Pussycat Dolls, The #89 Female Artist of the Rock Era*

The Pussycat Dolls were founded in Los Angeles by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe.  From 1995 to 2003, numerous guest vocalists and dance personnel rotated in and out of the ensemble.  Among the members in the early years were Christina Aguilera, Christina Applegate and lead performer Carmen Electra.  After the media followed, producers Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair became involved, and Antin signed a record deal with Iovine's Interscope Records in 2003, turning the former dance troupe into a musical recording group with Nicole Scherzinger, Kaya Jones, Cyia Batten, Kasey Campbell, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Melody Thornton and Kimberly Wyatt.  

Scherzinger, a former member of Eden's Crush, became the group's lead singer.  The Pussycat Dolls recorded songs for two soundtracks in 2004, for the movies Shark Tale and Shall We Dance?.  Jones left the group after recording a few demo songs for the group's debut album, and Batten and Campbell were gone by the time the group released their first album.

  The Pussycat Dolls exploded onto the music scene with the release of their debut album, PCD.  The album reached #1 in New Zealand and the Top 5 in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands, and has now sold nine million copies worldwide.  "Don't Cha' (sic) " hit #1 in the U.K., Australia and Canada and #2 in the United States.

  "Stickwitu" kept the momentum going, with a peak of #1 in the U.K. and a Top 5 finish in the United States.  The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group.

"Beep" hit #1 in Belgium and New Zealand, #2 in the U.K., New Zealand and Ireland, #3 in Australia and was a Top 10 hit everywhere except the U.S.   The group then released "Buttons", which was a #3 hit in both the U.S. and the U.K.

"I Don't Need A Man" hit the Top 10 in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.  The Pussycat Dolls opened for the Black Eyed Peas in concert, then in 2007, supported Christina Aguilera.  In Europe, Rihanna opened for them for the U.K. leg of their PCD World Tour.

  There was much strife due to an overemphasis on Scherzinger, and Bachar left the group prior to the album Doll Domination.  In 2008, the Pussycat Dolls released the single "When I Grow Up", which peaked at #9.

"I Hate This Part" became the group's next big hit, a #11 song in the U.K. and #12 in the United States.

Lady Gaga opened for the group on their second tour in Europe and Australia, Ne-Yo supported them in the U.K. and in mid-2009, the Dolls opened for Britney Spears in North America.  A repacking of Doll Domination included four new songs.  Another single ("Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)") was featured on the Soundtrack for 'Slumdog Millionaire'.  It topped the Australia charts, and was #3 in the U.K., #4 in Canada and #15 in the United States.

In 2009, the group broke up.  They concluded their brief career with 10 hits, and sold 15 million albums worldwide, two million in the United States.