A former Pussycat Dolls member is speaking out about how she was treated in the band.
Melody Thornton recently told The Sun that she was never allowed to join the band.
The Pussycat Dolls’ 38-year-old vocalist, who left the band in 2010 to pursue a solo career, auditioned for the band when she was 19.
Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberley Wyatt, Jessica Sutta, Carmit Bachar, and Ashley Roberts formed an all-girl group with her.
Melody broke her silence and commented about her time in the band, alleging that it was terrible for her self-esteem, despite being nominated for a Grammy Award as a group member and having most of their songs chart at the top.
According to the brunette beauty:
“I was just a back-up dancer. It was very painful for me. It was a big opportunity to show what I could do and I was never given that chance really.”
Melody stated:
“In order to carry on singing, people need to know that you can sing in the first place and that wasn’t really the case for me in the group, so it was – actually very painful.”
Melody Thornton also stated in another interview with The Mirror that she felt inadequate in the group, revealing how being a part of it harmed her confidence so badly that she went to therapy for two years while still in the band.
The singer-dancer revealed that she “never felt insecure before joining the group,” with her most recent panic attack in 2014.
Melody has denied any feud with Pussycat Dolls frontwoman Nicole Scherzinger.
She said:
“People would think I was upset with Nicole because she sang and I didn’t. Oh, no. That was her dream and it was coming true for her. I simply wanted it for me too.”
Melody lauded Nicole, calling her a “phenomenal singer.”
When the Pussycat Dolls reunited in 2019, the singer declined to rejoin them. Melody has had a successful solo career and plays Rachel Marron in “The Bodyguard.”
The Pussycat Dolls is a 1995 American female dance group. The group began as a burlesque troupe in Los Angeles, California, before evolving into a pop music ensemble.
The group’s debut album, “PCD,” was released in 2005 and included hit songs like “Don’t Cha” and “Buttons,” as well as two follow-up albums, “Doll Domination” in 2008 and “PCD: Remixed” in 2009.
The band went on hiatus in 2010 but reformed in 2019 for a worldwide tour.