NICOLE SCHERZINGER

'Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valente Scherzinger' (also known as 'Nicole Kea') (born June 29, 1978), is an American singer, dancer, songwriter and occasional actress best known for her work as the lead vocalist for the Pussycat Dolls.

Contents

Early life

Recording career

1999–2001

Eden's Crush

2001–2003

The Pussycat Dolls

Duets

Solo album

Discography

Albums

Filmography

References

Sources

External links

Early life

Scherzinger was born in Hawaii, to a Filipino father and Hawaiian/Russian mother.^[1] Her mother, Rosemary, separated from her father and then moved to Louisville, Kentucky with her German American stepfather Gary Scherzinger, and sister Ke'ala. She has described her upbringing as "conservative Catholic".^[2] Nicole attended Meyzeek Middle School. Then she began her life as a performer in Louisville, attending the Youth Performing Arts School at duPont Manual High School and performing with Actors Theatre of Louisville. Scherzinger majored in theater arts at Wright State University, but put her studies on hold in 1999 to sing backing vocals for the rock band Days of the New.

Recording career

1999–2001

Scherzinger appeared on the second album by Days of the New, released in 1999. She also recorded two songs with Barry Drake's F.O.B, which were released in 2001.

Eden's Crush

Main articles: Eden's Crush

In 2001, Scherzinger competed in the premiere season of The WB's television show ''Popstars,'' on which she earned a spot in the all-girl pop group Eden's Crush. The group's 2001 single "Get Over Yourself" peaked at #1 in sales and hit the top ten on Billboard Hot 100. "Love This Way" was the second single chosen from the ''Popstars'' album; however, their record company, London-Sire Records, folded and the group eventually disbanded. Songwriter Kara DioGuardi contributed one track to the album, and later went on to co-write with Scherzinger for ''PCD'' and ''Her Name is Nicole''.

2001–2003

After the disbanding of Eden's Crush, Scherzinger made a few promotional solo appearances under the stage name of Nicole Kea, including covering "Breakfast in Bed" for the soundtrack to ''50 First Dates'' in 2003.
Scherzinger worked with Yoshiki Hayashi on in his Violet UK project. She sang the English version of "I'll Be Your Love" live with the Tokyo Symphonic Orchestra. The track also appeared on the 2003 Various Artists album ''Exposition of Global Harmony''.

The Pussycat Dolls

Main articles: Pussycat Dolls

In June 2003, Scherzinger joined The Pussycat Dolls burlesque troupe, who were being re-cast as recording artists. She had first seen them performing on ''The Late Show with David Letterman'' in November 2002, where Carmen Electra sang "Big Spender" from the Bob Fosse musical ''Sweet Charity''. In 2006, Scherzinger said "It caught my eye because I’d played Velma Kelly in [Fosse's] ''Chicago'' in college."^[3]
The Pussycat Dolls now have world-wide status as a popular singing group; their Billboard top five hits "Don't Cha", "Buttons", "Wait a Minute" and "Stickwitu" and the top 20 hit "Beep". The album ''PCD'' went double-platinum in 2006. Scherzinger sang nearly all lead vocals on the album, with Melody Thornton and Carmit Bachar also contributing.
Scherzinger is the only group member with songwriting credits on ''PCD''; she co-wrote "I Don't Need a Man" with Kara DioGuardi and producer Rich Harrison, and co-wrote "Buttons" with producer Sean Garrett. Another collaboration with DioGuardi, "Flirt", became a B-side to "Stickwitu" and a bonus track on ''PCD''.
In 2006, Scherzinger toured with the Pussycat Dolls for their album promotion. It was revealed in 2006 that the Dolls are salaried employees of Interscope Records, giving the label a high level of control over the group's finances and business decisions. The group is planning to release their second album in 2007, titled ''Double the Trouble''. Scherzinger's PCD nickname is "Lead Doll" or "Queen Doll".
Scherzinger is often asked if she and the group members get along and she says that they have good relationships because they know where each other's boundaries are and when to give each other space. But she says that she works so hard, she barely gets to see the girls anymore. They usually meet up on stage and she says they have great chemistry there. She's often either performing on stage or making music in the studio.
She was ranked #22 on Maxim's Hot 100 in 2006.^[4]

Duets

Following the popularity of "Don't Cha" and the continuing rise of the Pussycat Dolls, Scherzinger recorded a series of duets or "guest appearances", predominantly with male vocalists. In 2005 she appeared on recordings by Shaggy, Vittorio Grigolo, and Will Smith. The following year she sang on Avant's single "Lie About Us", P. Diddy's hit "Come to Me" (which she also co-wrote). Other album appearances are listed in the discography below. Nicole is also featured on 50 Cent new album, Curtis, On the song "Fire".

Solo album

Main articles: Her Name Is Nicole

Scherzinger worked on her debut album from 2005-2007 with record producers including will.i.am, Timbaland, Kara Dioguardi and Bryan Michael Cox. Scherzinger announced in a March 17, 2007 interview in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that the album would be called ''Her Name Is Nicole''; It is due for release October 16 2007. The first single, "Whatever U Like", featuring rapper T.I., was released in July 2007. It was produced by Polow Da Don.

Discography

:''See also Eden's Crush and Pussycat Dolls discography for information about Scherzinger's releases with those groups.''

Albums

★ 2007: ''Her Name Is Nicole''

Filmography

Scherzinger briefly appeared in the movie ''Chasing Papi'' as the real Miss Puerto Rico, whose appearance as a candidate was impersonated by the character of Roselyn Sanchez, with whom Scherzinger shared a physical resemblance. She also had a small role in the 2003 film ''Love Don't Cost a Thing''. Nicole has recently done a commercial for The CW Network promoting their 2007-2008 Fall Primetime schedule – Get Into The CW.^[5]

References

1. Alex Luu. "Eden's Crush: Divas Need Not Apply." ''Yolk Generation''.
2. http://fametastic.co.uk/archive/20061212/3714/pussycat-dolls-nicole-scherzinger-wont-go-knickerless/ ''Fametastic.co.uk''
3. http://www.columbusdispatch.com/features-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/05/02/20060502-F3-01.html ''Columbiadispatch.com''
4. http://www.maximonline.com/slideshows/index.aspx?slideId=3668&imgCollectId=190
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCSLtYToEfk ''YouTube.com''

Sources

★ BMI.com repertoire search

★ 25 Reasons to Love '07 Mike Errico

External links

★ HerNameIsNicole.com : Main Nicole Scherzinger Official Site

★ The Pussycat Dolls Official Site

★ Nicole Scherzinger MySpace

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