The Pussycat Dolls
Doll Domination

Review By John Reed

It was pretty easy for people to initially dismiss The Pussycat Dolls after their 2005 debut as the Spice Girls for this millennium. However, their debut had several strong pop songs and they had (have) a sex appeal and maturity the Spice Girls never came close to (being heroes of 10-year-old girls didn’t help either). Along the way, the Dolls have gained some credibility with good material and an upbeat (yet Vegas-like) stage show. On the downside, there was that horrible reality show (Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll) and they lost a key member — Carmit Bachar left the group earlier this year, making the Dolls a quintet.

Hopes for Doll Domination have been high; sadly we have been assaulted with the single “When I Grow Up” for weeks, since the girls decided the best way to promo the song was to use it to plug Ballys fitness clubs.  The song is the weakest track on Doll Domination and makes you wonder if that dreaded sophomore slump would curse the Dolls. Luckily, the rest of the CD is pretty solid. “Whatcha Think About That (feat Missy Elliott)” would have made a great summer driving song (we’ll have to settle for foliage background music now), and is given more moxie thanks to a cameo from Missy Elliott. “Out Of This Club (featuring R. Kelly and Polow Da Don)” is another high point, but shows that the Dolls may have needed more outside help this time around. Will the Dolls garner another five Top 40 singles off Doll Domination, as they did on Pussycat Dolls?  It’s too early to tell.