Roses Grow", Minogue this time rising atop a pommel horse in a leopard onesie. Minogue then performed her 2003 single "Slow", which was followed by a performance of "Kids". On one occasion, Minogue performed with "U2" front man Bono, and on another, with her sister Dannii.
The fifth section began with a cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" where Minogue rose from behind the stage on a sequined moon. This was then followed by a torch version of "Come into My World". Minogue then performed a shortened version "Chocolate" on the stage, which morphs at the end of the catwalk to form a "cake", from which Minogue performed "I Believe in You". The act ended with a performance of "Dreams".
Pop Paradiso opened with an interlude of Minogue's song "Burning Up", mashed with Madonna's "Vogue". She then went on to perform a jazz version of "The Locomotion" which was followed by a performance of "I Should Be So Lucky", which sampled "The Only Way Is Up". Minogue closed the section with a remix of "Hand on Your Heart"
The penultimate section, "Dance of the Cybermen" opened with a remix of "Can't Get You Out of My Head", which led into the countdown of "Light Years"; this version of the song was mashed up with Minogue's PWL song "Turn It into Love".
Minogue then performed a two-song encore, performing a sing-a-long version of "Especially For You", inviting the audience to sing Jason Donovan's part. Minogue then closed the show with a performance of "Love at First Sight" with a video montage of her career shown on the video screens behind her.
Set list
Act One: Homecoming
1. "Overture"
2. "Better the Devil You Know"
3. "In Your Eyes"
4. "White Diamond"
5. "On a Night Like This"
Act Two: Everything Taboo
6. "Shocked" (contains excerpts from: "Do You Dare?", "It's No Secret", "Give Me Just a Little More Time", "Keep on Pumpin' It" and "What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)")
7. "What Do I Have to Do" (contains excerpt from "Over Dreaming (Over You)")
8. "Spinning Around" (contains excerpts from "Step Back in Time" and "Such a Good Feeling" along with elements of "Finally")
Act Three: Samsara
9. "Confide in Me"
10. "Cowboy Style"
11. "Finer Feelings"(Interlude)
12. "Too Far"
Act Four: Athletico
13. "Butterfly" (Dance interlude)
14. "Red Blooded Woman" / "Where the Wild Roses Grow"
15. "Slow"
16. "Kids"
Act Five: Dreams
17. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
18 "Come into My World"
19. "Chocolate"
20. "I Believe in You"
21. "Dreams (Impossible Princess)"
Act Six: Pop Paradiso
22. "Burning Up" / "Vogue"
23. "The Locomotion"
24. "I Should Be So Lucky"
25. "Hand on Your Heart"
Act Seven: Dance of the Cybermen
26. "Can't Get You Out of My Head"
27. "Light Years" / "Turn It into Love"
Encore
28. "Especially For You"
29. "Love at First Sight"
Notes
• The original plan for the show was that Kylie would reprise the show from Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour, using the same running order and the same costumes; but she felt both physically and mentally that she couldn't go back there, so the show was therefore changed to accommodate her.
Tour dates
| Date | City | Country | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 — Australia | |||||
| 11 November 2006 | Sydney | Australia | Sydney Entertainment Centre | ||
| 12 November 2006 | |||||
| 14 November 2006 | |||||
| 17 November 2006 | Brisbane | Brisbane Entertainment Centre | |||
| 18 November 2006 | |||||
| 20 November 2006 | |||||
| 23 November 2006 | Sydney | Acer Arena | |||
| 24 November 2006 | |||||
| 26 November 2006 | |||||
| 30 November 2006 | Adelaide | Adelaide Entertainment Centre | |||
| 1 December 2006 | |||||
| 4 December 2006 | Perth | Burswood Dome | |||
| 5 December 2006 | |||||
| 7 December 2006 | |||||
| 10 December 2006 | Melbourne | Rod Laver Arena | |||
| 11 December 2006 | |||||
| 13 December 2006 | |||||
| 14 December 2006 | |||||
| 16 December 2006 | |||||
| 17 December 2006 | |||||
| Leg 2 — United Kingdom | |||||
| 31 December 2006 | London | England | Wembley Arena | ||
| 2 January 2007 | |||||
| 3 January 2007 | |||||
| 5 January 2007 | |||||
| 6 January 2007 | |||||
| 8 January 2007 | |||||
| 9 January 2007 | |||||
| 12 January 2007 | Manchester | Manchester Evening News Arena | |||
| 13 January 2007 | |||||
| 18 January 2007 | |||||
| 19 January 2007 | |||||
| 21 January 2007 | |||||
| 22 January 2007 | |||||
| 23 January 2007 | |||||
Show cancellations
On 13 January 2007 at the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England, Minogue was forced to end her concert after performing for an hour due to illness. Minogue's spokesman later confirmed that she had been diagnosed with a respiratory tract infection. Two additional scheduled performances at the Manchester Evening News Arena were postponed and rescheduled at the end of January 2007.
Box office score data
| Venue | City | Tickets available / sold | Gross Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney Entertainment Centre | Sydney | 34,774 / 34,774 (100%) | $2,963,147 |
| Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Brisbane | 35,574 / 37,884 (94%) | $3,354,548 |
| Acer Arena | Sydney | 51,852 / 51,852 (100%) | $4,963,147 |
| Adelaide Entertainment Centre | Adelaide | 21,583 / 22,411 (96%) | $2,369,124 |
| Burswood Dome | Perth | 36,774 / 38,774 (95%) | $3,554,147 |
| Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne | 76,526 / 76,526 (100%) | $7,578,217 |
| Wembley Arena | London | 78,526 / 78,526 (100%) | $7,578,217 |
| Manchester Evening News Arena | Manchester | 100,072 / 100,072 (100%) | $7,976,089 |
| TOTAL | 411,720 / 415,056(99.2%) | $40,111,034 | |
Personnel
- Executive Producer: Kylie Minogue and Terry Blamey
- Creative Director and Designer: William Baker
- Musical Producer: Steve Anderson
- Production Manager: Kevin Hopgood
- Production Design: Alan MacDonald
- Costumes designed by: John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld, Dolce & Gabbana, Addae Gaskin, Gareth Pugh and Matthew Williamson for Emilio Pucci
- Jewellery by: Bvlgari
- Shoes by: Manolo Blahnik and Dolce & Gabbana
- Millinery: Stephen Jones
- Choreography: Rafael Bonachela, Akram Khan and Michael Rooney
- Tour Manager: Sean Fitzpatrick
- Drums: Andrew Small
- Keyboards: Steve Turner
- Bass: Chris Brown
- Guitar: Mark Jaimes
- Backing vocals: Valerie Etienne, Hazel Fernandez and Janet Ramus
- Dance Captain: Annoulka Yanminchev
- Dancers: Jason Beitel, Marco Da Silva, Jamie Karitzis, Alan Lambie, Welly Locoh Donou, *Claire Meehan, Jason Piper, Nikoletta Rafaelisova, Andile Sotiya, Nikki Trow, Rachel Yau
- The acrobat: Terry Kvasnik
- Choreographers: Rafael Bonachela, Akram Khan and Michael Rooney