Pussycat Dolls' Jessica Sutta
Is the Singer/Dancer Set to Become Dance Music's Foremost Diva?
DJs Paul van Dyk and Dave Audé have already fashioned hit tunes featuring Sutta's vocals. Could this Doll be poised for lasting dance music stardom?
Given the propensity for "who's that hottie?" to slide scarily into "who's that again?" and then "who cares?" (think Danity Kane or any of the Suicide Girls), the fact that Jessica Sutta of the Pussycat Dolls has managed to break free of her scripted role as a salaried employee of Interscope Records is quite impressive. It suggests, though only time will tell for certain, that her career might be longer lasting than those of her sexiness-laden sisters.
Sutta has been atop the dance music charts all summer with 2 different songs. The dance music charts, it can be argued and not unreasonably, are perhaps not the true measure of one's lasting contribution to the annals of notoriety. Nevertheless, an ability to spawn hits, even indirectly, is obviously prized by the entertainment industry. Success begets future success, or so the thinking goes.
The multiethnic, Miami-born Jessica Sutta is the featured singer on Paul van Dyk's "White Lies" and on Dave Audé's "Make it Last," both of which have, as previously noted, been burning up dance floors for months.
Audé Starts the Ball Rolling
“Make it Last,” though not especially a critical favorite, reached the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot Dance Play charts during the week of September 22, and Audé notes that it was “my first number-one as an artist,” although as a remixer and producer he’s had 25 over the course of his career.
Audé first connected with Sutta, whose career includes a stint as captain of the Miami Heat dance team (This seems to be a valid career trajectory; see also, Eva Longoria—Dallas Cowboy cheerleader; Madonna—Alvin Ailey Dance Company; Jennifer Lopez—Flygirl.), through the Pussycat Dolls. Audé was the one who introduced PCD lead singer Nicole Scherzinger to the manager who ultimately led her to PCD.
Audé also scored the music for the PCD show at Caesars Palace-Las Vegas, remixed all of the PCD singles from their last album, including the hit “Buttons,” and is the music director of season two of the CW’s The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll.
“Jessica was one of the Pussycat Dolls that didn’t get a lot of the spotlight in the actual Pussycat band, but she just loves club music,” Audé told About.com in an interview. “So I’ve been doing a few songs here and there. I recorded the vocals for her song with Paul Van Dyk’s 'White Lies.' She sang on my song which wasn’t a full vocal song but it had some, it was more of a club track and fortunately went to number one.”
PvD Provides Some Heat
“White Lies” is still going strong on all four of Billboard’s dance music charts: #2 on Hot Dance Singles Sales, where it has been perched for 11 weeks, peaking at #1; #3 on Hot Dance Airplay, 12 weeks and counting; #3 on Hot Dance Club Play, 10 weeks; and for the past nine weeks, Paul van Dyk’s album, In Between, has been one of the Top Electronic Albums, resting comfortably this week at #3 after having peaked at #2.
"I had a lot of fun working with Jessica," says PvD via press release. "Her lascivious voice and sexy attitude reflects the theme of the single perfectly." Too bad he doesn't show his appreciation in the official video, which may strike viewers as somewhat odd. PvD does some stilted spinning while Sutta essentially reproduces down to the last frame Madonna's performance in the video "Open Your Heart," just as Anne Heche essentially reproduced Janet Leigh's performance in the movie Psycho -- and to the same ill-advised effect.
PvD then hops into a convertible and heads home alone, only briefly glancing over at Sutta, who is on foot. He doesn't offer her a ride, possibly because he isn't actually alone. He's accompanied by an emblem of the song he's just performed, a very large, beautiful white dog who is apparently some kind of reverse metaphor.
Her lukewarm critical reception and heretofore unremarkable presence notwithstanding (who outside of the clubs has ever heard of this woman?), Jessica Sutta has been undeniably instrumental in creating two verifiable dance hits this season.
Will she be able to parlay these hits into a sustainable career? Will she able to, as the song begs, "make it last"? Stay tuned! Meanwhile, read more on Jessica Sutta and Paul van Dyk’s “White Lies” here.
