nicole scherzinger mic x-factor

Nicole Scherzinger Yoinking The Mic Off Someone Lives In My Head Rent-Free

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Nicole Scherzinger can do many things: she can sing, dance, loosen buttons, perform a surprisingly rousing rendition of ‘Memory’ from Cats. But you know one thing she doesn’t do well? Share with others.

As the frontwoman of the Pussycat Dolls, Nicole once admitted that she sang 95% of the girl group’s vocals. Group member Melody Thornton even claimed she “wasn’t allowed to sing” during her time with the band.

Melody’s frustrations boiled over during an iconic performance of ‘Buttons’ at a VHI concert where she truly just decided to give it her all, much to the confusion of everyone else in the room.

Nicole’s face said it all.

Nicole doesn’t share the spotlight. And there’s another internet moment that continues to pop up every few months that symbolises this perfectly.

If (like me) you’re terminally online, then there’s a good chance you’ve seen the below GIF doing the rounds. However, you might not know the context behind it.

The moment took place on the 2012 season of The X-Factor in the UK, a series which Nicole judged for two seasons. Performing alongside her mentee, Jahméne Douglas, covering Whitney Houston’s ‘The Greatest Love’, something went awry around one minute into the song.

Watch it for yourself below:

You know what you just watched? History.

Let’s break this down. Jahméne starts the song off strong before Nicole appears from a hidden door with graphics that appear to place Nicole as a sparkly ornament in a Christmas tree. But Nicole is no ornament — Nicole is here to sing.

She sings in a rather quiet tone, “Everybody is searching for a hero,” and I think we’ve found it in Nicole. But something is definitely amiss, Nicole’s mic is a dud compared to Jahméne’s.

As she continues to sing in an oddly mild tone — especially coming from a Pussycat Doll — she signals at Jahméne to come hither.

When Nicole Scherzinger asks you to do something, you do it.

Then comes Jahméne’s big moment. It’s the iconic key change, “I decided long ago…” and he does it with real vigour. But just as he’s finishing the line “never to walk in anyone’s shadow,” Jahméne realises he is walking in someone’s shadow: Nicole’s.

Nicole wants Jahméne’s microphone and she’d not afraid to yoink it off him in the middle of his verse. Yoink.

She’s got a better mic. A louder mic. A mic made for a Pussycat Doll. Nicole triumphantly picks up the second line. “If I fail, if I succeed, at least I’ll live as I believe,” she continues.

“No matter what they take from me,” Nicole starts, before finally lending Jahméne’s mic back to Jahméne who wails out an off-key “They can’t take away my dignity.”

They can’t take Jahméne’s dignity but Nicole can take away his mic.

Looking back, it was the ultimate power move. Nicole was Jahméne’s mentor, she gave him his voice — and she will take it away.

In all seriousness, after the performance Nicole aired her frustrations with the mic debacle. Presenter Dermot O’Leary joked ‘This is the biggest show in the UK and we can’t afford two working mics?” and Nicole replied, “Well it sucks when your mic is not on.”

She did add that it didn’t faze her too much as she was there to support Jahméne. “But he’s my little angel and to share the stage with him, that’s the reason that I’m here.”

For those wondering if this messy performance affected Jahméne’s chances on the show, he still ended up placing runner-up behind arguably one of The X-Factor’s biggest success stories: James Arthur, who was also mentored by Nicole.

James has come through with mega hits ‘Impossible’ and ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’, and has toured the world doing shows. But if he ever shares a stage with Nicole Scherzinger, he better hide his mic.