Cheryl in tears during Sarah Harding tour tribute ‘breaks hearts’ of Girls Aloud fans-Ruth Lawes-Entertainment – Metro

Tears streamed down Chery’ls face as Girls Aloud remembered Sarah Harding (Picture: Backgrid)

Cheryl struggled to fight back the tears as Girls Aloud paid an emotional tribute to Sarah Harding during the second night of their reunion tour.

Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh, and Cheryl performed a heart-rendering rendition of I’ll Stand By You while a picture montage of Harding was displayed behind them at Dublin’s 3Arena on Saturday.

A clip captured by a fan and shared on X showed Cheryl, 40, weeping as they remembered Harding, who died in September 2021 aged 39 after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

X user @themikeymoscow captioned the social media post: ‘Cheryl absolutely breaking our hearts during I’ll Stand By You at night 2 of #TheGirlsAloudShow in Dublin @CherylOfficial.’

The tour, which has been dedicated to Harding, also sees the foursome begin to perform one of their biggest hits, The Promise, before turning their backs to the audience to watch footage of Harding singing the song on her own.

The tributes to Harding have left Girls Aloud fans ‘bawling’, with @KathyWasHere_ writing on X: ‘Seen #TheGirlsAloudShow tonight and I honestly think it might be the best concert I’ve ever been to. The tributes to Sarah had be bawling @GirlsAloud you were unbelievable.’

During the tour, Girls Aloud perform I’ll Stand By You with Harding’s vocals (Picture: Tom Dymond/Shutterstock)

Harding died in 2021 after a battle with breast cancer (Picture: Dave Hogan/Girls Aloud/Getty Images)

The reunion tour has been held in Harding’s honour (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

@AnthonyMuffins penned: ‘This moment broke me. They looped Sarah’s part so she was singing solo for at least another minute once they’d left the stage. It was beautiful #TheGirlsAloudShow.

Echoing their sentiments, @gjrlsaloud said: ‘I’ll never be able to listen to i’ll stand by you again without sobbing. #TheGirlsAloudShow.’

On the tour’s first night, on Friday, Girls Aloud appeared on stage to a delighted audience, 30 minutes later than scheduled due to ‘Dublin motorway closures’, standing on individual podiums singing opening track Untouchable.

Despite the unexpected delay, fans including Aaron O’Regan, based in Waterford, Ireland, told the PA news agency: ‘I’m really excited for it!

‘My boyfriend got us tickets last year for our first anniversary so it’s going to be a great night.

Girls Aloud added additional dates to their tour due to ‘unprecedented’ demand (Picture: JR/Backgrid)

The group is performing in venues across the UK and Ireland (Picture: David Fisher/Shutterstock)

Girls Aloud first reunited with new music more than 10 years ago (Picture: David Fisher/Shutterstock)

Girls Aloud first shot to fame in 2002 after winning an ITV show (Picture: rune hellestad/Corbis via Getty Images)

‘We love Girls Aloud, it’s fantastic to see them back together again and touring.’

The singers won Popstars: The Rivals in 2002 and formed Girls Aloud, going on to achieve four UK number one singles and a Brit award for track The Promise.

They reunited with new music for their 10th anniversary in 2012, while a second reunion was planned for their 20th anniversary when Harding was diagnosed with cancer.

Ahead of the show, a post on the official Girls Aloud X account said: ‘Rehearsals? Done. Choreography? Ready. Outfits? Fitted. Girls? Aloud.

‘…We’ve been working so hard to make this show special for all of you.’

After two back-to-back opening nights in Dublin’s 3Arena, Girls Aloud will play two concerts at the SSE Arena in Belfast on Monday and Tuesday, before heading to the Manchester AO Arena from Thursday to Saturday.

In November, the group had to add six extra dates to their UK and Ireland 2024 arena tour due to ‘unprecedented demand’ following ticket pre-sales.

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