Cheryl Cole's mic fails leaving her whispering as she opens Stand Up To Cancer

PUBLISHED: 14:32 EST, 19 October 2012 | UPDATED: 14:35 EST, 19 October 2012

It had been a week of triumphs, with her solo tour drawing to a close and Girls Aloud announcing their long-awaited comeback.

But Cheryl Cole suffered the ultimate embarrassment as she took to the stage during the Stand Up To Cancer charity telethon on Channel 4 on Friday night.

Although there's no doubt the 29-year-old singer looked stunning as she opened the show, she experienced an epic fail when it came to her sound.

What happened? Cheryl Cole's mic appeared to fail as she took to the stage to open Stand Up To Cancer

As she took to the stage ready to perform her heart out for the good cause, it would appear that only the backing track to Call My Name was playing.

While the cause of the apparent mic failure is unknown, fans were left baffled as Cheryl appeared to be whispering along to her track for the entire first half of the track.

It was clear the pop princess was aware of the gaffe, as she looked a far cry from her usual sparky self - and seemed to be hiding beneath her hair extensions for most of the performance.

Cringe: The singer looked visibly embarrassed as she ! realised she couldn't be heard over her backing track

Live TV: Some viewers accused Cheryl of miming

Around halfway through the track, the sound appeared to kick in, with Cheryl's voice finally audible above the backing track.

Despite the huge technical blunder, the Geordie beauty performed her dance routines flawlessly and looked stunning as she showed off her washboard abs in a black leather-look bralet.

Evidently keen to reassure Cheryl, host Davina McCall rushed on stage to give her a huge hug.

And as the brunette bombshell visibly cringed, Davina made sure to make her feel better about the embarrassing situation.

Sound problems: Cheryl's voice was only audible halfway through the performance

Professional: Cheryl continued with her flawless dance moves, despite the technical issues

She said: 'Tonight is about making a difference, and that's what's important.'

A spokesperson for Channel 4 told MailOnline: 'Unfortunately with the nature of live TV you sometimes have glitches and this was the case with Cheryls mic in the opening number and was rectified as soon as possible.'

But viewers weren't quite so forgiving as they took to Twitter to rant about the performance.

One wrote: '#StandUpToCancer Cheryl Cole can't even mime to her own t! rack! Sti! ll at least she was on first so hopefully no more of her 'singing'.'

Another added: '100% proof Cheryl Cole can't sing. Live performance on ch4. Most awkward performance of her life.'

'Wow Cheryl Cole that was actually dreadful. Think she was miming without the song turned up hahaha epic fail!' another wrote.

Reassuring: Host Davina McCall attempted to make Cheryl feel better about the awkward situation

Concerned: Cheryl's usually dazzling smile was nowhere to be seen

Meanwhile, others were quick to blame sound engineers for the incident.

One viewer tweeted: 'Cheryl Cole cannot sing live to save her life..despite the sound engineer f***ing up big time.'

Another added: 'Anyone else see Cheryl Cole miming her a*s off on Stand up to cancer?so funny! Someone's for the sack, for not pressing play on the backing track.'

A representative for Cheryl Cole has been contacted by MailOnline.

To donate, visit http://su2c.channel4.com/or call 0300 123 4444. Find SU2C on Facebook or Twitter.