Photos thanks to A Socialite’s Life, Bullz Eye, and POZE
You’ve probably seen The Pussycat Dolls before on MTV or Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll TV show, but do you actually know what they are?
They’re not a singing group, at least not exactly. Oh, you’ll hear Nicole Scherzinger (a.k.a. Nicole Kea) sing; she’s a former member of Eden’s Crush and veteran of Pop Star; which was a pre American Idol made-for-television singing competition. She has a set of pipes to go with her set of tits. But the rest of the group… Carmit Bachar (who joined in 1995); Jessica Sutta (who joined in 2002); and Melody Thornton, Kimberly Wyatt, and Ashley Roberts (who all joined in 2003)… I think Jodie Foster’s Nell had more of a vocal range. Aside from nominally being background singers; their primary function seems to be syncopated acts of wardrobe malfunction- choreography that consists of nothing more than nipple slips and upskirts. They can’t seem to keep their panties on- it’s like the band was recruited from the audience of a Tom Jones concert.
But to be fair- that’s the way the act was always intended. The Pussycat Dolls were originally developed by choreographer Robin Antin (who worked with artists such as: Pink, The Offspring, and No Doubt), Linh Le, and she who shall always be Kelly, Christina Applegate, as a modern update on the traditional burlesque show. Burlesque, which can take on many forms, usually combines bawdy humor with striptease, and in the Pussycat Dolls case meant the Pussycat Dolls naked or at least stripping nearly naked out of period pin up girl lingerie, while a guest vocalist belts out 1950s and 60s pop standards.
Guest vocalists over the years included Applegate, Christina Aguilera, and most notably Carmen Electra. Electra elaborates on her involvement saying, “I was part of the Dolls for two years and did every show with them…but financially, I couldn’t become part of their new music project…It was a financial sacrifice I couldn’t make.” Just so we’re clear, this is the same Carmen Electra naked in millions of copies of Playboy and she wasn’t the eye candy. Before Nicole joined she was the one supposed to be supplying the music cred. It boggles the mind.
Anyway, The Pussycat Dollsstarted performing in 1995, with what become a standing Thursday night engagement at LA’s The Viper Room. Over the years they grew from local secret into a full fledged brand name, including a Pussycat Dolls nude pictorial in the June 1999 issue of Playboy and a prominent cameo in one of the Charlie’s Angels movies. However, it wasn’t until 2003 that the group became the worldwide phenomena it is today. With only Carmit Bachar remaining from the original Viper Room days, The Pussycat Dolls were recast as a pop/R&B music act. In 2005, their debut album PCD came out and to date has sold 6 million copies worldwide, along with their various singles including Beep, Stickwitu, and Buttons selling an additional 18 million units.
While the pictures shown here, The Pussycat Dolls tits and other anatomical bits slips are obviously a celebrity oops moment, the fact is if they weren’t dressing like they’re renting hotel rooms out by the hour, it wouldn’t have happened in the first place. I have no problem with strippers, but The Pussycat Dolls are being sold to millions of little girls as this sort of feminist ideal of woman empowerment, and while the message girls should be able to be whatever they want when they grow up, even strippers, is legitimate… by hiring singers who can’t even sing, the message being sent to little girls is the opposite. You don’t need to be good at your job; you just need to take off your clothes.
Is that really the kind of role models you want for your children?
