An old adage in Hollywood goes: There’s no such thing as bad publicity. In which case, Danity Kane should sing praises for their critics. Despite selling 90,000 copies of their self-titled debut album on its first day, despite claiming the number one spot in the Billboard 200 charts for their second release, Welcome to the Dollhouse, and despite being nominated for video of the year for their hit single “Damaged” at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, the platinum-selling quintet is always plagued with controversy.
Since Diddy introduced them, Danity Kane has battled through rumoured break-ups and pregnancy scandals. Not surprisingly, members of the group beg to differ with the known Hollywood motto.
“This whole thing is never easy,” Dawn Richard says, speaking to andPOP in a recent interview.
Shannon Bex adds, “I think the fact that people are so keen on controversy gets on our nerves. It’s never-ending. People always want to see us split up. People always want to see us fighting.”
But, Shannon continues, “We know it would come with the territory. We’re not blind to that.”
This year will not be any different.
Last season on MTV’s Making the Band, the audience watched Danity Kane compete (and hook up!) with its male band counterpart, Day 26. This season, which kicked off two weeks ago, follows the girls on a promotional tour.
“You’ll get to see what really happens behind closed doors, when the artist leaves the stage or before the artist goes on stage, and the drama that goes with it,” Dawn says.
The drama this season includes everything from technical mishaps to wardrobe malfunctions and even feuds with stylists.
As winners of the search for a girl group in a previous season of Making the Band, it seems Danity Kane has learned to be at ease with living in a house full of cameras. In fact, Dawn prefers such a setting.
“I’ll take it any day because they can edit it in your favour. If you’re being followed around by paparazzi, they edit it the way they want to edit it,” Dawn says.
Aundrea Fimbres also acknowledges the good things that have sprung from starring in a reality TV show. “They got to know who we are not only as artists but also as people.”
The show has indeed brought Danity Kane more triumphs than disappointments. They’ve worked with some of the biggest names in music, including Timbaland, Young Joc and Missy Elliot. Shannon says the group hopes to one day collaborate with the “greatest of the greatest” such as Michael Jackson, Prince and Stevie Wonder. Aside from their success in the recording studio, the girls are also planning to launch a “Dollhouse line” and a series of comic books.
Yet their biggest accomplishment thus far may be just the fact that they’ve long crossed the one-hit wonder hump.
“Just being a reality TV group and staying together long enough to finish our second album is an accomplishment in itself,” Shannon says. “I think a lot of people didn’t expect us to still be around.”
When “Making the Band” returned for its fourth season earlier this year, only two girls, Aundrea Fimbres and Dawn Richard, returned to try and save their careers on Bad Boy and as reestablish themselves as members of Danity Kane.
