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She didn’t disappoint. But then was she ever going to? I’ve seen Kylie on tour seven different times (and therefore seven different shows) and as Aphrodite – Les Folies was billed as her biggest and most extravagant show of her career, there was a lot to look forward to. I was a little perturbed by having to go to the O2 last night at first, largely because it’s such a big venue, and our seats weren’t near the front by any means. But, there was no reason to be apprehensive – the enormous scale of the stage, catwalk, projection screens and yes, those 30ft high fountains ensured everyone could see what was going on.

Rising from a golden shell, Kylie’s entrance was, as ever, well staged and more than a little camp, but from the moment she put a diamond-encrusted high heel on the vast temple-style stage, she didn’t put a foot wrong. From riding in a chariot pulled by muscled ‘slaves’, to flying on an angel with the most enormous feathered wings, suspended by heavy cables, this show was something else, and unlike anything or any Kylie show I had seen before. Old songs, new songs, tilting stages, coloured feathers, Busby and Berkeley-styled songs, a rock-inspired version of Can’t Get You Out Of My Head (probably the lowest point of the night), it was all there.

But nothing could beat the finale. Bidding the audience the traditional pre-finale goodbye, she returned in a gold bathing cap and matching cape to synchronised swimmer projections and slowly bubbling fountains, which erupted during On A Night Like This (particularly apt, I thought) but really came to life in All The Lovers. Squirting jets high into the arena, their eruptions were actually audible, and with laid down dancers suddenly rising from the small circular pool at the end of the heart-shaped catwalks, it all added up to a most spectacular finish, and one that I’ll remember for an awfully long time.

A fan of more almost 25 years, the spectacular Aphrodite – Les Folies marks a high in the career of Minogue, and rightly so. With the show going to the US, it’s a shame the water elements may be lost due to staging issues. Like a Las Vegas revue, it deserves the full staging and its breathtaking effect, and leaves the audience gasping for more, and leaving with memories of a very, very special evening.

[Image: Jelena Rudi/Kylie: Aphrodite World Tour Facebook page]

Kylie‘s been a bit of media darling on BBC radio recently. In the autumn she did a three-song live acoustic set for Radio 1′s Live Lounge, and last Wednesday, she was at the Beeb’s Maida Vale studios to perform a five-song, 20-minute set in the same style. While the first clutch of songs featured a beautiful torch song-style cover of Hurts’ Wonderful Life, the second featured no reinterpreted songs by other artists, but highlights from the Australian wonder’s 23-year musical career.

In front of an invited studio audience (I applied for tickets but was unfortunately unfortunate), ‘Min’ performed a lounge style version of Can’t Get You Out Of My Head, an orchestral variation of All The Lovers, a string-drenched haunting of Confide In Me, and rousing interpretations of In My Arms and new single Better Than Today. The first set of tracks for Radio 1 are the B-sides to Better Than Today (out 6 December), so fingers crossed this latest set get released, too.

Kylie also confirmed plans to release a whole album in the acoustic style next year. With pitch perfect vocal delivery and a stripped-down feel, it should be a belter. These two live sets have proved that the songs stand up on their own, without squelchy synths and multi-layered backing. If you missed the fantastic Maida Vale set, you can watch them on BBC Red Button until tomorrow, or alternatively, catch them on YouTube or at the BBC’s Radio 2 Ken Bruce clips page for the next 2 days.

Not released until 25 September, Get Outta My Way must be a contender for the best Kylie single of recent years. Once it’s lodged in your head, it refuses to go away. And although she’s used lighting effects before in her video clips, this film for the Aphrodite-sourced track uses human-sized magic light tables and firework-type projections to great effect (this is a preview, catch the glorious full-length 3 minute, 52 second video here). So, will catchy song + brilliant video = hit? Here’s hoping.