The Cheetah Girls (group)


The Cheetah Girls was an American girl group consisting of Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, Sabrina Bryan, and Raven-Symoné as the starring leads. The group was created by Disney, and was made famous by the eponymous Disney Channel original film and its sequels, The Cheetah Girls 2 and '. The group has released three studio albums, Cheetah-licious Christmas, ', and TCG plus several RIAA certified Platinum albums including, The Cheetah Girls, The Cheetah Girls 2, and . All of their albums and soundtracks have debuted in the Billboard 200. The soundtrack to their first film sold over 2 million copies.
The group has launched a clothing line, several perfume collections, doll lines, room decor, a book series and video games. The group has had three nationwide tours, Cheetah-licious Christmas Tour, The Party's Just Begun Tour and One World Tour. The Cheetah Girls grossed over US$43 million from their second tour. They have sold over 11 million records worldwide with the help of producer Brennan Mills.

Career

2002–2005: ''The Cheetah Girls'' film, breakthrough and ''Cheetah-licious Christmas''

The Cheetah Girls had a television movie, based on a best-selling series of young adult books of the same name by Deborah Gregory, which was filmed in October and November 2002, and debuted on August 15, 2003. The movie's DVD sold over 800,000 copies and the film received over 84 million viewers worldwide. Though there had been no contractual plans to record as an actual music group, producer Debra Martin Chase was able to convince Disney to create new contracts and release the film's music as a soundtrack. The CD was a surprise success despite not having been promoted. Soon after the first album, Raven-Symoné decided to focus on solo work, leaving the trio of just Bailon, Bryan and Williams.
The Cheetah Girls was also supposed to be adapted into a primetime TV series for ABC in their 2004–2005 season. According to an article on the MTV news site, ABC was set to put the show into production in early 2004, with discussions also being held to write a role for fellow 3LW member, Jessica Benson. A later article, published in February 2004, states that The Cheetah Girls sitcom was delayed due to the success of That's So Raven. The article stated that because of this success, Raven would not be able to do the sitcom. ABC did not pick up the series. A pilot for the show was rumored to have been filmed, but the long-standing rumors about the pilot being filmed were later debunked by Kiely Williams and Sabrina Bryan.
In 2005, the girls recorded for the first time as a trio and recording act for the Disneymania 3 album, remaking the song "I Won't Say " from the Hercules soundtrack.
The girls released their first recording in October 2005 under Walt Disney Records, Cheetah-licious Christmas, the holiday album included classic Christmas songs, as well as several original songs, one of which was co-written by all three girls. The album peaked at number 74 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The lead single, "Cheetah-licious Christmas", was rotated on Radio Disney and a music video for the song was shown on Disney Channel. A second single from the album, "Five More Days 'Til Christmas" was released as a Radio Disney-only single. The girls went on tour to support the album that fall, along with Aly & AJ as the opening act and the Jonas Brothers as special guests.

2006–2007:''The Cheetah Girls 2'' and ''TCG''

The Cheetah Girls began work on their debut album in January 2006. "We'll be making a real album, not a soundtrack," Adrienne Bailon says. "Some of the music on there will be produced by will.i.am from The Black Eyed Peas," she says. "It's important for people to see us as a real musical group. We have all this great marketing around us, with the movies and other things. But we are a musical group." However, when filming and recording for The Cheetah Girls 2 came up, the album was put on hold. Raven-Symoné returned for the film, which was shot on location in Barcelona, Spain in early 2006.
The Cheetah Girls 2 premiere received a total of over 8.1 million viewers, making it the highest rated premiere for a Disney Channel Original Movie at the time.
In an interview with Billboard about the postponed album, Sabrina Bryan stated that the girls worked on writing for the album on their Party's Just Begun tour and that they hoped to gather an audience of older fans while simultaneously staying true to their younger fan base. Bryan also stated that the girls would work with producers they had worked with in the past as well as exploring new producers, such as Timbaland.
The album was originally titled Who We Are, and set to be released on June 19, 2007 but this was postponed to September 25, 2007, with a release name of TCG. The track "So Bring It On" was released as the album's first single. "Fuego" was released as the second single from the album.

2008: ''The Cheetah Girls: One World'' and disbandment

The girls began filming their third Cheetah Girls movie, entitled , in March 2008. It is the only movie not to feature Raven-Symoné and premiered on August 22, with its soundtrack released on August 19. The movie debuted with 6.2 million viewers, the lowest-ever rated premiere for the series. In the fall of 2008, the group went on tour to support the One World movie, which would be their last tour together. In late December 2008, the group disbanded due to being phased out for other new Disney franchises.

Aftermath

All four girls are currently working on solo projects. Bryan released a book titled Princess of Gossip in 2009, had a small supporting role in the straight-to-DVD film , released another fitness DVD called Byou 2, and had a part in the indie film If It Ain't Broke, Break It. Raven has had a successful solo music career and has starred in films such as College Road Trip, For One Night and Revenge of The Bridesmaids and voicing Iridessa in the Tinker Bell Movies as well as starring in State Of Georgia, Guest starring on Sonny With A Chance alongside Demi Lovato and in other series such as Black-ish, K.C. Undercover and Empire. In 2015 she became a co-host on The View until the end of 2016 when she left the show to star in and executive produce the That's So Raven spinoff Ravens Home which is currently on its third season. Both Williams and Bailon had small roles in 2008 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, with Bryan making a cameo in the form of a set of her Byou DVDs on display. Williams played a supporting role in the film The House Bunny starring Anna Faris. Williams filmed the music video for her first single Make Me A Drink in New York City in November 2008, which was later scrapped in favor of a promotional single titled Spectacular, released in the spring of 2010. In early 2009, Williams and Bryan talked about collaborating on a talk show together, which Williams described as "a young version of The View". The pilot for Dinner with Friends was filmed in May 2011 and was released on YouTube two months later. Currently, Bailon is one of the hosts of syndicated talk show The Real along with former fellow Disney Channel star Tamera Mowry, Jeannie Mai, and Loni Love, which premiered on July 15, 2013. Adrienne announced that she would be open to doing a Cheetah Girls reunion.

Culture

The Cheetah Girls were the first multi-ethnic girl music group to come out of Disney Channel. The group not only featured young women of various races, backgrounds, and sizes, but it also showcased music from various cultures around the world. When the second movie took the group to Spain, they released “Amigas Cheetahs” and “Fuego” that featured Spanish lyrics and utilized costumes that are typical of Spanish culture.
The group was largely popular at the same time as a more “grown up” multi-ethnic girl group, The Pussycat Dolls. This parallel is visible in their names, in their upbeat dance tracks, and even in their choreography. The largest difference is in the PG nature of The Cheetah Girls, they keep their choreography rather clean and they are always in layers that are not very revealing. This all helped the group gain popularity with tweens and parents alike.
The message in The Cheetah Girls films is that stardom is attainable as long as you remember that your close personal relationships are more important. The group staying together was always the main goal of the series. This female support shown in the movies communicated an idea of feminism to young girls watching. The music of the group speaks about “friends for life” and “sisters, we stand together” which gave young girls a foundation in feminism and an appreciation for other ethnicities.
The Cheetah Girls have inspired many artists that came after them. Popular celebrities such as Fifth Harmony, The McClain Sisters, Zendaya, Olivia Holt and Brittany O'Grady have mentioned The Cheetah Girls as idols or an inspiration. Kehlani and rapper Cardi B have also paid homage to The Cheetah Girls by singing their songs.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2003The Cheetah GirlsThe Cheetah Girls Filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Manhattan, New York City.
2006The Cheetah Girls 2The Cheetah Girls Filmed in Barcelona, Spain.
2008The Cheetah Girls Filmed in Udaipur, India.

Discography

Albums

Billboard Song and Album Rankings:
Hot 100:
Billboard 200/Top Album Sales:
Top Digital Song Sales:
There are Cheetah Girl based clothing lines, toys, and video games. The clothing line was made available in Sears stores, and its launch was the most successful in Sears history.
Videos games have been produced for GBA and Nintendo DS, as well as a dancemat game. Toy instruments have been produced for the children's market.
The Cheetah Girls also have a doll line, released in 2007, inspired by the Disney Channel Original Movies. There are several versions of the dolls and the three members. The dolls were sold at Sears stores nationwide and several other retailers.

Miscellaneous

Book series
The Cheetah Girls started as a book series that was written by Deborah Gregory. There are two versions of the Cheetah Girls book series. The original, which was the inspiration for the first movie, and the other by Disney authors released as movie tie-ins.
DVDs
The Disney Channel Original Movies, and the concert DVD, are released with The Cheetah Girls 2 Special Edition Soundtrack. A 20-minute highlights DVD of the Girls' The Party's Just Begun Tour was released on July 10, 2007, along with a live audio CD of the tour. The first DVD released has sold over 800,000 copies. The Cheetah Girls have also released a California Adventures DVD and two compilation DVDs, DisneyMania 3 in Concert and Radio Disney's Totally 15th Birthday.
Toothbrushes
In 2006, Tooth Tunes released a toothbrush featuring a picture of The Cheetah Girls and plays a clip of their single "Shake a Tail Feather". It was one of the most popular toothbrushes for all girls in 2006.

Tours

Cheetah-licious Christmas Tour
In the winter of 2005, the Cheetah Girls went on tour to support their Christmas album Cheetah-licious Christmas. Aly & AJ went along with them, as the opening act, to support their own album Into the Rush, although the Jonas Brothers performed as surprise guests opening for both the Cheetah Girls and Aly & AJ for a total of 10 shows of the tour, promoting It's About Time, their first album. The holiday theme of the concert included giant presents, winter clothes, and even a tropical theme for their song "Christmas in California", which included surf boards with the girls' names on them. The Cheetah Girls also sang songs from the first Cheetah Girls soundtrack, their song "I Won't Say ", and their version of "Shake a Tail Feather".
The Party's Just Begun Tour
In July 2006, the girls stated to Disney 365, a brief Disney Channel So Hot Summer news program, that they would be hitting the road again in September 2006, however they didn't state whether or not Raven-Symoné would be joining them. However, in a later interview they confirmed that Raven would not be going with them. An ad inside of the Cheetah Girls 2 soundtrack confirmed the name of the tour to be The Party's Just Begun Tour. The concert was released to a live CD and DVD combo on July 10, 2007. The opening acts for the tour were Miley Cyrus for the first 20 dates, Vanessa Hudgens for the next 20 dates, and Everlife for the last 40 dates. Jordan Pruitt was also a special guest on the tour for the first 40 cities. The preteen group T-Squad was also a special guest for 5 of the 58 dates. The concert tour sold out every date. For the tour's finale the group performed in Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas with Miley Cyrus as their opening act. Within 3 minutes, the concert had already sold 80,000 tickets.
The One World Tour
The girls announced their third tour in the summer of 2008. The tour, entitled the One World Tour began in October 2008 and is in support of the trio's third soundtrack from their Disney Channel film . Bailon stated in an interview that it was likely that this tour would travel to various other countries as well as the United States. Corbin Bleu was originally announced as the opening act for the tour but due to his busy schedule could not continue with the duties. The Clique Girlz were announced as the official opening act for the tour just days before it began.