Twenty years after ‘Don’t Cha’ first dominated the charts, the Pussycat Dolls are stepping back into the spotlight. Nicole Scherzinger, Ashley Roberts and Kimberly Wyatt are celebrating the milestone with a new era for the group – including fresh music and a tour that will bring the Dolls’ signature spectacle back to the stage. Speaking to Attitude, the trio reflect on their whirlwind rise to fame, how their lives have changed since, and why the LGBTQ+ community remains central to their legacy.
It’s been six years since fans last saw you together. What was the moment you realised it was time for the Dolls to come back?
Nicole: When 20 years went by [since ‘Don’t Cha’] and we realised it’s now or never.
Ashley: I’m excited to get back on stage, hun, do the dance moves, the vocals, the great choreography. I’m excited as women now to see what kind of show we can throw for y’all, because we want to throw down, especially for all our Attitude lovers out there.
You’ve been incredibly busy with acting, presenting and other projects. How does that influence what you’ll bring to the band and the tour now?
Kimberly: Whether it’s acting in a movie or a series or DJing or working in radio, your plethora of emotions allows you to bring that to whatever you’re doing. I mean, [to Nicole] what you’ve been through on Sunset Boulevard, my goodness.
Nicole: Good old Norma Desmond’s going to loosen up some buttons. [Laughs]
Ashley: I’ve really got into breathwork. I’ve become an author, which is wild, and to be able to have these different tools and bring that to the table, it’s going to be so much more balanced, but in a great way because we’re grown women now.
Nicole: We were babies back then. We had a lot put on our shoulders. So, for me personally, I think I’m now going to be able to really enjoy it.
Kimberly: The power of three – and we’ve set an intent for a much different experience. And I think that’s going to show in what we end up with on stage.
Do you still get nervous before performing or doing interviews, even after all these years?
Nicole: I do not like interviews. It’s easier for me to communicate through dance and song.
Kimberly: But you know, when we first started, I was so shy, I barely knew how to speak. Now we can’t shut up.
Ashley: You go into a space where you think, ‘Oh gosh, people are watching us, whoa,’ and I couldn’t get out of that.
Kimberly: You just don’t have the answers when you’re younger.
Nicole: I remember now that you were so shy, and now a lot of times we’re like, “OK, will you answer that question?” [Laughs]
Let’s talk about the new track ‘Club Song’.
Kimberly: It’s just amazing to connect on a track like ‘Club Song’… I remember Nicole played it for me the first time, and that beat slapped. Just the idea of being able to get on stage and perform it together is epic. And it feels right, getting ready for a whole new generation of PCD, that ‘Club Song’ leads the way.
Are we going to have more new songs?
Nicole: I’m the music nerd, so I’m obsessed. There’s always stuff floating around.
Ashley: She was playing us songs in the car!
Nicole: I want them to get excited too. I actually recorded my part in Nashville – my first time recording there because I just moved there. The girls recorded theirs [in London], but I think for the next sessions, we’ll be together. With every single one of our old features, we never recorded in the room with them. We never recorded in person with Busta or Snoop.
Ashley: Busta actually pulled my mom up in a bear hug and then swung her around in a club once. I was like, “Do you remember that in Las Vegas, Momma P?” [Laughs]
What do your LGBTQ+ fans mean to you?
Ashley: Everything. They’re my chosen family. Most of the people I’m very close to are in the queer community. When times were tough, they were by my side.
Kimberly: It’s important to feel like you’re seen. For a lot of my life, I wanted to feel that way, and it’s the community that made me feel seen. That’s a shining light. We see each other, we create space for each other, and we connect in that way. It’s the same with the dance community – that’s my foundation. To see what the Pussycat Dolls have meant to so many people… I do a lot of Pride events DJing, and the number of stories I’ve heard about what Pussycat Dolls’ music has allowed for people – their freedom of expression and their ability to own and value who they are – is unbelievable.
Nicole: That’s why the Pussycat Dolls were created – for that freedom of expression and empowerment. So, it only makes sense. You don’t know how many [messages I’ve got] in all caps from all my boys, being like, “IT’S GAY CHRISTMAS!”
Ashley: Also, we had no social media back then. So, now to release stuff and see all the content from the huns, the queens, the drag performers – everybody doing our songs – and to watch that happen in real time is just… I was in Selfridges the other day shopping and one of the guys just pulled out a chair and started doing the full choreography. Obsessed.
PCD and Doll Domination reissues are streaming now. Tickets for the PCD Forever tour are available now on LiveNation.com.
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