Nicole Scherzinger Teases A 'New Chapter Of My Life' In Upcoming Solo Album

Singer Nicole Scherzingermay best be known as one of the Pussycat Dolls, she’s striking solo for her new solo album.

In a new interview with PEOPLE, Nicole, 43, revealed she is looking forward to a “new chapter” in her life and is looking forward to getting back to her roots as a singer and a performer.

“The Masked Singer” judge of seven seasons is ready to get back on stage herself. She told the outlet that she is looking forward to starting a “new chapter of my life” and said that she is all “about getting back to my love for singing and music.”

“To me, music is emotion,” she explained. “Music is a story. I just want to go back to my love of music, my love of singing, my love of telling stories through songs, connecting on a much deeper level through performance, having people transcend through these performances and be moved, inspired, or changed in some way.”

Growing up, she said she “studied” Cher and Olivia Newton-John’s variety shows while taking inspiration from artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Bette Midler, and Shirley Bassey.

Nicole said, “I want to do my own take of a modern-day Cher, Bette Midler, Shirley Bassey. I am inspired by these and many women of that era. Not only were they iconic fashionistas, but they were also bold and they were doing their own thing, their own way. They were captivating. And that's what I aspire to do in my own performances.”

On April 8, Nicole took the stage at the newly reopened Sun Rose Venue in Los Angeles’ Pendry Hotel. She sang and danced during a performance of “Show Off” from The Drowsy Chaperone. She also performed Broadway classics like “Don’t Rain on my Parade” from Funny Girl and “Maybe This Time” by Cabaret. She also topped off her performance with a cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain.”

Nicole told the outlet that she wanted to “showcase a diverse set of songs that would really show my range, through different styles of singing and genres, from Broadway, classics, and standards to pop-rock and jazz-blues.” She added, “I mainly chose songs that resonated with my spirit and my soul.”

“These are all songs that I really connect with on a deeper emotional level and feel connected to my own story,” she continued. “I love nothing more than breathing my own life into these songs and performing them in a way that hopefully no one has ever felt or seen before.”

“The Masked Singer” has not been canceled, but it has not been renewed for an eighth season either, so it’s tough to say if Nicole will be back to judge for another season. In a 2021 interview with Tiffany Haddish, who was subbing in for Ellen DeGeneres, Nicole compared “The Masked Singer” set to Fort Knox.

She revealed that they “don’t even let you leave your room, you don’t get to have personnel, you don’t get to have anybody on your team there.” She added, “They take you to your room away from everything in another building, and they just lockdown, and then they will bring you and escort you to the stage and you don’t get to go nowhere else, maybe the bathroom.”

Previous contestants have also remarked about how tight the security is backstage. When being interviewed outside their costumes, all costumes are given shielded face masks and baggy black hoodies that say “Don’t Talk To Me” to make sure their identity doesn’t get spoiled before their official unmasking.

Despite the extra security backstage, Scherzinger says that filming the show “is the best” and loves working with her other judges: Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, and Robin Thicke. She gushed, “We’re such a tight family, we’ve all been together since season one, we had no idea we continue this far and it just gets better and better.”

“The Masked Singer” season 7 is available to watch on Fox on Wednesdays at 8 PM EST. It is also available to stream on Hulu.