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Pussycat Dolls
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pussycat Dolls | |
|---|---|
 From left to right: Kimberly Wyatt, Jessica Sutta, Carmit Bachar, Nicole Scherzinger, Melody Thornton and Ashley Roberts
|
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | PCD |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genre(s) | Pop, dance-pop, hip hop, R&B |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Label(s) | A&M, Interscope |
| Associated acts |
Eden's Crush, Black Eyed Peas |
| Website | www.pcdmusic.com |
| Members | |
| Ashley Roberts, Carmit Bachar, Jessica Sutta, Kimberly Wyatt, Melody Thornton, Nicole Scherzinger | |
| Former members | |
| Carmen Electra, Chelsea Rafanan, Cyia Batten, Erika Le, Staci Flood, Kasey Campbell, Lindsley Allen, Kaya Jones, Rachel Sterling, Nadine Ellis, Rebecca Pickering, Kiva Dawson, Erica Gudis, Christina Applegate, Asia Nitollano | |
The Pussycat Dolls are an American hip hop, pop, and R&B, and dance and burlesque ensemble founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995. It began as a dance troupe based in Los Angeles, was "re-cast" as a music group in 2003, and expanded in 2005 with a parallel troupe at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The group released their first single in 2004, and have gone on to international commercial success.
Contents |
Dance troupe
Sources claim that Robin Antin began exploring the idea of a modern burlesque troupe in 1993 with her friend Christina Applegate.[1][2] 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 2003 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, dancing to "The Pink Panther Theme".
Carmen Electra was the group's lead performer for many of their shows. She said: "I was part of the Dolls for two years and did every show with them... but financially, I couldn't become part of their new music project... It was a financial sacrifice I couldn't make."[3] However, she did make a cameo appearance in the music video for "Don't Cha". In 2003, Electra formed another burlesque troupe called The Bombshell Babies, which included ex-Dolls Staci Flood and Nadine Ellis.
With the involvement of music producers Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair, the Pussycat Dolls were re-cast, transformed into a pop and R&B 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.
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. In 2006 the cast included vocalist Jamie Preston.[4] The venue is operated by Pure Management Group, Robin Antin has some involvement, but it is unclear whether Interscope also have a financial interest. The Pussycat Dolls recording group have made occasional appearances. "Special guests" have included: Eva Longoria (April 2005); Nicolette Sheridan (Feb 2006); Pamela Anderson (April 2006); Denise Richards (June 2006); and Tori Spelling (September 2007)[5] as well as Pussycat Doll hopeful Chelsea Korka.[6] Victoria Beckham will reportedly perform with the Dolls in the near future.[7]
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.[8]
Coincidentally, they appeared twice on the hit TV series Las Vegas. The first appearance was with Vanessa Marcil (Sam) 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
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.
The Pussycat Dolls opened the MTV Asia Awards 2004. In September and October 2004, the soundtrack CDs for the films Shark Tale and Shall We Dance? were released, each containing a song by the Pussycat Dolls. The newly-formed recording group's first single was "Sway" from Shall We Dance?, with a music video inspired by the movie.
In 2005, the Dolls received their first hit single, "Don't Cha"; a cover of the Tori Alamaze single featuring rapper Busta Rhymes was released in May. The song went to #1 in multiple countries and peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.[9] 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 song was also nominated for Top-Selling Single of the Year and Top-Selling Dance Single of the Year.
The single was followed by the group's debut album, PCD. It debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200.[9] The album spawned six more singles. The ballad "Stickwitu" was another top five in the US,[9] selling over three million digital downloads and CDs worldwide.[citation needed] Their third single, "Beep", which featured rapper will.i.am, did not perform as successfully as the previous two singles but still went to #1 internationally in countries such as the UK.[10] A subsequent single, "Buttons" (with rapper Snoop Dogg) reached number three on the UK singles chart;[10] 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.[9]
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 received a Grammy nomination on December 7, 2006, in the Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group category for their hit ballad "Stickwitu". Later that month, the group was selected to perform for the introduction for ABC's coverage of the NBA.[11] In 2007, a version of "Right Now" was used as a theme song for the NBA, though the lyrics had been altered.
Future projects
On the June 30 VSpot Top 20 Countdown, host Matt Pinfield announced that Scherzinger had written twelve new songs for the follow-up album to 2005's PCD. The LP was to feature vocals from Asia Nitollano, the winner of the TV show (more information below), but she quit in order to pursue a solo career.[12] The album will reportedly feature more vocals from the other Dolls, rather than just Scherzinger.
Solo careers
From 2005-2007 Scherzinger prepared her debut solo album Her Name Is Nicole, due for release in 2008. Since July 2007 she has released two solo singles: "Whatever U Like" and "Baby Love". Both of these singles failed to make any impact on the US charts, but "Baby Love" made #14 in the U.K. and #5 in Germany.
Jessica Sutta and Ashley Roberts have also appeared on featured tracks from other artists, while Melody Thornton is also preparing her own solo album and releasing her first single around February 2008.
Touring
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).[13]
From November 2006 to January 2007, the Pussycat Dolls embarked on their European Tour alongside Rihanna.[14] 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.[15] They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth in Wembley Stadium, London.[16]
Other endeavors
UK "Dolls"
On 11 December 2006, The Daily Mirror reported that Jimmy Iovine, with help from will.i.am, will be creating a "UK version" of the Pussycat Dolls.[17]
In September 2007 reports emerged that the group is The Paradiso Girls featuring Chelsea Korka, three UK women, and one French woman.[18]
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.[19] 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 U.K. on April 1. The season finale announced the winner of the show, Asia Nitollano. It was announced in July that Asia Nitollano had decided to pursue a solo career instead.[12]
A second season of the show is being planned for the 2007-2008 season. Rather than find a new member to join the singing group, they're auditioning girls to become part of a new all-female group Girlilicious.[20][21]
Merchandise
In 2006, Interscope engaged the Californian 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"[3] and "Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood"[4] 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.[22]
The Pussycat Dolls will have their own shoe collection retailing in Van Haren stores in the Netherlands this year.
Computer games
The Pussycat Dolls had re-recorded "Don't Cha" in Simlish for inclusion in the computer game The Sims 2 Pets.[23] It was reported that the Pussycat Dolls appear in character form in the computer game Asphalt 2: Urban GT in November 2006.
Discography
Album
- PCD (2005)
Singles
- 2005: "Don't Cha" (featuring Busta Rhymes)
- 2005: "Stickwitu"
- 2005: "Sway" Please note that this song was never released on single, it was just released as a music video
- 2006: "Beep" (featuring Will.i.am)
- 2006: "Buttons" (featuring Snoop Dogg)
- 2006: "I Don't Need a Man"
- 2006: "Wait a Minute" (featuring Timbaland)
Awards
References
- ^ http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Pussycat_Dolls/Biography/
- ^ http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Apr-08-Fri-2005/weekly/26226584.html
- ^ Contactmusic.com
- ^ http://www.pcdlounge.com/press/articles/22.html PCDlounge.com
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://pcdweb.net/content/?p=170 Chelsea to perform with Melody and Robin
- ^ Beckham to be a Pussycat doll? RTE
- ^ vegaspopular.com
- ^ a b c d Billboard artist chart history
- ^ a b http://everyhit.com
- ^ http://media.espn.com/ESPNToday/2006/Dec_06/PCDolls_ABC.htm Media.espn.com
- ^ a b http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/pussycat-dolls-present-winner-asia-nitollano-not-joining-dolls-5556.php
- ^ http://www.nme.com/news/nme/23884 nme.com
- ^ The Razz Scots Date For Dolls Dailyrecord.co.uk
- ^ What Are They Up To? Audrey F.
- ^ Live Erarth Saves The World With Mostly Bad Music
- ^ http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/tm_headline=dolls-role-for-alesha-&method=full&objectid=18242716&siteid=94762-name_page.html Mirror.co.uk
- ^ [2]
- ^ http://www.muchmusic.com/news/story.asp?id=18041 Muchmusic.com
- ^ Pussycat Dolls mark two on TV The Sun
- ^ Pussycat Dolls To Form Girl Group Digital Spy
- ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/16/yourmoney/music17.php iht.com
- ^ http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/thesims2pets/news.html?sid=6157570 gamespot.com
External links
- Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll
- PCDMusic.com - Official website for the recording group.
- PCDLounge.com - Official website for the Las Vegas show.
- Pussycat Dolls at MySpace
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|
|---|---|
| Ashley Roberts • Carmit Bachar • Jessica Sutta • Kimberly Wyatt • Melody Thornton • Nicole Scherzinger | |
| Albums | PCD |
| Singles | "Don't Cha" • "Stickwitu" • "Beep" • "Buttons" • "I Don't Need a Man" • "Wait a Minute" |
| Other songs | "Sway" |
| Related topics | Discography • Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll • Live from London • Paradiso Girls |
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Albums | Her Name Is Nicole |
| Singles | "Whatever U Like" • "Baby Love" |
| Related articles | Discography • Pussycat Dolls • Eden's Crush |
Categories: Semi-protected | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since April 2007 | The Pussycat Dolls | 2000s music groups | American dance music groups | American pop music groups | American rhythm and blues musical groups | Girl groups | Los Angeles musical groups | Participants in American reality television series