Kylie Minogue prides herself as one of the musical influences of rising pop phenomenon Lady Gaga.

Kylie got her start on the Australian soap Neighbors in the 1980s, and has been putting down tracks on wax since Gaga was in diapers. Nonetheless, the singer doesn’t mind being compared to her “Paparazzi” pop counterpart and is proud to think her early work has inspired the young superstar.

“I think there’s an element of me in her, but you’d also have to add into that mix all of the other women we’ve been talking about,” Kylie, 42, reveals in the current issue of BlackBook Magazine. “It’s all part of a chain. In as much as dance music has gone mainstream, I’d love to think that I’ve played a part in that.”

The “All The Lovers” — who also credits herself with having played a part in making dance-based music more popular on the airwaves — can only hope that her forthcoming album Aphrodite is as successful as Gaga’s multiplatinum-selling debut, The Fame.

“Aphrodite is the goddess of love, and as far as the music goes, there’s a feeling of euphoria on this one. Am I happy right now? What’s happy? I have moments of happiness and sometimes they’re even strung together, but I definitely have dark moments, too. Thankfully, those don’t last very long. I can go down very quickly, but I won’t stay there.”

Do you think Kylie Minogue’s early hits, like “Locomotion,” may have inspired Lady Gaga?