The Pussycat Dolls review – Nicole Scherzinger’s star power dominates fraught reunion

Utilita Arena, Birmingham First announced in 2019 and now launching with just three of the original lineup, the Dolls whip up a whirlwind of hair-flipping and put on a decent spectacle The road to the Pussycat Dolls’ comeback tour has been fraught. Originally announced in 2019 wi

Utilita Arena, Birmingham First announced in 2019 and now launching with just three of the original lineup, the Dolls whip up a whirlwind of hair-flipping and put on a decent spectacle The road to the Pussycat Dolls’ comeback tour has been fraught. Originally announced in 2019 with all but one of the group’s original members on board, the pandemic and then a legal dispute, led to its cancellation. After a few years of silence, three members – Nicole Scherzinger, Ashley Roberts and Kimberly Wyatt – shared plans for a 53-date world tour as a trio.

Poor ticket sales nixed the US leg, though, while Maga-supporting former member Jessica Sutta alleged she was left out of the reunion because she was viewed as “a liability” (the group did not comment). Does a girlband ostensibly created as a dance troupe work as a trio? While Scherzinger’s voice pushed them into pop stardom – they scored six UK Top 3 hits in their initial 2005-09 run – their appeal was largely the fierce group choreography.

On stage in Birmingham, they give it their best go. The nearly two-hour show is a whirlwind of hair-flipping, booty-shaking and synchronised strutting. Throughout When I Grow Up, Beep and I Don’t Need a Man, Scherzinger is still on lead vocals, predictably so after her recent Tony award-winning run on Broadway in Sunset Blvd.

Roberts and Wyatt are given some time to shine, though: their solos amid the clacking pots-and-pans percussion of Wait a Minute feel pointed, as if to say that, yes, their mics are on. Continue reading...