Press views: Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue plays 20 dates in Australia before the tour hits the UK

Pop princess Kylie Minogue has returned to the stage for the first time since being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005.

Her Showgirl Homecoming tour kicked off in Sydney on Saturday with a performance of Better The Devil You Know.

Fans had waited 18 months for the concert, which was postponed when Minogue started treatment last year.

Australia's newspapers gave their verdict on whether it was worth the wait.

HERALD-SUN - CAMERON ADAMS

Kylie Minogue has rewarded her faithful - and patient - Australian fans with a reworked Showgirl tour that boasts several additions for the fans.

Minogue has added several tracks from 1997's Impossible Princess album, a creative high but a sales disappointment for the star at the time.

Minogue goes Dalek with dialogue from cult sci-fi TV show Dr Who introducing Can't Get You Out of My Head, followed by robotic album track Light Years, another new addition.

At two-and-a-half hours, the new show is now longer than those on the British leg.

An interval has been included to give Minogue, still recovering from treatment for breast cancer, a rest during the gruelling show.

She dances less than in previous tours, letting her concentrate more on her vocals, which shine brightest during Confide in Me and a stark cover of Over the Rainbow.

SUNDAY MAIL - NUI TE KOHAIN

Courageous Kylie Minogue made an emotional return to the stage last night, weeping with joy as she realised the magnitude of the moment.

In the wings, Minogue's boyfriend, actor Olivier Martinez, her parents, Ron and Carol, manager Terry Blamey and promoter Michael Gudinski shed happy tears for a homecoming queen and survivor.

Minogue's loyal road crew and production team also sobbed.

The setlist takes happily from Minogue's 20 years as a recording artist.

Her show-stopping costumes are by the world's best designers, including Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano and Dolce & Gabbana.

The Lido in Paris loaned 13 head-dresses and costumes for Kylie's dancers. It is the first time these items have been allowed to leave France.

But the statistics cannot measure emotion. And, as Minogue stood at centre stage last night with tears, smiles and incredible self-belief, all the numbers seemed insignificant.

THE AUSTRALIAN - IAIN SHEDDEN

It was a fittingly fabulous homecoming. A standing ovation before she had sung a note. An audience that wanted to party and to show the star they cared.

And at the centre of it all was Kylie Minogue, returning to the stage for the first time since discovering she had breast cancer 18 months ago.

This emotionally charged beginning set the standard for the rest of the evening. If she was loved and respected before, the adulation has only increased during her recovery.

A Minogue show is not a celebration of great singing ability or musical flair, it's a celebration of some great and some not-so-great pop songs that the star happens to sing.

It's a celebration of gay culture. It's a celebration of going clubbing on the weekends.

It's about glamour, escape, spectacle. It's not about vocal dexterity and nuance.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH - CLAIR WEAVER

She may be tiny, but Kylie Minogue stood tall in her return to the stage last night.

More than 11,000 people rose as one and greeted Minogue with a standing, screaming ovation as the show kicked off with a multitude of hits and a cavalcade of costume and set changes.

More than just a concert, it was an extravaganza - a piece of musical theatre on a grand scale.

And her delirious fans loved it, singing and clapping along with an almost evangelical fervour.

The wait during her recovery had clearly been worth it.