NICOLE Scherzinger has been privately supporting her bandmates as fans fear for Ashley Roberts after her tearful breakdown on The Pussycat Dolls tour.
ahead of their next show.
The 44-year-old singer spoke candidly about taking on a solo performance amid as well as dance.
, who has always been the lead singer of the dance troupe, reunited with and Kimberly Wyatt for a world tour this year after splitting in 2010.
They reformed without Jessica, Carmit Bachar and Melody Thorton amid rumours of a feud – but Nicole has been a “pillar of strength” to Ashely.
A source close to the band told The Sun: “Nicole has rallied around Ashley to help support her through the nerves.
“Ashley and Kimberly have been off the scene for so long and during that time Nicole has cracked Hollywood, the West End and Broadway.
“She’s used to performing every night and even has a star on the Walk of Fame.
“It’s clear the other girls are struggling more so because they haven’t had the same experience over the years.
“It’s a lot for anyone to manage being in front of thousands of people every night, not to mention being compared to someone like Nicole.
“They’re exhausted and struggling with the abuse from fans who are very much there for Nicole.
“Nicole is enormously sympathetic towards Ashley and how she’s feeling.
“She knows the girls are putting a lot of pressure on themselves on this tour, but believes in them 100 per cent.”
Ashley broke down in tears on social media this week when she admitted being left with self-doubt over whether her voice is strong enough to go solo.
She said: “I feel like people can probably relate to this, right? I have decided that in my solo piece with Pussycat Dolls tour that I am going to sing. I’m just gonna get on stage and sing, right?
“I created this piece with the intention to tell my story and encourage people to believe in themselves, to own their power and show the strength that I have gained over the last decades.
“I just have been freaking out. Can I do this? Can I do this? Can I pull it off the way that I want to pull it off, am I capable? Am I enough? Can I do this?”
Beginning to sob, continued: “Even talking about it, my throat is clenching up. I was going to pull out, I was going to not do it because I was psyching myself out, saying that it’s gonna sound like s***.
“A lot of the history within this group was that we can’t sing, that we’re just dancers. I love dance so much, it’s my passion, it’s my best friend, it’s the most beautiful form of therapy ever.
“But I wanted to prove to myself I could do this. I was beating myself up for that because I was like you promote people believing in themselves and what if you can’t do it?”
Ashley has spent months preparing and working with a vocal coach ready for her big moment tonight.
She said: “I’ll see you on that stage”.
Nicole commented: “I’m sooo proud of you chica! You are DOING IT and I love when you sing your song!
“What a beautiful, powerful moment. Your bravery will make others brave!!!”
The Pussycat Dolls are performing in Glasgow tonight before heading to Newcastle on Friday.
After that, they will perform in Manchester and end the UK leg of the tour in London.
They’ve already sold 150,000 tickets for the tour, which has seen them perform across Europe.
