For many a Pop spectator, Nicole Scherzinger’s standing in Pop music is oft…well…a little confusing.
For, as the front woman of Robin Antin‘s ‘Pussycat Dolls‘, she dominated many a chart with their tongue in cheek brand of sexy. However, up until her stint on ‘The X Factor UK’, her run as a solo act came flatter than a Rihanna vocal pre-autotune- failing to score a US release for her debut LP.
Now, her former group member Ashley Roberts has opened up on her time in the group, in a conversation of the UK’s ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here’, in which she stars in.
Her story below…
Surprised she had won the support of the British public since joining the show, she shared:
“Even in the group I wasn’t allowed to talk, we were told to be quiet. Only Nicole was allowed to talk, we would occasionally pitch in.”
When asked if this rule ‘had driven her nuts’ by Brit actress Charlie Brooks, Roberts went on to say:
“Are you serious? Why do you think the band broke up? U2 are still together and they split everything down the middle”. When asked if ‘The Dolls’ split everything weekly, she confessed: “No’.
Catch her in action below:
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LOL i think we all know it was Nicole and backup dancers
@ashly- b**** get over it and stfu
Ashley is more famous than nicole in the UK now. KARMA.
Nicole is on UK’s x factor :/
what are you talking about??
Well, UK is actually the only place where Nicole is successful in TBH
Ashley? gurrrr bye
EXCUSE me i live in this country, x-factor ratings have plummeted! Ashley has become a household name on the biggest/most watched show in the UK “Im a Celebrity” and is set to WIN
“……..her run as a solo act came flatter than a Rihanna vocal pre-autotune- failing to score a US release for her debut LP.”
WHYYYYYYY THIS SAHDE tho??? lmaooooooooooo
And is anyone surprised? I thought the other girls were just back up dancers…
Like Kelly and Michelle!
What? Go back and learn Destinyschildology!
You know it wasn’t until ‘Survivor’ that each girl had there own verse….after the huge breakup and reassembly, followed by another disbandment.
erm… ur wrong kelly had her own verse’s on the first destinys child album.. i know you trying to educate but at least get it right!
Sam you are a rihanna fan #BYE
LOL!
sad to see music business can be like that
artists need to stand up 4 their own
artists need to speak openly and expose their bosses
Nicole was a shady b**** n I’m glad she flops as a solo artist…. she didn’t care to be in a group with them h*** that’s why she tried going solo after the first pcd album & failed horribly then had to run back to the group to stay on top….Smh
I agree with you BUT look at it this way, if your dream was to be a “head” chef but you were just part of a team, would you still be happy?
Nicole is a great person but her career is performing. You shouldn’t call people nasty names for building their career. Lots of people leave one job for something they think they will find more fulfillment in only to return to the first job for many reasons, including being offered significantly more money and control over their work. Business is business and she chose a touch career. Always remember, every performer in the world is working a temporary job every day that they work. All of the Dolls were paid a flat salary, their success mostly benefited people who never performed at all.
Nicole = Beyonce
Nooo…. Beyonce was the lead vocalist….but you heard the other girls…and you knew them by name.
Oh plz u knew damme well who the other members of dc were
You failed miserably with that comment.
Nope. All Nicole did was take the Beyonce formula to its next logical formula. “Why pretend we’re all equal? Let’s shove my superiority down your throat!” Bey debuted in a time where there was more modesty. Regardless of what anyone says the one girl singing lead formula DAMAGED Destiny’s Child in all its incarnations and made them seem a lot less talented a group than they really were. Check the writing credits of TWOTW and see LeToya credited as songwriter 9 times to Beyonce’s 11. Truth? LeToya was a threat to B’s shine.
True s***!
actually kelly did a lot of higher note on the albums….kelly and bey are very close so she sang a lot more than the other girls did but of course not as much as Beyonce. You can hear it….go listen to some old dc…
Also with the p**** cat dolls i’m pretty sure all of those girls can sing they just wasn’t given the chance. I love Melody Thornton’s voice. Remember that one live performance when Necole was late and Melody Sang lead and when Nicole walk out they turned Melody’s mic down because she was out singing Nicole…smh damn shame
yep, no surprises here. nicole might wanna consider finding some more backup dancers and bringback pcd if she wants to chart somewhere besides the uk. i find it hilarious that for all her “talent” no1 curr bout her unless theres 3 or 4 or 5 other girls behind her.
This was the management’s fault, not Nicoles.
Honestly if she felt so bad she should have left! oh but then she wouldnt be able to see herself on telly then would she?
ummm. are you braindead. she DID leave. they all left. it takes some time before you finally realized folks ain’t trying to act right. until that point I’m sure they were voicing their concerns but it fell on deaf ears.
Look, I feel bad for Ashley BUT all this was in her contract and nothing she didn’t know prior to entering the group. Nicole wrote, sang, and co-produced many not if all the songs they sang. On top of that, in the label contracts with group acts, they label each member replaceable or non replaceable by their role and popularity in the group. Again ALL of this was in her contract. Of course Nicole was going to get more money just like Beyonce did because her role BY CONTRACT in the group, which was to be lead. She needs to really move past this and not sign future contracts if she doesn’t like the set up…
Girl, how do you know what was in their contract?? I doubt you were their.
Gurl its called common sense. A friedn of mine works at EMI as an A&R and deals with things like this on the regular. Major labels don’t do anything that the artist doesn’t know if they actually READ the contract or get a lawyer to help them comprehend the legal terms, which she clearly didn’t since she’s so baffled by everything..
Until you have actually viewed contracts yourself, you can’t say what was in theirs. Melody also said that the other members were under the impression that they would write more and be a part of the creative process, but as time went on, that wasn’t true. Sounds like they were not told up front that Nicole would be the only leader or that she would always be the leader. And of course they stayed to get a pay check and hoped for the best. WHAT F****** JOB CAN YOU GET AFTER BEING IN A SUCCESSFUL POP GROUP?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMOtX-hmHtg <<Girls Aloud Theory On Pcd Is/Was Right On Point
:O…Cheryl dissing Melody, oh no she didn’t! Somebody should’ve smacked after that interview!
If Nicole was the only one singing why she they split everything equally ? I’m tired of them bashing and hating on Nicole. I’m sure they signed a contract when they first got in the group and they knew what was up. Nicole was the lead singer and the rest were back up dancers period.
It’s funny cuz I think Nicole needs the girls more then they need her. Nicole ‘s solo career never taken off and no one cares for her now
Yep but have you heard from any of the other girls either? Exactly.
Yes! Melody’s mixtape was fire and Jessica had a #1 hit with Show Me which was included on the Now CD as well. Kim had a #1 hit in the UK and has been judging a dance show over there for 2 years now. Ashley is doing this show and just released her first single on iTunes. They aren’t sitting around pining after their former roles as Nicole’s lap dogs TRUST!
Had some mistakes in last post …..
If Nicole was the only one singing then why should they split everything equally ? I’m tired of them bashing and hating on Nicole. I’m sure they signed a contract when they first got in the group and they knew what was up. Nicole was the lead singer and the rest were back up dancers period.
If Nicole is writing, producing and things like that then she deserved more money. Singing lead vocals wouldn’t determine that she would get more money than the rest, at least not normally. But I think Nicole signed her PCD contract with specific provisions (like promise of a solo album) but I don’t know what her contract , or the others, stated.
This splitting the money thing has happened before to girl groups but it was the songwriters vs the rest of the band, including the lead singer. It usually comes down to whose writing vs whose not.
The music industry can be shady but Nicole did play a big part in writing, singing and co-producing a lot of their songs. I would expect Nicole to be getting a bigger paycheck than the rest espcieally if she’s singing all the vocals and the other girls are just dancing to the music.
When people get a chance to be a star, they get all excited, jumping to sign any and everything while forgetting that it’s a business and when it comes to business, people have THEIR best interest at heart, not yours. I’m sure Nicole being the “leader” of the group was in the contract. If it weren’t, why hasn’t any of the girls tried to sue Management or Nicole?
It is in the contract if their is a lead singer and you can’t sue the business affairs department at the label if you signed on the dotted line. Nothing in the industry is done without a contract including roles in a group.
there*
Melody said that the other members were under the impression that they would be apart of the music creative process as well, but this did not happen! Sounds like the label did a Diddy (what he did with DK and Dawn). They specifically chose only Nicole to be allowed to write, not the others.
BOO F****** HOO. Maybeyou shoulda said something… 8 years ago.
That’s because Nicole was the only one with talent. If this chick wants the spotlight she should go into p***, she fine as f***! I’d split her down the middle 😉
melody can SANG gwurl, go listen to her mixtape
Melody and Nicole could sing.
Well it’s better to be making some money and still be in the public eye than to do nothing like she’s doing now!
To be fair, I think we all knew it was true. And I’m glad Ashley is on TV in the UK because she’s coming across very well and she’s now the favourite to win. And I agree with whoever said Nicole needs the girls because it’s true. They might just have been “back up dancers” but her career fell apart without them. PCD could have been so much more if the other girls were given a chance. Everybody knew Melody was the best singer and she hardly got any chance to shine.
agree
It seems like Melody and Nicole were the only ones that could sing tho.
that’s because they covered her flaws and made for good entertainment….she’s not Beyonce she’s not friends with the girls and she’s not a very good solo entertainer …she better do like Rihanna and hire a choreographer and some good writers
p.s. of the sub but I love that rihanna is dancing now
Wow….. 0_o
Can she even sing?? I don’t live in the UK but I can’t imagine that she gets more attention over there than the spice girl hasbeens….
She’s now in the final 2 of Im a celeb. Hope she wins!
Nicole did write some of them songs, so yeah, she is gonna make more money than the others. But yeah, necole can be shady. She stole dont cha, and the dont cha dance routine from elise neal. If she wasnt so greedy. And waited till they released they third alumb before going solo. She probably would be a superstar. She could have used the group to her advantage like beyonce and justin timberlake did
The same reasons why LeToya and Latavia left DC….cuz Daddy Thief Knowles and Beyonce Thief Knowles! Stealing money not splitting it the way it should’ve been and making them feel like s***!
melody was the best singer and still is, Nicole was a b**** and it showed and i will never buy a album or single from her unless its the groups or the other girls. she spoke f**k in her true Hollywood story and i wish that b**** would just die cause with out those girls she a f**king FLOP
i’ve seen two of melody thronton’s videos from her mixtape i think it was??? Better than anything Nicole ever put out. Melody just needs to harness that voice.
Grape can’t keep Rihanna’s name out of everyone’s topic. Everything has to be about Rihanna. They have to bring Rihanna’s name up to get comments. How sad and pathetic. Rihanna received her first #1 album in the US, get over it.
Oh, a white Latavia…
We all know “Pussycat Dolls” real name should have been “Sherzy and The Holograms” (No offense to my girl Melody).
And did she say U2? Guuurl!
Nicole basically created One Direction who reinvigorated the X-factor franchise and the boy bands. She ain’t going nowhere now, Simon will always have a job for her.
To be fair on their song ‘Santa Baby’ Ashley & Jessica sing lead vocals on that song. Also Ashley had her own solo song on Doll Domination called ‘Played’ as did the other girls. My favorite was ‘Played’ and ‘Space’ by Melody Thornton. Second Jessica sings on ‘Top of The World’ in the very beginning of the song. And when the girls performed ‘Beep’ Jessica, Kim & Ashley sang a part of the hook. And of course Melody had her own solo songs during their tours ‘Fever’ and ‘Hey Big Spender’ as part of their old school PCD section, and Melody also sang the second verse of ‘Magic’ instead of Nicole, during their Doll Domination Tour.
And Melody was the Co-Lead vocalist in the group. Go listen to ‘Takin Over The World, Elevator, Painted Windows, Love The Way You Love Me, & Beep’ because Melody sings lead vocals on those songs with Nicole. And adlibs on many other songs like ‘Top of The World, Tainted Love, Buttons, I Don’t Need A Man, Sway, Whatcha Think About That, Stickwitu’.
Melody was always my favorite in the group and it’s too bad they never gave Melody lead vocals with Nicole because that made the group look better.
I love how people who don’t know the whole story keeps saying “it was in her contract she knew what was up” or “she shouldn’t have signed” when that isn’t the case. When PCD the recording group was formed their was to be four lead singers Nicole, Carmit, Melody & Kaya Jones (who left shortly before Don’t Cha came out) with the other girls doing backing and additional vocals. That’s why on their earlier records (Sway, We Went As Far As We Felt Like Going, Supernatural, Tainted Love & Flirt) & performances All 4 of them sang lead vocals with the other dolls doing backgrounds. For whatever reasons AFTER The group was already formed The label changed their minds and decided Nicole was going to sing lead. Which is why Kaya decided to quit. Nicole ended up not only being the featured lead singer but she did alot of the backgrounds too which cut the other dolls roles almost completely out. That wasn’t in their contract and Melody has said time and time again they were told AFTER the fact they weren’t going to be singing. She said she had to learn to dance because she originally only SIGNED to be a singer. Ashley was one of the featured singers in the burlesque PCD (Around the time Santa Baby was recorded) and she along with Jessica and Carmit were picked to join this line up because they could sing. Kim’s probably the only doll that only ever danced before the recoding group started. It’s unfortunate for them how things ended up because by the time the 2nd album rolled around the other dolls including Melody had very little to do with it or the group period. Most of the songs are Nicole’s leftover scraps from her shelved album anyway. I believe they put up with the label changing the formula because it was their shot at stardom honestly how many of us would turn it down? even if we hated it? I don’t even really blame Nicole for them making her lead that’s the label’s fault and what was she gonna do say no? That was her opportunity too. I do blame her however for becoming a total self centered diva that was hard to work with. That had to have made an already tense situation worse.