The Pussycat Dolls PCD: Don't Cha Wish All Pop Music was Hot Like This?

It truly is appalling how gimmick-ridden pop music has become and how seemingly easily record contracts are handed out to individuals these days. Seriously, the process could be duplicated by a chimp with a learning disorder

Take 5 virtual unknowns, and one possible girl-group alumnus (Nicole Scherzinger - 1/5 of short-lived Eden’s Crush (another manufactured girl-group courtesy of the WB)), mix with a microphone and a dozen songs laced by the most in-demand producers, combine with tank tops and booty-shorts, add equal parts erotic choreography and voila! You have yourself a bonafide girl group. Seems too easy, right? Not if you’re the Pussycat Dolls.

The brainchild of an ex-Broadway producer, The Dolls started off as nothing but a cabaret revue in clubs around Las Vegas. Once they attracted the attention of the mainstream, they started to become frequented by high-profile female celebrities who wanted to participate in the routine (Carmen Electra, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Eva Longoria, etc.). This led to the group incorporating more cover-songs into their sets and eventually gaining live performances on high-profile TV events. Less than a year later, they have a top-10 smash single and album on their hands, so eloquently titled PCD.

While it’s hard to not take these ladies as anything more than a joke, it’s also hard to deny just how infectiously catchy and well-constructed their music is. While they try to put emphasis on the lyrics by talking about “real, gritty” subjects and on Nicole’s sturdy soprano by making the melodies and arrangements a bit more expansive and complex, the truth of the matter is that this album is all about the beats and each producer who put their signature stamp on this record passed with flying colors.