# The Pussycat Dolls
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [October 12, 2005, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856 "2005-10-12T05:29:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856/1 "2005-10-12T05:29:01Z")
I saw the Pussycat Dolls on _Las Vegas_ this week. Didn’t they used to be a burlesque dance troupe? Now they seem to be the back-up singers/dancers for Nicole Scherzinger. Was there a sudden change or did the group just sort of evolve in a new direction? Did they change all their members? Do they still perform with Scherzinger?
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### Author:  [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856/2 "2005-10-12T05:35:53Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo]
I saw the Pussycat Dolls on _Las Vegas_ this week. Didn’t they used to be a burlesque dance troupe?
[QUOTE]
I thought they were. Are they the ones that have a song out right now?
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856/3 "2005-10-12T05:37:23Z")
What exactly is a “burlesque dance troupe”? I mean, nowadays? I thought burlesque theater died out not long after mainstream vaudeville.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856/4 "2005-10-12T05:44:50Z")
The Pussycat Dolls were retro-burlesque I guess. They did dance routines while dressed up in pin-up costumes. I believe originally they started as an act at the Viper Room nightclub in Los Angeles. The celebrities like Carmen Electra, Christina Applegate, and many others would perform as guests with the troupe. They started getting media attention and decided to expand the act.
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### Author:  [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856/5 "2005-10-12T06:34:17Z")
The founder of the PD is the sister of Jonathon Antin, from Bravo’s reality show _Blow Out_. I try not to hold that against them, because I really fucking hate Jonathon Antin.
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### Author:  [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856/6 "2005-10-12T10:38:49Z")
As I understand it, they got bought out, stripped of everything but the costumes, and remade into a pop group. Whee.
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### Author:  [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856/7 "2005-10-12T11:37:40Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#):
>
> As I understand it, they got bought out, stripped of everything but the costumes, and remade into a pop group. Whee.
So are the original members the ones with the song that is out?
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### Author:  [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856/8 "2005-10-12T13:48:48Z")
What I heard was that the owner of the group fired the burlesque dancer girls and got rid of the sexy retro costumes, and then hired new girls who fit more in a pop/hip-hop mold, who could all sing and dance – even though Nicole is the only one who seems to do any singing. The big hit, “Don’t Cha,” is actually a cover of a song that only came out a year or so ago by another singer, Tori Alamaze.
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### Author:  [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856/9 "2005-10-12T16:37:23Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#):
>
> The big hit, “Don’t Cha,” is actually a cover of a song that only came out a year or so ago by another singer, Tori Alamaze.
…which was copied from Sir Mix-A-Lot’s song back in the late 80’s “Don’t You Wish Your Boyfriend Was Swass Like Me.”
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### Author:  [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856/10 "2005-10-12T16:38:14Z")
I did not know that! What does “Swass” mean?
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### Author:  [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pussycat-dolls/325856/11 "2005-10-12T18:09:04Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#):
>
> I did not know that! What does “Swass” mean?
The song was actually just called “Swass”. As was the album. Sir Mix-A-Lot liked the word a lot, I guess. Anyways, it was basically just another word for “cool”, like 80s hip hop slang words “fresh”, “fly”, and “dope”. Though Mix is the only person I’ve ever heard use it. I don’t know if he coined it himself or if it was unique to Seattle (where he’s from).