User talk:Ashleyroberts

The exotic Nicole Scherzinger was born in Honolulu of Hawaiian-Russian-Filipino parentage. Her large Hawaiian family of entertainers had their own Polynesian show in which her mother was the lead hula dancer. But when Scherzinger was six years old, her family moved to Louisville, KY, where her Army father had been transferred. "It was difficult because I didn't look like everyone else," she admits. "I was the ugly duckling."

But Scherzinger always knew she was destined to be a singer. She attended performing arts magnet schools throughout her junior and senior high years. Her first professional play was at the prestigious Louisville Actors Theater. While at Wright State University in Dayton, OH, she majored in theatre and minored in dance, and played the lead role in every musical staged there, including Thelma Kelly in "Chicago" and Julie LaVerne in "Show Boat." For three years, she supported herself with local modeling jobs. Then she learned that Travis Meeks of the rock band Days Of The New was looking for a girl singer. She recorded a few demos with him and then returned to school. But producer Scott Litt heard them and called her to L.A., where she recorded their second album. When asked if she would drop out of school to tour with them, the answer was yes.

After the tour however she went back home to work on writing her own music and on demos. Then a notice about auditions for the WB Network's "Popstars" talent search series had her driving to Chicago and joining the audition line at five a.m. Eden's Crush, the girl group that resulted from "Popstars," was a sensation. Its 2001 self-titled debut album went Top 10 and the single "Get Over Yourself" did the same. In its year-plus together, the band toured with N*Sync and Jessica Simpson. Yet, says Scherzinger, "it's hard being in a group that was put together rather than meant to be together."

After its demise, and now living in L.A., she returned to her solo efforts and shopping for a record deal. She also landed acting roles, in Chasing Papi as Miss Puerto Rico and in "My Wife And Kids" as a supermodel. In 2003, a girl who was rooming with her said she was auditioning for The Pussycat Dolls. Nicole asked, "What's that?" When told that the project involved Iovine and Fair, executives she'd long wanted to audition for, she was determined to get her shot. But by the time she could get her foot in the door, the auditions had ended. Nevertheless it was arranged that she'd drop by one night. When she did, she sang a cappella for Iovine and Fair and discussions about the lead singer spot began immediately.

"The Pussycat Dolls have no boundaries; this is not a cookie-cutter group," says Scherzinger, who is the only member to also write songs for the group. "We're allowed to find ourselves in our performance, do what's truthful for each of us. I own each move."