Pussycat Dolls cancel US leg of reunion tour after poor ticket sales

The Pussycat Dolls have cancelled almost the entire US leg of their forthcoming reunion tour, following poor ticket sales.

Three members of the noughties girl group - Nicole Scherzinger, Ashley Roberts and Kimberly Wyatt - announced their return with a new single and world tour earlier this year.

But the group said that "after taking an honest look" at the North American section of the tour, they had taken the "difficult and heartbreaking decision" to cancel all but one of the shows.

The European dates, including nine in the UK and Ireland, will go ahead as planned, with the group saying many of those shows have "already sold out".

The US date that will still go ahead is the Dolls' appearance at WeHo Pride in Los Angeles on 6 June.

"We could not think of a more meaningful place to celebrate with our fans," the group said in their statement, adding: "The LGBTQ+ community has shown us so much love and support throughout our career."

They had been scheduled to play 33 dates in total in the US and Canada in June, July and August.

The Dolls also confirmed that the European dates, beginning in Copenhagen in September, would proceed, adding that they were working towards making those shows "unforgettable".

"We are putting everything into making this show a true celebration of the music and the memories, for the fans who have been with us from the beginning and those discovering us for the first time," the trio said.

North American fans will be refunded automatically if their tickets were bought on Ticketmaster or AXS, while those who bought through third-party resellers have been told to contact their point of purchase.

The cancellation comes after a string of other big stars also pulled or delayed shows in the US in recent months, including Post Malone and Meghan Trainor.

Pussycat Dolls fans had been speculating in recent weeks that the US leg of the tour would be cancelled after venue seating charts showed large numbers of unsold seats.

High ticket prices, as well as the decision to tour the US in large arenas rather than theatres, are thought to have contributed to the poor performance.

However, ticket sales for the UK and European leg of the tour have been much healthier.

The group, known for hits like Buttons, Don't Cha and I Don't Need A Man, were particularly popular in Europe in their heyday, and Roberts and Wyatt both now live in the UK.

The Dolls will play shows in Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Dublin, Glasgow, Newcastle and Manchester, before the tour concludes at London's O2 Arena on 13 October.

The group's return comes six years after a planned previous reunion was derailed by the Covid pandemic and a legal dispute, and follows Scherzinger's recent award-winning turn in Sunset Boulevard in the West End and on Broadway.