A lot has changed his since the Pussycat Dolls’ seven million selling debut album PCD, but the world’s biggest girl group are back – all grown up and ready to send temperatures soaring with their new single taken from their new album Doll Domination.

AHHA chats with Melody Thornton about Carmit Bachar’s shocking departure, Nicole Scherzinger’s surprise return, and those rumors about her dating Bow Wow!

AllHipHop.com Alternatives: Hi Melody. Where are all the other Pussycat Dolls?

Melody: [Laughs] Well I’ve just not long woken up, and the rest of the girls are really tired, as we stayed up all night; last night in the studio recording.

AHHA: Can you tell us more about your new album, Doll Domination?

Melody: We’re still recording Doll Domination, and we have been very blessed to work with Timbaland who has been amazing. He executive produced half the album. We’ve done six songs in six days, so when you’re on a roll, you’re on a roll. We’ve worked with Cee-Lo – who we worked with on the first album with “Don’t Cha,” and we’ve worked with Sean Garrett who wrote “Buttons.”

We’ve also worked with Rodney Jerkins, who did our first single [off the new album] “When I Grow Up.” We have a lot of diverse songs that would surprise a lot of people that don’t think the Pussycat Dolls can pull off.

AHHA: Do you have any collaborations on the album yet?

Melody: Well we have done a collaboration with R Kelly on a song called “Out Of This Club,” but we’re still recording, so I’m not sure what’s set in stone. But the possibilities are endless, and we’re definitely trying to work with new people on the album.

AHHA: What do you think of R Kelly’s recent legal drama?

Melody: Well I think that it’s really interesting how the law works if you’re an artist within the industry. Not to say I have an opinion, because it’s one of those things that I don’t know. I wasn’t there so I can’t really pass judgment or make comments regarding the situation, but I know it can be really hard when the media can get into your personal life. 

AHHA: With Carmit leaving the group and Nicole coming back to the Pussycat Dolls after a failed solo attempt, how is the morale?

Melody: Well to clarify one thing, I don’t think Nicole had any intentions of leaving the group. She was definitely pursuing and making a solo effort, but her intentions were definitely to do both side by side. Fergie did the same thing with her solo album. Carmit decided to leave the group, and it’s one of those things where she is a very creative person and we have lost a major asset to the Pussycat Dolls because she was a firecracker on stage. But she’s working on her solo effort, and she had a lot of things she wanted to do; but we support her 100%. I personally talk to her all the time.

AHHA: Were you shocked when Carmit told you she wanted to leave?

Melody: Yeah. It came as a surprise to me, but I knew that she had a number of things that she was working on – one of them being a television show – and it was one of those things were she couldn’t do both at the same time. She couldn’t devote time to the Pussycat Dolls and still make everything else that she wanted to do a success, and it came out of nowhere. I still get sad, when we perform songs like “Stick Wit Chu” because we all did them together, but it’s one of them things. I can’t help but feel really happy and proud for her.

AHHA: Why do you think Nicole’s solo project failed to sell well?

Melody: I don’t know if it’s a matter of her not selling, but Nicole decided not to do it. I thing that everything comes with timing. If the stars are aligned and the time is right, then it works out. I think she’s a smart girl, she’s a very smart businesswoman. So “When I Grow Up” came along she said, “We should do this for the Pussycat Dolls” and when we got into the studio we started cranking the songs out.

AHHA: Is it true that most of the tracks from Nicole’s album have been re-recorded by the Pussycat Dolls?

Melody: I don’t know, because Nicole did record a lot of songs for her solo effort, but you never know what songs of her may end up on the album. Like I said, we’re not done recording.

AHHA: You’ve got an amazing voice, but a constant criticism shared by Pussycat Doll fans is that no one seems to share singing duties apart from Nicole. How will the singing be shared out on the album this time?

Melody: Well first of all, I want to say thank you to all the fans more than anything. Sometimes they send me messages, and they seem to know exactly what I’m feeling and they know exactly what to say. They support me so much, and that means more then anything.

I am recording more now than I did on the first album. On the first album, I was very young and inexperienced so it’s understandable that they wanted to give Nicole the responsibility as she had been in two groups prior, but we’re definitely working on it. I appreciate you saying that comment as well. All of us are recording songs also so we’ll see if they make it.

AHHA: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve been sent by a fan?

Melody: Well luckily I haven’t had anyone figure out where I live, so no one sent anything to me directly, but we’ve gotten weird tasting candy. It’s not like we don’t appreciate it, but some of them are awkward gifts. I haven’t had anything too crazy. I once got a teddy bear, but when you squeeze it, it laughs and heckles like a witch and I was like, “Ok thank you.”

AHHA: With groups like Danity Kane and Girlicious, how do you see yourself in terms of the competition?

Melody: That’s the thing – I definitely believe that there is room for everybody. I admire Danity Kane, because we were on tour together with [them and] Christina Aguilera. They’ve grown so much overnight from what they were, and I absolutely loved “Damaged.” There’s room for everyone, like we say on “When I Grow Up” in the bridge, “I see you staring at me, oh I‘m a trendsetter.”

I think that the only way to be a trendsetter is if you do it first and you can’t be afraid to do it first. Sometimes people talk about you, but they do it themselves. That’s the one thing about the Pussycat Dolls that sets us apart from everyone else is that we try to create different things that eventually people follow in our footsteps.

AHHA: You’re new single is called “When I Grow Up.” How would you say you’ve grown up personally?

Melody: Wow, when I got into PCD I was 19 years old, and I was very unaware of just the world and how to deal with people. It’s really interesting once you take that leap and I was very young – still a teen – and it can be harder on you. But I’ve constantly grown, I’ve grown a lot spiritually. I definitely feel a lot more confident that I will get exactly where I’m going. As long as I maintain my integrity, which I have thus far. It’s been an interesting run and we’re still doing it.

AHHA: Do you think you’re sending out a positive message on “When I Grow Up” for being famous for famous sake?

Melody: Yeah that’s the one thing that we’ve been asked over and over again, and I can only speak for myself. I never wanted to be famous; I always said I wanted to be a singer, and with singing comes fame. Even if I wasn’t famous for being a trendsetter, I would still like to be appreciated as a vocalist for the music I make.

I think that nowadays with reality TV, there’s so many outlets for people to gain more attention and exposure. We get a lot of people who just want to be famous, but I think we still have show our appreciation to people creating their art and music.

AHHA: What would you say is the best thing about being famous?

Melody: I would say that one of the best things that we always joke about is that we don’t have to wait in line. [laughs] Especially at the clubs. In LA if you’re waiting in line for the clubs, it’s not cool.

AHHA: What’s the hardest thing to deal with being a Pussycat Doll?

Melody: One of the worst things is privacy and people making negative preconceived notions about you just from looking at you because you’re a Pussycat Doll. People don’t realize that the Pussycat Dolls are a brand. It’s a whole machine, and there are a million different ideas and opinions that that come together collectively apart from the five women you see that sell the records and who are the Pussycat Dolls. So it’s hard sometimes when people pass comments and make rude judgements about you when they don’t even know you.

AHHA: Is that a new piercing on your lip?

Melody: No, I have a Monroe piercing on my lower lip, but my bottom lip is so big, sometimes you can’t see it! The piercing has been there before I joined the Pussycat Dolls. I took it out, but I’ve put it back in. I like it because I’m young and want to have fun, and it’s just a new and different thing as opposed to how I was on the first album.

AHHA: Finally there’s been a whole lot of speculation about you dating Bow Wow and Nicole dating the British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton. Can you clarify?

Melody: Well I don’t think it’s my place to talk about Nicole and Lewis’ relationship, but she has confirmed that she is with Lewis Hamilton and I’m so happy for them, but that’s as far as I’ll go on that topic. But as for Bow Wow, we are just friends. I think he’s a wonderful person; he’s just a great friend of mine. That’s about it.