Nicole Elikolani Prescovia was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Filipino father and a Hawaiian/Russian mother and grew up in Louisville, Kentucky with stepfather Gary Scherzinger, mother Rosemary and sister Ke'ala. Nicole took on her step-father's German last name, as he raised her and she has always considered him to be her dad. She began her life as a performer in Louisville, attending the Youth Performing Arts School at duPont Manual High School and performing with Actors Theatre of Louisville. Scherzinger majored in theater arts at Wright State University, but put her studies on hold in 1999 to sing backing vocals for the rock band Days of the New.
In 2001 she competed in the premiere season of The WB's television show Popstars, on which she earned a spot in the all-girl pop group Eden's Crush. The group's 2001 single "Get Over Yourself" peaked at #1 in sales and hit the top five on Billboard Hot 100. "Love This Way" was the second single chosen from the Popstars album; however, their record company folded and the group disbanded. Songwriter Kara DioGuardi contributed one track: "Two Way".
In 2003, following her stint with Eden's Crush, Scherzinger joined The Pussycat Dolls burlesque troupe, who were being re-cast as recording artists. She had first seen them performing on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2002, where Carmen Electra sang Big Spender from the musical Sweet Charity. In 2006 Scherzinger said "It caught my eye because I?d played Velma Kelly in Chicago in college." [1] The Pussycat Dolls now have world-wide status as a popular singing group; their Billboard top five hits include Don't Cha and Stickwitu. The album PCD went platinum in 2006. Scherzinger is the only group member with a songwriting credit on the album. She co-wrote "I Don't Need a Man" with Kara DioGuardi and producer Rich Harrison (another collaboration with DioGuardi, "Flirt", appeared later as a bonus track). Scherzinger sang nearly all lead and backing vocals on the album, with Melody Thornton and Carmit Bachar contributing backup and additional leading vocals only in "Beep," "Buttons," "Right Now," and "Tainted Love."
In 2006, she is touring with The Pussycat Dolls for their album promotion. It was revealed in 2006 that the Dolls are salaried employees of Interscope Records, giving the label a high level of control over the group's finances and business decisions.
