Kylie Minogue releases country-pop banger 'Dancing'

Kylie Minogue is entering her golden year with a Shania-sized hoot of a country-pop banger.

The Australian diva released the new tune, “Dancing,” early Friday, treating fans to the first official preview of her upcoming 14th studio album, Golden. The tune serves as both a welcome return to form for the singer-songwriter — who hasn’t released a full-length LP of completely original music since 2014’s Kiss Me Once — and a refreshing brush with sounds Minogue hasn’t explored in depth since her 1997 studio set Impossible Princess.

While the “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” singer has made her mark on the global scene with a robust discography of dance-pop hits, “Dancing” feels like a deep cut for the 49-year-old, as the lyrics double as a playful call for a wild night out and a touching tribute to living life to the fullest before it’s too late.

“No one wants to stay at home / Nobody wants to be alone / When you come knocking, I’ll be at your door,” she sings with twangy inflection atop bright guitars and perky handclaps. The organic-leaning instrumentation gives way to a mammoth chorus fleshed out with electronic glitches, as Minogue sings, “When I go out, I wanna go out dancing.”

“I was a little bit fragile when I started working on this album,” Minogue recently told BBC Radio 2’s Chris Evans of crafting the album, which was partially inspired by her breakup from actor Joshua Sasse. “It was a really good time to be honest and work through everything, and give a snapshot of where I am in my life.” She added, “A lot of it was done in Nashville, and that taught me about putting more story into the song …. And then you can take that song and produce that any way you want.”

Golden is due April 6. Listen to “Dancing” above.