They were left heartbroken by the death of their bandmate Sarah Harding almost three years ago.
But when Girls Aloud performed together for the first time since she died of breast cancer at age 39, they made sure Sarah still had a starring role.
Thanks to technology, images of Sarah were transmitted to a screen behind them and they all sang together their version of I’ll Stand By You, which became their second number one, in 2004.
Sarah’s voice was used and Nadine Coyle, Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh sang along with her.
Girls Aloud performed together for the first time since she died of breast cancer aged 39, they made sure Sarah still had a starring role.
Sources say that after the concert, the band shed “tears.” In the photo, the concert in Dublin.
Sarah died in September 2021, just over a year after revealing that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Pictured, Sarah Harding on The X Factor, 2008
When they started, Nadine said: ‘Tonight we’re doing a duet with Sarah. It will be us, Sarah, you. Let’s do this together.’
This brought tears to many of the spectators at Dublin’s 3Arena on Friday night.
It was the first night of Girls Aloud’s 30-night UK and Ireland reunion tour, which they want to dedicate to Sarah.
They were so keen to get the tone right that they visited his mother, Marie Hardman, at her home near Manchester to receive her blessing.
The band wanted to make sure that Ms. Hardman “had a say” in what they would do and that she was happy with the way they presented her daughter.
Sources say that after the concert, the band shed “tears.”
Sarah, known as Girls Aloud’s ‘party girl’, which led to her being nicknamed Hardcore, was never far from her bandmates as the concert progressed.
At the beginning of the concert, images of Sarah were shown in a pink curtain while the band sang their 2008 hit, Untouchable.
They later sang Whole Lotta History, which was dedicated to Sarah as one of their favorites from their back catalogue.
Nicola told the audience: “When we recorded this next song 19 years ago, we had no idea that 19 years later it would be so moving on our journey.”
Black and white footage of Sarah singing was then shown, followed by an emotional montage dedicated to her that read: “The darkest nights produce the brightest stars.”
Sarah’s voice was used and Nadine Coyle, Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh sang along with her.
Girls Aloud won with their single Sound Of The Underground and had three more number ones and 20 top ten hits.
A band member told The Mail on Sunday: “A lot of effort and consideration went into making sure the role of Sarah was done perfectly, and it was.”
Sarah died in September 2021, just over a year after revealing that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, which had spread to other parts of her body.
Her bandmates were distraught, but it brought them back together after they split in 2013, when Nadine suffered a career crisis following the failure of a solo album, while Cheryl’s status soared, after becoming a judge. from X Factor.
Nadine said she didn’t want to break up, but the other four girls “caught her by surprise.”
The group rose to fame in 2002 when they participated in the ITV reality show Popstars: The Rivals.
They competed for a spot in a girl band and then faced off against a boy band from the show called One True Voice in the hopes of their song becoming the Christmas number one.
Girls Aloud won with their single Sound Of The Underground and went on to achieve three more number ones and 20 top ten hits.
Sarah also won Celebrity Big Brother in 2017.