Minogue is at number one in the UK chart

The singer - well known herself for her skimpy outfits and erotic poses - criticised what she called the "pornographing" of pop culture.

Speaking to Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, she said she felt like blushing at some hip-hop videos.

Her comments chime with a new US study suggesting pop has become "cruder, more self-centred and sex-orientated".

Researchers at the University of Colorado found that use of the word "love" in songs had reached an all-time low.

Minogue, 35, said: "When I see some of these hip-hop videos I'm as horrified as my grandmother and think, 'Oh God, what gross things are they doing there?'

Minogue decried what she called the "pornographing" of pop culture

"In advertising and on lifestyle magazines you see more and more of a pornographing of pop culture."

She said older images of her in revealing clothing were harmless compared to what she saw in the media.

"That I once wore something very tight and short pants is nothing compared to a lot of things you see today," she said.

Minogue - at the top of the UK chart with her single Slow - said the song's video was a conscious move against the abundance of explicit imagery.

Although she is seen lying in tight clothes between men in bathing suits, she said: "It's a big step backwards.

"I'm just lying there and not doing anything exciting....My ideal of eroticism is more Brigitte Bardot."

The US study on the biggest hits of the last 40 years said the "lost innocence" of pop was partly down to the sexual revolution and greater affluence.

It also pointed to the rise of hip-hop as being instrumental in changing the type of music preferred by young people.