Kylie (2026) s01e01 Episode Script

[gentle piano music playing]
Oh, but I'll get all embarrassed.
-[man 1] Will you? Bullshit.
-[man 2] I doubt that.
They're convincing me to let you in.
-[man 2] Oh, go on, let him in.
-Oh…
Right.
[sighs]
[dramatic music playing]
Come into my room. Come.
-[microphone thudding]
-Oh! Oh!
-He's wrecking things already.
-[cameraman] Sorry.
[Kylie] Where to begin?
[dramatic music continues]
[dramatic music swelling]
There's certainly no end. [laughs]
["Story" by Kylie Minogue playing]
You're part of my story ♪
I had a secret that I kept to myself… ♪
"I'm not a hoarder,"
she says, surrounded by…
Oh, okay.
But I found these,
and I don't really know what's in them.
Oh, there's the--
Oh, gosh, that's a bit much.
The first time the hot pants went out.
Sorry about that.
You said turn another page ♪
Baby, take the stage ♪
You know the stars… ♪
[TV host 1] My final guest
is a megastar of pop.
[Terry] More hits than the Mafia.
[TV host 2] Welcome Grammy Award winner…
[TV host 3] Kylie!
I need to do some editing here.
I really do need to do some editing.
Ah-ha, we're back in safe territory.
And when the rain came down
I couldn't… ♪
-[interviewer 1] Thanks for joining.
-[interviewer 2] Good evening.
[interviewer 3] Good morning.
Rustling papers
is one of the most irritating noises.
It will send me wild.
Anyone agree? No, just me.
[laughs] Okay.
You said turn another page… ♪
[man] In this business, they come and go.
You know the stars
Are coming out for you ♪
Ebb and then they flow… ♪
[man] But you have an amazing way
of reinventing yourself.
[Kylie] I've never done
anything like this.
Turn another page ♪
I don't know where we're going.
But you're gonna reveal a lot of things.
I didn't walk on… ♪
You just can't wait, can you?
You're like,
"The worse, the better. Give it to me."
But I'm tentative to see
the things that I'm hiding.
But I'm not hiding it from you.
It's from myself.
Hard on the inside ♪
It's been good, great, terrible.
Hard on the inside ♪
But I just keep trying
to get back on stage.
[crowd cheering]
Life makes sense to me on stage.
And people don't know why.
[producer] Yeah?
-You wanna talk about that now?
-Not now.
A hundred percent not now.
[cheering continues]
You said turn another page ♪
[reporter] The new viral hit
has introduced a new audience to Kylie.
Her songs have been streamed
over five billion times.
Baby, feel the glow ♪
[Kylie] There's 35 years of stuff.
More.
How are we going to do this?
When I say "we," I mean you.
You know the answer ♪
Turn another page
Baby, take the stage ♪
You know the stars
Are coming out for you ♪
You know, you know
You know the answer ♪
-[producer] Thank you very much.
-Thank you.
Satisfying, that, isn't it?
[girl vocalizing softly over piano note]
What's your version of the start?
Ooh.
Ah, the '80s.
Seems like another lifetime.
But I'll tell it to you
as if it's box fresh.
[laughing] Um…
So…
I came to London when I was 19.
Trafalgar Square.
From the other end of the Earth.
[laughing]
To go and make a record.
It was wildly exciting.
I remember going down a laneway
into a humble entrance.
And then the first room,
there's just gold records everywhere.
-[phone ringing]
-Here we go.
Dead or Alive "You Spin Me Round,"
Bananarama,
Donna Summer.
[indistinct chatter]
So, I was riddled
with self-doubt and anxiety
and all those other
wonderful things that we love.
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down ♪
Never gonna run around and desert you ♪
-[producer] Ready?
-Yeah, I'm ready when you are.
Quick! Because I've got
to be out of here by 3:00.
I got a call telling me there was
a small Antipodean in the reception,
expecting to make a record.
Didn't even know what an Antipodean was.
You got to understand,
I had no idea who this girl was, right?
I mean, we've got Rick Astley,
the world's biggest artist.
It was, "Another artist? Please!"
[phone ringing]
[Kylie] So, I was waiting around for ages.
And they'd forgotten I was there.
[Pete] But she had to catch a flight,
two and a half hours later,
back to Sydney.
[whimsical vocalization playing]
I'm asking, "What are we doing?"
[Pete] So, I just thought…
[scoffs]
…"Let's do it."
[pop music playing]
[Kylie] They had to write a song
really quickly for me.
ln allegedly 40 minutes. Who knows?
Everyone's story's slightly different.
Oh, two hours. It took two hours.
And that is a very true story.
[pop music continues playing]
But we didn't have the title of the song.
And she only had 30 minutes
to get to the airport.
So, somebody said,
"You should be so lucky."
I said, "That's it."
I should be so lucky ♪
Lucky, lucky, lucky ♪
I should be so lucky in love ♪
I should be so lucky ♪
Lucky, lucky, lucky ♪
I should be so lucky in love ♪
And that was it.
No conversation, that was it. She'd gone.
Just gone.
[Kylie] I didn't know if the song
was any good or what it meant
or would it even make it?
Who are these guys? What just happened?
[pensive music playing]
I had no idea that I was
about to go over the precipice
into a different world.
[dance music playing]
[Pete, on radio] Good morning, gang,
this is the Hitman
with the latest hits before they're hits.
I was on the radio at 9:00 in the morning.
Come on, gang, keep your feet dancing.
And my producer walked in
and saw on the label "Kylie Minogue."
He said, "It's Kylie Minogue."
Yeah. "No, Pete, it's Kylie Minogue!"
I went, "Sorry?"
He said, "Open the mic,
tell them they're gonna hear
the first Kylie Minogue single."
He said, "But only till you hear
the first vocal and then stop it."
I said, "What?"
He said, "Do as you're told."
["I Should Be So Lucky" playing on radio]
Stay tuned, 'cause
you may just miss that hit!
And this could be it.
["I Should Be So Lucky"
playing over headphones]
Kylie Minogue's doing it.
In my imagin-- ♪
Close mic.
The phones went nuts.
[phones ringing]
All 30 lines lit up instantly.
When you have a switch,
you can knock all them off.
[fingers snap, ringing stops]
[ringing resumes]
So, I'm knocking the 30 lines out fast
and furious and couldn't stop them.
Now that's unheard of.
That doesn't happen.
And then I get a call from the BBC.
"You've done a single with Kylie Minogue?"
Sorry?
Next thing,
"You're doing Top of the Pops."
"I'm what?"
[audience cheering]
I didn't even know
what Top of the Pops was. Like…
Good evening, welcome to Top of the Pops.
We have Bros in the studio tonight,
Elton John is with us.
Let's go over here now,
Kylie Minogue's "I Should Be So Lucky."
In my imagination there is no… ♪
Well, this was the biggest
television show in Britain.
And I don't know what the crowds
are gonna be like outside.
[crowd] Kylie! Kylie! Kylie!
[Pete] It was like,
"What the hell's going on here?"
"What's-- What is this?"
Now, you've got to understand,
I had no idea what Neighbours was.
[theme from "Neighbours" playing]
[Jason] All right.
Neighbours… ♪
There's not a day, really,
goes by in my life
where at some point I don't refer back…
to those years.
The amount of times I get into a cab
and someone will go, "How's Kylie?"
And it's like,
"Oh, fuck. I don't fucking know."
"You go and ask fucking her."
And that, you know,
it's not a disrespect to her.
It's just, come on, man.
You know, that's a long time ago.
[jazzy bass music playing]
What I can remember
was sitting in the wardrobe van
on the set of Neighbours,
this little Aussie soap opera.
And this new actor had arrived,
and she turned around to me.
It was her first day,
and said, "Do you remember me?"
Small world. My first day ever on a set.
We played brother and sister.
It was just crazy.
"Wow! God, that's right."
But I couldn't remember her, no.
He's got a pet spider.
-Do you want to see it?
-Well, does he bite?
No, not if he likes you.
I can understand why I couldn't.
She had those buck teeth.
So, she looked a lot different.
Want to pet him?
Go on.
Suddenly, it was like, "Wow!"
[upbeat piano music playing]
[producer] He spoke about you.
[chuckling]
-[producer] She talked about you.
-Did she?
-Yeah.
-This will be interesting.
[laughing]
[Kylie] My first scene
on Neighbours was with him.
Punching him.
Ow!
I think that she did actually punch me.
Sorry, Scott.
I don't know what that says about me.
[sighs]
[grunts]
-You know your stuff, don't you?
-Sure do.
[Kylie] When I joined,
it wasn't a huge show.
-Hi, I'm Jason Donovan.
-And I'm Kylie Minogue.
-Join us here on Monday night.
-On Perth's new Channel 10.
[Jason] But the producers could see
the chemistry between the two of us.
So, we were coupled together in the show.
-[Jason] What's happening this arvo?
-[Kylie] I'm babysitting Bradley.
Why don't I look after him with you?
We could do our assignments.
Yeah, okay.
[clears throat]
Would you like to try
for three broken ribs?
But we were just good friends.
We could understand each other.
And we must have
fancied each other as well.
[laughing] That helps.
You're the last thing
I think of before I go to sleep
and the first thing
I think of when I wake up.
-[giggling]
-I'm serious!
You make me sound like
cleaning your teeth.
I mean, ahem…
Um, I don't remember a specific moment
Kylie and I came together.
[sentimental music playing]
Well, I-I do remember.
It was in Sydney at the…
[laughing]
…very publicly at the Travelodge.
[Kylie] We were just kids.
We were fresh out of high school,
so it was like that
kind of sweetheart's romance.
[Jason] It was art imitating life.
Can I tell you something?
-I love you, Scott.
-I love you too.
Promise?
[Jason] Yeah, I promise.
Suddenly, I see… ♪
[Pete] Or life imitating art.
Just the way I am… ♪
[Kylie] But we decided
to keep the relationship a secret.
Because it would give us
a fighting chance.
Suddenly… ♪
I'm totally confused.
Are you or are you not just good friends?
-[both chuckle]
-Maybe.
[excited chatter]
Did I think
we were ever going to get married?
Now I know that you are… ♪
The truth is, yeah.
And have kids and…
That's the script written, and off you go.
Suddenly, I see… ♪
I thought it was my destination.
Just the way I am ♪
[song stops abruptly]
It struck a chord with the audience
because it was real.
The winner is
Kylie Minogue.
[audience cheering]
[reporter 1] Neighbours has gone on
to become the most successful
Australian television series
ever produced.
[reporter 2] Jason and Kylie
have become national heroes.
[Kylie] It became
really popular in Australia.
I'm lucky I can reach this microphone.
But maybe not…
as kind of obsessed and maniacal
as it was elsewhere.
[Eamonn] We're going live by satellite
to the set of Neighbours.
Melbourne? Melbourne, is that right?
[all] Hello!
Oh, they can hear me. Success.
Kylie Minogue, who plays Charlene.
Yes, hello.
[reporter 3] The TV executives say
they've rarely seen anything like it.
Will you try and see it my way?
I don't want to leave you.
Within weeks, schoolchildren all over
were wagging school to watch the program.
I bunk off school,
actually, to watch it, seriously.
It was wild.
We didn't understand. It was hysteria.
[reporter 4] In Oxford Street,
normally a traffic nightmare.
But at 1:30, the greatest
TV phenomenon to hit this nation
brings the city to a standstill.
And people were changing
their doctor's hours
or their working hours.
[reporter 5] Princess Diana phoned the BBC
for two episodes she'd missed.
[interviewer] What do you think it is that
makes Neighbours so popular here?
[man] It's just fun to watch.
Rather than watching EastEnders
and putting yourself in a noose after.
This time yesterday,
I was ready to chuck the whole thing in.
[reporter 6] With an audience
of 24 million people a day,
there can't be all that many not watching.
Now, I had no idea what Neighbours was.
We were too busy.
We didn't watch television.
[faint, excited chatter]
It just wasn't in our psyche at all.
[inaudible chatter]
Then, of course,
I find out she's this enormous figure.
[fans shouting excitedly]
I was sort of gobsmacked.
[crowd, chanting] Kylie! Kylie! Kylie!
[Pete] I didn't realize how big she was.
[crowd] Kylie! Kylie! Kylie!
[Pete] But then it's like,
"I understand this now. I get it."
The ice cream wasn't us.
The ice cream was Neighbours.
We put the cherry on top.
And then, bang!
[crowd] Kylie!
["I Should Be So Lucky" playing]
[Pete] People believed
Kylie was their friend.
-[boy 1] I love you, Kylie!
-[boy 2] Yeah!
[Pete] She was
the girl next door.
In my imagination
There is no complication ♪
I dream about you all the time ♪
[Bruno] This is Bruno Brookes
here in London with a brand-new Top 40.
…celebration
The sweetest of sensation ♪
[Bruno] At three, it climbs four,
Billy Ocean, "Get Out of My Dreams."
Number two, it was last week's number one,
Tiffany, "I Think We're Alone Now."
…together hand in hand, I'm dreaming… ♪
Let's get the pun out of the way now,
I am lucky, lucky, lucky.
[Bruno] Which means
that Britain has a brand-new…
[computerized voice] Number one.
I should be so lucky
Lucky, lucky, lucky ♪
I should be so lucky in love ♪
It's a crazy situation… ♪
But I was this upstart
who's stolen the number one position.
[interviewer] Were you always
wanting to get into music?
Um, I think so.
The problem… The problem…
-Hey, retake.
-[laughing]
[Kylie] Because on radio,
it was much more rock and roll,
much more male.
You know, great artists.
I'm dreaming
That you're in love with me… ♪
It definitely
was not littered
with
soap star turned singers. No.
[song stops abruptly]
So when you started out,
did you mean to be an actress or a singer?
"But you're an actress.
You can't be a singer."
I just remember struggling
with it all those years ago,
thinking, "Well, what do you mean?"
Are you a singer or an actress?
-What do you want to be?
-Both.
[laughing]
Well, it just didn't make sense to me.
It just didn't make sense.
[chuckling]
Eventually, you're gonna
have to decide to be one or the other.
Well, eventually, um…
I don't like to be trapped.
I don't like to be put in a box.
And I was through those early years.
"But you can't be a singer.
Surely you can't."
That's…
"How can you do both?"
It's just-- It's dumb.
"How could you do both?"
Well,
tell that to Dolly and Cher and Barbra
and see what they've got to say about it.
[laughing] They'll take you down.
So back then it was like,
"Wow, that worked. Now what?"
[interviewer] Where are you going now?
What are your big plans?
To go to England as soon as I can
and record an album.
[whimsical music playing]
[reporter 1] When Kylie Minogue
became an international recording star,
she owed it all
to Stock, Aitken, and Waterman.
No, they're not her lawyers.
Just got to watch my bald spot
on that top shot, you know.
[reporter 1] They're the most
successful creative team
in the multi-million-dollar world of pop.
[reporter 2] I asked Pete Waterman
for the secret of their success.
[Pete] It's disposable.
You buy it, you sing it,
you have a good time,
it's not to be taken seriously,
then you put it in your record collection,
and it's a memory.
You don't try and analyze it to find out
what's happening in Nicaragua.
I'm wondering why ♪
This is really loud. Me.
We had to make a whole album
in between takes of, you know, Neighbours.
[director] Okay, here we go. And action.
Come in, Scott. It concerns him too.
-He's my boyfriend.
-Yes.
Firstly, Neighbours
had to write me out of the show.
I've got a job. It's up in Brisbane.
-When are you leaving?
-Flight this afternoon.
[Kylie] During which time,
I would fly to England.
I would get to the Sacred Studio.
The song would be written out.
Here's how it goes, sing it, learn it.
Go!
What's all the hurry?
I thought we had forever ♪
Got it? Good. Next.
Hi, I'm Kylie on the set
of my new video. I hope you like it.
[upbeat music playing]
It was like, "You're on a flight tonight.
Let's do it. Go."
And head straight back
to the set of Neighbours again.
Oh!
Scott told me you were home.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
-See you later.
-See you.
[Pete] That's what it was like.
No time to think or plan anything.
We have two hours today, that's it.
Then I discovered ♪
Most of the songs
was written literally as she sang it.
But I was the last to know ♪
I'd love to say this was well planned,
but it was just on the hoof.
It's no secret ♪
[wheels screech]
-G'day, Chief.
-Charlene.
You can pack your bag and go.
[man] Take two.
[Pete] I was having
an affair with a French girl,
and she kept using this
wonderful expression, "Je ne sais quoi."
I had no idea what je ne sais quoi was,
but I went, "That's for us."
I still want you ♪
Je ne sais pas pourquoi ♪
[Pete] I decide
to pull into Wolverhampton,
to Ruby Red Records.
I swear to you,
on my life, this is a true story.
The first two kids walk through the door,
"Could I have a copy
of 'Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi,' please?"
I thought, ka-ching!
I've just hit the jackpot.
Which means that Britain has a brand-new…
[computerized voice] Number one.
Hi, everybody! You all having a good time?
Whoo!
[Pete] And the ironic thing is
it's still the biggest record
Kylie's ever had in France.
[in French] Kylie Minogue, you know her?
-[in English] She's known as "Keely."
-"Keely" Minogue.
-[audience cheering]
-Keely Minogue.
[in French] She is at the top
of the European charts.
[in English] You're number one
in Finland and Germany and Greece.
Great.
I was thrust into doing this photo shoot
and that photo shoot and these interviews.
[Philip] What's your schedule like?
[Kylie] Go to Germany for a day,
Spain for a day, Japan.
I've not yet been… Actually, I have.
[rhythmic clapping]
I just did what I was told.
I had no clout to really say no.
I didn't really ask questions.
And I had to be neatened up and perfected.
And always be happy.
-[interviewer] Hello?
-[Kylie] Here.
-[interviewer] Can I ask you questions?
-[Kylie] Sure.
[interviewer] How do you feel
about smoking, drinking, drugs, and sex?
All these things?
[upbeat music playing]
[reporter] She's selling more records
than any other female artist in the world.
600,000 albums sold in Great Britain.
Hooray for Kylie!
It was a swift education
as to how the machine works.
Pete Waterman, who else?
-Dance, Kylie.
-Okay!
[upbeat music continuous]
[Pete] And I said to her,
"This is like a skyrocket."
"Hold on the stick,
enjoy every minute of it."
Big round of applause for Kylie!
"Because it will come down at some point."
Right, welcome.
Thereby proving Andy Warhol's dictum
that everyone
will be famous for 15 minutes.
Well, 15 minutes can be a long time,
especially when you spend it listening
to the work of that Melbourne nightingale,
Kylie Minogue.
Who's also here with us today.
All five foot one of her.
Alas, only in two dimensions,
but who can tell the difference anyway?
No one wants…
endeavor to be free
of effort or free of challenge.
But…
it was a baptism of fire.
Wanna sign inside?
[host 1] What I find so fake is,
"I'm just an ordinary person.
I'm just the girl next door."
You can't live next to a star.
[host 2] She's especially ordinary.
[reporter] Are you gonna smile?
-[woman] Unexceptional celebrities.
-[man] Dull, banal.
It's a blinding ordinariness.
[audience laughing]
[photographer] At this one, Kylie.
This one, Kylie.
[Kylie] Heavy criticism.
[camera shutters clicking]
[photographers] Kylie!
I remember hearing clangers
that were really public.
Um…
Um, I'm just trying to think
of a good word for it. Being mean.
[camera shutters clicking]
[reporter] A soap star who got a deal
off the fact that she's well known.
[camera shutters clicking]
[photographer] Kylie.
[man] No longer have to be interesting
to get to number one.
You can just be
a sort of human, crocheted scarf.
It is absolutely awful, mechanistic,
valueless, meaningless stuff. Terrible.
[photographers shouting]
[Kyle] And to be
19 years old and having to
cop that.
That was unpleasant.
[indistinct chatter]
-[man 1] Why? She can sing, can't she?
-[man 2] No, she can't sing.
[loud chatter]
[woman] No, she can't.
[audience cheering]
[camera shutters clicking]
Well, the best one was, "She can't sing."
She can't sing.
I'm sorry, Kylie, but you can't sing.
[audience laughing and cheering]
And one of the terms used to describe me.
[man] The Singing Budgie.
[woman] The Singing Budgie.
The human part was missing.
It's like, "Who are they? Who are they?"
Who decides this is cool?
[indistinct chatter continues]
[reporter] Some radio stations
refused to play her record
because of what they called
"the high irritant factor."
What would happen if I met them
and I sat face-to-face with them and say,
"How would you feel
if that was your daughter?"
[audience laughing]
I feel very lucky ♪
Staggeringly lucky ♪
[insects chirruping]
[Kylie] And those critical voices
were very different
to the voices that I grew up with.
The good chairs are taken.
You've got to be quick.
[Carol] You have to be quick.
[Kylie] I was raised without any putdowns,
without ever hearing,
"You can't do this, you can't do that."
[man] Cheers, everybody.
[Carol] Cheers to a great year.
[Kylie] We were just encouraged
to do what we loved.
And that was music.
It was every-- It was everything.
[Carol] And how lucky, we're all together.
We managed to all be together.
We managed-- We managed to be together
and we managed to stay together.
[all laughing]
[Kylie] My dad was an accountant.
Worked really hard.
But he loved playing music.
He really loves jazz.
He loves, like, not what I do.
The roses in the window box ♪
My mother was a ballerina
when she was a teenager.
Any elegance I have is from my mother.
Was born to grow and die… ♪
And I've always thought,
I'm kind of a shy child.
I wasn't in school plays or anything,
but actually…
Sorry, honey
If I don't change the pace… ♪
I mean, she's posing already.
They had three kids under 4.
Three scallywags.
So, I was flung into a music class.
Might have been because
my parents wanted me out of the house.
But I hated rules. I hated being boxed in.
Refused to do my grades.
And so my love affair
with music began with this.
I was playing rock and roll
And you were… ♪
This was the portal.
This was the gateway.
So I split the band ♪
Love lies… ♪
I became a pop fanatic.
I would hover above my cassette player
to record my favorite music.
And I know we're starting
at the beginning, but if I go to the…
Not the end. Let's not call it the end.
If we come to the current moment…
I love music even more.
I don't like to be trapped in anything.
I like to have fluidity
and have somewhere to go.
["Funeral for a Friend" playing]
Music, by definition, is moving.
And it-- it-- it can go anywhere.
Like within…
I'm probably not explaining it.
I'm trying to do it with my hands. But…
With all the different syncopation,
all the different notes,
it's a moving, living, breathing thing,
and I feel that my being is…
I can relate to that. It talks to me.
Oh ♪
Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh ♪
I used to parade around doing some kind
of imaginary performance in my head.
And I just thought all kids
dreamt of being a pop star.
But I didn't know how
that would ever be a reality.
You've got sort of a musical family,
or did you just suddenly decide to sing?
Well, my parents aren't musical.
My sister is. She's with me on this trip.
-Is she here?
-Yes.
-Has she been on the telly before?
-No, not here.
-Would she like to be, you think?
-I don't know.
Where is she? Grab her over. Right.
-Hello.
-Hello.
Come in.
Now, tell you what, you have my chair.
Have my seat.
[percussive music playing]
[Philip] What's it like
having a famous sister?
-It's great.
-What do you do?
Um, I sing and dance.
Our initial bedroom was together.
And it was good until it wasn't good.
[percussive music continues]
And when it wasn't good,
it was like a war zone.
At one point, there was sticky tape
drawn down the middle of the room.
"That's your side and that's your side,
and you cannot cross it."
If a piece of clothing was borrowed,
all hell could break loose.
[lively disco music playing]
But when I was 7, I saw the movie Grease.
There was something
about Olivia Newton-John.
That spirit, that energy.
It does something to me.
I just remember looking at her thinking,
"I don't know what it is that she does,
but I want to do that."
But, you know…
I wanted to be Olivia Newton-John.
[Dannii] Kylie and I
both wanted to perform.
Mum and Dad didn't know much about it,
but we pestered them until they broke.
Mum had a great idea of finding an agent
just to shut us up.
Because she's like,
"Nothing's going to happen from this."
[audience applauding]
[band playing upbeat horn music]
Rosy cheeks and turned-up nose
And curly hair ♪
I'm raving… ♪
[Kylie] My sister Dannii got a part
on a TV show called Young Talent Time,
which is kind of like
the Mickey Mouse Club.
Hello, Australia,
welcome to a really big one.
So, come on, get up, and here we go.
Baby face ♪
You've got the cutest little baby face ♪
But I was not the cutest.
Come buiten.
[Kylie] So, I got an acting job.
Policeman came
and took Mama and Papa away.
Now I'm here. And you will save me.
It wasn't very good, but it was, you know…
[laughing]
No, you can't just leave me here!
[upbeat rock music playing]
And then Dannii became a superstar.
[host] Here's Dannii Minogue.
-And Dannii's sister, Kylie Minogue.
-Yeah.
She's developed
into a fine young actress, hasn't she?
[Kylie] And I just kept getting
more and more acting jobs.
Sorry, sir, but I've got a job.
This is my last day at school.
-[man] How much are you getting?
-I forgot to ask.
Now there was a time ♪
[host] This young lady, Kylie Minogue,
is one of the stars
of a new Australian series.
-You proud of your sister?
-Of course.
-You proud of your sister?
-Yes.
Well, we're proud of both of you.
The Minogue girls.
[Kylie] But I didn't
have the acting dream.
I was harboring this
fantasy…
So we're coming out of… ♪
…of making music.
'Cause there's somethin'
We forgot to say to you ♪
Sisters are doin' it… ♪
Doin' it for themselves ♪
She needs some quiet to concentrate!
Always so dramatic.
But…
So, remember, Johnny Young
wants us to sing in the show this week.
[car horn honking]
-That's my cab. Sorry.
-And remember the song.
"Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves."
All right.
That's my sister, Kylie.
She's always in a hurry.
She plays the part
of Charlene in Neighbours.
The little money that I made,
I used for singing lessons.
-[woman] Four…
-[man] Good luck, Kylie.
…three, two, one.
Go!
Now this is a song ♪
To celebrate, yeah ♪
The conscious liberation ♪
Of the female state ♪
[Kylie] And I was nervous as hell.
Mothers, daughters
And their daughters too ♪
But young enough to just go for it.
The inferior sex ♪
Had got a new exterior, yeah ♪
We got doctors… ♪
Not long after that, the guy who
produced a music show came to me and said,
"You should make a record."
Like, my world became special effects.
Sisters are doin' it for themselves ♪
Standin' on their own two feet ♪
And ringin' on their own bells ♪
Like, someone said that to me.
Sisters are doin' it for themselves ♪
-[camera shutters clicking]
-[paparazzi yelling]
-Kylie!
-Kylie!
She's been the butt of a fair bit
of cynicism by media in London.
And the papers over there
did give her a bit of a pasting, like…
[photographers] Kylie! Kylie!
"She looked like
a slept-in Qantas blanket."
[interviewer] And another thing,
"She looked like she got off
the plane in a kangaroo's pouch."
I mean, they really gave her some.
Yeah, um, they get very nasty at times,
and it's not nice.
It was crushing to hear
stuff that you would never say now and…
get away with it.
[photographers] Kylie! Kylie!
[Dannii] But everyone thought it was okay,
and if you'd signed up to be a pop star,
then you're meant
to be emotionally bulletproof.
If you listen to it all,
it's gonna drag you down.
So, you know what's right,
so you've got to believe in yourself.
[photographers] Kylie! Kylie! Kylie!
[Dannii] And then, even further
as a female pop artist,
don't say anything, just…
be pretty and shut up.
But it really did hurt her
because she's very musical.
Do you want to go
smack someone in the mouth?
-One of these journalists?
-[laughs]
Those days I say,
"Today's newspapers,
tomorrow's fish and chips."
-Don't worry about it.
-You don't worry?
Try not to.
There was a point in time I remember,
it just all got too much.
[photographer 1] Kylie, hold something up!
[photographer 2] Take that camera away.
[overlapping shouting]
[Kylie] I remember having a moment
where I just kind of broke down.
[woman] Kylie!
I-I-I must have been crying.
I must have been in a bit of a state and…
I remember in that moment
I would have loved to just stay in
and not have to go out
and face it and put myself
out there.
But that wasn't the conversation
that we wanted to hear
because our ship is out at sea.
We can't go back to port and say
we don't want to be on this ship anymore.
Kylie, come on out here, kid.
We can't change course now.
[applause]
[man] Come on down!
[Pete] If you don't want the criticism,
you don't read reviews.
And this is the gold album
for Kylie Minogue.
You just make yourself immune from it.
Kylie has the distinction of being
the most successful female artist ever.
[Kylie] I was insecure. I was uncertain.
And when you're a singer,
with all your emotions in your voice.
I've got to be, got to be certain ♪
I've got to be so sure ♪
[interviewer] Out of ten,
how good are you as a singer?
Uh…
-[laughing] Oh, I couldn't say.
-[interviewer] Go on. Don't be modest.
Um…
Five.
I can see it in performances
when there's so many voices in my head
saying, "You can't do it.
You just can't do it."
Oh ♪
Oh, oh, oh-oh ♪
And I think it just sets you back,
and then you question yourself, like…
Maybe I'm not capable.
Maybe they're right.
[woman 1] I don't feel that Kylie
is hugely talented. She's not original.
[woman 2] She's a style-based act.
She's almost a sort of DIY celebrity.
[woman 3] How hollow her particular…
[man] Somehow in being a shape devised
for everybody, you yourself become nobody.
[dramatic music playing]
[Jason] This is our room.
It's a nice room, isn't it?
And guess who's in the bathroom?
[gasps] Wow, it's Kylie Minogue.
Who's that pointing the camera?
When all the criticism
came her way about her voice…
she struggled.
[plaintive music playing]
She really struggled.
And I was like,
"Well, maybe you shouldn't
have gone down that route,"
because that's
sort of how my attitude was.
Don't look at me like that.
Because her music career
at that point had really taken off.
And it…
[laughs] No, it didn't piss me off.
But-- But it was like, um…
Okay.
[Kylie] I'm gonna go walk.
[Jason] We'd been
this partnership in the show.
[director] And action.
So, you're jealous?
Of that woman? Get serious.
[Jason] Suddenly, I could see
she was moving away from her acting.
-It's a nice…
-We have to go to dinner now.
-Come on.
-So, let's get going.
So, there was a few arguments.
That's Kylie getting all shitty.
Little boss moss.
[softly] Come on.
-Come on.
-I'm coming.
[Jason gasps]
And also, you know,
I had my own ego at that point.
"Why isn't this happening to me?"
Do you know what I mean?
["Nothing Can Divide Us"
by Jason Donovan playing]
Until they got on the phone
and asked me to do it.
And then it all changed.
Don't cry ♪
You must have heard
Some things about me… ♪
I mean, try working me out
then at that point. I don't fucking know.
That made you
Have your doubts about me ♪
How do you feel about Jason's record deal?
Well, he's been…
I think he's been working on it,
uh, for the last few months.
With love to guide us ♪
Nothing can divide us ♪
You know, I guess I was frightened
for some reason
that I was going to lose her, you know.
But, um… yeah.
["New Sensation" by INXS playing]
Okay, now we're on to another--
Another thing.
-[band playing "New Sensation"]
-[crowd cheering]
[music stops abruptly]
My brother found this.
My ticket from seeing INXS in Sydney.
Which is where
I met Michael the first time.
Yeah.
Live, baby, live ♪
Now that the day is over ♪
I got a new sensation ♪
In perfect moments ♪
I can describe what Michael's like
on stage, but do yourself a favor,
just watch him.
Love, baby, love ♪
It's written all over your face ♪
There's nothing better we could do ♪
[sighs]
It…
It's not exactly what I mean. He just was…
He just had it. He had it.
[crowd cheering]
And I thought at one point,
"I'm sure Michael looked at me."
"I'm sure he looked
at me in the audience."
Are you ready for a new sensation? ♪
-New sensation ♪
-Right now ♪
[inhales sharply]
Look,
I don't have anything against Michael.
It's gonna take you over ♪
New sensation ♪
I was a fan.
He was everything, probably,
I really wanted to be at that point,
which is-- Even the irony.
[reporter] Right now, INXS are the hottest
Australian export since Crocodile Dundee.
Right now ♪
The latest chapter is lead singer
Michael Hutchence's emergence
as a sex symbol.
-[man] Do you like Michael Hutchence?
-I love him!
[man] How hot?
-Very hot!
-Very hot!
-[man] Hot enough to get through his door?
-Yes!
Is sex at the heart
in what you sell and do?
Yeah, I think so.
I like music that has sex in it.
A new sensation ♪
-[song ends]
-[crowd cheering]
[calm music playing]
[Michael] Whoo!
[Kylie] After his gig, Jason and I
were invited back to the after-party.
[Michael] Let's go.
I think we were in…
We were in a very small car.
I'd hired this, like, a Ford Fiesta.
You know, they got into their stretch limo
and said, "Follow us."
And there's little old me with Kylie
following this rock god and his entourage.
Two of us in this tiny, little,
crappy, little white vehicle to the hotel.
So, that's when I met Michael.
We're getting paid 1.4 million pounds
for this tonight. I'm getting five grand.
Five fucking grand. Five grand.
That'll pay my fucking
champagne bill at the hotel.
What the fuck?
[producer] Did you talk to Michael?
He wasn't interested in me.
Yeah.
I could tell he was focused on her.
Absolutely. I could sniff
that one a mile away.
And she disappeared with him
into the bathroom,
if I think-- If I remember correctly.
Um, which is fine.
Um…
You know, grown-up.
And…
And I would have been feeling
a bit like, "I don't know."
How--Like,
"How did we get here?" kind of thing.
And…
we were talking about singer stuff.
[dramatic music playing]
And he said he lived in Hong Kong.
And I was about to go
to Hong Kong and Japan
and do these live shows.
I hadn't really done live shows.
So, I was nervous as hell.
There should be about 40,000 people.
This whole area.
Ooh, I can't imagine what it will be like,
full of people.
but there will be people
in this whole area.
And Michael was telling me
about these magical drops.
Something to help with your vocals.
He was under the guise of,
"Yeah, well, I'll--
I'll get the stuff for you, and…"
"And can I take you for dinner?"
Which led to us meeting in Hong Kong.
And he was really late.
[laughing]
I'm interested in somehow maintaining,
um, something
that I believe in, that's all.
You know, I just believe in--
In the music that we do.
And what I have to say.
And if I can maintain that
through all this, then I'll be very happy.
I mean, I was…
I was kind of mesmerized,
and-- and he was mesmerized.
[emotional music playing]
But I know I'm right
About this love of mine ♪
If I had to do it all again ♪
At that point in time,
I didn't have any belief in my voice.
So, I would lean
to just doing lots of dancing.
[crowd cheering]
And Michael had some advice
that stayed with me.
"Some stillness is okay on stage."
"You don't have to be
running around all the time."
But you know what we could do is just…
the effect of stillness
would be really good.
Yeah.
The first stage,
we can stand there really straight.
Yeah.
If I had to do it all again ♪
I wouldn't change a single thing ♪
[Kylie] And those critical voices,
for a few moments, went away.
It's nice to think of.
He's the best thing
That happened to me ♪
And I'm not ashamed
For the world to see ♪
If I had to do it all again ♪
[director] Playback!
[electronic beeping]
Oh, every day ♪
Oh, every day ♪
My love is stronger ♪
[director] Go again.
[Jason] I could tell
something wasn't right.
[wistful music playing]
I could tell. I could smell it.
[chuckling] All right.
Hello.
[Kylie] I don't like
to be trapped in anything
because I enjoy change,
and I don't want to be hemmed in
or boxed in or defined in a certain way.
You were in my heart ♪
My love never changed ♪
I still feel the same ♪
Especially for you… ♪
[reporter] The tiny 20-year-old singer
has left the enormously
successful soap series Neighbours.
I mean, it's a plucky decision
to leave Neighbours.
…you know I would have flown to you… ♪
[Kylie] Jason and I will always
have this undeniable bond.
But things were about to change.
There's no need to look at my picture yet.
I'm still here.
Not for long.
Love hurts, mate.
Because of you ♪
And now we're back together ♪
Together ♪
[Pete] You just know there is a moment.
The minute you don't surprise
your audience…
Right, that's some of that.
[Pete] …you become part of the ether.
That's when have to come up
with something different.
You've had all your hits, yeah.
But, oh yeah, it's just Kylie.
What makes it not Kylie?
Forget the loneliness and the sorrow ♪
I don't think I can say any more,
to be fucking honest.
Shit, I'll be in therapy tomorrow
just getting over this.
-[producer] No.
-No, I'm joking.
-[producer] It wasn't that bad.
-No, I'm joking.
[Terry] What about your man?
I just left him.
[laughing]
[producer] So, then what happened?
[laughing]
["Need You Tonight" by INXS playing]
[overlapping chatter]
What you gonna do? ♪
Gonna live my life ♪
Any questions, anybody?
[woman vocalizing]
[music fades and ends]