The Pussycat Dolls are back – Kimberly Wyatt, Nicole Scherzinger and Ashley Roberts – and rest assured they have still got it! As they proved last night with a stunning performance in Birmingham, the first night of the UK leg of their world “PCD Forever” tour.
Formed in LA by choreographer Robin Antin in the 90s as a burlesque dance troupe, and then joining forces with producer Jimmy Iovine in 2003 to establish the group as a brand and serious recording entity, scoring six UK top three chart hits between 2005 and 2009. “Don’t Cha” being the biggest and still their “theme” tune today.
The original six-piece disbanded and there were a few reunion attempts and some messy legal stuff, before they became a trio and reunited for the single “Club Song” and announced the PCD Forever Tour, that began in June 2026 and was announced as 53 dates across the UK, Europe and North America.
However, in May 2026 the group cancelled all but one North American dates due to low ticket sales. To celebrate the group’s 20th anniversary, reissues of their two studio albums, “PCD” and “Doll Domination” were released in May 2026 with limited edition vinyl LPS and CDs.
“PCD Forever” included several new remixes of the Pussycat Dolls’ singles, such as the viral remix by Showmusik of “Don’t Cha”. “PCD (Remixed)“, was released in April 2026 and included the music video versions with the dance breaks of “Beep” and “Buttons”.
The UK tour offers up nine shows in Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, London’s 02 and Dublin. It is their first tour as a trio in 17 years.
Before the headliners last night we get two support acts; Deja Vu and legendary rapper Lil’ Kim. Ms Kim rocking up a wee bit late so her set was cut short, as apparently she turned up to the Utilita arena in Sheffield by mistake! Sat Nav is your friend love! Cannot bring you pix of Kim as she banned press snappers from taking her picture.
Soon after the show a good number of fans took to socials to have a bit of a pop at Lil’ Kim for being late and reliance on backing tracks. Deja Vu went on really early (presumably because Kim was late) and had finished by the time our photographer arrived. But he got some stunning shots of Nicole, Ashley and Kimberly as you can see…
Last night’s 23-song Pussycat Dolls set was slickly choregraphed for the three Dolls and their dance troupe – Ashley and Kimberly are both great dancers – as you’d expect, and there were of course, costume changes.
A show fit for the Vegas strip in spectacle, glitz and glamour and borrowing heavily from the group’s burlesque origins.
Nicole now assumes the lead singer role, and it has to be said she has a fantastic voice and looks a million dollars. Worth a lot more I bet, as she owns part of the rights to the Pussycat Dolls brand!
All three get their chance for solo spots throughout the show and all three are in fine form vocally, individually and as a unit. They deliver all the hits and more.
The venue holds 15,800 in full arena mode or just under 7,000 in it second format and that is what this concert used and was full. Among the audience was Will Young sporting his new “Dick Dastardly” moustache, or it was a spitting image doppelganger if not Will.
They open with “When I Grow Up” and then “Beep” and “Watcha Think About That”, before “Bottle Pop” which includes elements of Beyoncé’s “Run The World (Girls)”. Then “I Don’t Need a Man”, “Wait a Minute”, “I Hate This Part” and “Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)”.
It is then solo spot turn for Kimberly who delivers “Glaciers” and “Walking On The Sun”, and then the track she did with Aggro Santos, “Candy”, before her final number, the Icona Pop cover “I Love It!”. Ashley up next with her single solo offering: “Woman Up”.
Superstar Nicole gets her half a dozen solo songs, kicking off with Andrew Lloyd Webber song, “As If We Never Said Goodbye”, from the stage musical Sunset Boulevard, in which she starred in London’s West End, and for which she won a Tony award for her part in its Broadway run. Tonight she gets OTT pyrotechnics for that opening number of her solo set. Faultless vocals.
Then five of her own songs: “Whatever U Like”, “Right There”, “Don’t Hold Your Breath”, “Wet” and Poison”. Nice to report that for the whole show the vocals were definitely live for all three singers and not mimed or bolstered by tracks. And the sound mix was spot on.
Then back as a group with six tracks, starting with the smash hit “Buttons” – which features dancers from Kimberly’s dance academy – and Stickwitu”, and then “Hush Hush; Hush Hush”, Club Song”, “React”. To close, the banger “Don’t Cha” which sounded mighty, sticking in your head as the perfect pop earworm.
The stage set flashes up the words “Superstar” and “Sexy” at times and this show offers all of that and more. Nicole, who was born in Honolulu 48 years ago as Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, really is a big star now and her stage presence is as big as the brand Pussycat Dolls.
The other two are good at what they do, but apart from the Pussycats’ hits which need and deserve all three of them, this is the Nicole show with two backing singers and some dancers effectively. That means no disrespect to Ashley or Kimberley at all. They are both superb.
But with Nicole’s global profile for her role on Simon Cowell’s US TV talent show and her past love life with racing driver Lewis Hamilton, she is THE star here and she shines brightly. Nicole was and is to Pussycat Dolls what Beyoncé was to Destiny’s Child. From day one. No matter who else comes and goes in those groups.
This almost two hour extravaganza is value for money [tickets from about £80 to just over £100] if you love their hits and want to experience a slick all-girl pop group with all the dance moves you can imagine.
Before they inevitably pack it in again and Nicole goes off to make more millions and an even bigger profile, as the star and savvy businesswoman she is. While Kimberly and Ashley will no doubt rock up on all the reality shows on TV after spending the cash from this mammoth tour. Not knocking it; horses for courses!
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