Kylie Minogue’s ‘Padam Padam’ was nearly given to Rita Ora
The team behind the track didn't initially believe that it was a fit for the Aussie icon.
By Nick Reilly
Kylie Minogue‘s ‘Padam Padam’ was nearly recorded by Rita Ora, the song’s producer has revealed.
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The song, which last year became Kylie’s first top ten hit since ‘All the Lovers’ in 2010, was offered to a number of singers because the team behind the track – songwriter Ina Wroldsen and producer Lostboy – didn’t think it was a suitable fit for the singer.
Lostboy told The Sun: “We wrote Padam in February 2022 and there were maybe four or five months of us sitting on it, then I sent it to their label, and someone suggested to me, ‘Kylie would kill this.'”
He added: “They were unsure and there was a moment when Rita was going to cut it and it was worming around a few artists on that label.
“They were trying to make it work but they didn’t think it was for Kylie.”
The producer, who has also worked with the likes of Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, Griff and Lewis Capaldi, went on to praise Kylie’s efforts on the synth-pop tune.
He added: “I was surprised at how confident she was that she could make it, that it would fit for her. But I think of her as someone who is so good at reinventing. It feels modern, but it also feels like Kylie.”
The Tension song was a defining hit of 2023 and even spawned a slew of memes from fans who embraced the track’s irreverent chorus – with the concept of ‘Padam’ taking on a whole host of different meanings for different people.
“All the Padam memes, everything! People are just awesome, really,” Minogue told Rolling Stone UK in the behind-the-scenes-video of her Rolling Stone UK cover shoot.
“It just struck me that it’s the first time this happened to me that one of my songs has become a viral sensation and I’ve got to tell you – I’ve loved it! A lot of people have taken ownership of it and I think that’s incredible.
“The minute a song’s released it’s like it doesn’t belong to me anyway, it only becomes a complete thing when it’s out in the world with a reaction and with it becoming hopefully a part of their lives. But to sense that immediately was outrageously good.”
Opening up on the specific memes she enjoyed, Minogue said: “Initially, one of my favourites was Hobby Craft. It just cracked me up. Hobby Craft in Wimbledon, went for it. I thought it must have been a slow day! I hope their boss was happy with that. The Lego recreation of the video is incredible. The attention to detail, like having the car come behind the window and in frame, he built a set. It was an entire set. I would love people to know that really, it’s touched me so much, that they’ve given their time and effort and love to making their own Padam.”