[1][2] The late 1990s saw a brief return to music for Minogue, after the singer reinvented herself as a dance artist with her third album, Girl (1997), and its lead single "All I Wanna Do".

[3] Her fourth album, Neon Nights (2003), became the most successful of her career; it was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry and spawned the hit singles "Who Do You Love Now?

[9][10] In 1988, Minogue departed from Young Talent Time to continue her acting career, appearing as the rebellious tomboyish teenager Emma Jackson on the soap opera Home and Away in 1989.

[13] Subsequent singles "Success", "Jump to the Beat", "Baby Love" and "I Don't Wanna Take This Pain" all reached the UK top 40.

"[9] Minogue's interest in dance music and clubbing influenced her third album, Girl, released in September 1997, which featured collaborations with musicians such as Brian Higgins of Xenomania.

The album presented a more sophisticated and adult style of dance music, but despite generally positive reviews, failed to make the British top 50.

In January 1999, following her performance at the 1998 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Minogue released the festival's first official theme song, "Everlasting Night".

[19] In March 2003, Minogue released her fourth album, Neon Nights, which the BBC called "a pleasant cocktail of pop sophistication, club culture and accessibility".

Following extensive airplay by North American dance radio, Warner Music Group released the album in the United States in late 2003.

Described by MSN Entertainment as a "real grower" and noted for its "snip snapping house beats and '80s flecked synths", the song peaked at number seven on the UK singles chart and also made the top 20 in Australia.

[36] In February 2015, Minogue announced that, after a long hiatus, she planned to make her musical comeback at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

[37] Following the announcement, Minogue, British rapper Reece Robertson and the official Sydney Mardi Gras profiles launched a mysterious online campaign on social media featuring the #pressplay hashtag.

At the end of February, Sydney Mardi Gras shared a YouTube link to a video called #pressplay featuring the extended mix of "Summer of Love".

[50] She mentored the Boys category and selected Leon Jackson, Rhydian Roberts and Andy Williams to represent her in the live rounds of the competition.

[54] She chose Daniel Evans, Rachel Hylton and Ruth Lorenzo as her final three contestants for the live shows and was assisted by Spice Girls member Emma Bunton.

[55] Throughout the fifth series, several people in the entertainment industry, including Ronan Keating,[56] Noel Gallagher[57] and Graham Norton[58] questioned Minogue's judging credentials and mentoring ability.

On 22 November 2008, during a live broadcast of the programme, Minogue broke down in tears and was unable to introduce one of her acts, Rachel Hylton, following an on-air row with Louis Walsh over a choice of song.

She chose Rachel Adedeji, Lucie Jones and Stacey Solomon as her final three acts to compete in the live shows and was assisted at the judges' houses stage by her older sister, Kylie Minogue.

[65] She mentored the Boys category selecting Nicolo Festa, Matt Cardle and Aiden Grimshaw as her final three, with Paije Richardson as her wildcard act.

Other The X Factor judges who were interviewed included Gary Barlow, Walsh, Tulisa, Rowland and Simon Cowell as well as the host Dermot O'Leary.

In June 2013, Minogue joined Elle Macpherson and Tyson Beckford on the judging panel for the ninth series of Sky Living's Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model.

It was after this series that Minogue was offered the role on The X Factor UK after Cowell thought she proved good as a judge on Australia's Got Talent.

Australia's Got Talent returned for a fourth season in 2010,[78] and Minogue was the only original judge to remain on the panel as producers revamped the series.

Minogue returned for the seventh season in 2015 for the final time as a judge where she mentored the Girls Category and ended up losing all of her acts by the 7th week of the show.

Since joining The X Factor and Australia's Got Talent in 2007, Minogue has become a Style Icon in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom, receiving critical acclaim from various fashion designers such as Victoria Beckham and wearing dresses from J'Aton Couture, Antonio Berardi, Dolce & Gabbana, Marchesa, Philip Armstrong, Carla Zampatti, Gucci and Aurelio Costarella and has featured on fashion magazines like Cosmopolitan, InStyle and Vogue.

The praise Minogue got from the tabloids on The X Factor led her to set up her own fashion label with Tabitha Somerset-Webb called Project D, as well as a fragrance.

[110] In early 2002, she began dating music producer and Bros bassist Craig Logan, whom she met while recording material for Neon Nights.

[113] Minogue gave birth via caesarean section to an 8 lb 3oz/4 kg boy,[114] at Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 5 July 2010.

[124] Minogue released a statement on the issue: I want to clear up exactly what happened on last night's X Factor show and post my sincere apologies to anyone who took offence.

[128] Minogue openly supports gay rights causes for social equality and believes that same-sex marriages should be accepted by all governments.