Girls Aloud halted their Liverpool show at the M&S Bank Arena on Sunday night for Cheryl to respond to a viral video of herself.
The singing sensation, 41, took to the stage with her bandmates Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh amid the UK tour.
And Cheryl used the performance – that landed on her 41st birthday – to address an old video of her talking about one of their biggest hits Love Machine which was released in 2004.
In the throwback clip from their 2006 E4 documentary Off the Record Cheryl appeared adamant she would not take part in a reunion.
She stated: ‘Can you imagine a 30-year-old ‘I’m just a love machine?’ Nah. No thanks.’
Girls Aloud halted their Liverpool show at the M&S Bank Arena on Sunday night for Cheryl to respond to a viral video of herself
The singing sensation, 41, took to the stage with her bandmates Nadine Coyle , Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh amid the UK tour
But when she was in Liverpool she used the opportunity on stage to respond to the viral clip which started doing the rounds again once their reunion tour was announced.
She said: ‘I’d just like to clear a little something up, you might have seen a video floating around of me saying I would never sing Love Machine in my 30s.
‘Ok, but if we are going to go there, last tour I was 29, today I am 41!’
The crowd then erupted in cheers as the girl band went on to perform the upbeat song.
Nicola had previously responded to a fan who shared her excitement when the reunion tour was announced – referencing Love Machine again.
The fan commented on Nicola’s Instagram post about the reunion, saying: ‘I did not expect to be back in my fangirl life at 31 years old…but I am SO here for it’
Nicola replied: ‘I don’t think Chez expected to be singing love machine past 30 but she’s so here for it!’
Later in the show Nicola, 38, addressed her home town and said what ‘an honour it is to spend the final night of the tour with Scousers.
‘I’ve been waiting this whole tour to finally come back to this city.’
And Cheryl used the performance – that landed on her 41st birthday – to address an old video of her talking about one of their biggest hits Love Machine
The girls released their hit single Love Machine in 2004 as part of their second album What Will the Neighbours Say? and it hit number two in the UK charts (pictured in the music video)
Nicola had previously responded to a fan who shared her excitement when the reunion tour was announced – referencing Love Machine again
But when she was in Liverpool she used the opportunity on stage to respond to the viral clip which started doing the rounds again once their reunion tour was announced
She said: ‘I’d just like to clear a little something up, you might have seen a video floating around of me saying I would never sing Love Machine in my 30s. ‘Ok, but if we are going to go there, last tour I was 29, today I am 41!’
Kimberley looked incredible on stage in a busty black and silver ensemble and belted out all their hits
Girls Aloud was formed in 2002 on ITV’s Popstars: The Rivals show with Pete Waterman, Geri Halliwell and Louis Walsh choosing the final line-up
Later in the show Nicola, 38, addressed her home town and said what ‘an honour it is to spend the final night of the tour with Scousers’
It comes after last week Girls Aloud appeared ‘stronger than ever’ as they performed their final London show on Thursday, despite having to resort to flogging cheap tickets.
The group were forced to slash prices by up to 60 percent after failing to sell out their three-night stint at the O2 Arena.
Yet despite the last-minute cuts Nadine, 40, Kimberley, 42, Nicola and Cheryl looked in their element as they took to the stage in front of the arena – which appeared packed.
The tour, their seventh overall, and their first without the late Sarah Harding, kickstarted in Dublin in May and came to an end in Liverpool on Sunday night.
The group looked so confident on stage that a body language expert declared they are now ‘stronger than ever’.
Speaking on behalf of Betfair Roulette, body language expert Darren Stanton, said: ‘With Girls Aloud coming back together this year and looking at their performances after having a long break from performing, it’s clear they have found their feet with their levels of confidence.
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‘They’ve grown a lot since they first started but we’ve seen a lot more humour and confidence come through. They’re feeling stronger than ever when we look at their in-sync movements and expressions of enjoyment on stage.
‘Their interactions with each other are a lot more authentic and open, meaning they’re all in better places with each other connection-wise. This is shown through more eye contact and championing each other on stage.
‘For example, we saw Nadine and Cheryl taking the lead by being tactile with each other, as well as initiating hugs and cheering each other on.’
Darren revealed that Nicola was the ‘most reserved’ member, saying: ‘Her body language gestures are more closed and less open than what we see from Cheryl, Nadine and Kimberley.
‘Her eye contact and facial expressions aren’t as strong and consistent.
‘However, she is able to perform and she comes across as very extroverted on stage, which tells us she’s able to channel her nerves and turn those feelings into excitement.’
While the girls were in their element, some fans were left than impressed after shelling out more than £100 for tickets only to see the prices slashed to £30.
The 20,000-capacity O2 arena had seating availability in almost all areas, according to ticket sellers AXS.
Sales were particularly slow for Wednesday, with some areas appearing to be only around 60 per cent sold.
The band’s reunion tour has been marred by drama with provider Ticketek struggling to deliver tickets ahead of their show at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham and Nadine Coyle awkwardly forgetting the lyrics at their gig in Dublin.
Girls Aloud was formed in 2002 on ITV’s Popstars: The Rivals show with Pete Waterman, Geri Halliwell and Louis Walsh choosing the final line-up.
They sold over 4 million albums in the UK and achieved four number ones with two albums at no 1 as well. They were also nominated for five BRIT awards. The band split in 2013.
It comes after last week Girls Aloud appeared ‘stronger than ever’ as they performed their final London show on Thursday, despite having to resort to flogging cheap tickets
They sold over 4 million albums in the UK and achieved four number ones with two albums at no 1 as well. They were also nominated for five BRIT awards. The band split in 2013
For another look they changed into glitzy white and silver outfits complete with sheer detailing
They took to motorbikes in the air for part of the show as they got the crowds going with their greatest hits
Girls Aloud was formed in 2002 on ITV’s Popstars: The Rivals show with Pete Waterman, Geri Halliwell and Louis Walsh choosing the final line-up
Sarah Harding died in September 2021 aged 39 after being diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer in 2020
On June 19, Cheryl told the crowd in Birmingham that Shakira’s Waka Waka – played during the warm-up – was a special tribute to Sarah Harding.
She said: ‘That was Sarah’s favourite song when she was going through all of her stuff. It’d get her up dancing and singing, she’d be on Face Time.
‘It made us so happy to see her happy in those darker times so we wanted the spirit of Sarah to start right at the very beginning, and the next best bit is when we hear you guys roar, there’s nothing better than that sound.’
Sarah Harding died in September 2021 aged 39 after being diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer in 2020.