Maps of Music

PCD (2005)

Where the lyrics of PCD take you, and where it was really made.

The Pussycat Dolls' biggest hit came before their debut album existed, and the album was then recorded within 30 days.

Key places

Recording at The Record Plant in Hollywood (2005)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The group worked on the album within 30 days at The Record Plant in Hollywood, California, after 'Don't Cha' had already become an international hit. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• PCD: debut studio album by American girl group The Pussycat Dolls
• Released September 12, 2005 by A&M Records; in the UK on the 12th, in the US the following day
• Largely produced by Ron Fair, who served as one of the executive producers
• Musical style: a fusion of pop, R&B and dance-pop
• Lyrics focus on sexuality, love and feminism
• Six singles: 'Don't Cha', 'Stickwitu', 'Beep', 'Buttons', 'I Don't Need a Man', 'Wait a Minute'
• Sold 9 million units worldwide as of 2020

Background

• The group grew out of a burlesque troupe created by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995
• In 2003 Antin struck a joint venture with Interscope Records to develop the group into a brand, and Jimmy Iovine assigned the project to Fair
• Auditions drew about 500 aspiring performers; Nicole Scherzinger and Melody Thornton were recruited and joined Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta and Kimberly Wyatt
• 'Don't Cha' was originally recorded by Tori Alamaze and was given to the group at the suggestion of Doug Morris, then chairman of Universal Music Group
• 'Don't Cha' became an international success before an album had been recorded

Recording

• Recording of the album began in 2004
• The group worked on the album within 30 days at The Record Plant in Hollywood, California
• Fair enlisted producers including Kwamé, Polow da Don and Rich Harrison, and songwriters and producers including CeeLo Green, Timbaland and will.i.am
• Rapper Busta Rhymes appears on 'Don't Cha'
• 'Hot Stuff (I Want You Back)' was reworked from a song called 'Bitter Pill' and samples Donna Summer's 'Hot Stuff' in the chorus

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• An American girl group and dance ensemble founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1995 by choreographer Robin Antin as a neo-burlesque troupe.
• Antin negotiated a record deal with Interscope Geffen A&M Records in 2003, turning the troupe into a pop music franchise.
• Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Melody Thornton and Kimberly Wyatt formed the recording line-up.

Members

• Nicole Scherzinger was the lead vocalist and the group's main singer.
• Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Melody Thornton and Kimberly Wyatt were the other members of the classic line-up.
• Membership changed several times over the years, including departures in 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Career

• The debut album PCD (2005) sold three million copies in the United States; "Don't Cha" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
• The second and final studio album Doll Domination (2008) included "When I Grow Up" and "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)".
• The group went on hiatus in 2009 and fully disbanded in 2010.
• A reunion was announced in 2019, but the reunion tour was cancelled in 2022; a trio of Roberts, Scherzinger and Wyatt reunited in 2026.
• The group has sold 55 million records worldwide.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• PCD received mixed reviews from music critics; the dance-pop selection was praised, while the ballads and covers were criticized
• Critics said the covers and ballads were at odds with the group's sexual image
• Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said the ballad 'Stickwitu' undercut the joyous celebration of the up-tempo tracks
• Elysa Gardner of USA Today praised 'infectious hooks and grooves' on 'Stickwitu' and 'I Don't Need a Man'
• Robert Christgau of Consumer Guide gave the album a one-star honorable mention
• Raymond Fiore of Entertainment Weekly and BBC's Lisa Haines both criticized 'Hot Stuff (I Want You Back)' and 'Tainted Love'/'Where Did Our Love Go'
• Darryl Sterdan of Winnipeg Sun called the covers 'embarrassing' and the balladry 'overcooked'

Reappraisal

• Jon O'Brien of The Recording Academy reviewed the covers more positively in a retrospective ahead of the 20th anniversary, writing that they 'gave several classics new life'

Records

• Debuted and peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 99,000 copies
• Entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight; the UK's BPI certified it four times platinum for 1.2 million copies
• New Zealand: peaked at number one
• Certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA, counting combined sales and album-equivalent units of four million in the United States
• Worldwide sales of 9 million copies to date

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• 'Don't Cha' was the group's breakthrough hit and one of the biggest hits of 2005 worldwide, released before the album came out
• The group's first televised US performance was 'Tainted Love' with Carmen Electra on VH1 Divas on April 18, 2004
• While searching for songs for the album, an A&R at Interscope Records played 'Bitter Pill' to Jimmy Iovine
• Donna Summer's 'Hot Stuff' is sampled in the chorus of 'Hot Stuff (I Want You Back)'
• Chinese government censorship meant 'Stickwitu', 'Buttons' and 'Hot Stuff (I Want You Back)' were not on the Chinese release
• 'Don't Cha' was re-released in a remix with Busta Rhymes on the album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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