Nicole Scherzinger has revealed she was left ‘devastated’ after being slammed for keeping her fans waiting nearly an hour during a recent concert.
The American performer, 47, is best known for being part of the girl group the Pussycat Dolls between 2003 and 2010.
She then she’s gone on to serve as a judge on several talent shows, including The X Factor UK, Australia’s Got Talent and The Masked Singer.
In recent years she’s also appeared on stage, including starring as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, a role that earnt her both a Tony and Laurence Olivier awards.
Earlier this month she staged a one-off sold-out solo show at the Royal Albert Hall in London, An Evening With Nicole Scherzinger, which was billed as ‘bringing together beloved hits from both the worlds of the West End and pop music alongside a live band’.
However, when it came time to hit the stage, she was 45 minutes late, with audience members quickly sharing their disdain online.
Several videos posted on TikTok explained what went wrong – and didn’t hold back.
One declared: ’50 mins late. 6 songs and then a 30min+ interval. Scheduled to end at 9.30pm but went on until 10.45pm. Hundreds leaving early. Nicole Scherzinger at the Royal Albert Hall was a disaster.
Others said they were left ‘disappointed’, while one slammed the delays as ‘disrespectful’. Some went so far as to accuse her of being a ‘diva’.
A few weeks on, Nicole has now spoken about the delays and how she was left ‘horrified’ by leaving her fans waiting.
Shutting down speculation she was ‘twiddling her thumbs’ backstage, Nicole said she was running around making sure her show went off without a hitch.
However, she said that a timings mix-up meant she had no idea how late she really was.
‘It wasn’t until after I was done that I found out people had been sitting there for so long,’ she told The Sun.
‘I was devastated, and I was horrified, ’cause I was like, “Oh my gosh, I would be frustrated as well if I were told to sit there for so long”. I think they had to be in their seats for, like 7.15pm, or something, but I thought my show was due to start at 8pm.
‘I just want to thank people, thank everyone, because everybody stayed and, by the end, they were all up on their feet dancing with me.’
She added: ‘I want to thank them for their patience and their generosity for sticking it out with me and I appreciate their understanding.’
Nicole also revealed that her schedule had been so jam-packed in the lead-up, she’d not even had time to do a full run-through with her orchestra.
‘I had an orchestra that I had never met before, and I didn’t even get to soundcheck all my songs with them. You’re dealing with putting the show together and I had a meet-and-greet. I was just so focused on trying to make it the best show that I could for the Royal Albert Hall. I’m busting my balls back there to make sure it’s the best show for everyone,’ she said.
She went on to say that she decided even if she was ’15 minutes late’, the ‘most important thing is I put on the most memorable, best show that I can for these people’.
‘It’s a wonder I made it out 15 or 20 minutes late after I thought my time was 8pm,’ she said of the show, which had been scheduled to start at 7.30pm.
In the interview, Nicole reflected on her career to date, admitting that she’s been left ‘disheartened and disappointed’ in the past as people questioned her talent after coming from the ‘pop world’.
However, she believed her ‘talent and hard work would eventually speak for themselves’, adding that now the ‘triumph and the victory is that much sweeter’.
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