Say what folk will about The Pussycat Dolls, but quinter managed to acheive a feat every artist dreams of: delivering a faultless single run from a singular album.
From The Vault journeys back a decade to a time where the Dolls were ruling the charts with their brand of fun, fierce Pop. ‘Wait A Minute’ is this week’s selection.
Serviced as the sixth and last single from hit-factory ‘PCD’ in 2006, ‘Minute’ featured producer extraordinaire Timbaland as a guest vocalist. It was helmed by the latter and written by Miss Keri Hilson.
Just like Timbo’s work on Nelly Furtado’s ‘Promiscuous,’ the track centres on a “girl vs boy” back-and-forth; only the ladies are less flirtatious and much more assertive.
The cut was a US Top 30 for the group (#28) and peaked at #16 in Australia. Not bad for the last of six uber-successful singles from an album released more than a year prior.
Directed by Marc Webb, the tune’s visual – which features Timbaland too – saw the girls take on the streets of LA as well as its underground. Indeed, the Dolls delivery trademark pole-dancing inside a subway train and stop traffic with their killer choreography. As ever with PCD, the video drips sass, glam and camp.
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We won’t dwell on the demise of The Pussycat Dolls and how premature it seemed (they only had two albums). Instead we’ll focus on the slay-by-slay era that was their debut.
It’s refreshing when artists skew left with their music and visuals. Yet, we also relish a filler-free body of work where every song – not just the 3 singles lined up for release – tells its own story in an easily digest-able and mass appealing manner (e.g: ‘PCD,’ Gwen Stefani’s ‘LoveAngelMusicBaby’, and Katy Perry’s ‘Teenage Dream.’)
With today’s artists overly pre-occupied with being “anti” and one-upping one another with edgy “event” releases, it feels as though the era of the simple slay is long behind us. So join us as we salute the Pussycat Dolls for their uncomplicated brand of Pop domination.
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BISH! PCD slayyyed my soul back in 2005, and I was only 10. lol.
How odd that Nicole, the lead singer, only sells when she’s in a group, but on her own she flops hard.
Happens a lot. For ever Dianna, MJ, Beyonce and JT, there’s a dozen Nicoles, Omarions, Zayn and… that’s all I can recall.
What you mean ZAYN!
Pillowtalk was the number one single!
So did Sisqo, still a one hit wonder flop. Next!
Oh come on Zayn has many hits to come!
He’s only getting started!
And even if he doesn’t Mind of Mine was top notch r&b, who cares if all the songs were to flop!
Remember – most songs that do well are sh*t anyway!
Rihanna, britney spears, fifth harmony, these artists do well but make s**t songs. S**t sells, people love to listen to s**t! So of course some good song from Mind of Mine will flop, the young kids and teens (most mainstream music listeners) don’t want to sit through a song with meaning or a song that is more calm, they only want stuff that you can “turn up” to!
The general public doesn’t want to hear some song like Run or something like that that Nicole put her soul into, they don’t want a song about reflecting on life like most of Zayn’s songs, they just want some p***y poppin’ club bangin’ bulls**t!
No wonder all the good artists flop!
Nicole – flop
Keyshia Cole – flop
Zayn – flop?
Except for ciara and tinashe all the good artists flop!
And then people act like that’s a reason to hate them!
“Ooh…I don’t like Nicole, she’s a flop!”
That’s most people’s logic! Not because she did something bad/wrong, not because she was caught LICKING DOUGHNUTS, not because she used the black community to get more support for her album (like somebody else), but just because her album didn’t do good! That’s something that you can’t help! Maybe if people would buy music, maybe if they would listen to something other than drake/rihanna/beyonce/fetty wap/young thug/desiigner 24-7, maybe all these artists wouldn’t flop so hard!
I wasn’t too keen on this song but cannot deny the impact and tunes they made in the noughties, it’s a shame that Nicole started feeling herself too much
Yes yes & more YES ! I was so crazy over these girls when they were on the scene . We all know Nicole was the lead singer but those other girls had soooo much personality ! and could dance their ass off ! my favorite will always be Kim , that standing leg split is ICONIC ! ?
PCD was a great group! Too bad Nicole let her ego get the best of her and go off solo BEFORE IT WAS TIME…. They were truly the last girl group that could pick up where Destinys Child left off. Memories
I would’ve “let my ego get the best of me” too, if I was doing all the singing/picking the songs/basically being a solo artist and having to share the spotlight with some others who are basically not doing anything.
You clearly forgot about Danity Kane which was a better Destiny’s Child successor than PCD ever could have been. DC was never sexually s-lut-ty like PCD.
Um…have you even listened to their album in full? Never slutty? Hahaha.
This group was so DOPE! That album still bops for sure!
Nicole was her own worst enemy. From depression, self esteem issues etc. and after the success for the 1st album she felt as though she could break out as a soloist off rip. However you must let the public favor you first i.e. Destiny Childs. We all knew Beyoncé was the star of the group, but it was the constant material the was pushed from the group that after time led public to say “I can’t wait till she goes solo”. Instead we was still trying to pronounce her name. She should’ve just kept her solo efforts under lock and key and saved it for later, used the Matthew Knowles blue print and maybe….and that’s a BIG maybe…her and Bey could’ve been direct competition.
What she was supposed to be in a group that isn’t actually a group? The only difference between being in that group or going solo is the name, that group was like a solo artist using the name of a group as their stage name when it comes to the actual singing. I would’ve wanted to go solo too. I shouldn’t say “go solo”, she was already solo in pcd. But she probably wanted her own name on the songs, not the name of a group who didn’t actually do anything for the songs. It wasn’t like you had a beyonce, a kelly and a michelle, there was a beyonce and that’s it. It was a brand not a band and she didn’t want to be part of it anymore. Who would!
“And then we brought in the other girls and we played them the album. We played the pussycat dolls album for the pussycat dolls, it was the first time they’d ever heard the songs.”
– Nicole
Clealry it wasn’t just a name change because no one bought into Nicole. Those other girl must’ve brought something, I don’t know what, but solo isn’t for everyone.
Actually PCD was suppose to be 3 singers and 3 dancers with Nicole being lead . Carmit and Melody both had vocals on the 1st album . Nicole being in the front 24/7 is why the group started going down hill in the first place . the general public got sick of her always being in the front and wanted to hear the other girls ! That’s the exact reason the 2nd album didn’t do as well as the first because most of the material leaked to the web before its release and the public clearly saw Nicole was doing all the singing . You may not want to admit it but those other girls had something ! and they gave Nicole what she lacked and that was personality ! Her and Melody were the worst dancers in the group when they first came out . Nicole needed those other girls ! it was obvious when she went running back to the group after the first attempt .
Well yeah she wanted to have her names on the songs that why the last materiel for like “Hush Hush” and “Jai Ho” began saying or being labeled as PCD featuring Nicole Scerzinger, which would have pissed me off as a smart business person too (meaning the other women or backup dancers)
Yass! Nicole singing, Timbo bringing his usual goofiness, Ms. Keri as a writer, yass!
Oh and some dancers too!
The only time anybody cared about Nioole whatever her last name is.
Says the guy with “weezy tha goat” in his name.
The goat is short for (G)reatest (O)f (A)ll (T)ime
Breaking solo is all about timing. You have to complete the group first and then try solo. If Beyonce would have went solo during the first breakup, she would had flopped. She BARELY got there in 2003, she pushed her trail back from 2002 and they used the “we’re doing solo projects, we’re still a group” for backup and tested the waters. Same with JT, even the members of his group didn’t know it was over until AFTER the success of Invincible Leftovers. Nicole and Omarion broke solo way too fast. You have to establish the group first. Filth No Harmony better do their homework and wait it out.
I still don’t know any of the other girls though ?
Some people are exaggerating here. Impact? Pussycat Dolls? Impact? 🙂 Guys is was brief and easy pop. nothing else and nothing pop music history has not seen many times through the decades. They were nice though for some fun and the dancing is always entertaining.
Same applies with Gags. The irony.
You are so absolutely pressed at everything mate. Lady Gaga has nothing to do with this. But if you want to compare this group and her… obviously YES Lady Gaga had much more impact on all fronts. I mean, be realistic for once. I know stanning for Rihanna must take the best of anyone´s brain but really, come on. Grow up once and for all.
PCD had the same short run as Gags did. I don’t see the differences. You mentions brief and easy pop, that would be The Fame and Died This Way. Gags didn’t have not ONE deep meaningful song during her short run.
Differences are clear as day:
– Nobody was talkinga about how Lady Gaga had so much impact in this post, so I didn´t point that out, it wasn´t the topic. Nobody said anything untrue about Gaga here. Some did about PCD, since they clearly didn´t have any especially big impact. But somehow you, as the typial person with no arguments, had to resrot to the easy and tired type of shade.
– Secondly, if you believe (I know you don´t) PCD had the same impact as Gaga maybe you need to check yourself for some reality treatment or something. Gaga´s sales way bigger, Gaga´s singles too, and those will be played for a while. The PSC dolls songs nobody remembers. Let´s be real. Gaga transcended that and even if commercially she is not strong now, she is slaying with talent everywhere, getting to perform at the Oscars type of stages several times and releasing Jazz albums successfully. Where are these girls. Does anyone know their name around the world? Is Nicole constalntly performing with real legends everywhere? Seriously, just leave it here.
Why not an impact? If britney, rihanna, janet, ciara, and others like that can have an impact, that’s all I’ll say.
It’s funny how people like to act like PCD had no deep/meaningful songs.
Hush Hush
How Many Times, How Many Lies
I’m Done
Until You Love You
Hapily Never After
Even I Hate This Part, I know it was on the radio but it wasn’t a dance song like their other hits.
Those songs I listed all have lots of meaning. Vocals on point too!
Oh yeah, I forgot, you people are probably only familiar with “dontcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me”, and “loosen up my buttons.” You just hear them on the radio and assume that all of their songs are the same! F****** losers!
People love to bring Nicole down for some reason and it’s sickening! Maybe it’s because she can sing better than your wackass fave? Especially if your fave is rihanna! Maybe you’re just jealous of her talent/sexiness, I don’t know. Nicole haters are the worst haters, right up there with Boosie haters, Lil Wyte haters, ZAYN haters, and 2Pac haters!
These people hate on Nicole but when I come for their fave they start to have a fit and cry like a lil b****!
I get it, she wrote all the songs. But if the GP didn’t take into your brand the first try, then she should had reworked that contract, got that producer/writer credit, took home the bigger cut and kept it pushing. But this is the case of wanting fame instead of success.
Honestly, I never liked this song which is odd because I am a huge Timbo fan and I liked most of their singles from this era. This song was just always annoying to me. #NEXT!
I’ve always been fond of Nicole (the solo artist) and PCD for that matter! They were a striking group of girls! ‘Buttons’ and ‘I Hate this Part’ still slay! Those 2 videos are some of the best from the previous decade in Pop music!
It’s unfortunate, but there’s always those handful of artists that just don’t make the cut, even when they have what it takes! Nicole Scherzinger, Ameriie, Danity Kane and even City High’s, Claudette Ortiz were some of the few artists that I had serious plans for, but for some reason it just didn’t come together! In Nicole’s case she really could have gone far. She knew how to command a stage like Janet, JLO, Britney and all the others! It’s just that the material was too middle of the road (although she had a few decent singles: ‘Right There’, ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’, ‘Your Love’). It just took too long to get things off the ground!
I think this would have been a great starter single for her! It’s like an updated, funky version of Madonna’s Lucky Star/Borderline/Holiday wrapped into one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdTCwgYtykI
People who hate on Nicole for being a flop are so retarded.
They act like to sell records you have to good music. They act like to be poppin’ you have to put so much meaning into your music.
Let’s look at some of the top artists right now, the guys who most of these kids think are “so hot.”
Lil Yatchty, Kodack Black, Lil Uzi Vert, and Desiigner. Then for pop artists there’s rihanna, fifth harmony, and ariana grande. Those rappers are doing so well right now, especially desiigner, drake, young thug, future, but is their music anything new? Is it inventive? Is it meaningful? No! The less meaningful and more generic the more popular it is!
Is it a coincidence that Nicoles’ most generic, most repetitive, least meaningful, and in my opinion worst songs are the songs that have done best?
Your love, right there, poison, these are like her worst songs imo and surprisingly they’re the ones that did the best! People don’t want to hear her songs with actual meaning or with actual good vocals, no, that’s not cool.
“Let’s just listen to the same five drake/rihanna songs all day, okay, this song by nicole is okay, the one where she just sings doodoodoodoodoodoodoodoo, but I don’t want to hear an actual song of hers where she actually really uses her vocals, a song that I can’t bob my head to! If I can’t turn up to it it’s not good! If it’s not on the radio it’s not good!”
Also, Nicole didn’t have the right people BEHIND her, literally! You people who really know the music industry know what I mean by that! And beyonce had the biggest rapper supporting her all this time, he took rihanna under his wing and made her the huge pop star she is, Nicole never had somebody “helping” her and supporting her. She never had somebody like jay-z, like how beyonce and rihanna have jay. She had a few big name features, but nobody like jay z. Like I said, she didn’t have the right people BEHIND her. And she didn’t want certain people BEHIND her, if you know what I mean! She wasn’t takin’ no big D just to be the biggest star!
Melody Thornton was the real star. I could not stand nicole. Her voice was so basic. Ok but basic. Melody was far more soulful and had her riffs and runs on lock.
Are you high? Melodies voice was horrible! Ouch! Her runs hurt my ears! Nicole has a very soulful voice, it just wasn’t used in their singles. But if you listen to “how many times, how many lies”, “feelin’ good”, “hush hush (original)” and other songs, you’ll see that her voice was much better, and didn’t sound like she was on the verge of death while singing like melody!
Lol leave me alone. I don’t take advice on music from white people
Um…
Melody Thornton is the best singer of this group. She nails them all. Still waiting for her debut album
Yeah, the best singer that never got to sing!
Nice video even tho the song is old