Melissa Smith the Next Pussycat Doll

Making the Band with P. Diddy

My cousin in Canada first brought The Pussycat Dolls reality show audition to my attention. I was a bit hesitant at first. I'd already done one reality show Making The Band with P.Diddy, but the music industry is a tough business, and I knew I had to take this opportunity to try to break through. I wasn't able to go to the open audition call, so I sent a demo tape. Someone really does watch them. I drove down to Santa Monica and put it in their back door I did everything I could to make it happen.

Shows like Road Rules or Real World are entertaining, but I wanted to be part of something that showcased my talent. When I did Making The Band, I felt strange around the camera for 2 weeks. I was waking up with a camera, going to bed with a camera, having the camera follow me around when I brushed my teeth.

We used the "Bat Phone" to call production in the room next door to us. There were dry erase boards on the wall with instructions about developing the storyline. Production was constantly watching, examining every move we made. Every reality show needs drama.

Robin Antin, Ron Fair and Mark McGrath

in the reality TV "bubble," nothing is rational. No one is for you; everyone is against you. It's challenging to maintain your confidence in that kind of environment. They kept saying, "I want you to get out of your shell; I want to see something different" and told me I was too "girl next door." Sexiness comes from within and you can't have anyone force it on you. I am what I am and if I'm not giving them what they want, I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not.

The Pussycat Dolls creator Robin Antin was the mother figure on the show. Back in the day, she was a Pussycat Doll in the burlesque shows. Ron Fair is all business. I went to his studio to sing the Don't Cha song. We were in his element, so his guard was down. He's done a lot in the music industry, a kind of Simon Cowell.

When I sang the Norah Jones song before I was eliminated, they told me I sounded just like her and then showed me getting kicked of. It didn't make sense so they edited it to match the storyline. I was cut from The Search For The Next Pussycat Doll though I gave one of my best performances.

This is a TV show, not just another competition so producers have to make strategic calls and my story line wasn't as strong as Chelsea's. In every reality show, you have the victim, the underdog, and the girl you think will get kicked off in the first show. But as it goes on, she gets better and better, and people start asking, "Where's she going to go?"

Chelsea, Asia and Melissa

I helped Chelsea with her choreography one day, and the producers took me upstairs and asked, "Why did you help Chelsea? She's your competition." In fact, Chelsea and I were friends. I was friends with everyone on the show, but I got especially close to Asia and Melissa R.

Throughout the series, producers played up the fact that Chelsea wasn't a trained dancer and In all our interviews, at least one of us would tease her about it. I did believe that the girl they chose would have to be a strong dancer.

The Pussycat Dolls was one of the first girl groups that could really dance so they needed someone who's a strong singer, a strong dancer, someone who believes in themselves and has the confidence to go for it. Asia was chosen, and I think she'll have what it takes. I'm not the next Pussycat Doll, but I'm still recording, taking vocal lessons ... my time will come.

Search For The Next Pussycat Doll photos courtesy of CWTV.com