Pussycat Dolls!
"Inside every woman is a Pussycat Doll" says Robin Antin, the creator of the singing-and-dancing ensemble that has risen from underground cool to major label hot. "It's about female empowerment, about being confident with who you are. It's about singing and dancing in front of a mirror by yourself and having fun."
With their debut album set for release by A&M Records in summer 2005 (led by "Don't Cha", a duet with Busta Rhymes, written and produced by Cee-Lo), The Pussycat Dolls go beyond being extraordinarily beautiful. With tremendous voices, and after working with today's top songwriters and producers, The Pussycat Dolls are ready to stamp their mark on music and on attitudes.
"To me, a Pussycat Doll is fearless but also vulnerable," says lead singer Nicole Scherzinger. "We're strong but we like to play too. The line in 'Don't Cha' --'don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me'--is meant to be empowering. The Pussycat Dolls are not about just being hot but also about saying something with real feeling."
From Scherzinger, who earlier scored a Top 10 album and single while in girl group Eden's Crush, to Jessica Sutta, the one-time captain of the Miami Heat dance troupe; from Carmit Bachar, the "La Vida Loca" girl on Ricky Martin's world tour, to Ashley Roberts and Kimberly Wyatt, two of the most talented young dancers in Hollywood, and Melody Thornton, a stunning singer chosen from an open audition, these Pussycat Dolls are the new incarnation--more contemporary, more street--of the group whose Sunset Strip performances became the hippest ticket in Hollywood.
The Pussycat Dolls were born in a tiny dance studio in the L.A. garage of actress Christina Applegate, with whom Antin was rooming in the early '90s. Antin had appeared in commercials for Coke and 7-Up, and did choreography for music videos for the likes of Smash Mouth, The Offspring and No Doubt. "But I wanted to do something that was my vision," she says, "something creative and different."
So Antin invited over a few girlfriends who were also tour/music video dancers and they began to play around with her own choreography, a style endowed with the spirit of famed choreographer Bob Fosse ("Sweet Charity," "Cabaret") but also music from Led Zeppelin to punk rock, Siouxsie and The Banshees to Bjork, and fashion as well. Meanwhile Applegate suggested they perform at the Sunset Strip's renowned Viper Room. Owner Johnny Depp saw them rehearse and reportedly said, "This is why I opened a club." The Pussycat Dolls, which have seen many members in its evolving lineup since debuting in 1995, became the Thursday night opening act for the next six years.A turning point came in 2000 when No Doubt's Gwen Stefani came to a show and said she'd love to do a guest spot, not just to dance but to sing. So did Christina Aguilera. In 2002 it was time to take the show to a bigger venue and so The Pussycat Dolls moved to The Roxy. For two shows a week, for seven weeks, the place was sold out. Other guest performers included Carmen Electra, Brittany Murphy, Charlize Theron, Nikka Costa, Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson. All of them appeared without pay, just for the fun of it, including emcee Applegate. Sans celebrities, The Pussycat Dolls have opened for the Flaming Lips, Jane's Addiction and The Brian Setzer Orchestra.
That same year, despite lacking an agent or manager, Antin began fielding calls from major music labels wanting to turn The Pussycat Dolls into a recording group. One of those was Jimmy Iovine, Chairman, Interscope Geffen A&M, who envisioned taking them to a bigger, hipper level. Subsequently they appeared on "Fashion Rocks" (performing "Tainted Love" with Soft Cell's Marc Almond), "NBC New Year's Eve", "Jimmy Kimmel Live", "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", "The Late Show with David Letterman", "Last Call with Carson Daly" and the NBC drama series "Vegas".Their "We Went As Far As We Felt Like Going" was heard in 2004's Shark Tale, their cover of the standard "Sway" (helmed by Ron Fair, A&M President and producer for Aguilera and Vanessa Carlton, among others) was heard in 2004's Shall We Dance? The Pussycat Dolls were also seen in 2003's Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and Pink's "Trouble" video as well as 2005's Be Cool. Scherzinger was featured with Will Smith on "If U Can't Dance (Slide)" on his 2005 Lost And Found album.
Today, there is a Pussycat Dolls line of makeup from Stila and The Pussycat Dolls Lounge opened in April 2005 inside Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, featuring a different roster of performers. The future may hold a line of lingerie, perfume, videogames, TV and movie projects, and other lounges.In the end, The Pussycat Dolls are the women every man wants and every woman wants to be.
Phoenix native Roberts started dancing when she was three, singing when she was nine. Her father was a drummer turned car dealer who had played for The Mamas & The Papas; her mother was a Pilates instructor. Four years ago, just out of high school, she headed for L.A. During previous summers she had come to the West Coast to study under respected modern dance teachers such as Dee Caspary. This time, she was in L.A. for good. Since then she's hooked commercials such as for Eclipse gum and Joe Boxer clothing, and numerous corporate and industrial events. And within six months, she was also a Pussycat Doll. "I honestly didn't know about them but the word of mouth among dancers was awesome."
Noting that when she sings she has a Marilyn Monroe-type voice, she says her onstage character is "flirtatious but innocent. She's a fun free spirit. I guess I'm 'the blonde' in the group but," she adds with a smile, "it ain't natural."
this is her web sitebof pussy cat dolls WWW.PCDMUSIC.COM kisssssssss
