The Pussycat Dolls’ comeback tour is struggling to gain momentum, with early ticket sales pointing to a muted return for one of the 2000s’ biggest girl groups.
Screenshots circulating online from Ticketmaster show large sections of unsold seats for the tour’s opening US dates.
The June 5 launch at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs – the group’s first performance in seven years – has sold roughly 4,000 tickets in an 11,000-capacity venue.
Similar patterns are emerging across other stops.
The June 9 show in Phoenix at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, which holds more than 20,000, has shifted an estimated 1,500 tickets.
Meanwhile, a June 10 date at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – capacity 20,500 – appears to have sold around 2,500 seats.
Tickets for the opening show range from $60.05 to $248 for premium seating.
The muted demand has raised questions over whether the tour – billed as the “PCD Forever Tour” – can sustain its planned 53-date run across the US, Canada, the UK and Europe.
The trio to headline the tour: Nicole Scherzinger, Ashley Roberts and Kimberly Wyatt – announced the tour on March 12, with presales opening March 18 and general sales beginning March 20.
However, only three of the group’s six core members are returning, which has become a key factor many fans say has dampened interest.
Fans on Reddit have pointed to the scaled-back lineup as a key issue.
“I love PCD, but what did you expect? I’m not going to this tour. For what? 1/2 of the group? To make Nicole richer?” one commented.
“You could even give me money for the best seat in the house, VIP access and signed merchandise from them. I still wouldn’t go. It’s only 1/2 the group. Plus, Carmit, Jessica and Melody are my favourites,” another fan wrote.
One pointed out how the dwindling sale numbers do not come as a surprise, as the performance may be lacking without the full lineup, noting, “their whole thing has been about the dance, the stage, the show”.
With the other three members missing, “it just seems so empty,” another agreed.
Others suggested the group misjudged demand, urging smaller venues or a festival rollout.
“They should’ve booked smaller venues,” one person wrote online.
“They set themselves up. They should’ve booked theatre/club venues for their US dates and made it burlesque-themed as a nod to the PCD roots.”
While the group’s latest release, Club Song, has been met with positive reception, including a viral TikTok dance, many fans said the marketing was lacklustre, citing no music video and describing the TikTok dance trend as “uninspiring”.
“I feel like they’ve been trying/focusing too hard to go viral on TikTok and the zero live performances to promote is a death sentence.”
The underperformance marks the group’s second attempt at a comeback in recent years.
Their 2020 return with the single React was meant to relaunch the band globally, including an Australian tour, before plans were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
That revival also collapsed into a legal dispute, with founder Robin Antin suing Scherzinger in 2021, alleging she withdrew from efforts to relaunch the tour after failing to secure “complete creative control”.
In a recent interview on Today promoting the tour, the trio were asked why only three members had returned.
Ms Scherzinger appeared caught off guard, pausing before band member Kimberly Wyatt stepped in.
“We have ruptured in the past and now we are repairing,” Ms Wyatt said.
Ms Scherzinger followed her bandmate’s answer, adding that despite the missing presence of the other three members, they will always be a part of the legacy.
“What I wanted to say, is that we have so much love and respect for all of the women who have a part of the PCD legacy and once a doll, always a doll,” Scherzinger added.