{"id":119789,"date":"2025-09-04T16:59:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T16:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/119789\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T16:59:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T16:59:10","slug":"girls-alouds-nicola-roberts-lady-gaga-told-me-she-wanted-to-be-the-moon-for-a-day-im-like-where-do-i-go-next-girls-aloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/119789\/","title":{"rendered":"Girls Aloud\u2019s Nicola Roberts: \u2018Lady Gaga told me she wanted to be the moon for a day. I\u2019m like: where do I go next?\u2019 | Girls Aloud"},"content":{"rendered":"

How does it feel to finally be making your West End<\/a> debut in Hadestown, after City of Angels was cancelled due to Covid? LucyHampton6
Super exciting. It feels like I\u2019m experiencing a new way of performing. I said to the director when we first started that I wanted to throw myself into this and to be pushed as far as I can. When you\u2019re in a band, or you\u2019ve been perceived a certain way for a very long time, it\u2019s nice to go into something where you can shake off the Post-it notes that have been put on you by yourself, or by other people.<\/p>\n

If there was to be a musical made with the Girls Aloud<\/a> soundtrack like Mamma Mia!, or Here & Now, what do you think the plot should be? Sophieeh
Our experience of going from complete normality into a talent competition and becoming somewhat famous overnight, and then the trials and tribulations that follow with teenagers trying to navigate new national fame, is enough of a plot. I don\u2019t need to drum up some new far-fetched stories, because I feel like the things that were happening were far-fetched enough.<\/p>\n

Overnight fame \u2026 Girls Aloud in 2002 after winning Popstars: The Rivals (from left, Kimberley Walsh, Nadine Coyle, Cheryl Tweedy, Sarah Harding and Nicola Roberts). Photograph: Dave Hogan\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

How was it interviewing Lady Gaga? alexgibbon
It was an experience. My TV plugger was also Lady Gaga\u2019s TV plugger and she had this thing lined up with MTV. The plugger, who\u2019s very much a friend, was like: \u201cIt\u2019s just a girly chat, would you be up for doing it?\u201d I was still very much in my shell. I said: \u201cIf it\u2019s a girly chat and a fun conversation, I would absolutely love to do it, but I\u2019m not a presenter, so if it turns into that then it\u2019s not gonna work.\u201d Lo and behold, it turned into that. I was in the deep end with this global icon. She was lovely to me. It\u2019s hilarious that it\u2019s become this meme that pops up. [At one point Nicola asks Gaga to pick a dangerous thing she would do once with no risk, to which she replies: \u201cDie.\u201d Later Gaga says \u201cthe moon\u201d, when asked if she could be anyone for a day.] I\u2019m quite a literal girl, so when she\u2019s saying \u201cthe moon\u201d, I\u2019m like, where the hell am I going with this? Where do I go next?<\/p>\n

In Hadestown, what parts of Persephone\u2019s character do you see in yourself? Sophieeh
The fact that she loves spring and she loves love. She loves to be lighthearted. I completely identify with her. In the past, people might say that I wasn\u2019t lighthearted because of the circumstances I was in and the environment I was having to navigate: who is going to be lighthearted when they\u2019re basically being bullied by the media? They\u2019re not. It\u2019s not normal to be like, sure, I\u2019m going to come on to your radio show and act like we\u2019re best friends and sell our song and stand for a picture when you\u2019ve been bullying me. It\u2019s just not natural. But I feel like my environment now is a lovely one.<\/p>\n

A world with social media or a world without it, which do you choose? AmongstTheWaves
Growing up without social media, the artist didn\u2019t have a platform to have their say, and so the media would be able to portray you in a certain way. They could just write any little clickbait story and get away with it. Whereas now with social media, I feel like it gives people the opportunity to say, actually, that\u2019s not what happened. Or maybe see it from my point of view. But equally, I hear so often from younger artists who can\u2019t focus on their craft because they\u2019re constantly being told: \u201cYou need to do more TikToks.\u201d So that\u2019s another pressure.<\/p>\n

In rehearsal for Hadestown \u2026 Roberts with Chris Jarman. Photograph: \u00a9 Justine Matthew<\/p>\n

What was your most chaotic backstage moment being solo or in Girls Aloud? Sharonteeny
We had a moment on this last tour where Sexy! No No No \u2026 basically wasn\u2019t working until the first show. We were struggling with the inflatable skirts. They weren\u2019t being put on in time. The crew weren\u2019t quite making the fan cue. There was a conversation that happened where we thought about scrapping it. Somehow, the stars aligned and it just worked. Did my skirt ever deflate? Cheryl\u2019s deflated. Mine went half up, half down.<\/p>\n

What is the story behind the Sophie<\/a> and AG Cook collab you did called Potion? SunnysideUp20
I was in the studio on a typical writing session and on the mixing desk they had this little figurine. I just Instagrammed it very innocently with the caption \u201cHey QT\u201d [the title of Sophie and Cook\u2019s 2014 single], like, that\u2019s cute. Then there was a headline saying: \u201cNicola\u2019s working with PC Music.\u201d I wasn\u2019t, I was just in some random session. But from that headline, AG Cook got in touch and was like: \u201cShould we grab a coffee?\u201d We met, talked about our approach to music and the state of what music was at that time. Then we got into the studio together. The very beautiful human that was Sophie was there plus a couple of other people. And we were just experimenting. I was just going from room to room and they had this track and we created Potion. That was that. Things just moved on. Maybe a year or so ago I messaged AG Cook and asked if they were doing anything with the song. He said that, obviously, all of Sophie\u2019s music rights are with Sophie\u2019s family now.<\/p>\n

\u2018I absolutely love my red hair and I moved away from it because I felt like it was bothering certain people\u2019 \u2026 Nicola Roberts in 2019. Photograph: David Levene\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

If Girls Aloud were to have an exhibition, what key pieces from your career would you have on display? AMac10
We should do a hair exhibition and have hundreds of wigs from throughout our career. You\u2019d have short ones, pink ones, black ones, brown ones, blond ones, short hair, long hair. Is there a wig I regret? Oh, babe. There are many wigs I regret. I regret having brown hair. I regret having frazzled, tangled hair. I regret having almost black hair, purple hair. I regret experimenting. I absolutely love my red hair and I moved away from it because I felt like it was bothering certain people. So, to try to fit in I\u2019d just have brown like everyone else, or I\u2019d put highlights in.<\/p>\n

Will we ever get to hear the Girls Aloud versions of Alesha Dixon\u2019s The Boy Does Nothing, Annie\u2019s My Love Is Better and Kylie\u2019s Giving You Up [all created by Girls Aloud\u2019s production team Xenomania and demo\u2019d by the group]? MikeS88
I was in a shop and I remember hearing Kylie\u2019s Giving You Up and freaking out for a split second, being like: what the hell, how has someone got this? And then realising, no, no, it\u2019s Kylie\u2019s version. But I feel like that song is Kylie\u2019s song now. You make a song your own: The Boy Does Nothing is Alesha\u2019s song. While a listener would love to hear a different artist doing it for their own entertainment, for the artist it becomes your baby.<\/p>\n

Why has there never been a follow-up to [2011\u2019s solo debut album] Cinderella\u2019s Eyes? splazsh
There have been moments where I\u2019ve started a project, but then just moved on quickly, creatively. I\u2019m sure that the right time will come, and I\u2019m totally open to it. But when I got on the circuit of writing for other artists, I wasn\u2019t necessarily inspired. There was a theory of: write for other artists and then one song will pop up that you\u2019ll just want to keep for yourself. But I never came across any producers that were willing to experiment because it would always be following a brief. That\u2019s why I loved PC Music \u2013 there were no rules to it.<\/p>\n

How serious were you about working with Kate Bush on Cinderella\u2019s Eyes? MrRaysWigworld
It was just a huge pipe dream. I would drop everything and fly to wherever she was in the world for us to collaborate and make my version of Running Up That Hill. I\u2019d just be ultimately satisfied for life.<\/p>\n

What is your favourite song to sing in Hadestown? Sophieeh
There\u2019s a song called How Long?, which is a duet between myself and Hades. It\u2019s intense, but the melody is really beautiful. I also sing a song called Our Lady of the Underground. Do I ever accidentally sing Sound of the Underground? No, because this is American folk and New Orleans jazz, not frenetic drum\u2019n\u2019bass \u2013 but every now and then in the rehearsal room, I\u2019ll add a little trill and they\u2019ll be like, nope, that\u2019s not what the melody is.<\/p>\n

Have you noticed a difference rehearsing in a theatre setting compared with your previous Girls Aloud rehearsals? Sharonteeny
In the Girls Aloud setting, we have more tea breaks. The theatre setting is a little bit more professional. With Girls Aloud, you\u2019re very much playing the bigger version of yourself. You\u2019re engaging directly with the audience constantly and you\u2019re feeding off their energy. Whereas with Hadestown, this is me fitting into a cog and I have to portray my part of the story. It\u2019s like rubbing the belly and patting the head.<\/p>\n

It feels as though there is currently a welcome profusion of female solo artists. Who do you most rate and why? CatzPyjamas
I\u2019m loving watching what Jade<\/a> is doing. I wanted to do something different [with Cinderella\u2019s Eyes] and I wanted to experiment. It\u2019s really refreshing to watch her have that similar approach and navigate the line of: what can I get away with, and how can I experiment but equally still have it sound current?<\/p>\n

Girls Aloud in concert in Dublin on last year\u2019s tour. Photograph: Tom Dymond\/Rex\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

What does the future hold for Girls Aloud now that the reunion tour has finished? JosiahLumumba
We all had a really amazing time together and it was so heartwarming to feel the support that we came back to. It really surprised us. And it surprised us how much we came together as women and where we\u2019re at now. Back in the day, it would be like: \u201cOK, we\u2019ve just done a tour, now we\u2019re gonna do this and we\u2019re on a roll.\u201d Everybody\u2019s got different responsibilities now. But I think that it would be lovely to be back on stage again with the girls at some point.<\/p>\n

Nicola Roberts starts her run in Hadestown on 16 September at the Lyric theatre<\/a>, London<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How does it feel to finally be making your West End debut in Hadestown, after City of Angels…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,341],"class_list":["post-119789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}