Kylie Minogue: Greatest Gay Icon?

The beautiful Aussie songstress has enraptured her American fans for over a decade and as she prepares to embark on her first stateside tour, Minogue hasn’t forgotten the love and support of her favorite fan base: the gay community.

In a recent interview with LGBT magazine Instinct, this singer recalled the hardships she faced early in her music career after leaving the successful Aussie/UK soap Neighbours. "When I started out in music, going from acting to singing, that transition was very successful, but I also got flack for it. Many hurtful things were said. It wasn't easy,” she remembers.

"I was only 19 and I think the gay audience kind of picked up on that and decided to defend me and adopt me,” Minogue says of her loyal gay fans. “They saw I was being criticized for being myself."

She was once voted the greatest gay icon of all time, besting veteran diva’s like Cher, Liza, Dolly, and Judy Garland for the title. At the time, Minogue reflected, "A lot of record companies market directly towards 'the pink pound'. But I never did that. They kind of adopted me instead.

"Somebody once said to me, 'Gay icons, there's a lot of tragedy in their lives. But you don't really have that.' I said, 'I've had a lot of tragic hairdos and outfits. I think that makes up for it.'"

Catch the costumes, choreography and Kylie-fever when the first ever US tour kicks off in San Francisco on September 30^th. You can also keep up with the icon’s everyday on her Twitter.