The past month has been a revitalizing one for Nicole Kidman; the actress was featured in the music video for Troye Sivan’s lead single “She’s the Best” and is also the namesake for Adéla’s newest single, “Nicole Kidman.” Born in 1967, the Academy Award winning Australian has always been hard to miss. With promotion slowing for Practical Magic 2, Kidman has somehow remained everywhere— not because of her upcoming roles, but because two pop stars have made her their muse.
So, why does everyone love Nicole Kidman?
The answer does not stem from one role, but rather from what Nicole Kidman has come to represent within entertainment. Following over four decades in the Hollywood machine, Kidman is no longer just an actress. She is a symbol of glamour, femininity, confidence, mystique, and a kookiness that only a movie star could make work. Her range has included Moulin Rouge! and Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, onto TV series The Hours and 2024’s Babygirl. Like a pop star, she has repeatedly reinvented herself, moving between serious dramas, thrillers, television, comedy, and experimental roles. Her ability to remain Classically Nicole Kidman while undergoing this illustrious, change-filled career may be what has drawn younger audiences to her.
Adéla’s new song “Nicole Kidman” supports this claim quite well. Released on September 4, 2026, alongside her debut album PRIMA, this song turns Kidman into a pop culture-ified It Girl. In the music video, Adéla recreates several of Kidman’s most recognizable roles, including Moulin Rouge! and Babygirl. The video even ends with Adéla recreating Kidman’s famous AMC advertisement. Rather than simply sharing admiration, Adéla aims to become the actress.
The lyrics make this idea even clearer. Adéla sings about corsets, glamour, sexuality, and being “in control,” essentially connecting these qualities to Kidman’s image (Roth). The reference to Moulin Rouge! is particularly fitting. Kidman’s character, Satine, is one of her most recognizable performances, portrayed using femininity, theatricality, and glamour. By using Kidman’s name as the title of her song, Adéla essentially turns Nicole Kidman into an adjective. To feel like Nicole is to feel beautiful, powerful, sexy, and completely in control.
In an interview with Emily Roth, Adéla even explained that her love for Kidman came after she attended a Golden Globes event and felt like a movie star. She later watched Eyes Wide Shut and fell even more in love with Kidman. For Adéla, Kidman represents the ultimate movie-star fantasy (Roth). This demonstrates that Kidman’s appeal moves beyond people who watched her movies when they first came out; a twenty-two year old pop star can look at her career and still see something aspirational.
Troye Sivan’s “She’s the Best” takes this love for Nicole in a separate direction. Instead of trying to become her, Sivan places her at the center of a life built around glamour, femininity, and seduction. Released on August 14, the music video for the single features Kidman as a mysterious, glamorous woman in a nightclub, where she drinks, smokes, dances alone and with Sivan himself (Vulture).
This video is interesting because Kidman is not acting; she is essentially just being Nicole Kidman. Her celebrity image is the point. Sivan sings about his love for powerful women, which may be what makes Kidman a easy choice for the video. Her presence and aura say glamour without her even needing to speak (InStyle). The message is simple: Nicole Kidman walks into a room, and everyone pays attention. She’s an icon.
Perhaps what makes their two recent music projects so interesting is Adéla and Sivan’s use of Kidman in such different ways. Adéla wants to feel like Nicole, while Sivan wants to celebrate Nicole. One worships her aesthetic, the other admires her icon status.
Maybe, the question is not why everyone loves Nicole Kidman; it’s what does Nicole Kidman mean.
For Adéla, she means glamour. For Sivan, she means femininity, confidence, and diva. For audiences, she represents decades of movie stardom while somehow remaining relevant for generations who were not even alive when Eyes Wide Shut premiered. Adéla can sing about wanting to feel like her, while Sivan can build an entire music video around her presence, because audiences already understand the reference.
All this to say, we all seem to know what it means to “feel like Nicole,” even if we can’t exactly explain why.
Works Cited
Hattersley, Giles. “‘Where Am I Going? And What’s Next?’: Nicole Kidman Is Keeping Her Heart Open.” British Vogue, 13 Aug. 2026, www.vogue.co.uk/article/nicole-kidman-british-vogue-interview.
“Nicole Kidman.” EBSCO Research Starters, EBSCO, www.ebsco.com/research-starters/film/nicole-kidman.
“Nicole Kidman.” IMDb, IMDb, www.imdb.com/name/nm0000173/.
“Nicole Kidman Dances at a Club in a Plunging LBD for Latest Appearance.” InStyle, 14 Aug. 2026.
Roth, Emily. “Adéla Channels All Things ‘Nicole Kidman’ in Sultry New Music Video.” People, 4 Sept. 2026.
“Troye Sivan Takes Brave Stance of Gagging for Nicole Kidman in New Music Video.” Vulture, 14 Aug. 2026.
“The Katseye Reject’s New Album “Prima” is Resurrecting Nicole Kidman.” YouTube, uploaded by Good Noticings, www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7iGYN7SeAM.