Kylie Minogue Building ‘Tension’ on U.K. Chart

Kylie Minogue is creating tension on the U.K charts.

Australia’s princess of pop leads all newcomers on the midweek chart with “Tension,” the poptastic title track from her forthcoming 16th studio album.

Based on sales and streaming data collated by the Official Charts Company, “Tension” should arrive at No. 19 on the chart proper, for the week’s top debut.

Written by Kylie with long-term collaborators Biff Stannard and Duck Blackwell, plus KAMILLE, Anya Jones and Jon Green, the clubby cut is the followup to Kylie’s hypnotic hit “Padam Padam,” which cracked the U.K. top 10, peaking at No. 8.

When the U.K. singles chart is published late Friday, “Tension” should give Minogue her 53rd top 40 hit, a tally that includes seven No. 1s and 35 top 10s.

Kylie is already revered in the U.K. as an adopted national treasure.

She’s the only female artist to score a No. 1 album there in five consecutive decades, and, in 2007, became the first female recipient — and first non-Brit — to receive the MITS Award for contribution to music industry.

Prior to Kylie’s big night, the MITS was billed as British music’s salute to “the man of the year.” Not anymore.

That success hasn’t translated to the United States, where Kylie has bagged just two top 10 singles and whose name is more commonly associated with a member of the extended Kardashian clan.

All that could change with a first-up Las Vegas residency, a project that promises to give Kylie an unprecedented foothold in the U.S.

Her camp has reason to feel confident. “Padam Padam” recently earned the Aussie icon her very first top 10 appearance on Billboard‘s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, following its viral spread throughout the summer.

Across her career, Kylie has amassed sales of over 80 million records worldwide, five billion streams, and scored three BRIT awards, two MTV Awards and a Grammy.

Tension is due out Sept. 22 via BMG. It’s the followup to 2020’s Disco, one of her eight U.K. No. 1s.