Pussycat Dolls - Recording group

PCD
In 2003, Nicole Scherzinger, a former member of Popstars winners Eden's Crush, became the group's lead singer. The Pussycat Dolls' musical line-up consisted of Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Kimberly Wyatt, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, and Melody Thornton. By the time the recording group were launched, their stage costumes were developed to bear various branding and "PCD" logos, which preceded the sales of a branded clothing range and other merchandise (via websites and at performances). Their repertoire was expanded to include new Pop/R&B songs, with hit producers and guest rappers, while still retaining some of the pop standards from their earlier incarnation.

The Pussycat Dolls 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 a song by the Pussycat Dolls. The newly-formed recording group's first single was "Sway" from Shall We Dance?, with a music video inspired by the movie.

In 2005, the Dolls received their first hit single, "Don't Cha"; a cover of the Tori Alamaze single featuring rapper Busta Rhymes was released in May. The song went to #1 in multiple countries and peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group won a Billboard Music Award for "Don't Cha" (Ralphi Rosario mix) as Hot Dance Music/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.

The single was followed by the group's debut album, PCD. It debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200. The album spawned six more singles. The ballad "Stickwitu" was another top five in the US, selling over three million digital downloads and CDs worldwide.[citation needed] Their third single, "Beep", which featured rapper will.i.am, did not perform as successfully as the previous two singles but still went to #1 internationally in countries such as the UK. A subsequent single, "Buttons" (with rapper Snoop Dogg) reached number three on the UK singles chart; the next single, "I Don't Need a Man" was not as successful. The group's sixth single from the album was "Wait A Minute", released in the U.S. in August 2006.

In 2006, San Francisco-based company Doppelganger (along with Interscope Records) launched the PCD Music Lounge, an interactive website. In late 2006, the Pussycat Dolls were also featured in a commercial for Cingular Wireless along with Ludacris and KoRn.

The group received a Grammy nomination on December 7, 2006, in the Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group category for their hit ballad "Stickwitu". Later that month, the group was selected to perform for the introduction for ABC's coverage of the NBA. In 2007, a version of "Right Now" was used as a theme song for the NBA, though the lyrics had been altered.
Future projects
On the June 30 VSpot Top 20 Countdown, host Matt Pinfield announced that Scherzinger had written twelve new songs for the follow-up album to 2005's PCD. The LP was to feature vocals from Asia Nitollano, the winner of the TV show (more information below), but she quit in order to pursue a solo career. The album will reportedly feature more vocals from the other Dolls, rather than just Scherzinger.
Solo careers

From 2005-2007 Scherzinger prepared her debut solo album Her Name Is Nicole, due for release in 2008. Since July 2007 she has released two solo singles: "Whatever U Like" and "Baby Love". Both of these singles failed to make any impact on the US charts, but "Baby Love" made #14 in the U.K. and #5 in Germany.

Jessica Sutta has also appeared on tracks from Paul Van Dyk (White Lies) and Dave Aude (Make It Last), while Melody Thornton is also preparing her own solo album.

Touring

In 2006, the Pussycat Dolls performed live shows in North America supporting the Black Eyed Peas. As headliners they toured the UK, Europe, Philippines 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).
From November 2006 to January 2007, the Pussycat Dolls embarked on their European Tour alongside Rihanna. On March 14 2007, the Pussycat Dolls performed at the Manchester Evening News Arena in a concert that was streamed live via MSN Music.

The Pussycat Dolls also toured North America as a support act for Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics Tour, along with Danity Kane. They also performed at the Cokelive Festival, In Bucharest, Romania and at the UK leg of Live Earth in Wembley Stadium, London.