Hear’Say and Liberty X reveal ageless looks as they confirm joint tour

All five members of Liberty X are back together and joining forces with Hear’Say for a joint tour in the ultimate 00s collaboration.

The bands are set to embark on a 13-date arena tour, 25 years after they battled it out on ITV’s Popstars.

Liberty X’s Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young, Jessica Taylor, Kevin Simm and Tony Lundon have all signed on, while Suzanne Shaw, Noel Sullivan, Kym Marsh, and Danny Foster are back for Hear’Say.

Reportedly, Myleene Klass has rejected the offer so far, having moved into presenting after a solo classical career.

All nine have been sworn to secrecy while in planning mode, travelling separately to stop people from realising the reunion was on the way.

Tony told The Sun they had spent a lot of time on Zoom, discussing how this plan would come together.

‘We only got together to shoot the promo a few weeks ago,’ he said. ‘That was the first time we were kind of on set together again, just in each other’s company. It’s been amazing.’

They did admit they’re not as young as they once were, with Kym saying the dance routines might not be as ‘energetic’ as when they were fresh from Popstars.

‘Introducing… Popstars: The originals!’ they posted on Instagram. ‘We’re all coming together for the first time ever.

‘Hear’Say and Liberty X joining forces with our joint arena tour. We’re so excited for this.’

The tour starts at Dublin’s 3Arena on April 17, with shows in Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Glasgow, and Manchester, wrapping up in Liverpool on May 9.

Danny shared: ‘We are the originals. So many other shows came along, like Pop Idol and The X Factor, Popstars gets a little bit forgotten.

‘But that’s the beauty of this project — it was nine kids with a dream, and we’ve just come full circle to be back together.’

Over the years, various members have discussed their experiences on Popstars – but not all had a great time.

In 2016, Kym revealed how comments about her weight made by Nigel Lythgoe, her former Hear’Say manager, had impacted her.

‘You need to lose some weight,’ Nigel was filmed telling her as she auditioned. ‘Christmas is over and the goose has gotten fat.’

‘I’d always been quite body confident until that moment but when he said that it really affected me, I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror,’ Kym revealed to the Daily Mail.

‘I started to look at myself differently and question whether I was overweight,’ she continued.

‘I started becoming far too critical of myself. My body had changed an awful lot after having children, and I simply didn’t have time to exercise.’

Kym ditched Hear’Say in 2002 after rumours of a feud with bandmates Myleene and Noel.

The group officially split on October 1, 2002, citing ‘abuse from the public’ as a major reason, with their popularity eclipsed by Liberty X.

Meanwhile, Liberty X, who initially signed to Richard Branson’s V2 label, continued to see chart success until their split in 2007.

‘All of us have separate projects we’re working on and are excited about,’ the announcement said. ‘We’re still the best of friends and we’ll still be doing all the dates on the current club tour.

‘Also, we still intend to come together sometimes as Liberty X, for one-off events.’

They did join together for a Pride event the following year and came back for 2012’s Big Reunion with a few concerts following.

In 2013 they called it quits again, with Kevin appearing on The Voice and making it clear he felt the group were over.

Four years later, Michelle, Kelli, and Jessica started touring as a three-piece, then in 2023 they headlined Mighty Hoola and other festivals.

Between them, Hear’Say and Liberty X have 12 Top 10 singles and three UK number ones.

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