Natasha Hamilton has departed Atomic Kitten.
The singer – who joined the group as a replacement for original member Heidi Range, who later found success with Sugababes – announced her exit from the group in a post on social media.
“Twenty-six incredible years, writing so many wonderful chapters, but now the time has come for me to close the book on this one,” she penned. “The ride hasn’t always been smooth but I wouldn’t change a single thing.
“I’ve laughed and cried many a time with the girls, experienced so many surreal moments and been blessed with a career spanning 26 years – it’s been incredible and something I will always cherish.”
Revealing she had been struggling behind the scenes, the Whole Again hitmaker continued: “Since 2013 myself and Liz [McClarnon, bandmate] have been on the nostalgia train, and we have performed non stop since then (apart from the global pandemic) where we came back even stronger, with more demand for our infectious pop songs.
“At the beginning of the year I didn’t know how to juggle being a Kitten, whilst also trying to break out as a solo artist, but I gave it a go and I have to say, it’s been tough.
“This Sunday marks my final Atomic Kitten gig for the foreseeable future. I will step down from all AK duties to concentrate on me and ventures new.”
Natasha went on to wish Liz “all the luck and love in the world”, with the singer sharing her support for her bandmate by commenting: “Love you.”
Earlier this year, Natasha released her debut solo single Edge Of Us and, speaking exclusively to RETROPOP, she opened up about her decision to go solo, sharing: “If I could have planned it, precisely, I would have done this years ago, but things just didn’t work out that way.
“I’ve done a few projects in the past that never really saw the light of day and then you start thinking, ‘Is this for me? Is this where I really want to be?’ And I fell out of love with music for a long time…”
She also hinted at an exit from Atomic Kitten, placing her focus on new music and expanding her record label offering, adding: “I will be concentrating on my music and the record label moving forward, because I think it’s only fair. I can’t do everything,” she says. “And this is my passion; I’ve been working really hard to make it a success and that’s where my focus needs to be.
“I really want to nurture up-and-coming talent and prepare them properly for what’s to come. And when I say that, I mean things like what other options are available to you financially if being a pop star doesn’t happen.
“For a lot of people in my position from back in the day, it was almost like, ‘You’ve got this one shot at music and if it doesn’t work then game over’. The music industry is huge and most of us absolutely love music and that’s all we ever want to do, so why was there one saying: ‘There’s other things you can do here…’
“So I really want to support artists in knowing that this is just the beginning and it’s not the end if it doesn’t continue in the way that it starts. If anything, it could become something even more beautiful in the end.”
