Melody Thornton (born September 28, 1984) is an American singer and television personality. After graduating high school, Thornton became one the main vocalists of the pop girl group the Pussycat Dolls and released the albums PCD (2005) and Doll Domination (2008) becoming one of the world's best-selling girl groups. As part of the group, she has received a Grammy Award nomination. Following her departure from the group in 2010, Thornton independently released a mixtape, P.O.Y.B.L (2012), and an EP, Lioness Eyes (2020). Outside her music, she has competed on reality shows, Popstar to Operastar (2011), Dancing on Ice (2019) and won the fourth season of the Australian version of The Masked Singer (2022). She has also done several stage works, including playing Rachel Marron in the musical The Bodyguard. Early life Melody Thornton is a native of Phoenix, Arizona and was born on September 28, 1984, to a family of Mexican and African-American descent. She was educated in Camelback High School. Her first performance was at her school, where she sang "This Little Light of Mine" at the age of six, and continued to perform at local talent shows in Arizona. After high school, she enrolled in college with the intention to major in music engineering, but dropped after one semester to join the Pussycat Dolls. Career 2003–2010: The Pussycat Dolls At the age of 19, Thornton traveled to Burbank, California to audition for the Pussycat Dolls. The group's founder Robin Antin, struck a deal with Interscope Geffen A&M Records' Jimmy Iovine to develop the Pussycat Dolls into a brand and create a separate recording pop group. Thornton was selected to strengthen their vocal ability and joined Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Nicole Scherzinger, Jessica Sutta, and Kimberly Wyatt, and signed a contract with the Pussycat Dolls partnership, receiving a percentage of the group's revenues. Thornton along with Bachar supplied vocals as secondary vocalists, while Scherzinger assumed the majority of the vocals as the lead singer. Thornton was the youngest and the only member who did not have a background in dance. The group released their first single, "Don't Cha" (featuring Busta Rhymes), which stands as group's most successful single to date peaked number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and reached the top in other 15 countries. Thornton didn't like the song in the beginning, as she found too controversial. They released their self-titled debut album in September 2005.