Nicole Scherzinger Talks 'Hard Decision' to Leave 'Masked Singer' for Broadway Role, But Now She's Tony Nominated!

Nicole Scherzinger is opening up about the “hard decision” she had to make to leave her role as a judge on The Masked Singer so she could lead the stage musical Sunset Boulevard.

The 46-year-old entertainer left the Fox competition series after season 10, which aired in late 2023, so that she could live in London and perform in the musical on the West End. She then transferred to Broadway and just earned a Tony nomination for her performance.

Moments after the Tony nominations were announced on Thursday morning (May 1), Nicole appeared on Today with Jenna & Friends and surprised her former Masked Singer co-panelist Ken Jeong, who was a guest host that morning.

“Ever since we met, it’s been like eight years or something since the beginning of Masked Singer, he literally is like my brother from another mother and he has championed me since day one,” Nicole said about her friendship with Ken.

Nicole continued, “This was a hard decision for me to make because I was gonna have to say goodbye to some things, to my Masked Singer family, and he was there [for me]. I called Ken several times, asking him life advice and he’s always been there for me. And then his whole family came to my show!”

Watch the interview below.

Nicole just earned a Best Leading Actress in a Musical nomination for her work in Sunset Boulevard and the show earned seven Tony nominations in all, including Best Revival of a Musical.

Get your tickets now to see Nicole in Sunset Blvd through July 13.