Biography

		Life Story
		Music and Career
		The Pussycat Dolls

Nicole Elikolani Prescovia Scherzinger (born June 29, 1978), also known as Nicole Kea, is an American singer-songwriter and dancer best known for her work as the lead vocalist for The Pussycat Dolls.

Early life: Scherzinger was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Filipino father and a Hawaiian/Russian mother. She grew up in Louisville, Kentucky with stepfather Gary Scherzinger, mother Rosemary and sister Ke'ala. 

She began her life as a performer in Louisville, attending the Youth Performing Arts School at duPont Manual High School and performing with Actors Theatre of Louisville. Scherzinger majored in theater arts at Wright State University, but put her studies on hold in 1999 to sing backing vocals for the rock band Days of the New.

Eden's Crush: In 2001, she competed in the premiere season of The WB's television show Popstars, on which she earned a spot in the all-girl pop group Eden's Crush. 

The group's 2001 single "Get Over Yourself" peaked at #1 in sales and hit the top five on Billboard Hot 100. "Love This Way" was the second single chosen from the Popstars album; however, their record company, London Sire, folded and the group disbanded. Songwriter Kara DioGuardi contributed one track to the album, and later went on to co-write with Scherzinger for PCD.

The Pussycat Dolls: In June 2003, following her stint with Eden's Crush, Scherzinger joined The Pussycat Dolls burlesque troupe, who were being re-cast as recording artists. 

She had first seen them performing on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2002, where Carmen Electra sang "Big Spender" from the Bob Fosse musical Sweet Charity. In 2006, Scherzinger said "It caught my eye because I’d played Velma Kelly in (the Fosse musical) Chicago in college."

The Pussycat Dolls now have world-wide status as a popular singing group; their Billboard top five hits include "Don't Cha", "Buttons" and "Stickwitu" and the top 20 hit "Beep". The album PCD went double-platinum in 2006. 

Scherzinger is the only group member with a songwriting credit on this album; she co-wrote "I Don't Need a Man" with Kara DioGuardi and producer Rich Harrison (another collaboration with DioGuardi, "Flirt", appeared later as a bonus track). Scherzinger sang nearly all lead and backing vocals on the album, with Melody Thornton and Carmit Bachar also contributing (see Pussycat Dolls article for details).

In 2006, Scherzinger toured with The Pussycat Dolls for their album promotion. It was revealed in 2006 that the Dolls are salaried employees of Interscope Records, giving the label a high level of control over the group's finances and business decisions.

Solo career: Scherzinger's only solo release so far is her cover version of "Breakfast in Bed" on the soundtrack to 50 First Dates, under the pseudonym Nicole Kea. Her various recordings as a backing vocalist, guest artist or leader of a group are listed chronologically in the discography section of this article.

In 2003 (prior to joining the Pussycat Dolls), Scherzinger sang live at the Tokyo International Forum performing "I'll Be Your Love", a song by composer Yoshiki.

In acting roles she has appeared on the television shows My Wife and Kids, Las Vegas, and Half & Half; and in the films Chasing Papi and Love Don't Cost a Thing.

Scherzinger has been working on a solo album since late 2005. The singer has already worked with producers Akon, Timbaland and Polow Da Don. A track completed in mid 2006, tentatively titled "Steam," was leaked on the Internet days after it was recorded with Bryan Michael Cox and co-producer Wyldcard. In addition, she featured as vocalist on the Diddy single called "Come To Me" released in July 2006.

In September 2006 advertisements appeared in which Scherzinger modeled Bench Body underwear, which is manufactured by the Filipino-based company Suyen.

Personal life: Scherzinger was once engaged to lead singer of the American rock band 311, Nick Hexum. She appeared in the video for their hit song "Amber". 

Hexum produced the song that Scherzinger sang on for the 50 First Dates soundtrack, as they were still dating at the time. Eventually, the two decided to go separate ways as her career was starting to take off, and 311's tour schedule was growing more demanding.

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