Take six beautiful women, dress them in lingerie and pin-up costumes, and have them sing lines like “Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me,” or “I’m telling you to loosen up my buttons, baby” choreographed to flirty burlesque moves. Now call the group the Pussycat Dolls and expect any self-respecting music critic to take them seriously.
Okay, count me in.
Truth be told, those who would make the mistake of dismissing the group and its debut album, PCD on face value would miss out on one of the catchiest, most enjoyable, and yes, most diverse albums released in the last year. Hip-Hop, soul, pop, R&B – even big-band swing and jazz are represented.
The group, currently on tour opening for Christina Aguilera, has been together about three years, but the Pussycat Dolls have existed for over ten. The Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995, as a campy, burlesque dance revue based at the Viper Room, Johnny Depp’s club on L.A.’s Sunset Strip. The revue quickly became a phenomenon as celebs like Aguilera, Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, Carmen Electra, and Gwen Stefani joined the show as guest stars and became a Pussycat Doll for a night.
The concept was taken to the next level when the current line-up – Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Melody Thornton, and Kimberly Wyatt was recruited specifically as a singing group. Matched with an A-list of writers and producers, they recorded PCD over the course of a year, and released the album in September 2005.
Nicole Scherzinger handles all the lead vocals on PCD; and some have suggested that the other Dolls merely serve as eye candy. But in an August 2006 interview, Melody Thornton said that in their live show, each of the Dolls takes a turn on lead vocals.
“In the live show we all trade off lead vocals from time to time,” she said. “For example, there’s a section in the show where Carmit and I split verses singing “Fever” that’s a throwback to what we used to do on the Sunset Strip.”
The Pussycat Dolls might play up their sex appeal, but ironically the majority of the group’s fans are younger females.
“Overall, I think the album is definitely about female empowerment,” Thornton says. “As much as we hear that younger females are all jealous of each other, every time a female group comes out with a strong voice, we just jump all over it, because we need that. We need somebody to look up to.”
The promoters behind the Pussycat Dolls are determined to keep the phenomenon going. The Pussycat Dolls Lounge opened in April 2005 inside Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, featuring a different roster of performers. Currently, there’s a Pussycat Dolls line of makeup. A line of clothing, lingerie, perfume, videogames, TV and movie projects, and other lounges are also being discussed.
The current single, “Wait A Minute” is the fifth pulled from PCD, and Thornton says more will probably follow. She can currently be heard on Jibbs new single, “Go Too Far.”
The group will eventually record a follow-up, Thornton says, but on the heels of such a successful debut, they want to take their time “and make sure that the ‘sophomore jinx’ isn’t an issue.”
Okay, count me in.
Truth be told, those who would make the mistake of dismissing the group and its debut album, PCD on face value would miss out on one of the catchiest, most enjoyable, and yes, most diverse albums released in the last year. Hip-Hop, soul, pop, R&B – even big-band swing and jazz are represented.
The group, currently on tour opening for Christina Aguilera, has been together about three years, but the Pussycat Dolls have existed for over ten. The Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995, as a campy, burlesque dance revue based at the Viper Room, Johnny Depp’s club on L.A.’s Sunset Strip. The revue quickly became a phenomenon as celebs like Aguilera, Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, Carmen Electra, and Gwen Stefani joined the show as guest stars and became a Pussycat Doll for a night.
The concept was taken to the next level when the current line-up – Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Melody Thornton, and Kimberly Wyatt was recruited specifically as a singing group. Matched with an A-list of writers and producers, they recorded PCD over the course of a year, and released the album in September 2005.
Nicole Scherzinger handles all the lead vocals on PCD; and some have suggested that the other Dolls merely serve as eye candy. But in an August 2006 interview, Melody Thornton said that in their live show, each of the Dolls takes a turn on lead vocals.
“In the live show we all trade off lead vocals from time to time,” she said. “For example, there’s a section in the show where Carmit and I split verses singing “Fever” that’s a throwback to what we used to do on the Sunset Strip.”
The Pussycat Dolls might play up their sex appeal, but ironically the majority of the group’s fans are younger females.
“Overall, I think the album is definitely about female empowerment,” Thornton says. “As much as we hear that younger females are all jealous of each other, every time a female group comes out with a strong voice, we just jump all over it, because we need that. We need somebody to look up to.”
The promoters behind the Pussycat Dolls are determined to keep the phenomenon going. The Pussycat Dolls Lounge opened in April 2005 inside Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, featuring a different roster of performers. Currently, there’s a Pussycat Dolls line of makeup. A line of clothing, lingerie, perfume, videogames, TV and movie projects, and other lounges are also being discussed.
The current single, “Wait A Minute” is the fifth pulled from PCD, and Thornton says more will probably follow. She can currently be heard on Jibbs new single, “Go Too Far.”
The group will eventually record a follow-up, Thornton says, but on the heels of such a successful debut, they want to take their time “and make sure that the ‘sophomore jinx’ isn’t an issue.”
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