The "Pea Princess" will pop on to the Shanghai and Beijing stage to electrify pop fans. She could make fans' eyes pop, too, for if grapevine is to be believed she will wear specially designed Chinese costumes on stage.

Kylie Minogue hits Shanghai tomorrow, performs there on Saturday, and could hold a meet-and-greet in Beijing on Sunday before wowing her fans in the capital on Monday.

The venue for the Australian pop star's first concert in China is Shanghai's Hongkou Soccer Stadium.

In Beijing, she will get a chance to captivate her audience at the Workers' Stadium. The capital show promises to be a sellout, for organizers say about 90 percent of the tickets have already been sold out.

The Sina.com website, which nicknamed the diminutive Minogue (she is just 1.53 m tall) "Pea Princess", has even compared her to Madonna, the top-earning female crooner of all time.

"The little princess of Europe and the US is worthy of the status of Madonna," Sina has said. "They stand shoulder to shoulder - their style and charm have won them countless fans."

The KylieX2008 Tour has already covered Europe and America, playing to an estimated half a million fans.

Minogue stopped off in Dubai last week to open the multi-billion-dollar Atlantis resort with a concert that earned her a cool $1.5 million. The guest list there included Oprah Winfrey, Janet Jackson, Charlize Theron, Robert DeNiro, Denzel Washington and The Duchess of York.

Minogue began her showbiz career as a 12-year-old, appearing on TV shows in Australia, before getting her big break in the soap opera Neighbours.

She then parlayed this exposure into a 20-year singing career, moving to London and selling more than 60 million records, including hits like The Loco-Motion, I Should Be So Lucky and Can't Get You Out of My Head.

Her fans in China, too, can't get her out of their head.

(China Daily November 26, 2008)