In August 2003 , opting for a solo recording contract , Scherzinger travelled to Arista Records office in New York with a demo CD , under her Hawaiian family name , Nicole Kea , of her own written material . Her performance was interrupted by a citywide blackout , and she was forced to leave . She also did a brief detour into acting which includes a cameo in the independent comedy '' Love Do n't Cost a Thing '' . Meanwhile , Robin Antin , the creator of the burlesque troupe , the Pussycat Dolls , struck a joint venture with Interscope Records and along with record producers Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair , launched an open audition for a separate recording group . After will.i.am recommended Scherzinger to Iovine , and in hopes to obtain a solo deal , she successfully auditioned along with Melody Thornton joining Carmit Bachar , Ashley Roberts , Jessica Sutta and Kimberly Wyatt . As the lead singer , Scherzinger assumed the majority of the vocals and is the only member of the group to have songwriting credits on their debut album , '' PCD '' which was released in September 2005 . The album was preceded by " Do n't Cha " which became their international breakthrough , peaking at number two on the '' Billboard '' Hot 100 . The album spawned other number-one hits , " Stickwitu " and " Buttons " , the latter of which was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards
49th Annual Grammy Awards
49th Annual Grammy Awards
Nicole Scherzinger