With her years of experience in music, Natasha Hamilton could have approached her upcoming Christmas gig at Dubai Opera as merely another day’s work.
But, as the singer and member of former UK girl group Atomic Kitten explains, the Thursday, December 10, concert will be full of gratitude.
Considering the challenges of this year, she expects the sentiment associated with the season to be truly felt among the crowd.
"All of my gigs this year have been cancelled," she tells The National, before flying out to Dubai from the UK. "So to come to Dubai and finally get on stage, which is something I love doing, makes me immensely grateful for what I have and a reminder not to take it for granted."
Joined by fellow English singer Gareth Gates, the Christmas Cracker show will feature the duo trading Yuletide classics and carols. But who knows, maybe Hamilton will dust off some of the noughties hits by Atomic Kitten along the way.
While not promising anything, Hamilton, 38, says time away from the stage has allowed her to look back on her time with the group with as much fondness as concern.
‘The everyday girls’
Landing on the scene 20 years ago, the group found immediate success with debut album Right Now, home to no fewer than seven singles, including the UK chart-topper Whole Again.
The album’s title set the tone for a frenetic three-year period comprising two further back-to-back albums with accompanying world tours. By the end of 2003, the group were a spent force.
After a nine-year hiatus, they returned for a series of reunion tours before fizzling out after the acrimonious departure (for the second time) of member Kerry Katona.
At the peak of their fame, Hamilton says the group were virtually untouchable in the UK.
Where the group's predecessors, the Spice Girls, captured imaginations with their outsize personalities, Hamilton describes Atomic Kitten as more street savvy, with a "what you see is what you get" attitude.
“We were a bit rough around the edges. We were these everyday girls and we didn’t have the big personalities of the Spice Girls. We were girls who just left high school and then happened to be successful," Hamilton says. “We were not media trained at all. We were raw and real and I think that when people saw us they thought, well, if they can be successful so can I.”
But that bullet train to success came with a price.
That constant stress of recording, touring and promoting affected Hamilton's mental health and caused bouts of depression.
“No one even knew what that word meant at the time, particularly in the industry,” she says. “I don’t remember a time where I was interviewed where I was asked if I was OK. Instead, the focus was more on the salacious side of things because that was the bigger story.”
What makes Hamilton tick?
While happy that a new legion of music talent is getting the care her generation lacked, Hamilton explains that her own healing process continues.
In addition to following an exercise and healthy food regimen, she launched the podcast Live Better with Natasha earlier this year, featuring various discussions on self-help.
“As well as hoping it helps the listener, I am really trying to help myself because I am also on that journey of self-exploration,” she says.
“On the show we discuss why we feel the way we feel. I have always been very honest and open and I never hid my mental health issues over the years. I spent the past five years trying to figure out what makes me tick and what I need to do to feel better – whether that’s improving my physical, emotional, spiritual or mental health.”
As we all struggle to adjust to the new normal presented by the pandemic, Hamilton says her work both on and off the stage has taken on extra resonance.
“It has been a tough year and I am just trying to be as grateful as I can be,” she says. “So the opportunity to step on stage in Dubai and, in my own way, spread some joy and put smiles on people’s faces is really important and exciting to me.”
Christmas Cracker featuring Natasha Hamilton and Gareth Gates takes place on Thursday, December 10, at Dubai Opera. Tickets cost from Dh275 and the show starts at 8pm. More details are available at dubaiopera.com
