Well! Isn’t this cut a surprise? I fully expected we would be seeing the
Pussycat Dolls all the way into the top 10 when I started this rate. I am impressed with your taste PopJustice! This is my lowest score in the rate by far at 3.9 (and I still got outdone by
@Russron!). I will not dispute with anybody that this track is indeed an undeniable bop, nor that it is one of the most commercially successful tracks of the list. What I have always disliked here is
Don’t Cha’s message.
Presenting (introducing)
Nicole as the other woman has legs I suppose, and when we look at songs like
Unfaithful by
Rihanna there is definitely potential for an interesting take on the subject too; however the writing in
Don’t Cha is so unsettling to me. Dismissing someone’s girlfriend because she is not hot nor fun (which the infliction on
Nicole’s vocal delivery has always infuriated me due to how she objectifies herself too) like you is so childish and problematic to begin with. There is not even an indication that the guy may be as responsible for the relationship being in turmoil, instead he is glorified and without fault by both having an unreasonable partner and a hot chick after him! If this isn’t (still) representative of the problems we still face today in the gender gap issues, I don’t know what is!
The last verse goes into the ‘not breaking a happy home if it ain’t love’ territory to try to do some damage control but fails miserably as far as I am concerned, since
Nicole has been dismissing the other woman the whole time and objectifying herself for the sake of the male gaze, failing until then to give a compelling reason to be with her other than lust. I started having this conversation with some of you on the
PCD rate in that I could never get into this song as at that point in time, I was all for the empowerment of the
Sugababes’ take of Heidi putting her clothes back on when she plays an exotic dancer in
Stronger and dismissing the patriarchy in the audience. This resonated to me so much that to find
PCD hitting the charts around the same time with this message was so jarring!! Especially when
Don’t Cha ended up performing so much better on the charts!
It should also come as no surprise to you all that the three writers credited for
Don’t Cha are indeed men, painting an even more problematic picture in my books about this message. I would also like to say I am fully aware many other songs in this rate are male dominated in that aspect (especially the early eras) but none seem to paint the women so poorly to me, either as protagonist or antagonist. Furthermore, another aspect of this song as a Girl Band Debut I dislike is how inconsequential the other members beyond
Nicole are! You hardly hear them, even in the chorus! I realise this debut was always to showcase Nicole but even in the other songs we rate here with an obvious lead singer, the other members have something to do??
Don’t Cha was a huge commercial success for the girls and would rank as one of the most impressive debuts with reaching the top 3 position in all three charts that qualify this song for the rate and many many others.
Don’t Cha also has quite an interesting story behind it. It was originally released by
Tori Alamaze, a backing vocalist for
OutKast to some minor success (#53 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart) but when she became disillusioned with a music career and wanted out of her contract, she gave away the song.
Don’t Cha was apparently offered to
Sugababes (gaaaaa!! Not suitable til version 3.0 or 4.0 - thank you very much!) and
Paris Hilton (hahaha) who both declined it and ended up in the
Pussycat Dolls’ corner.
Despite my reservations with the song, music critics were very favourable towards it, seeing it as sassy and brassy, with lots of high energy (all true but the message isnt any less problematic).
VH1 ranks this at #96 of the 100 greatest songs of the 2000s and it is the 29th most successful song by a girl group on the Billboard Chart. Well done for that, girls! PCD have plenty of other hits in their repertoire but not many connect well with me due to their underlining message which objectifies the girls. It’s bad enough when men do it so to hear girls doing it themselves, especially in this genre saddens me. I would say
When I Grow Up would be my top pick if I had to pick something.
Were the voters as divided on this as I was?
DJHazey (5)
surprises me and many with this score! - I love a handful of their singles and not much else, which doesn't include this one. Most of their debut album has a very dated sound to my ears and this a huge example of that.
Unnameable (8)
remembers the influence – launched a thousand dirty dance moves across cheaper nightclubs across Britain.
Iheartpoptarts (5)
bought into the commercial appeal - Don't love the song, still bought the hoodie.
DominoDancing (6.5)
is the shady beast I have come to love - Kinda saved by a surprisingly moody production, but let's face it. There was never any talent here.
Empty Shoebox (3)
is our other low scorer - 'I know you like me' No Nicole, I don't. I don't like this man on the song either. The intro takes far too long and I'm just shouting 'GET ON WITH IT' at the screen. Okay, the choreo's pretty good, but I'm not scoring it based on that. I remember a version without the man, but it wasn't much better. I can't score it based on that however, because I might have imagined it.
Trouble In Paradise (9.5)
is our first lover - I can still remember the first time I heard this song, my closeted little high school self was doing his homework and listening to Top 40 radio when it came on. I stopped doing my homework, got up and started dancing. By the second chorus, I was singing along. And honestly, the song still makes me wanna drop everything and bop.
Filippa (3)
is back to her villainous ways and picked the perfect song for it - No fan of Nicole Scherzinger and her star allures. The song is good but the rap spoils it for me.
Saviodxl (7.6)
sees the bravery - I just think it was very brave of them to come wth a song about stealing boyfriends, specially if you want girls to like you and trust you. But circa 2005 pop music was so sexualized, it fit them well. Girls Aloud and Sugababes were never promoted in America, so they filled the gap pretty well.
ComeOnGloria (5)
is my twin again! - The lyrics annoy me.
Riiiiiiiii (9.4)
is still favouring songs that don’t make it as far as he’d like - My inner slut made me rate this song so high. And my inner drag queen too.
Kermit_The_Frog (9) may not know how shady this sounds to me - Their finest moment and one never surpassed by them or by Nicole as a solo “star”…
Zar-Unity (8.5)
sees unique here, hmmmmm - These girls are not only sexy, they have unique style! Tech: 5 Taste: 3 +.5 = 8.5 points