KEY POINTS:
Would we be, could we be, should we be so lucky? That was question on everyone's lips as they filed into Vector Arena last night for Kylie Minogue's first New Zealand concert.
Yes, she may have grown up just across the Tasman, but the pop star has never
before brought one of her famous stage shows to New Zealand.
For 21 years, Kylie fans have been deprived of hearing any of her hits, live in concert.
So as the sellout crowd filled the arena, they were nervous. What if she only played her new stuff?
The concert was supposed to support last year's album X, her 10th studio album. Would we go another 20 years without hearing I Should Be So Lucky her worldwide smash from 1988?
What about Better the Devil You Know, Spinning Around and the indelible Can't Get You Out of My Head?
But as the opening track Speakerphone gave way to the familiar "la la la" intro of Can't Get You Out of My Head, all such fears were allayed.
Earlier this year, concert promoter and long-time Kylie friend Michael Gudinski told the Herald Kylie's career-long New Zealand snub was because of our lack of decent venues. We had no indoor space big enough to stage a Kylie spectacular.
With that in mind - combined with the tour's reported cost of $24 million and a custom made wardrobe by Jean Paul Gaultier - expectations were understandably high.
Perhaps a little too high. It was hard to tell if the subdued crowd were unimpressed or overwhelmed as Kylie worked her way through an early set of Ruffle My Feathers, In Your Eyes, Heartbeat Rock and Wow.
It wasn't until the disco anthem Spinning Around kicked in that the crowd finally conceded to Kylie's charms, jumping out of their seats for the night's first proper dance.
And charming she is. The diminutive singer regularly stopped for chats throughout the night - at one point turning up the house lights to single ardent fans out of the crowd for chitchat.
She may not be the world's best singer, but she is a star entertainer.
As she emerged after her sixth costume change - earlier ensembles included a black and gold futuristic Grecian number; a hot pink Grid Iron get up; a sequinned sailor suit; red bell hop ensemble; jodhpurs and full-length tails; and finally, a silver sequinned corset with wide legged trousers - it's safe to say expectations were well and truly met.
Accompanied by a team of 10 back up dancers - who transformed from writhing robots to a cheerleading squad and more - Kylie delivered the most colourful spectacle to grace Vector's stage since it opened last year.
Not even the three-ring circus of Justin Timberlake's show could compete with Kylie's sparkling, sequinned non-stop pop assault, which traversed every era of her career from the 80s to present day.
And yes, we were lucky enough to hear that song. But the best luck was that she came at all. After 21 years, it was worth the wait.
