Kylie Minogue and Chris Martin started off as fans of one another before they became close friends.
“I was a Coldplay fan from, I mean Millennium. I may have worn out the CD,” Minogue, 55, exclusively told Us Weekly at the TIME 100 Gala on Thursday, April 25, about the “beautiful words” Martin wrote about her in a sweet letter. “I was just so, there’s a mutual respect and admiration and friendship and love there.”
Minogue was one of the honorees for TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. Earlier this month, Martin, 47, penned a sweet tribute for his friend, which Minogue was “very touched” by.
“Kylie Minogue was one of the first people I ever met from TV. She was a pop star, and I had watched her in Neighbours every day for a decade,” Martin wrote for TIME. “So when she came to an early Coldplay show, I’d already been her fan for nearly 15 years.”
The rock star shared that Minogue was “so inspiring” to him as she completes all her projects with “passion and dedication.”
“She always seems to be 10 years ahead of everyone else, and she’s an artist who knows how to be of service, making songs that fans go on to love for years,” he continued. “Kylie creates a space where everyone is safe to be themselves. When I look at her I feel hope. She’s proof there are humans who don’t judge.”
Both Minogue and the Coldplay frontman are titans in the music industry and have become trailblazers in their respective genres. However, Minogue believes for her and Martin’s artistry, “there’s always more to discover” and they can lean on each other as they achieve more milestones.
“We’re probably both at an age where you can stop and reflect on some of what’s been and celebrate,” she explained. “I can’t talk for him, but I’ll say from me, that having decades now of a relationship with so many people, for some, it might be a fleeting relationship, some might’ve just come [to know] me [in] the last year. But it’s all about connection and energy.”
Minogue has been a pop star for nearly four decades, and she acknowledged that she has gotten new fans recently thanks to her 2023 single “Padam Padam”’ going viral and becoming an anthem in the LGBTQIA+ community.
“When I was starting out, I probably didn’t think of it that way. It’s just about the music and the performance and the delivery. But as time passes, I’m just so amazed that I’m part of some people’s lives,” she told Us. “People will never meet as they are very much a part of mine and there’s something cosmic and beautiful about that.”
With reporting by Andrew Nodell