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The Pussycat Dolls are an award-winning and Grammy Award nominated American all-female music group. The Dolls began as a burlesque dance troupe based in Los Angeles, and expanded to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The group, which was founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995, released its first single in 2004. The group is one of the most successful new acts to appear in the mainstream in 2005 and since then have gone on to sell over 20 million records worldwide.

Biography

1993–2003: Dance troupe beginnings

Some sources claim that Garrett Piatt began exploring the idea of a modern burlesque troupe in 1993 with her friend Linh le and Christina Applegate (both friends since high school); the troupe's first performance was in 1995. During this period they performed with numerous guest vocalists (see list below), with a repertoire of '50s and '60s pop standards, performed in lingerie and/or old-fashioned pin-up costumes. Antin reportedly drew inspiration from the choreography of Bob Fosse (Sweet Charity, Cabaret, Chicago).

They secured a Thursday night residency at Los Angeles nightclub The Viper Room, where they stayed from 1995–2001. In June 1999 Playboy ran a Pussycat Dolls pictorial, featuring at least contemporary members Kasey Campbell, Kiva Dawson, Erica Gudis and Lindsley Allen. In 2002 they 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 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." She did however make a cameo appearance in the music video for "Don't Cha".

With the involvement of music producers Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair, the troupe was re-cast, transformed into an R&B recording group, and signed up as employees of Iovine's label Interscope Records.

2003-present: Music career

In 2003, Nicole Scherzinger, a former member of Popstars winners Eden's Crush, became the group's lead singer. The present members of the group are Scherzinger; Carmit Bachar (who joined in 1995); Kimberly Wyatt, Ashley Roberts (who joined in 2001); Jessica Sutta (who joined in 2002); and Melody Thornton, (who joined in 2003). They 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 one track by the Dolls. "Sway" from Shall We Dance? also became their first single and first music video.

In 2005, The Pussycat Dolls released their debut album PCD. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200, selling about 100,000 copies. It has produced seven singles. Their second single "Don't Cha" (with Busta Rhymes) became their first major hit. The follow-up, "Stickwitu", became the group's first U.S. # 1 Billboard Pop Radio hit. It went on to sell well over 3 million digital downloads and cd's in the world and became their second #1 single in a row in the UK. The third single, "Beep", featured Black Eyed Peas lead rapper will.i.am. They recently released their latest single, "Buttons", featuring Snoop Dogg which followed in the success of the previous singles and went straight into the top 3 on the UK singles chart, #3. The group's final single has been confirmed as the high tempo, club track "Wait A Minute" and was released on August 2006, in the United States,"I Don't Need a Man" will be released in Canada (The video was premiered on MuchOnDemand September 14th, 2006) , the UK and Ireland and "Sway" will be released as the 5th single in Continental Europe. The 5th single in Australia and New Zealand is also "I Don't Need A Man".

The Pussycat Dolls are proving to be a recognised female group as MTV Hits (UK) marks them as #1 in Top 10 Female Groups (July 2006) beating #2 Destiny's Child and #7 Spice Girls. Furthermore, securing #1 in VH1's (UK) 'Top 20 Sexiest' #2 in TMF's Ultimate 20 Women in Pop (August 2006) and #6 in TMF's Girls of R&B countdown.

The group won a Billboard Music Award for "Don't Cha" as Top Hot/Dance 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.

At the SXSW music conference in 2006, Interscope lawyer Darryl Franklin said, during a panel discussion, that the contract with the group is unique in that its members are actually salaried employees of the record label and, by design, completely interchangeable. This means that in addition to CD sales, the label also controls merchandise, web sites and all other commercial aspects of the group and their income, excluding song publishing.

In 2006, San Francisco-based company Doppelganger (along with Interscope Records) launched the PCD Music Lounge, an interactive website.

On June 30th's VSpot Top 20 Countdown, host Matt Pinfield announced that Scherzinger has written twelve new songs for the follow-up album to 2005's PCD. The Dolls reportedly aim to start recording their Double The Trouble, to be released in late 2007.

In late 2006, The Pussycat Dolls were also featured in a commercial for Cingular Wireless along with Ludacris.

Scherzinger is working on a solo album, reportedly due for release in 2007. She has publicly stated that although she is releasing a solo album, she is not leaving The Pussycat Dolls. Her first single is set for release in February and her album soon after.

On December 7, 2006 the group received a Grammy nomination in the Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group category for their hit "Stickwitu".

Touring

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

In November-December 2006 the Dolls will be touring the UK with Rihanna as their support act.

In 2007 the Dolls will be touring North America as a support act for Christina Aguilera's Back To Basics Tour, along with Danity Kane.ps hellllo people!!!!!!!!!!

Repertoire

The Dolls' repertoire includes contemporary R&B and cover versions. The original songs are mostly written by professional songwriters and/or producers; Scherzinger is the only group member to have co-written any tracks. The covers often fit within the traditions of burlesque, cabaret and drag shows; featuring musical vamps and flirtatious choreography.

Their recorded cover versions include: "We Went As Far As We Felt Like Going" (Labelle); "Sway" (Dean Martin); "Santa Baby" (Eartha Kitt); "Feelin' Good" (Nina Simone); "Tainted Love" (Gloria Jones/Soft Cell); "Where Did Our Love Go" (The Supremes/Soft Cell); a mash-up of Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" with Siobhan Fahey's "Bitter Pill"; "Right Now" (Mel Torme); and "Don't Cha" (Tori Alamaze).

Their live cover versions have included: "Big Spender" (Chita Rivera/Shirley Bassey); "Fever" (Peggy Lee); "The Pink Panther Theme" (Henry Mancini); "These Boots Are Made For Walking" (Nancy Sinatra); and "Whole Lotta Love" (Led Zeppelin).

Vocalists

The Dolls have been accused of being a group where only one member sings (Scherzinger), and the rest are just eye candy. However, Thornton and Bachar both have solo spots, with Thornton interjecting melismatic vocal runs on numerous tracks.

Thornton sings on "Beep", "Wait A Minute", "Stickwitu", "Buttons", "I Don't Need A Man", "Hot Stuff (I Want You Back)", "Bite The Dust", "Right Now", "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go", "Sway", "Flirt", and "We Went As Far As Felt Like Going". Bachar sings on "Beep", "Stickwitu", "Flirt", "Hot Stuff (I Want You Back)", "I Don't Need A Man", "Right Now", "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go", "We Went As Far As We Felt Like Going", and "Santa Baby". Roberts and Sutta also sing on the "Stickwitu" B-side "Santa Baby".

Other endeavors

The Las Vegas show, 2005-present

In parallel to the 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 Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. This show contains eight "cast members" who continue the burlesque-style show which began in L.A. in 1995. In 2006 the cast included vocalist Jamie Preston . 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 Dolls recording group have made occasional appearances. "Special guests" have included: Eva Longoria (April 2005); Nicolette Sheridan (Feb 2006); Pamela Anderson (April 2006); and Denise Richards (June 2006).

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, and that Alesha Dixon will be one of the performers.

Television series

In April 2006 The New York Times reported that Interscope executives are working to produce their own reality TV series overseen by the producers of America's Next Top Model and McG, the director of Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Entitled The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll, the show will search for the new member of the troupe.. In August 2006, it was announced that the show would be picked up by The CW, and will be shown in 2007.

Merchandise

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

Interscope also negotiated a deal with Estée Lauder for a Pussycat Dolls line of cosmetics under the Stila brand.

Computer games

In September 2006 it was reported that the Pussycat Dolls had re-recorded "Don't Cha" in Simlish for inclusion in the computer game The Sims 2 Pets.

In November 2006 it was reported that the Dolls appear in character form in the computer game Asphalt 2: Urban GT.

Discography

Albums

• PCD (2005)
• PCD - Special Edition (2006)
• Double The Trouble (2007)

DVD

• Pussycat Dolls: Live from London (2006)

Singles

Sales statistics

• Worldwide album sales: 5,579,000
• Worldwide single sales: 16,715,000
• Combined sales: 22,294,000

Recognitions

Celebrities performed with

Female guests

• Britney Spears
• Brittany Murphy
• Cameron Diaz
• Carmen Electra
• Charlize Theron
• Christina Aguilera
• Christina Applegate
• Denise Richards
• Dita Von Teese
• Drew Barrymore
• Eva Longoria
• Fergie
• Gwen Stefani
• Jaime Pressly
• Jessica Simpson
• Jordan
• Kelly Osbourne
• Lindsay Lohan
• Lucy Liu
• Nicolette Sheridan
• Nikka Costa
• Pamela Anderson
• Paris Hilton
• Pink
• Samaire Armstrong
• Scarlett Johansson
• Shannon Elizabeth
• Willa Ford

Male guests

• Busta Rhymes (on "Don't Cha")
• Snoop Dogg (on the remix version of "Buttons")
• Timbaland (on "Wait a Minute")
• Will.i.am (on "Beep")
• Ludacris (at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards)
• Avant (on the remix version of "Stickwitu")
• Pharrell (at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards)
• Jibbs (at Fashion Rocks)

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
• The Pussycat Dolls discography
• The Pussycat Dolls videography

External links

Official sites

• PCDMusic.com - Official website for the recording group.
• PCDMusicLounge.com - Official forum and chat site for the recording group.
• PCDLounge.com - Official website for the Las Vegas show.
• The Pussycat Dolls Las Vegas - Official Myspace website for the Las Vegas show.

Unofficial sites

• pussycat dolls guide.com
• Rehearsals.com - exclusive video performances.
• PussyCat Dolls Fansite & Community

• The Pussycat Dolls
• 2000s music groups
• American dance musicians
• Dance musical groups
• American pop music groups
• American rhythm and blues musical groups
• California musical groups
• Girl groups
• Participants in American reality television series
• Rhythmic Top 40 acts
• Grammy Award nominees