Kylie Minogue's first time was well worth the wait.

"It was absolutely phenomenal," raves the diminutive dance-pop diva from a Bay Area hotel the morning after.

"Directly afterward, there was a lot of whooping and hollering. And they wheeled in a trolley of champagne for everyone to have a little toast.

"Now I've got to do it all again tonight."

It, of course, refers to the next date on the 41-year-old singer's first full-fledged North American tour after nearly 20 years of global superstardom (what did you think we were talking about?).

The nine-show, six-city jaunt -- a greatest-hits tour designed to reward the singer's small but loyal fan base on this continent while testing the waters for future jaunts -- kicked off in Oakland last Wednesday and hits Toronto's Air Canada Centre tonight (her only Canadian date on this tour) before wrapping up with a three-night stand in New York City.

Even though she was still recovering from that debut -- "forgive me if I can't speak properly; I'm still getting into gear" -- the Australian pixie made time for an exclusive Canadian print interview with Sun Media about her tour, her next album and how she always seems to end up in corsets.

Are you sore today?

I am! Good question! I ache. My back is killing me. But it gets easier once we get going and go on the road, because we don't have to do two dress rehearsals a day.

What took you so long to make it to North America?

Many things. The first thing is that financially it was never a viable option when you look at the scale of my shows. Trust me, I tried. Even now, I've never had so many budget meetings with any tour. But I wasn't prepared to sacrifice anything. I just reached a point where I felt it was now or never, so we had to find a way to make it work. Secondly, I'm not that known in North America. So that was a minor stumbling block! (laughs) My audience isn't great in numbers but it's fierce in loyalty. And in a roundabout way, it feels so right now, that perhaps earlier it wouldn't have worked.

Why does it feel right?

I had a taste of touring in countries and cities I've never been to before on the X2008 tour. South America, for example. I'd never been there, but it went exceptionally well. So I was really inspired. And I've never felt more comfortable touring. There are no shortcuts to learning your craft, and I feel that after 20 years, I'm starting to get the hang of it! (laughs)

You have so much global success. How important is it to crack North American and what are you willing to do?

Well, I think what I have to do is just focus and really do it. As you say, there's been so much else going on that it's been an issue -- Do I want to spend a year travelling around playing every venue possible or do I want to do a dozen incredible new projects that will advance me in the territories where I am known. It's kind of a balancing act. So we'll see.

I understand the show is made up of the best bits of your previous tours?

I thought it was appropriate to make it a best-of. There are parts of certain shows over the last 10 years that are fan favourites -- certain elements that I love performing and that I thought they would like to see. But everything feels fresh. And there are new pieces. One of my favourite bits is the new Hollywood segment, which consists of three ballads. It's just beautiful. And there are new musical arrangements.

And you've got new outfits from Jean-Paul Gaultier. Some of them look difficult to manouevre in, never mind sing.

Absolutely! (laughs) Comfort doesn't exactly play a major role in my costumes. I keep fighting for it, but it doesn't happen. I always find myself trussed up in a corset saying, 'How did I end up in this?' But it's just part of what I do.

With seven costume changes over a two-hour show, that must be crazy backstage.

Oh yeah. I have four people in the quick-change area. And it's like a Grand Prix Formula 1 pit stop. There might be a lot going on onstage, but there's a lot of action there as well. And there's always a zip that gets stuck or something that goes wrong. There's always a little panic. Last night, I just made it onto the pommel horse in time. I leapt like Wonder Woman onto it just before the doors opened. I wouldn't do that in a rational moment, but with the adrenaline going, somehow I made it.

In that gym section, you end up doing the splits while the dancers hold your legs over their heads. That's just crazy.

The fact that I can still do it is crazy! Of course, I never practise it until I have to do it.

You're previewing a new song, I see.

Yes, it's called Better Than Today. It's fun to have fresh material. And the crowd seemed to like it, so it gives me added momentum to go back into the studio once these shows are done and finish up my next album. I'm about one-quarter done. And I think that song is the launch pad. It starts off with a very pure electro sound and then there's a chugging guitar through it. So it's got a little more of an organic feel than X. I want to have songs that are true to my dance roots, but could just as easily include a guitar. It's all about the songs and not being dependent on production.

Have you read Nick Cave's new book The Death of Bunny Munro? He has a character who's obsessed with you. How do you feel about that?

I haven't read it yet. But in a way, it makes sense because Nick's been very open about that over the years (laughs).