Danity Kane

Members: Aubrey O'Day, Wanita Woodgette, Shannon Bex, Dawn Richard, Aundrea Fimbres

Active: 2005 - present

HISTORY

Danity Kane is an American Pop and R&B girl group signed to Bad Boy Records, first established in 2005. Formed on the third installment of MTV's Making the Band reality television series, the quintet is comprised of singers and songwriters Aubrey O'Day, Wanita Woodgette, Shannon Bex, Dawn Richard and Aundrea Fimbres.

Their self-titled debut studio album was released in 2006 and achieved success in the United States, shipping a million copies domestically, while spawning two singles with top 10 hit "Show Stopper" and the ballad "Ride for You." Danity Kane's second studio album, Welcome to the Dollhouse, was released on March 18, 2008, following the release of their second top 10 hit single "Damaged".

Making the Band 3

In 2004, producer Sean Combs returned with Making the Band 3, this time searching for the next female super group. With the help of choreographer Laurie Ann Gibson, vocal trainer Doc Holiday and talent manager Johnny Wright himself he set out on a multi city search, subsequently finding 20 young singers. While seven girls remained, Diddy grew more and more unhappy with the level of talent throughout the season, and eventually decided not to form a band. He did however give a reprieve to three contestants who he felt deserved another chance, including Aubrey O'Day and Aundrea Fimbres, who all appear on the forth season.

Afterwards Diddy once again kicked his team across the table to audition new girls for the group. Finally seven girls were chosen and moved into a loft in New York City. After weeks of dance and singing lessons, promotional appearances, and a performance in front of 10,000 at a Backstreet Boys concert at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA, eleven girls remained. The finalists were sent home for three months, told to polish up, and return for the final stretch in November 2005.

On the second season's finale on Monday, November 15, 2005, five of the eleven were chosen: Aubrey O'Day, Wanita Woodgette, Shannon Bex, Dawn Angelique Richard, and Aundrea Fimbres. The final five members of the group in place, Making the Band 3 tracked the development and struggles of the new band - from then on known as Danity Kane (a name taken from a female anime superhero drawn by Dawn).

After months of recording the band's debut album, Danity Kane, was released to mixed reviews on August 22, 2006 in the United States. Produced by Timbaland, Scott Storch, Rodney Jerkins, Mario Winans and Ryan Leslie among others, the album sold over 90,000 copies in the first day of release, and over 234,000 in the first week of release. It eventually debuted at number one on the U.S. Billbioard 200 albums chart, knocking veteran Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics from the top spot and out-selling hip-hop duo OutKast. The album received a platinum certification from the RIAA in November 2006.

The album's lead and title single "Show Stopper", produced by Jim Jonsin, was serviced to radio on August 4, 2006, and subsequently debuted at number 17 on Billboard's Hot 100; it however peaked at number 8 on that particular chart.[6] Outside the United States, the song became a top 30 success in Germany and Lithuania. The selection for the album's second single, Bryan Michael Cox produced "Ride for You", was influenced by a fan poll that went around through e-mails, MySpace, and the group's official web site. The music video for the song premiered on MTV's Total Request Live on December 5, 2006, the same day the band released a holiday song called "Home for Christmas" which was written by group member Dawn Richard.

Between February 2007 to May 2007 Danity Kane performed as an opening act, along with the Pussycat Dolls, on Christina Aguilera's Back To Basics Tour. In the meantime the band intensified work on their second album, which was initially scheduled for a late 2007 release, but eventually pushed back to 2008.

Hiatus and rumored break-up

In the summer of 2007, speculation by fans and the media circled the internet and entertainment news outlets concerning the possibility of Danity Kane splitting up. The rumors were fueled by quotes taken out of context (most notably when Aubrey O'Day was questioned by TMZ about her relationship to the successful pop girl group the Pussycat Dolls and their television show Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll[10]) and by work the group members have done outside of Danity Kane since the release of their debut album. D. Woods' association with another girl group, The Girl's Club, was specifically cited as adding credibility to break-up rumors. Additionally, reports of solo careers and of new groups forming from various combinations of members of the group were rampant. Over the course of these rumors, the members of Danity Kane often published personal online responses to the break-up speculation.

It was not until July 25, 2007 that Danity Kane released an official statement on their group MySpace page stating that they were still together and working on their second album.

Making the Band 4 and Welcome to the Dollhouse

While making several solo appearances on other artist's albums during fall 2007, Danity Kane was featured on the second season of the fourth iteration of Making the Band which debuted January 28, 2008 on MTV, where solo singer Donnie Klang, Day26, and the girls themselves, lived and recorded their albums together.

"Damaged," the band's poll-voted lead single off of their second album Welcome to the Dollhouse was officially released as a digital single on January 29, and became the band's second top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Its music video has recently been nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for "Best Pop Video" and "Best Dancing in a Video." Welcome to the Dollhouse, was eventually released on March 18, 2008 in the United States, where it debuted at number-one of the Billboard 200, with first week sales of 236,000 copies (2,000 units more than their self-titled debut album). The album eventually recieved a gold certification from the RIAA in April 2008. In a May 2008 interview with Kiwibox.com, Danity Kane revealed that the follow up single to "Damaged" would be "Bad Girl."

On the second season finale of Making the Band 4, it was announced that Danity Kane would be headlining a tour in 2008 and be featured on the next season of Making the Band, as Diddy stated himself. The third and final season of Making the Band 4 premiered on MTV August 19, 2008.

ALBUMS

Albums

2006 - Danity Kane

2008 - Welcome to the Dollhouse