The Doll Domination Tour was the second and final

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...

by American

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

the Pussycat Dolls The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a neo-burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the troupe mainstrea ...

. It was launched in support of their second studio album, ''

Doll Domination ''Doll Domination'' is the second and final studio album by American girl group the Pussycat Dolls, released on September 19, 2008, by Interscope Records. The album's release was preceded by the departure of the group's longest-standing member C ...

'' (2008). The tour was announced in October 2008 with dates in Europe and Oceania revealed in the following month, the tour contained six legs and 50 shows. It began in

Aberdeen, Scotland Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeenshire, but is now separate from the council area of Aberdeenshire. Aberd ...

on January 18, 2009, and concluded in

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

on July 31, 2009. In-between the first two legs, the group supported the first leg of

The Circus Starring Britney Spears The Circus Starring Britney Spears, commonly referred to as the Circus Tour, was the seventh concert tour by American entertainer Britney Spears. It was launched in support of her sixth studio album, ''Circus'' (2008). Rumors of a tour arose as ...

in North America. The setlist for the concerts included songs from '' PCD'' (2005) and ''Doll Domination'' as well a cover of

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

Big Spender "Big Spender" is a song written by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields for the musical '' Sweet Charity'', first performed in 1966. Peggy Lee was the first artist to record the song (on single released on Jan 29, 1966), also on the album ''Big Spender ...

. Nineteen shows were submitted to ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s boxscore grossing $14.3 million, with 231,711 fans attending the performances.

Background

In August 2008, in an interview with FemaleFirst.co.uk,

Ashley Roberts Ashley Allyn Roberts (born September 14, 1981) is an American born, British based singer, dancer, and media personality. She was a member of the girl group The Pussycat Dolls (2003–2010, 2019–2021), who sold over 55 million records worldwide ...

said that their world tour would start January 2009 adding "we're gonna be hitting everywhere around the world and taking over." The tour was officially announced on October 7, 2008. Initial dates were confirmed in the UK with

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

tapped as a support act. The following month

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

was announced as an opening act in Europe and in Oceania which marked their first time touring there, while the US shows were to be announced shortly. On December 2, 2008,

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

announced the first leg of twenty-five dates in the US for

with the Pussycat Dolls as the opening act. The tour kicked off on January 18 in Aberdeen, Scotland with the first leg ending in Belgrade, Serbia. Before heading to the Oceania shows, the Pussycat Dolls supported Spears on her tour visiting 27 venues in North America. Following Oceania, they visited Asia and North America and in July they visited England and Ireland for various festivals. Eight weeks before the tour started

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, former Music executive, record executive, and media proprietor. He is the co-founder of Interscope Records and became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscop ...

stated that the group had sold 150,000 out of 160,000.

Development

The stage screens for the tour were created by Stimulated, Inc. The videos included original design and animation looks for 25 songs. The company spent two months at its

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

studio creating the visual content for the tour. The opening video sequence of the tour was filmed at a sound stage in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The group were riding motorcycles against a green screen backdrop. Then, along with the Pussycat Dolls they traveled to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, United Kingdom. Along with Robb Wagner and his team, the Dolls and their creative team, worked hand-in-hand polishing the media content. The Pussycat Dolls spent six days in the Litestructures Studios for a full production rehearsal. The stage was designed by Litestructures. It marked the fourth time that the company worked with the Pussycat Dolls. It measured 32 ft(w) x 24 ft(deep) and 8 ft(tall) – made to fit on 60 ft x 44 ft house stage. It featured includes three custom-built staircases which were made of small aluminium frame with a makrolon top. The set list of the shows included songs from the standard and deluxe edition of ''Doll Domination'' (2008) as well songs from their debut studio album, '' PCD'' (2005).

was covered by Melody Thornton, as well cover versions of other artists which were used as snippets to songs. During the performances, the group was backed by five male dancers and two percussionists. During the opening leg of the tour, each show was recorded live and then loaded to the Pussycat Dolls wristband that plugs into any

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...

port or compatible

microSD Secure Digital (SD) is a proprietary hardware, proprietary, non-volatile memory, non-volatile, flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA). Owing to their compact size, SD cards have been widely adopted in a variety of port ...

phone. According to ''Metro'' the Pussycat Dolls were reportedly planning to make a behind-the-scenes movie about life on their tour. According to an insider, the band had started filming for the movie which was described "as part documentary and part entertainment." Despite this, the documentary never came to fruition. Jessica Sutta suffered a back injury during the first Sydney show, leaving the group performing as a four-piece throughout the following shows.

Critical response

While reviewing the opening concert in Aberdeen, Colene McKessick of ''

The Press and Journal ''The Press and Journal'' is a daily regional newspaper serving northern and Highland Scotland including the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness. Established in 1747, it is Scotland's oldest daily newspaper, and one of the longest-running newspape ...

'' described it as a "roof-raising show." The writer praised the show for its "risque dance moves and infectious energy." She also commended

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Scherzinger ( ; ; born June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She was a member of the girl group and dance ensemble the Pussycat Dolls between 2003 and 2010. With ...

's ability to carry most of the vocals and was impressed by her bandmates describing them as "talented singers too." Sally Hind of the '' Evening Express'' lauded the opening night writing "they came to dominate and that’s what they did." She went on to praise the group's energy, "the five foxy felines didn’t once pause for breath. They were on the move from the minute they appeared on stage on shiny motorbikes until they took their final bow." She also praised the costumes of the show that "kept everyone fixated." Writing for the

Evening Times The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019.The Journal'' described the show as "a solid three hours-plus of pure entertainment." A writer for the ''

Evening Chronicle The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to in print as ''The Chronicle'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Evening Chronic ...

'' thought that both

and

raised the standard too high, but went on to praise the group who "somersaulted over it." Lauren Richards of the ''

Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...

'' graded it four out five describing it "spectacular, fast paced and great fun." Zoe Kirk of the ''

Nottingham Post The ''Nottingham Post'' (formerly the ''Nottingham Evening Post'') is an English tabloid newspaper which serves Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. The ''Post'' is published Monday to Saturday ...

'' commented "this is more than just an ordinary, flimsy girl band; this is the manifestation of some of the best choreographers, beat-makers and catchy pop lyricists the mainstream has to offer." She ended her review writing "This was the Doll Domination their latest album promises." Andy Nicholls of the '' Bournemouth Echo'' wrote that " cherzingermay have taken center stage for most of the songs, Ashley, Jessica, Melody and Kimberly all proved they too had star quality." On the contrary to Nicholls, Alex Macpherson from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' felt that the remaining four members "are mere backing singers and dancers" and described Scherzinger as a "revelation, a switched-on, precision-engineered performer." He singled out "I Hate This Part" as the "Dolls' finest moment." Eamon Sweeney of the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'' commented that "despite a dramatic entrance on customized motorbikes, the early segment of the show seems like a massive anti-climax," but later noted that the group "soon get in their stride." He further noted that previous shows at The O₂ in Dublin were musically superior, "but few can match this for sheer attitude." A writer for the ''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media, which also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland. Its e ...

'' described the show as "excellent". For the opening night of the Oceanian leg of the tour in Auckland, New Zealand, Joanna Hunkin of the ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand ...

'' felt that Lady Gaga "group out-sang, outshone and out-sexed the Dolls, in half the time and half the space." Hunkin, who described the group as "poster girls"," criticized the "disappointingly budget set" and the lack of live musicians calling the show as "a glorified karaoke night ..at the strip club." She concluded her negative review writing the "show proved the Dolls aren't dominating anything." Reviewing the same show, Clio Francis from the

Stuff.co.nz Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). As of early 2024, it is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million. Stuff ...

agreed with Hunkin praising Gaga for "outshin ngthe tawdry sexuality of the headliners." He also criticized the basic production while noting the "sound quality throughout their set was mediocre at best, with the over heavy bass at times smothering any passable melodies." However he noted that the night's encore " roughtthe night to a satisfying conclusion for most young fans." Marissa Calligeros from ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' echoed previous comments, commending Gaga for "outshin ngand outclass ngthe factory-made act of the headliners." She went to describe the Pussycat Dolls as "a teen dance troupe leading an amateur high school musical production," noting throughout show the audience largely stood motionless, due to the heavy bass. However she did praise Scherzinger's vocals calling them "impressive". Cameron Adams of the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

'' praised Gaga's vocal and piano skills whilst criticizing the group for an over-priced concert that looked more as "a shopping center performance than a headline arena show." In July 2009, ''Billboard'' magazine released their Mid-Year List Of Top 25 Tours where data was collected between December 6, 2008 through June 20, 2009, the Pussycat Dolls were listed at number 25 with gross of $14.3 million and 231,711 fans attended the reported 23 shows of which, the twelve were sold-out.

Setlist

The following setlist was obtained from the concert held on February 24, 2009, at the Incheba Expo Arena in Bratislava, Slovakia. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour. #"Takin' Over the World" #" Beep" #" I Don't Need a Man" #"Elevator" #" I Hate This Part" #"

Buttons A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, o ...

" #" Wait a Minute" #"Love the Way You Love Me” #"Space" (Thornton solo) #"Played" (Roberts solo) #"

Don't Wanna Fall in Love "Don't Wanna Fall in Love" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Jane Child. Released in January 1990 as the second single from her first album, Jane Child (album), ''Jane Child'', the single peaked at number two for three consecutive weeks on ...

" (Wyatt solo) #"If I Was a Man" (Sutta solo) #" Hush Hush" #"

" (Thornton solo) #" Whatcha Think About That" #"Whatchamacallit" #"Magic" #" Bottle Pop" #"Halo" (Scherzinger solo) #"

Stickwitu "Stickwitu" is a song recorded by American girl group the Pussycat Dolls for their debut studio album '' PCD'' (2005). It was written by Franne Golde, Kasia Livingston and Robert Palmer and produced by Ron Fair. A pop and R&B ballad with soul ...

" ;Encore #

Don't Cha "Don't Cha" is a song written by Busta Rhymes and CeeLo Green, and produced by the latter. The chorus is a slightly modified Interpolation (popular music), interpolation of the chorus line sung by Sir Mix-a-Lot in a song he wrote called "Swass" f ...

" #" When I Grow Up"

Shows

Personnel

Personnel taken from Doll Domination World Tour book. ;The Pussycat Dolls *

* Jessica Sutta * Melody Thornton *

Kimberly Wyatt Kimberly Kaye Wyatt (born February 4, 1982) is an American singer, dancer, actress, and television personality. She was a member of the girl group and dance ensemble the Pussycat Dolls (2003–2010, 2019–2021) and the pop duo Her Majesty & th ...

;Personnel *

Robin Antin Robin Antin is an American dancer and choreographer. In 1995, she founded the modern burlesque troupe the Pussycat Dolls. By 2005, she diversified into various media including a pop recording group with international hits, a Las Vegas nightclub ...

– artist director, choreographer * Dave Audé – music supervisor *Ramon Baynes – contributing choreographer ("Whatchamacallit") *Kenya Clay – associate choreographer *

Misha Gabriel Misha Gabriel (born May 13, 1987), also known as Misha Gabriel Hamilton, is an American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He is known for dancing mainly in the shows of Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson, and for his role as Eddy in '' Step Up Re ...

– contributing choreographer ("Halo") *Galen Hooks – contributing choreographer ("Magic") *Mikey Minden – artist director, choreographer *

Kenny Wormald Kenny Wormald is an American dancer, reality television star and actor. He played Ren McCormack in the 2011 remake of 1984's ''Footloose (2011 film), Footloose''. Wormald was a regular on the MTV reality television series ''Dancelife'' in 2007. ...

– contributing choreographer ("Halo", "Magic", "Played", and "Wait a Minute")

Notes

References

{{Lady Gaga 2009 concert tours Concert tours of Australia Concert tours of Austria Concert tours of Belgium Concert tours of the Czech Republic Concert tours of France Concert tours of Germany Concert tours of Indonesia Concert tours of Ireland Concert tours of Lebanon Concert tours of Luxembourg Concert tours of Monaco Concert tours of the Netherlands Concert tours of New Zealand Concert tours of the Philippines Concert tours of Serbia Concert tours of Singapore Concert tours of Slovakia Concert tours of South Korea Concert tours of Switzerland Concert tours of Thailand Concert tours of the United Kingdom Concert tours of the United States The Pussycat Dolls concert tours lt:PCD World Tour ro:PCD Europe Tour