"Tension" is a song by Kylie Minogue, taken from her sixteenth studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's second single on 31 August 2023 by BMG Rights Management and Kylie's company, Darenote. "Tension" was written by Kylie, Anya Jones, Camille Purcell, Jon Green, Duck Blackwell and longtime collaborator Richard Stannard.
Background and composition[]
"Tension" was co-written by Kylie, Anya Jones, Kamille, Jon Green, Duck Blackwell and longtime collaborator Richard Stannard. It was written and recorded during a five day writing camp in Surrey, during the hottest week of 2021. In an interview prior to the announcement of "Tension", Kylie revealed that Kamille came up with the verse and pre-chorus of the song, with Kamille posting a TikTok about the song's conception on 3 September 2023.
Release[]
Kylie announced the release of "Tension" on 30 August 2023, for release the following day, posting a snippet of the song along with the artwork to her socials. Following this, she began posting teasers of the music videos across her social channels, showing three different characters that would appear in the music video.
Reception[]
Writing for NME, Liberty Dunworth described "Tension" as a "dance-inspired track", while claiming the song showcases "Minogue channelling inspiration from both '90s house music and '00s club classics." Alexa Camp of Slant Magazine said that "Tension" was reminiscent of material from 2007's X, calling it "the most forward-minded track on the new album".
Commercial performance[]
In Australia, "Tension" debuted at number forty-six, making its parent album Kylie's first album to have multiple top 50 entries since 2010's Aphrodite. The song debuted at #34 Ireland. In the UK, "Tension" was the week's highest new entry, debuting at number nineteen with 16,140 sales, marking Kylie's forty-sixth top 20 single in the region.
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 | |||
| 15 September | Lío London | London | England |
| 27 September | Shepherd's Bush Empire | ||
| 2024 | |||
| 6 April | Thermomix Vian | Stockholm | Sweden |
| 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—26 August, 2025 (All dates) | 66 |
| Total: | 86 |
Notes[]
Kylie gave the debut live performance of "Tension" during her headlining set at Radio 2 in the Park in September 2023.
Music video[]
The accompanying music video was directed by Sophie Muller, and was released on 1 September 2023. Kylie began teasing the music video for "Tension" after announcing the single. The video references movies such as Paris, Texas, Blade Runner 2049 and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Kylie appears in several incarnations, with the narrative of the video loosely alluding to masturbation.
The video begins with a Kylie dressed in black, with a platinum up-do, seemingly inside a control room, representing Kylie's brain. Another Kylie, dressed in a pink sweater, referencing Paris, Texas, enters a neon outpost, and witnesses a hologram Kylie in a red wig and silver dress on a screen. As the chorus begins in the song, the 50-feet tall hologram Kylie, controlled by the "dark" Kylie, shows the "real" Kylie how to "let loose", culminating in the real Kylie breaking out into a dance routine in a motel room that becomes a dance floor.
Formats and track listings[]
|
| |||||||||||||||
Other remixes[]
1. "Tension" (KDA Extended Mix) ― 4:17
2. "Tension" (Shadow Child Extended Mix) ― 5:56
Charts[]
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | 46 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 19 |
Release history[]
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Various | 31 August 2023 | Digital download · streaming | Darenote · BMG |
| 7 September 2023 | CD Single | ||
| 12 September 2023 | Cassette Single |
Lyrics[]
I'm a star babe-babe-babe
Do this all day-day-day
Cool like sorbet-bet-bet
(Cool like sorbet-bet-bet)
Bet you can't wait-wait-wait
Hands up on me-me-me
Hot like chilli-li-li
(Hot like chilli-li-li)
Ooh, thoughts of me fill up your mind
Everyday and every night
It's the way I make you feel
Baby there ain't nothing better
And I could do this forever
With you, with you, with you
Uh, uh
All night, touch me right there
(Do, do, do, do)
Touch me right there
(Do, do, do, do)
Touch me right there
Baby break the tension
All night, touch me right there
(Do, do, do, do)
Touch me right there
(Do, do, do, do)
Touch me right there
Baby what you missing
Oh my god, touch me right there
Almost there, touch me right there
Don't be shy, boy I don't bite
You know where, touch me right, tou-, tou-
Oh my god, touch me right there
Almost there, touch me right there
Don't be shy, boy I don't bite
You know where, touch me right, tou-, tou-
(Oh) Touch me right there
Touch me right there
Touch me right there
Baby break the tension
(Oh) Touch me right there
Touch me right there
Touch me right there
Baby break the tension
Call me Kylie-lie-lie
Don't imitate-tate-tate
Cool like sorbet-bet-bet
(Cool like sorbet-bet-bet)
I'm your escape-cape-cape
I'm your vacay-cay-cay
Hot like chilli-li-li
(Hot like chilli-li-li)
Ooh, thoughts of me fill up your mind
Everyday and every night
It's the way I make you feel
Baby there ain't nothing better
And I could do this forever
With you, with you, with you
Uh, uh
All night, touch me right there
(Do, do, do, do)
Touch me right there
(Do, do, do, do)
Touch me right there
Baby break the tension
All night, touch me right there
(Do, do, do, do)
Touch me right there
(Do, do, do, do)
Touch me right there
Baby what you missing
Oh my god, touch me right there
Almost there, touch me right there
Don't be shy, boy I don't bite
You know where, touch me right, tou-, tou-
Oh my god, touch me right there (Ah)
Almost there, touch me right there (Ah)
Don't be shy, boy I don't bite (Ah)
You know where, touch me right, tou-, tou-
(Oh) Touch me right there
Touch me right there
Touch me right there
Baby break the tension
(Oh) Touch me right there
Touch me right there
Touch me right there
Baby break the tension
La la la, la la la
La la la, la la la
La la la, la la la (Woo)
Oh my god, touch me right there
Almost there, touch me right there
Don't be shy, boy I don't bite
You know where, touch me right, tou-, tou-
Oh my god, touch me right there
Almost there, touch me right there
Don't be shy, boy I don't bite
You know where, touch me right, tou-, tou-
|