Kylie Minogue - The Girl Next Door turned Pop Princess

Australia's favourite Girl Next Door turned Pop Princess took Australia by storm with her Night like this tour. Ms Minogue is in a class of her own. Her shows were slick, camp and Kylie proved she's every inch the showgirl, strutting the stage in skyscraper heels, itty bitty hot pants, trillions of diamantes and the tightest pants I've ever seen.

Kylie titillated audiences belting out her earlier tunes such as I should be so lucky in white top hat and tails perched atop a baby grand piano, and her very sexy rendition of Olivia Newton John's Lets get Physical, complete with pole dancers, earned some serious whooping from the titillated crowds.

Judging by audience sizes, huge cross section of ages and the demand for Kylie Minogue to perform more shows, one would say Kylie is truly here for the long haul. There is something very special about the girl who blossomed in the public eye from tomboy Charlene on Neighbours to a glittering worldwide phenomenon.

The pocket goddess took the opportunity whilst in Sydney to launch her very cheeky and sassy new lingerie line, Love Kylie. It's another milestone in Kylie's staggeringly successful career, and we can expect her lingerie empire will soon rival that of our other Aussie icon, Elle MacPherson.

The wisdom she's gained through the years has given her an air of nonchalant elegance - she's the "singing budgie" no more. After experimenting with different musical genres, she's decided to return to her pure pop roots. She says "I have done different things in the past but now I've come back to what I do most naturally and what I think suits me and what people have been waiting to hear. "This new album (Light Years) is so much pop disco".

It seems she's been taking tips from the Queen of Pop, Madonna, about maintaining variety and freshness to keep audiences interested. "People always talk about pop being in and out but pop has always been there. It's periannual, it just changes its form somewhat. At the moment, it happens to be Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and Billie. To have longevity in pop is very hard and I think it's important to move with the times."

Even Madonna is sitting up and taking notice of Australia's hottest export, sporting a diamante studded Kylie Minogue t-shirt during one of her gigs. And if the mighty Madonna's given her the thumbs up, who are we to argue with her?

Want to know about more about Kylie or fancy your very own Spinning Around screensaver? Then visit the official Kylie Minogue website, www.kylie.com

- Rachael