The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles,
California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. After attracting media attention, Antin negotiated a record deal with Interscope Geffen A&M Records in 2003 turning the group into a music franchise comprising Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Melody Thornton, and Kimberly Wyatt. Overseen by Antin, Interscope, and various partners, the group was transformed into a global image and commercial brand. The Pussycat Dolls achieved worldwide success with hit singles "Don't Cha", "Buttons", "Stickwitu", and their first album PCD. However, despite their commercial success, the group was plagued by internal conflict due to the emphasis on Scherzinger, the group's lead vocalist, and the subordinate treatment of the other members. Bachar's departure from the group preceded the release of their second and final studio album Doll Domination, which contains singles "When I Grow Up", "I Hate This Part", and "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)". In 2009, they announced a minor hiatus that was later revealed to be an official break-up. The Dolls brand diversified into merchandise, reality television programs, a Las Vegas act, product endorsements, spin-off recording groups (Girlicious, Paradiso Girls, G.R.L.) and other ventures. Billboard ranked the Pussycat Dolls as the 80th most successful musical act of the 2000s. The group has sold 54 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. In 2012, The Pussycat Dolls ranked 100th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music, and as the tenth all-girl group.
The Pussycat Dolls had re-recorded "Don't Cha" in Simlish (as "Do Ba") for inclusion in the computer game The Sims 2: Pets. They also appeared in character form in the video game Asphalt: Urban GT 2 released in November 2006. In a merchandising agreement with Interscope in 2006, toy manufacturer Hasbro planned a line of dolls modeled after the group, reportedly to be marketed to six to nine-year-olds. Two organizations (Dads and Daughters and Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood) successfully lobbied Hasbro to scrap the plan, saying they felt the dolls would have been inappropriate for children due to the overtly sexual nature of the Pussycat Dolls' songs, videos and performances. Also in 2006, Interscope negotiated a deal with Estée Lauder for a Pussycat Dolls line of cosmetics under the Stila brand. In 2008, Robin Antin and the La Senza Corporation produced a line of Burlesque Pussycat Dolls-styled lingerie called "Shhh...by Robin Antin", and on December 15, Antin released Robin Antin's Pussycat Dolls Workout, which is composed of dancers from the Pussycat Doll Lounge Review including Chrystina Sayers from Girlicious, and features Nicole Scherzinger.
In parallel with the Pussycat Dolls franchise as a recording act, a resident live show commenced at the "Pussycat Dolls Lounge" adjacent to Pure Nightclub in Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. This show contains "cast members" who continue the burlesque-style show which began in Los Angeles during 1995. The saloon brings sex appeal into an interactive setting with non-stop performances, where dancers fill the room as eye candy, dancing inside a rhinestone-encrusted bathtub and on raised platforms throughout the 4,500-square-foot venue. The casino allows visitors to play blackjack, roulette or watch go-go dancers perform
In 2006, the group ran into trouble in Kuala Lumpur with the authorities for sexually explicit
dancing. The performance, part of their PCD World Tour, was not well received in the Muslim state which frowned upon the group's "eye-popping attire" and "sexually suggestive stage routines". Absolute Entertainment, the company behind the group's appearance in Malaysia, was fined $3000 for the incident.
Margeaux Watson of Entertainment Weekly took a major swipe at the group for their overemphasis of Scherzinger as the lead singer. Watson said, "there are two kinds of girl groups: those anchored by a superstar (The Supremes, Destiny's Child), and those made up of charismatic personalities endowed with limited individual gifts (Spice Girls, TLC). The Pussycat Dolls are neither—they're a brand, not a band. This follow-up to 2005's multi-platinum PCD finds lead Doll Nicole Scherzinger in the spotlight, and she's no Beyoncé. As for the others, well... can you name them? Do you even know how many there are?" As part of a Behind the Music special on Scherzinger's career, she claimed that she was responsible for singing both lead and background vocals on both of the group's studio albums, with hardly anything sung by her fellow members. Scherzinger, who said that she did not want to get in trouble for her revelations, explained that the other members did not even hear the tracks until they were finished. Kaya Jones claimed that Scherzinger became the lead singer for the group because "there was a lot more going on behind the scenes." As she told TMZ, "Nicole was always someone who wanted to be in the spotlight and would do pretty much anything to get it. To call the other girls in the Pussycat Dolls 'window dressings' is a bit farfetched... every girl in the group was talented."
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