Pussycat Dolls: Always Something New
It all started when dance artist Robin Antin wanted to form an all female group that would resemble the burlesque dance theme. The group was formed in 1995, released their first single in 2005 and began performing in Ceasar’s Palace. When they started out, their repertoire consisted mainly of pop standards of the 50s and 60s, and much of their choreography was inspired by Bob Fosse who did the dance numbers for Cabaret and Chicago.
In the beginning of the millennium, the group acquired fame and enjoyed media coverage here and in Europe. They did the number for Charlie’s Angels “Full Throttle”. Music producers Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair eventually got involved with the group and transformed it into a recording group and they were signed up as employees of Interscope Records. Nicole Scherzinger led the group with other members Carmit Bachar, Kimberly Wyatt, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta and Melody Thornton, all of whom participated in MTV’s Asia Awards in 2004.
PCD, the name of the debut album of the Pussycat Dolls was released in 2005 and landed in # 5 position in the Billboard 200 charts. The album sold about 100,000 copies. “Don’t Cha” became their single biggest hit. The group has collaborated with artists such as the Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg, and Rihanna among others. They have given live performances in the US, UK and Malaysia. The Pussycat Dolls are said to be recognized as a leading entertainment group, besting Destiny’s Child and the Spice Girls. This year, the group’s web site was launched by Doppelganger, a San Francisco-based company. Next year, the Dolls will serve as supporting artists for Christina Aguilera who will be promoting her album, Back to Basics.
The Pussycat Dolls appear to have much success with their contemporary R&B songs which are written mostly by professional songwriters, although Nicole Scherzinger has written some of the group’s songs. At first the general impression was that Scherzinger seemed to be the only main attraction but that impression did not endure because Thornton and Bachar also have solo numbers. Thornton sang “Beep”, “Wait A Minute”, “Stickwitu”, “Buttons”, “I Don’t Need A Man”, “Hot Stuff (I Want You Back)”, while Bachar sang “Beep”, “Stickwitu”, “Buttons”, “I Don’t Need A Man”, “Flirt”, “Hot Stuff (I Want You Back)”, “Bite The Dust”, “Right Now”, “Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go”, “We Went As Far As We Felt Like Going”, and “Santa Baby”.
There are plans for the Pussycat Dolls to have their own television series