“Inside
every woman is a Pussycat
Doll,” says Robin Antin,
the innovator behind 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,
PCD, set for release by
A&M Records on September
13, 2005 (led by the #1
smash “Don’t Cha,” a duet
with Busta Rhymes 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 (including
Will.I.Am from the Black
Eyed Peas, Timbaland, Rich
Harrison, Sean Garrett and
Ron Fair), 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 triple-threat Scherzinger,
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 young
powerhouse singer, these
Pussycat Dolls represent
the next step for 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,
and did choreography for
music videos for the likes
of Smash Mouth, The Offspring
and No Doubt. “But I wanted
to do something creative
and different,” she says.
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
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.
That same year, Antin joined
forces with Jimmy Iovine,
Chairman, Interscope Geffen
A&M, who in turn brought
in A&M President Ron
Fair to executive produce
the project and help take
the concept to a higher
level.
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 Fair,
also producer for Aguilera
and the Black Eyed Peas,
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
clothing, lingerie, perfume,
videogames, TV and movie
projects, and other lounges.