Liberty X singer Michelle Heaton has slammed today’s reality stars – saying it’s a ‘different kettle of fish’ compared to her more ‘innocent’ experiences in the noughties
Liberty X star Michelle Heaton has spilled the beans on the best and worst bits of being in a noughties girl band – and says she feels like being a popstar before social media felt ‘innocent’ as she slammed today’s hopefuls as ‘fame-hungry’ and chasing a ‘quick buck’.
The star, who is married to Hugh Hanley, with whom she shares daughter Faith, 13, and son AJ, 11, rose to fame with the pop group, formed in 2000 out of the show Popstars, alongside Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young, Tony Lundon and Kevin Simm.
In a video for the Daily Mail, the 46-year old praised her days in Popstars, explaining it was the first reality show in Britain to put a band together, and capture the journey on live TV. But she went on to admit in no uncertain terms thatl she is not enamoured with the reality stars of today.
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“I think the flipside nowadays with these TV shows, you can categorically say that it’s fame-hungry people. Yes, sometimes you get very talented people out of these shows, but the majority of people are there to make a quick buck, and get famous,“ she confessed.
Explaining that especially with the absence of social media, her own heyday with Liberty X felt much more ‘innocent’, without someone ‘watching your every move’, she said, “We had so much fun, we were around at the time of Atomic Kitten, Blue, Steps – we were one big happy family, and it just isn’t like that anymore.“
Nowadays, she said, It’s a ‘different kettle of fish’. “Everything’s on social media, everything’s up for the taking. For me, I think paparazzi back then became a bugbear in my life – they captured moments I wish they hadn’t. It affected my family, and also the perspective of me being in a band.
“I was no longer in a band to be a singer, I was in a band to create havoc. I was very quickly labelled that person. And deep down, that really hurt. Fundamentally, I wanted to sing and be appreciated for my voice and my talents.”
The singer, who is in panto this Christmas, opened up to the Mirror last month about her new 2026 stage-show channelling the girlband era, The Ultimate Girl Band Tour..
She said, “Oh it’s going to be amazing, it’s a whole new show created for me – I’ll be performing loads of different feel-good, girlband songs i’ve helped choose, with background singers, from various different genres. There’ll be dance routines and plenty of snazzy outfits.“
The singer added, “I’d been waiting a long time to do something for me, and now I’ve got my health back and the kids are older, the time feels right.
“Hopefully fans my age, their mums – and their kids, will be coming along and having a great time. My daughter Faith knows and loves all these groups, like The Sugababes, Atomic Kitten, Steps, via me! It’s going to be one big party!”
Asked if she’d ever had to go through any of the painful experiences some bands did in the noughties, as recent BBC documentary, Girlbands Forever depicted, Michelle told us she believes Liberty X were ‘one of the lucky ones’.
She explained, “I know most of the girls who took part in that documentary. But i was still taken aback by some of the things they said. I feel like Liberty X didn’t have anything too painful going on.
“Yes, there was lots of politics with the record labels and the usual band politics but there were no hidden battles, we were all very open with each other. I feel like there’s still a lot of pain, a lot of unresolved trauma. It was hard to watch.”
Source: Mirror
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