The Pussycat Dolls

The Pussycat Dolls brand expanded into merchandise, reality television programmes, a Las Vegas residency, product endorsements, spin-off recording groups including Girlicious, the Paradiso Girls and G.R.L., and other ventures. Billboard ranked the Pussycat Dolls 80th among the most successful musical acts of the 2000s. The group has been reported to have sold 55 million records worldwide. In 2012, the Pussycat Dolls were ranked 100th on VH1's "100 Greatest Women in Music" list and tenth among female groups.

Antin began developing the concept for a modern burlesque troupe around 1990 with Carla Kama and Christina Applegate as performers. The troupe began performing in 1995, using a repertoire consisting largely of popular music standards from the 1950s and 1960s and costumes influenced by lingerie and vintage pin-up styles. They established a Thursday-night residency at the Viper Room in Los Angeles, where they performed from 1995 to 2001. They made brief appearances in the 1998 films "Matters of Consequence" and "The Treat". Between 1995 and 2003, the troupe featured numerous guest vocalists and underwent several changes to its dance personnel.

The troupe received increased media attention in June 1999 when Playboy published a Pussycat Dolls pictorial featuring seven contemporary members, Kasey Campbell, Kiva Dawson, Antonietta Macri, Erica Breckels, Katie Bergold, Erica Gudis and Lindsley Allen. In 2002, the Pussycat Dolls moved to the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood. They subsequently appeared in magazines, television programmes and specials, advertising campaigns and films. Some members appeared in the 2003 film "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle", performing to "The Pink Panther Theme". They also appeared in the music video for Pink's "Trouble".

The troupe, together with Christina Aguilera and Carmen Electra, was featured in a 2002 Maxim magazine photo shoot. Electra served as a principal performer for many of the troupe's shows. In November 2002, the Pussycat Dolls appeared with Electra on "Late Show with David Letterman", performing "The Pink Panther Theme", "My Drag" and "Big Spender". In 2003, they appeared alongside t.A.T.u. during the group's performance of "All the Things She Said" and "Not Gonna Get Us" at the MTV Movie Awards.

As the troupe gained popularity, Interscope Records executives Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair became involved in developing it as a recording project. The transition included a casting process that transformed the dance troupe into a pop recording group. The members who remained following the restructuring were Robin Antin, Carmit Bachar, Cyia Batten, Kasey Campbell, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta and Kimberly Wyatt. Electra did not join the recording group, later explaining that financial circumstances prevented her from participating in the new project.

In 2003, Antin entered into a joint venture with Interscope Records to develop the Pussycat Dolls as a brand, with Iovine assigning Ron Fair to oversee the recording project. Auditions were held for a recording group that would not include the troupe's celebrity performers. Singers Nicole Scherzinger, Melody Thornton and Kaya Jones were recruited and joined Bachar, Roberts, Sutta, Wyatt, Batten, Campbell and Antin. In February 2004, the group performed "Big Spender" at the MTV Asia Awards. Later that year, they recorded "We Went as Far as We Felt Like Going" for the soundtrack of "Shark Tale" and "Sway" for "Shall We Dance?".

The group briefly reunited with Electra for a performance at VH1 Divas 2004, where they performed "Tainted Love", "You Can Leave Your Hat On" with Tom Jones and "Girls on Film", before joining the other performers for a finale of "New Attitude" with Patti LaBelle. Jones left the group in September 2004, while Batten and Campbell departed in January 2005. Antin subsequently focused on managerial and creative responsibilities.

The Pussycat Dolls' debut studio album, "PCD", was released in September 2005 and sold three million copies in the United States. Its lead single, "Don't Cha", reached number one in several countries and became one of the group's best-known songs, while reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. "Stickwitu" became the group's second number-one single in the United Kingdom and New Zealand and reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. "Beep" reached number one in Belgium and New Zealand, number two in the United Kingdom and number 13 in the United States. The group was among the highest-selling artists of 2006, while "PCD" ranked at number 12 on the Billboard 200 year-end chart.

The group was selected to perform for the introduction to ABC's coverage of the NBA and served as the opening act for the Black Eyed Peas' Honda Civic Tour in North America. A remix of "Buttons" featuring Snoop Dogg was released and became an international hit, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The Pussycat Dolls subsequently embarked on the PCD World Tour, with Rihanna serving as the opening act for the United Kingdom leg. One concert from the tour was recorded and streamed through MSN Music.

During the tour, the group's performance in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, attracted criticism from local Islamic authorities because of its costumes and stage routines. The Malaysian authorities took action against the company responsible for the group's appearance, Absolute Entertainment, which was fined 3,000 US dollars. The album's remaining singles were "I Don't Need a Man" and "Wait a Minute", with the latter becoming the group's fifth top-40 single on the Billboard Hot 100.

From February to May 2007, the Pussycat Dolls supported Christina Aguilera on the North American leg of her Back to Basics Tour, alongside Danity Kane. The success of "PCD" also led to several spin-off projects, including the CW reality television series "Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll", which sought to select an additional member for the group. Asia Nitollano was announced as the winner in April 2007, although she left the group shortly after the finale was broadcast.

Following their appearance at Live Earth in July 2007, the group performed only occasionally and entered a hiatus. During this period, Scherzinger pursued a solo career and worked on an album titled "Her Name Is Nicole". The project was ultimately shelved after four singles failed to achieve significant chart success. In August 2007, Sutta appeared on Paul van Dyk's single "White Lies", which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Singles chart.

The reality series "Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious" premiered on the CW in February 2008. The programme was a competition to create a new all-female pop group, Girlicious. In March 2008, Bachar's departure from the Pussycat Dolls was announced. She had been the longest-serving member of the recording group. In a 2026 Instagram post, Bachar said that she had been given a choice between continuing with the Pussycat Dolls and pursuing The Zodiac Show, a project she had co-created, and that she chose the latter.

On March 10, 2008, the Pussycat Dolls performed as a five-member group at the Operation MySpace concert in Kuwait. Their second studio album, "Doll Domination", was released in September 2008. It received mixed reviews and reached number four on both the UK Albums Chart and the Billboard 200. The album incorporated several reworked recordings from Scherzinger's unreleased solo project "Her Name Is Nicole", including the lead single "When I Grow Up". The song reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Its music video received six MTV Video Music Awards nominations and won the award for Best Dancing in a Video.

"Doll Domination" produced the additional singles "Whatcha Think About That", "Out of This Club" and "I Hate This Part". The latter reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. In December 2008, "Top of the World" was used as the opening theme for the MTV reality television series "The City".

In January 2009, the Pussycat Dolls began their second headlining tour, the Doll Domination Tour, which grossed more than 14 million US dollars. Between sections of the tour, they supported Britney Spears on the North American leg of her Circus Tour. In February, the group contributed "Bad Girl" to the soundtrack of the film "Confessions of a Shopaholic". They also released "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)", a pop adaptation of A. R. Rahman's "Jai Ho" from the 2008 film "Slumdog Millionaire". Scherzinger was credited as a featured artist after being asked to adapt the song for the group's recording.

The release led to tensions among the members, and Thornton criticised the arrangement during a tour appearance. "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)" initially entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 100 before rising to number 15 the following week. "Doll Domination" was subsequently reissued following slower-than-expected sales, including an extended play titled "Doll Domination: The Mini Collection" in the United Kingdom. The reissue included "Hush Hush; Hush Hush", which initially credited Scherzinger as a featured artist. The song became the group's sixth consecutive number-one single on the US Hot Dance/Club Songs chart.

In May 2009, Sutta suffered a back injury during the group's first performance in Sydney and was unable to participate in the remainder of the tour, resulting in the group performing as a four-member act. Later that year, Thornton said that the group had entered a hiatus. In December, Antin stated that Scherzinger would be joined by new members.

By February 2010, Roberts, Sutta and Wyatt had confirmed their departures from the group. Wyatt later said that the group had disbanded. A subsequent 2010 lineup consisted of Scherzinger, Kherington Payne, Vanessa Curry, Rino Nakasone-Razalan and Jamie Lee Ruiz. Thornton confirmed her departure in June 2010, while Scherzinger left in December. During 2011, Antin continued attempts to establish a new Pussycat Dolls lineup. Lauren Bennett, formerly of the Paradiso Girls, was announced as a member in November 2011. A GoDaddy commercial broadcast during Super Bowl XLVI showed a lineup consisting of Bennett, Curry, Paula Van Oppen, Chrystina Sayers and Erica "Kiehl" Jenkins.

Following further changes to the lineup and a change in direction, the project was renamed G.R.L. in 2013. Bennett and Van Oppen were joined by Natasha Slayton, Simone Battle and Emmalyn Estrada.

In August 2017, Antin and Scherzinger began discussions about a possible Pussycat Dolls reunion. By October, social media activity had begun to suggest a comeback, with Roberts, Sutta, Wyatt and Thornton reportedly involved. Bachar's participation remained uncertain. In April 2018, Wyatt said that the group was expected to reform later that year. Antin subsequently developed another version of the group with Pia Mia as lead vocalist, but the project did not materialise. Wyatt later said that she had been told the original members would instead serve as "ambassadors of the brand".

In November 2019, Bachar, Roberts, Scherzinger, Sutta and Wyatt announced a reunion and the Pussycat Dolls Tour, initially scheduled to begin in April 2020. Thornton declined to participate, citing plans for solo projects. The reunion was preceded by Scherzinger acquiring part of the group's rights from Antin. The reunited group performed a medley of earlier singles and their new song "React" on the finale of "The X Factor: Celebrity". Ofcom received more than 400 complaints from viewers concerning the performance.

In January 2020, the group appeared on Meghan Trainor's song "Genetics", from her album "Treat Myself". "React" was released in February 2020 through Access Records and was the group's first independently released single and first new release in more than a decade. It reached the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. Subsequent performances on "Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway" and "The One Show" also generated complaints to broadcasting authorities. In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the postponement of the reunion tour.

In September 2021, Antin filed a lawsuit against Scherzinger concerning the terms of their 2019 agreement. Antin alleged that Scherzinger had agreed to perform 45 shows in exchange for 32.5% of tour profits, with Roberts, Wyatt, Sutta and Antin each receiving 12.5% and Bachar receiving 5%, as well as a 49% stake in the new venture PCD Worldwide. Antin alleged that Scherzinger later sought a 75% share and greater creative control. Scherzinger's lawyer rejected the allegations and accused Antin of mismanaging funds advanced by Live Nation and of requiring Scherzinger to finance promotion and recordings for the cancelled tour. The dispute was resolved on undisclosed terms in November 2025.

In January 2022, Scherzinger announced the cancellation of the reunion tour, citing circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sutta and Bachar subsequently said that they had learned of the cancellation through Scherzinger's social media post and had not received prior official notice. Antin also confirmed the cancellation.

In March 2026, Roberts, Scherzinger and Wyatt reunited as a trio for the single "Club Song" and announced the PCD Forever Tour, which began in June 2026. In May 2026, the group cancelled all but one of the North American dates. Bachar and Sutta were not involved in the reunion. Bachar said publicly that she did not know why she had been excluded. Sutta attributed her exclusion to the other members' views of her political support and said that she considered the reunion a "cash grab".

To mark the group's 20th anniversary, reissues of the two studio albums were released on May 6, 2026, in limited-edition vinyl and CD formats. "PCD Forever" included new remixes of Pussycat Dolls songs, including a remix of "Don't Cha" by Showmusik. A remix album titled "PCD (Remixed)" was released on April 17, 2026 and included versions of "Beep" and "Buttons" incorporating the dance breaks from their music videos.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pussycat_Dolls

Studio albums

PCD (2005)

Doll Domination (2008)