Interviews

Blender Interview (July '06)

Pussycat Dolls: Pussy Galore!
There’s way more to the Pussycat Dolls — the hardest-working hotties in pop — than their ample, luscious … voices. Which one’s nose has no cartilage? which one failed as a toothbrush model? Blender learns all …
By Brian Raftery

It’s a few minutes past midnight on a late-spring Friday, and New York City is being stormed by a bracelet-clanging, Sidekick-slinging, tight-jeaned tempest. As a line of gawkers spill out the door of Manhattan’s frou-frou ice-creamery Serendipity 3, the six tricked-out members of the Pussycat Dolls — along with their 30-plus entourage of friends, advisors and security dudes — are ushered past the plebs and up the stairs, where their own private room awaits.

Known for its caviar-topped $1,000 sundae and girly-girl décor, Serendipity seems like an odd location for a raucous aftershow gathering. For one thing, it’s not exactly a celebrity hotspot; you’re more likely to run into the Keebler Elves than the Olsen twins. Plus, after watching the Dolls’ zero-bodyfat performance at the Theater at Madison Square Garden a few hours earlier, it’s hard to imagine any of them having a sweet tooth, much less indulging it. Yet the women who put the sex in sextet — lead Doll Nicole Scherzinger, 28; Carmit Bachar, 31; Ashley Roberts, 23; Jessica Sutta, 23; Melody Thornton, 21; and Kimberly Wyatt, 24 — are helping themselves to large, alarmingly Jenga-like piles of ice cream and chocolate.

But the decadence doesn’t end there. The girls are also being treated to their own private jewelry show: One of the men at their table is a designer who just happens to have his wares on him, so while Jessica coos over a $20,000 necklace, Nicole makes a beeline for a $4,000 white-topaz cross.

“I don’t care how much it costs,” she says, wide-eyed, handling the piece as if it were a newborn.

The whole evening feels like a Tupperware party for the Fendi-bag set. But shortly after Nicole heads back to her sundae, it’s all over; the Dolls have a 5 A.M. wake-up call tomorrow. As far as post-show gatherings go, it is remarkably drama- and ego-free.

The next day, though, someone claiming to be a Serendipity employee posts a mean-spirited and inaccurate account of the party on a popular gossip blog, claiming the Dolls started to “bitch and cry because they could only order desserts … [they] were super loud, and annoyed the balls off of the waiters.” Nearly 500 nasty and mostly unprintable comments follow.

The Pussycat Dolls have three Top Ten singles, 1.5 million in sales for their debut, PCD, and an international fanbase that includes pre-teens and tipsily leering I-bankers. They’ve trained for years to get where they are, and endured numerous dues-paying jobs along the way. Not to mention that they can all sing — some better than others, but still. So what does a Doll have to do in order to get a little respect?
 

Despite popular misconceptions, the Pussycat Dolls are not just a manufactured, interchangeable troupe of lip-syncing backup dancers. Admittedly, their backstory isn’t exactly DIY: Two years ago, Geffen Records chairman Ron Fair decided that Robin Antin’s long-running Los Angeles burlesque troupe of the same name — which drew celeb cameos from the likes of Gwen Stefani, Carmen Electra and Charlize Theron — could make for a viable music act. After a lengthy audition process, the musical Dolls were whittled down to six. The qualifications? To look good in fishnets and heels, of course, but also to be able to dance and carry a tune.

To that end, finding Nicole — a former member of the made-for-TV girl-group Eden’s Crush and the group’s undeniable focal point — was the key moment in the band’s formation. “We were very, very fortunate when Nicole wandered in,” Fair says. “There were some adequate voices in the original group, but we needed a Nicole or a Melody to bring the ability.”

Even with Nicole’s chops, though, finding the right balance between the Dolls’ playfully fleshy past and its recording-career future was tricky: How much skin could they show without turning off potential fans? “When we first started with the record company, everyone was very nervous,” Antin says. “Like, ‘Oh my god, we can’t have the girls wearing fishnets!’ So I had to work very hard to teach these people — who sit at desks every day and maybe aren’t out doing research — that little girls like fishnets, if they’re worn in the right way.”

Indeed, the tween audience is a big part of the Dolls’ demographic, which explains why the band will be immortalized in the form of Hasbro dolls later this year. So parents might be surprised by the act’s outrageously sexy live show, which features plenty of bumping, grinding and heretofore unknown displays of flexibility. Fair acknowledges the band’s brazenness: “Anytime you put a group of girls together, it’s very powerful and wowee-zowee,” he says. “But nobody’s commenting on Beyoncé when she’s gyrating in a video. You need to go see Britney, Christina, any major female pop or urban artist, and see what they do. They’re extremely sexual.”

Fair and Interscope CEO Jimmy Iovine also made sure that their debut CD featured some shining moments of Top 40 R&B, courtesy of collaborators like Timbaland and will.i.am. “Stickwit­u,” an ode to monogamy, is catnip for senior prom slow-dancers. And the club favorite “Don’t Cha” — originally written by Cee-Lo for Outkast backup singer Tori Alamaze — is an aerobicized anthem with the least subtle come-on since “I Wanna Sex You Up”: “Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me/Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?” It’s a catchy and intimidating pop threat, and combined with the album’s third single, “Beep” (“I don’t give a beep/Keep looking at my beep”), it makes the Dolls look like a bunch of stuck-up, man-stealing tramps.

“You’ve got to have a tough head on your shoulders,” says Kimberly. “A lot of reporters and DJs want to bring out the worst in you: ‘Show us your stripper moves!’ I’m like, ‘Dude, I worked for this!’ But you’ve got to put up with it, and put up with it with a smile.”

And so Blender set out to meet with each Doll one on one to hear their stories of Hollywood hard luck, snoop around about their love lives and find out if their bad-girl reps are deserved. This was a task we decided was best accomplished in a Detroit hotel room (ours), clad in a range of semi-revealing outfits (theirs). It all began at 8:30 in the morning, with a knock on our door …
 

Kimberly Wyatt, a bright-eyed blonde, jumps on our bed wearing way-short shorts and tight leggings. Kimberly studied dance at New York’s Joffrey Ballet and got her first big gig with Royal Caribbean cruises; before that, she truly was just a small town girl, living in the lonely world of Warrensburg, Missouri.

So what’s life on the high seas like?
It was exciting. We had drills every single week: We’d hear the alarm, put our big orange life jacket on, and go to our muster stations, which is where you go for the lifeboats to come down. I knew I wanted to quit after my first ship, because I get so seasick, and I was on the toilet every Friday.

What was your must humiliating L.A. gig?
I was on Cedric the Entertainer Presents. It was like In Living Color, and we were the Fly Girls — and I idolized the Fly Girls as a kid. But they had us in the craziest costumes — lingerie and clear raincoats. I did it anyway — I was under contract.

In the spirit of “Don’t Cha,” what’s the freakiest thing you’ve ever done?
Moving to L.A.! I decided to give up everything and pack my bags and live on Sunset Boulevard. It was freaky. I still look back and think, “How the hell did I do it?”


After Kimberly leaves, cute-as-a-button Melody Thornton takes her place, wearing a tank-top that shows off her toned arms and a ballcap that plays up her Phoenix, Arizona, roots. The youngest Doll, Melody drove to the group’s 2003 audition and was one of the first to be signed up.

So you’re the lucky one — you came to L.A., auditioned and got the gig. No raincoats-and-lingerie getups for you!
I’m so lucky. When I first met all of the girls, some of them — not the girls who are in the group now — were not as welcoming. I was like, “What? I’m a kid! Leave me alone!”

How did you feel when they told you Nicole was going to be the lead singer?
How can I put it? I have an idea of what I want out of this, and I think that it’ll definitely come. I’m biding my time. Whether they want to admit it or not, we all see this as a springboard for something else. Some girls have said, “It’s my dream to be in a pop group,” and I’m like, “OK, because I want to be Mariah Carey.”

What do you look for in a guy?
I’m young, so I’m still pretty shallow, and I go for muscles. The girls say I go for the meatheads, which is not true. I like guys that are buff! There’s nothing wrong with that. I mean, he’s gotta be intelligent … sometimes.


When Jessica Sutta enters the room, she sits upright and stretches one leg out in a yoga-like pose that Blender would have thought was humanly impossible. Jessica, a pale brunette with a sharp sense of humor, was raised in Miami, where she was the head cheerleader for the Miami Heat.

When did you first realize you could get a guy’s attention?
In middle school, boys were kind of mean to me, and my mom was like, “That’s because somebody has a crush on you!” I was definitely flirtatious. I’m more reserved now.

How reserved are you when it comes to the Pussycat Dolls outfits?
I love to look sexy, but I think less is more. My mom has always instilled in me to have poise. When I first booked the Pussycat Dolls, she didn’t really like the name. And I was like, “Mom, you know I wouldn’t be part of something that wasn’t tasteful or classy.”

What was the first concert she took you to?
Debbie Gibson. I thought she was the coolest. I actually got to meet her like a year or two years ago. I freaked out: “Oh my god, Debbie Gibson!” And she was like, “It’s Deborah.” I don’t know if she took it right.

Are you dating anyone now?
I don’t really have time for that. In London there was a tabloid rumor about me dating James Blunt. Which is so not true.

What’s the freakiest thing you’ve ever done?
It’s going to take a couple of dates and some gifts to get that out of me.


Suddenly in need of some air, Blender takes a break and futilely attempts to crack open the room’s suicide-proof windows. That’s when Ashley Roberts pops in, wearing a post-workout tank-top and tight sweatpants. Ashley, whose father was a drummer in the Mamas & the Papas, was 19 when she got her first professional dancing job. The good news was that it was a national tour; the bad news was that it was with Aaron Carter.

Who was your first pop-star crush?
My dad’s mom was a jazz dancer, and she would babysit me. She had VH1 on all the time, and whenever George Michael came on, she’d be like, “Ooooh, look at him in those tight pants! His butt just moves!” I remember being like, “Yeah, Nana, he’s so hot!”

What do you look for in a guy?
Confidence but not cockiness. A guy who can be goofy, because I’m such a dork. I actually didn’t have a boyfriend until I was 19. I was just a dork with my dancing.

Are the Dolls a showbiz stepping stone?
We all have a home with the Dolls. But I wouldn’t mind venturing out. I love acting. I’d like to do a romantic comedy someday. I make a lot of weird faces. I don’t have any cartilage in my nose, so it goes in really weird directions.

Roberts heads off to the showers, and Carmit Bachar struts in, wearing a fur-collared top and earrings the size of beer coasters. Carmit is the oldest of the Dolls and has been a member since 1995; her dance career has taken her from one infamous gig to another, including Janet Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl snafu.

What do you look for in a guy?
Humor, style … he’s got to have at least one killer dance move. And sixpack abs never hurts.

Are you dating anyone now?
I hate dating. Dating is wack. You either have a connection with somebody or you don’t.

As a firsthand witness, what’s your take on Nipplegate?
None of us knew that was going to happen. We’d been rehearsing for a month. We were walking off the field, looking up at the screen and it was like, “Oh my god, was that Janet’s tit?” I don’t know, to this day. When you watch it, it looks like Justin went to grab something. If my boob came out, my first reaction would be to cover it. But she didn’t. So I don’t know.


And then there’s Nicole Scherzinger.
None of the other members have any illusions about Nicole’s place in the group: She is the star, the one who co-writes the songs, hits every tough note and stands front-and-center in the band’s photos and live shows. Raised in Hawaii and Kentucky by conservative parents, Nicole is the most unpredictable Doll, shifting from hyperanimated to quietly demure within seconds. She’s also the most concerned with the group’s music: While most of the girls are trying to figure out what to do with their day off tomorrow, Nicole has slotted the time to work on new songs; she’s already got a dozen or so for her next album, which she insists won’t be a solo record … yet.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a performer?
I was very shy when I was a child, and the thing that opened me up was singing. That was the only way I could communicate — otherwise, I’d be hiding behind my mom’s leg.

You sang your way to L.A., and then tried acting for a year. What was that like?
I never got so much rejection in my life — never. I had a full year of rejection.

What was the worst audition?
I needed the money, and I was like, “I am going to be the best dancing toothbrush I can for Oral-B.” [Laughs] I went to the dancing auditions and really saw myself as that toothbrush. I went for it. And I didn’t get the job. It’s funny now, but it was life and death at the time.

What did you learn from Eden’s Crush?
After I worked my balls off for two years and didn’t make a dime? It was very hard to be in a girl group that was put together on television [on the WB’s Popstars], with cameras in our face all the time. I was always caring about what other people thought. But it really made my skin thick.

Did you date a lot in high school?
I was very shy when it came to guys. My sophomore year in high school I started dating a boy [Nick Hexum from 311], and we were together for seven years. I’m never really good at dating. I just kind of get engaged.

What’s the freakiest thing you’ve ever done?
Have you ever heard of secondhand vision? Where one person can’t see, and the other person sees through him? I did this thing with Keith Barry, an illusionist, where I was in the car and he was driving [with his eyes covered] at full speed on a narrow road with cliffs. He kept saying, “Don’t take your eyes off the road!” I was screaming the whole time. But I thought, “If I die, at least people would see it.”


A few hours after Nicole bids adieu — and before she can get in her daily ab-busting workout — the Dolls are wedged inside the tiny back room of a strip-mall Verizon store in Detroit. Candles, luncheon meat and a graveyard of random office supplies cramp the makeshift green room.

The group is here for a pre-show autograph session, where they kiss babies and get scoped out very closely by two strange but harmless guy fans who have been at the store since 1 A.M. This is the flipside to the teasing, party-all-the-time image: the grunt work, the all-day rehearsals, the leering onlookers. There will always be naysayers tearing down the group’s vixen image, but never let it be said that these six showbiz survivors haven’t earned the right to do whatever they want — even if that means slapping their butt while wearing a lace bustier. And besides, when it comes to public approval, the Pussycat Dolls really couldn’t give a beep.

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