The Pussycat Dolls

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The Pussycat Dolls

The Pussycat Dolls are an American pop quintet, and dance and burlesque ensemble founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995. The group began as a dance troupe based in Los Angeles, before being "re-cast" as a music group in 2003. The group released their first single in 2004, and have gone on to international commercial success. The group is currently preparing to release their second album Doll Domination on September 16.

Dance troupe

Sources claim that Robin Antin began exploring the idea of a modern burlesque troupe in 1993 with her friend Christina Applegate.[3][4] The dance troupe's first performance was in 1995. During this period, they performed with numerous guest vocalists, with a repertoire of 1950s and 1960s pop standards while dressed in lingerie or old-fashioned pin-up costumes. They secured a Thursday night residency at Los Angeles nightclub The Viper Room, where they stayed from 1995 to 2001. The troupe received wider press coverage in June 1999, when Playboy ran a Pussycat Dolls pictorial, featuring at least seven contemporary members. Three years later, the Dolls moved to The Roxy. The group became internationally popular and was featured in magazines, television specials for MTV and VH1, ad campaigns, and movies. Some of the Pussycat Dolls appeared in the 2002 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, dancing to "The Pink Panther Theme".

Along with Applegate, Christina Aguilera and Carmen Electra (who was the group's lead performer for many of their shows) the troupe was featured in a Maxim Magazine shoot in 2002,[5] which increased public interest in them. Following this wider popularity, and with the involvement of music producers Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair, the Pussycat Dolls were re-cast, transformed into a pop recording group, and became employees of Iovine's label Interscope Records. The only troupe member who remained after the re-casting process was Carmit Bachar. Electra, when asked about her lack of involvement with the group's evolution into a pop group, said: "I was part of the Dolls for over two years and did every show with them... but financially, I couldn't become part of their new music project... It was a sacrifice I couldn't make."[6] However, she did make a cameo appearance in the music video for "Don't Cha". In late 2003, Electra formed another burlesque troupe called The Bombshell Babies, which included ex-Dolls Staci Flood and Nadine Ellis.

At least one early member of the L.A. dance troupe, Rachel Sterling, made the move to the Las Vegas show.[7]

The Las Vegas show and casino, 2005-present

In parallel to the Pussycat Dolls as a recording R&B act, in April 2005 a resident live show commenced at the "Pussycat Dolls Lounge" adjacent to Pure Nightclub in Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. This show contains eight "cast members" who continue the burlesque-style show which began in Los Angeles in 1995. The cast includes vocalist Jamie Preston[8], Cindy[8], Hayley[8], Amanda Nowak[8], Laurel[8], Alicia[8] and Jamie Ruiz from Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious has recently joined the group[9]. Former dolls include Mallory[10] Jen[10], Loreli[10], Victoria[10], Rosa[10], Marcea[10], Rita[10], Jessica Lea[11], Rachel Sterling[11] and Laura Diane[11] between others. The venue is operated by Pure Management Group, Robin Antin has some involvement, but it is unclear whether Interscope also has a financial interest. The Pussycat Dolls recording group have made occasional appearances.

In February 2007, Caesars Palace opened the Pussycat Dolls Casino located across from the Pussycat Dolls Lounge. It features "Dolls-style" decor and attire for the gaming staff, waitresses and dancers.[12]

Guest Dolls

In 2003, Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Cameron Diaz — then starring in Charlie's Angels — did a guest spot with the Dolls. After Electra's departure, "Special guests" have often been utilized in the dance troupe shows, including: Christina Aguilera (May 2002) Jaime Pressly (June 2004); Vivica A. Fox (August 2004); Eva Longoria (April 2005); Kelly Osbourne (January 2006); Nicolette Sheridan (February 2006); Salma Hayek (March 2006); Pamela Anderson (April 2006); Denise Richards (June 2006); Jennifer Aniston (November 2006); Kelly Rowland (January 2007); Tori Spelling (September 2007); Meagan Good (December 2007); Paris Hilton (February 2008):[13] and Audrina Patridge (March 2008) as well as Pussycat Doll hopeful Chelsea Korka.[14] Victoria Beckham will reportedly perform with the Dolls in 2008, and a performance with Lil' Kim was put on hold due to the rapper's personal issues and was rescheduled for summer 2008.[15]

Coincidentally, the Dolls appeared twice on the hit TV series Las Vegas. The first appearance was with Vanessa Marcil and Nikki Cox's characters performing with them. The second was when they first became international popstars with "Don't Cha" and performed the song on the show.

Recording group

PCD

Main article: PCD (album)

In 2003, Nicole Scherzinger, a former member of Popstars winners Eden's Crush, became the group's lead singer. The Pussycat Dolls' musical line-up consisted of Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Kimberly Wyatt, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, and Melody Thornton. By the time the recording group were launched, their stage costumes were developed to bear various branding and "PCD" logos, which preceded the sales of a branded clothing range and other merchandise (via websites and at performances). Their repertoire was expanded to include new Pop/R&B songs, with hit producers and guest rappers, while still retaining some of the pop standards from their earlier incarnation. They appeared in two soundtracks in 2004 for the films, Shark Tale and Shall We Dance? The newly-formed recording group's first single was "Sway" from Shall We Dance?, with a music video inspired by the movie.

On September 13, 2005 they released their debut album, PCD, debuting at number five on the Billboard 200.[16] Their first single, "Don't Cha" was hit reaching number one in multiple countries and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.[16] The song was originally a cover of the Tori Alamaze single featuring rapper Busta Rhymes. The group won a Billboard Music Award for "Don't Cha" (Ralphi Rosario mix) as Hot Dance Music/Club Play Single of the Year.

The album spawned six more singles. The ballad "Stickwitu" was another top five in the US,[16] selling over three million digital downloads and CDs worldwide.[citation needed] It was later nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group. Their third single, "Beep", which featured rapper will.i.am, did not perform as successfully as the previous two singles but still went to number one internationally.[17] A subsequent single, "Buttons" (with rapper Snoop Dogg) reached number three on the UK singles chart;[17] the next single, "I Don't Need a Man" was not as successful. The group's sixth single from the album was "Wait a Minute" released in the U.S. in August 2006.[16]

In 2006, San Francisco-based company Doppelganger (along with Interscope Records) launched the PCD Music Lounge, an interactive website. In late 2006, the Pussycat Dolls were also featured in a commercial for Cingular Wireless along with Ludacris and KoRn. The group was selected to perform for the introduction for ABC's coverage of the NBA.[18] In 2007, a version of "Right Now" was used as a theme song for the NBA, though the lyrics had been altered.

On March 8 2008, Carmit Bachar left the group, confirming the news by posting a blog on the group's official website.[19] The Pussycat Dolls are said to be continuing as a five-piece. They performed for US troops in Kuwait for Operation Myspace.[20] They sang all of their singles. In the abscence of Bachar, her vocal parts were performed in various songs by Thornton, Roberts or Sutta.

Doll Domination

Main article: Doll Domination

The second studio album from the Pussycat Dolls is scheduled for release on September 16,[21] with tracks produced by Timbaland, Cee-Lo Green, Sean Garrett, Scott Storch, Darkchild, Kara DioGuardi, Fernando Garibay, Lady GaGa, Ryan Tedder, Mark Taylor,Taio Cruz,[22] and others.[23] One of the songs recently recorded is a ballad called "Psycho", produced by Ron Fair. A short video shows Scherzinger and Fair in the studio singing the song. The vocals can be heard in the audio come from Scherzinger and Thornton.[24] Two other confirmed tracks are "Bottle Pop" and "Away".[25] On May 20, the Pussycat Dolls performed their new single "When I Grow Up" for the first time live on Jimmy Kimmel Live [26][27] and again at the MTV Movie Awards on June 1.[28] The song was released on May 27th 2008.[29] Other promotions include hosting the 2008 Maxim Hot 100 on VH1 on the position number seventeen.[30] On May 28 they confirmed in a radio interview that one of the tracks from the album is titled "In Person", and that it has a '60's vibe, a la Tina Turner.[31] Timbaland will be the executive producer of the album.[32]

Solo careers

From 2005-2007, Scherzinger prepared her debut solo album Her Name Is Nicole, as of March 2008 there is no confirmed release date for the album. Between July and December 2007 she released two solo singles ("Whatever You Like" and "Baby Love"). Each of these failed to make any impact on the U.S. charts, but "Baby Love" charted well in Europe and Brazil. Scherzinger has also appeared as a guest vocalist on other artists' recordings (see Nicole Scherzinger discography).

In 2007, Thornton appeared on rapper Jibbs third single "Go Too Far". In many interviews Thornton reveals she is always working on solo material with hopes of future releases.

Sutta has also appeared on tracks from Paul Van Dyk ("White Lies" 2007) and Dave Aude ("Make It Last" 2007).

On March 28, 2008, the former member Carmit Bachar talked with E! about her solo album planned for release in 2009.[33]

Touring

Pussycat Dolls in Dublin at the Meteor Music Awards

In 2006, the Pussycat Dolls performed live shows in North America supporting the Black Eyed Peas. As headliners they toured the UK, Europe, Philippines and Malaysia.

On August 8, 2006, after a Dolls concert in Kuala Lumpur, their concert promoter, Absolute Entertainment, was charged with flouting Malaysian decency laws. The Malay Mail quoted Culture Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Mohamad Arif Abdul Rahman as saying: "I believe the way the Pussycat Dolls behaved onstage amounted to gross indecency". The charge was settled by paying a fine of RM5000 (US$1358).[34]

From November 2006 to January 2007, the Pussycat Dolls embarked on their European Tour with Rihanna as the opening act.[35] On March 14, 2007, the Pussycat Dolls performed at the Manchester Evening News Arena in a concert that was streamed live via MSN Music.

The Pussycat Dolls also toured North America as a support act for Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics Tour, along with Danity Kane and NLT.[36] They also performed at the Cokelive Festival, In Bucharest, Romania and at the UK leg of Live Earth in Wembley Stadium, London.[37]

Other endeavors

Television series

In April 2006, The New York Times reported that Interscope executives were working to produce their own reality TV series, overseen by the producers of America's Next Top Model and McG, the director of the Charlie's Angels films. The show, entitled Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll would search for a new member for the troupe.[38] The new member would sing on the next album and tour with the group. The show premiered on The CW, on March 6 2007. It premiered in Australia and the UK on April 1. The season finale announced the winner of the show to be Asia Nitollano. It was announced in July that Asia Nitollano had decided to pursue a solo career instead.

A second season of the show kicked off on February 18 2008. Instead of being titled Search for the Next Doll 2, the new series is titled Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious. Unlike the previous series which tried to find a new member to join the Dolls, the second series is auditioning girls to become part of a new 3 member all-female group, Girlicious. However, on the show's finale, it was revealed that Girlicious would be a quartet.[39][40]

As of February 2008, as part of the promotion for the TV series, The CW have sponsored Stardoll.com, a virtual paperdoll website, to include images of the members of the PCD recording group for interactive "Dress-Up" in PCD logo clothes. This site is aimed at girls aged seven to seventeen.[41]

The Pussycat Dolls had re-recorded "Don't Cha" in Simlish for inclusion in the computer game The Sims 2 Pets.[42] They also appeared in character form in the computer game Asphalt 2: Urban GT in November 2006.

Merchandise

In 2006, Interscope engaged the California company BandMerch to distribute a range of merchandise, including clothing and other items, linked through the group's official website.

In a merchandising agreement with Interscope in 2006, toy manufacturer Hasbro had plans for a line of dolls modelled after the Pussycat Dolls, and reportedly aimed at six to nine-year-olds. The groups Dads and Daughters and Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood successfully lobbied the company to scrap the plan because they felt that the Pussycat Dolls would have been inappropriate for children, due to the overtly sexual nature of the Pussycat Dolls' songs, videos and live shows.

They also negotiated a deal with Estée Lauder for a Pussycat Dolls line of cosmetics under the Stila brand.[43]

In 2006 the Pussycat Dolls had their own shoe collection retailing in Van Haren stores in the Netherlands.

Discography

Main article: Pussycat Dolls discography

Awards

List of awards and nominations
Year Award-giving Body Award Result
2005 Billboard Music Award Top-selling R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year ("Don't Cha") Won
2005 Billboard Music Award Top-selling Dance Single of the Year ("Don't Cha") Nominated
2005 Billboard Music Award Top Dance/Club Play Single of the Year for ("Don't Cha") Won
2005 Billboard Music Award Top-selling Single of the Year ("Don't Cha") Nominated
2005 Billboard Music Award Top Dance/Club Play Artist of the Year Nominated
2005 UK Smash Hits Awards Best Video of The Year ("Don't Cha") Won
2005 Der goldene Otto (silver edition), in Germany Best Pop Group Won
2006 Die Goldene Kamera Pop International Won
2006 ECHO Pop International Nominated
2006 MTV Australia Video Music Awards Best Group Video ("Don't Cha") Nominated
2006 MTV Asia Awards Favorite Breakthrough Artist Nominated
2006 MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards Favorite International Video ("Don't Cha") Nominated
2006 MYX Music Awards Favorite International Video ("Don't Cha") Won
2006 Soul Train Music Award Best R&B/Soul Single: Band, Duo, or Group ("Don't Cha") Nominated
2006 MTV Video Music Awards Best Dance Video ("Buttons") Won
2006 MTV Video Music Awards Best Choreography in a Video ("Buttons") Nominated
2006 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Sales ("Don't Cha") Won
2006 MTV Video Music Awards Latin America Mejor Artista Nuevo Internacional Nominated
2006 MuchMusic Video Awards Best International Artist ("Don't Cha") Nominated
2006 American Music Awards Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo or Group Nominated
2006 American Music Awards Favorite New Breakthrough Artist Nominated
2006 MTV Europe Music Awards 2006 Best Group Nominated
2006 TMF Awards Belgium Best Album International Won
2006 TMF Awards Netherlands Best New International Artist Won
2006 World Music Awards 2006 Best New Artist Nominated
2006 MKMF Awards Best Foreign Artist Award Won
2006 Billboard Music Awards Duo/Group of The Year Nominated
2006 Vh1's Top 40 Videos of The Year #1 Music Video ("Buttons") Won
2006 MTV (UK) Hits' "Top 100 Songs of 2006" #1 Song ("Beep") Won
2006 K-Zone Awards Philippines Song of The Year ("Stickwitu") Won
2006 K-Zone Awards Philippines Best Group Of the Year Nominated
2007 Grammy Awards Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ("Stickwitu") Nominated
2007 Soul Train Awards Best R&B Single by a Group, Band, or Duo ("Stickwitu") Nominated
2007 MTV Australia Video Music Awards 2007 Sexiest Video ("I Don't Need a Man") Nominated
2007 MTV Australia Video Music Awards 2007 Best Hook Up ("Buttons") Nominated

See also

References

  1. ^ Trouble in paradise as Pussycat Doll quits. Stuff.co.uk. March 4, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2008
  2. ^ Carmit Bachar Leaves PCD.Retrieved March 03, 2008.
  3. ^ Pussycat Dolls Biography
  4. ^ reviewjournal.com - Neon: Beyond Burlesque
  5. ^ http://www.dotspotter.com/news/545425_The_Pussycat_Dolls_Maxim_Photo_Shoot_Video
  6. ^ Contactmusic.com
  7. ^ http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=27861647
  8. ^ a b c d e f http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=85201107&albumId=1479554
  9. ^ http://www.myspace.com/jamielee4
  10. ^ a b c d e f g http://www.slide.com/r/ROMjWjWA2T8HmmIeXdGN9EOEseNh8Gzc?cy=ms&view=large
  11. ^ a b c http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=26634240
  12. ^ vegaspopular.com
  13. ^ The Hum - Mummy Tummy?
  14. ^ http://pcdweb.net/content/?p=170 Chelsea to perform with Melody and Robin
  15. ^ Beckham to be a Pussycat doll? RTE
  16. ^ a b c d Billboard artist chart history
  17. ^ a b http://everyhit.com
  18. ^ http://media.espn.com/ESPNToday/2006/Dec_06/PCDolls_ABC.htm Media.espn.com
  19. ^ Dear Fans
  20. ^ http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=30604714
  21. ^ [1]
  22. ^ Nicole Source • N-Scherzinger.com • Your #1 source for everything Nicole Scherzinger
  23. ^ » Pussycat Dolls Run Hurdles In High Heels Pcdweb.Net:
  24. ^ YouTube - New PCD Song "Psycho"
  25. ^ Fernando Garibay • Producer/Songwriter • F2 Incorporated
  26. ^ Jimmy Kimmel Live! - Upcoming Guests - ABC.com
  27. ^ Pussycat Dolls | News | Pussycat Dolls on the Jimmy Kimmel Show!
  28. ^ 2008 Movie Awards Story | Coldplay, Pussycat Dolls Set To Perform At MTV Movie Awards - Show Story | Headlines | MTV
  29. ^ umusic.ca ::The Pussycat Dolls
  30. ^ Maxim Hot 100 (2008) | Reality TV Show Video Clips on the VSPOT, Photos, Episodes and Online Message Boards | VH1.com
  31. ^ [2]
  32. ^ [http:http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=393276098&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=30&start=1]
  33. ^ YouTube - Carmit's 1st Post-PCD Interview
  34. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/nme/23884 nme.com
  35. ^ The Razz Scots Date For Dolls Dailyrecord.co.uk
  36. ^ What Are They Up To? Audrey F.
  37. ^ Live Erarth Saves The World With Mostly Bad Music
  38. ^ http://www.muchmusic.com/news/story.asp?id=18041 Muchmusic.com
  39. ^ Pussycat Dolls mark two on TV The Sun
  40. ^ Pussycat Dolls To Form Girl Group Digital Spy
  41. ^ [3] What is Stardoll.com about?
  42. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/thesims2pets/news.html?sid=6157570 gamespot.com
  43. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/16/yourmoney/music17.php iht.com

External links

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