Singer Nicole Scherzinger has revealed she suffered a painful burn just before taking the stage with the Pussycat Dolls, adding another dramatic twist to the group’s long-awaited reunion tour.
The 48-year-old singer said boiling water from a vocal steamer spilled onto her leg shortly before a recent concert in Düsseldorf, Germany, leaving her with burns and blisters.
And somehow, she still performed.
Scherzinger opened up about the frightening mishap as the Pussycat Dolls brought their PCD Forever Tour to the United Kingdom, where she is performing alongside Ashley Roberts and Kimberly Wyatt.
“I had a pretty bad burn the other day,” Scherzinger said, explaining that the accident happened shortly before showtime.
She said the pain left her shaken and made simply walking difficult, never mind performing the group’s famously demanding choreography.
Scherzinger later shared a photo of the injury on social media, showing the blistering on her leg.
The singer said tights she had been wearing helped shield part of her skin, but other areas were still badly burned.
Despite the injury, she pushed through the Düsseldorf concert.
The incident wasn’t the only health problem she was dealing with.
Scherzinger also revealed she had recently suffered from strep throat followed by another throat infection and was taking antibiotics while continuing the tour.
Still, fans watching the group’s Sept. 29 concert at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena may never have guessed what had been happening behind the scenes.
The show marked the beginning of the Dolls’ first major U.K. tour in 17 years and featured the group tearing through hits including “When I Grow Up,” “Buttons” and “Don’t Cha.”
The current reunion lineup is noticeably smaller than the Pussycat Dolls fans remember from the group’s peak years.
Scherzinger, Roberts and Wyatt are touring as a trio, while former members Carmit Bachar and Jessica Sutta are not participating.
That decision has already caused some tension.
When the reunion was announced earlier this year, Bachar said she learned about it at roughly the same time as the public, while Sutta also expressed disappointment over how the comeback was handled.
Wyatt, however, insists there is no feud.
She said she has remained in contact with her former bandmates and noted that the Pussycat Dolls lineup has changed repeatedly throughout the group’s history.
Scherzinger was more direct about why the current trio works.
“The people who want to be here are here,” she said, adding that the three women are now in a similar place emotionally and professionally.
The reunion itself has been years in the making.
The Pussycat Dolls initially announced plans to reunite in 2019, with a tour scheduled for 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic delayed those plans, and the comeback later fell apart amid a legal battle involving Scherzinger and group founder Robin Antin.
By 2026, the group was ready to try again.
Their new PCD Forever Tour was announced as a celebration of roughly two decades since their debut album turned them into one of the biggest girl groups of the 2000s.
But the road back has hardly been smooth.
Earlier this year, the Dolls canceled nearly all of the planned North American leg of the tour after saying they had taken an “honest look” at the run.
The group never publicly blamed ticket sales, although several media reports pointed to weak demand and large numbers of unsold seats before the cancellations.
The European and U.K. legs went forward.
The current schedule includes shows in Liverpool, Dublin, Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester and London before the group heads to Brazil later this month.
There have also been awkward moments onstage.
During one concert in Poland, a microphone problem and wardrobe issue reportedly kept Scherzinger offstage briefly while Roberts and Wyatt continued singing.
Clips of the moment spread online, leading to criticism and renewed speculation about tension inside the group.
Scherzinger made clear she was not happy with the reaction.
She said viewers saw only a tiny portion of what was happening and had no idea about the technical problems being handled backstage.
Wyatt also pushed back against attempts to create rivalry between the women.
She said she was tired of seeing women constantly “pitted” against one another and stressed that the group is now focused on supporting each other rather than competing.
The three women have also been adjusting to touring in their 40s after first experiencing pop superstardom in their 20s.
Roberts joked that the drinks hit much harder these days after a night out in Paris reportedly ended with the group chatting on their tour bus until around 6 a.m.
They also acknowledged that touring conditions have changed considerably since their original run.
Scherzinger recalled a relentless schedule during the Pussycat Dolls’ early years, when sleep and downtime were far harder to come by.
Now, the performers say there is more awareness surrounding rest, mental health and protecting artists physically.
That may be especially important given the demanding 90-minute show they are performing night after night.
Between the high kicks, costume changes, choreography and live vocals, the reunited Dolls are proving their comeback isn’t exactly an easy nostalgia tour.
For Scherzinger, performing through a painful burn and throat infection appears to have reinforced one message above all.
The show, apparently, really does go on.