Minogue co-wrote the song with Camille "Kamille" Purcell, Anya Jones, and producers Duck Blackwell, Jon Green, and Richard "Biff" Stannard.

It was conceived after Minogue, Blackwell, Green, and Stannard collaborated on various songs in Surrey and asked Purcell and Jones to assist them with new material.

Commercially, it reached the top ten of component charts in Australia, Latvia, Malta, New Zealand, Nicaragua, and the United Kingdom.

Sophie Muller directed the music video, which featured Minogue in various outfits on a neo-futuristic set and received positive reviews from publications.

[1] After their sessions, Nelson proposed to Minogue the idea of working with Anya Jones and Camille "Kamille" Purcell, which she accepted.

[1] Minogue described the initial demo as "out of place", with "edgy" lyrics, "exaggerated" processed vocals, and a "very deep club" sound, but that it "softened and finessed" as the song progressed.

[1] In an interview on The Zane Lowe Shoe, Minogue talked about the process with all collaborators: They came in with this incredible energy [Jones and Purcell]... 'Tension', it’s one of those ones that you don’t really even know how it happened.

[a] According to a Shore Fire Media press release, the song is a "dance floor smash" that is "full of euphoric abandon and is the natural successor to the 'Padam Padam' throne.

"[14] Furthermore, the song is written in F major and includes a variety of instrumentation, such as distorted and robotic vocals, auto-tune, and piano riffs.

The sweet melodic verses are paired with a hard and punchy hook, recalling the dance music of the last couple of decades.

[6][8][16] Hanna Mylrea of Rolling Stone compared its "vocal inflections and jangly piano riff" to the work of British singer Charli XCX, while Devon Chodzin of Paste compared it to the song "Eat Your Man" by Australian producer Dom Dolla and Canadian singer Nelly Furtado.

[45] "Tension" was used as a lip-sync song in the sixth season of the British reality competition show RuPaul's Drag Race UK.

"[10] The Guardian writer Kitty Empire described the song as "another dancefloor come-hither, but here, the coy sound of heartbeats is replaced by fruitier lines such as 'touch me right there'.

The sweet melodic verses are paired with a hard and punchy hook, recalling the dance music of the last couple of decades.

"[23] Peter Piatkowski of PopMatters praised the track's inclusion on its parent album, writing, "The song also showcases just how accomplished Minogue is as a vocalist [...] The song’s inherent queerness means that Minogue dials the camp factor way up, and she slides into a stylized, near-scat that shows off a surprisingly supple and impressive range.

"[6] Crack editor Michael Cragg called it "hot, heavy, and primarily controlled by Kylie's deepest desires," while Retropop writer Connor Groto described it as a "equally sensual electro-pop stormer underpinned by pulsing beats.

[54] Despite giving the parent album a glowing review, Jeremy Allen of The Quietus was critical of Minogue's vocals on the title track, writing that "It's auto-tuned and chopped up to the point where Minogue's vocal seems to have been replaced by a bawdy replicant with an eerie, automated American twang, juddering jarringly with the machine-like production.

"[18] Similarly, Loud and Quiet writer described Minogue's vocals as "sounding more like a computer barking commands than the communication of any flesh-and-blood romance.

[d] Beth Ashley of PinkNews highlighted the song's viral phenomenon of internet memes created on social media and commented, "To say that 'Tension' has sent LGBTQ+ fans into a frenzy would be an understatement [...]".

[f] The music video was directed by British filmmaker Sophie Muller and was filmed at XR (Extended Reality) Studios in Los Angeles.

He added, "Think 'Did It Again' alter egos, a splash of the "Come into My World" MCU (Minogue Cinematic Universe), a bit of 'GBI: German Bold Italic' experimentalism and Fever-era futurism, mixed with Dr. Who, a dash of The Fifth Element-and the Moulin Rouge!