Kylie Minogue scores her first top 10 hit since 2010 – but what does Padam Padam mean?
June 17, 2023 -BBC News –Kylie Minogue has scored her biggest solo hit in more than a decade with the infectious dance anthem Padam Padam.
It’s the stars first song to break into the UK top 10 since All The Lovers peaked at number three in 2010.
That means Kylie is one of only four women to reach the UK’s top 10 in five separate decades, alongside Cher, Lulu and Diana Ross.
The singer said the success of the song, which has gone viral on TikTok, had “really taken us all by surprise”.
“I can’t even, I can’t even, full stop!” she told Zoe Ball on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show earlier this week. “We loved it as a team, but the way that it’s taken off is way beyond me.”
The song has been steadily climbing the chart since entering at number 26 four weeks ago. This week, it rose three places to reach number nine.
Kylie hasn’t been in the top 10 in any capacity since appearing as a featured artist on Taio Cruz’s 2011 single Higher.
Padam-pandemic
Padam Padam is also a hit in Ireland, the Netherlands, Argentina, Chile, Germany, El Salvador, New Zealand and Kylie’s home country, Australia.
Said to be inspired by the Edith Piaf song of the same name, its title mimics the sound of a racing heart.
“It’s onomatopoeic,” Kylie explained. “D-dum, d-dum, like a heartbeat”.
- Kylie to headline BBC Radio 2 festival in Leicester
But since its release last month, the word “Padam” has been adopted by fans, especially during Pride month, to represent all sorts of things – from hello and goodbye, to a vocal seal of approval.
What do you think of her outfit? Padam. How do you take your coffee? Padam. Is it hot outside? Padam Padam.
“It means being gay and having a great time,” one fan explained on Instagram.
“People are hilarious. It’s become a noun, a verb, an adjective,” Kylie told Zoe Ball.
“You know, friends leaving going: ‘Padam!’ Like they’ve turned into minions or something. It’s taken on a life of its own and I am having the time of my life seeing what people are doing.”
