Nicole Scherzinger in November 2019.Photo:Gareth Cattermole/Getty
Gareth Cattermole/Getty
Nicole Scherzingeris back at center stage.
Last week, theMasked Singerjudge made her debut asNorma Desmondin the West End revival ofSunset Boulevardin London — and she’s hoping people see a new side of her.
The singer rose to global fame fronting the girl group Pussycat Dolls nearly 20 years ago, but she says she has “absolutely” been underestimated following her pop-star past.
“That’s why I’m making moves now. It’s hard when people don’t see you for who you truly are. But if you don’t show it to them, they will never know; so that’s why I’ve taken this,” Scherzinger, 45, says in the new issue of PEOPLE. “Hopefully people will get the opportunity now to see who I really am and what I have to give.”
Nicole Scherzinger in ‘Sunset Boulevard’.BACKGRID
BACKGRID
Scherzinger returns forseason 10 ofThe Masked Singeron Wednesday, but she reveals she’ll actually be stepping away from her judging seat — for now at least — for her theatrical foray.
“I had to actually choose betweenThe Masked Singerseason 11 andSunset Boulevard. I choseSunset Boulevard. This is where my talents truly lie. I’m still proving myself,” says Scherzinger.
Nicole Scherzinger with, from left, Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy and Ken Jeong on ‘The Masked Singer’ in 2022.FOX via Getty
FOX via Getty
The singer got her start in musical theater at the Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville, Kentucky, where she was raised. And “there’s many roles that I’ve dreamed of playing. And I will tell you, this is not one of them,” she says with a laugh of playing Norma Desmond.
“So when [director Jamie Lloyd] came to me, I was like, ‘Are you crazy? Are you mad?’ I didn’t get it, because I only ever hadGlenn Closein my mind — and Gloria Swanson in the old film. He was like, ‘Don’t watch the movie, don’t listen to anybody else, just read the lines and listen to the music.’ And when I did, I just fell in love with Norma. I didn’t realize that this is the role that I’ve been waiting to play all my life. We’re doing a completely different, new interpretation,” she adds.
Nicole Scherzinger with fiancé Thom Evans in a July 2023 Instagram post.Nicole Scherzinger/ Instagram
Nicole Scherzinger/ Instagram
“There are so many parallels betweenSunset Boulevardand what you have to do to make it in Hollywood. Even when you’re fully loaded with so much talent, you could still be overlooked because of stereotypes and ageism. It is a tragedy,” she says. “I have so much ammunition for this — so much fuel. "
source: people.com
