For those who are not aware, the $14M net worth star, Nicole Scherzinger is Filipino-American. Her Pinoy father Alfonso Valiente, and mother Rosemary Elikolani is Hawaiian/Russian. I am sure by now the once Pussycat Dolls lead has given the Philippine flag every reason to be proud. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the 44-year-old “wahine” however, grew up in Louisville, Kentucky where she went as a student at Wright State University Youth Performing Arts. But why is Nicole’s last name Scherzinger? Her step-father Gary married Rosemary and legally adopted the young Nicole when Alfonso and Rosemary separated.
In 1999 Nicole joined a band called ‘Days of the New’ to start earning professionally but subsequently made her drop out of college to tour. A few years thereafter, she was cast in a reality TV show called ‘Idols’. After winning a spot in a girl band, Nicole moved to Los Angeles to be cast among “Eden’s Crush” where she earned a new record deal with the song ‘Get Over Yourself’ as her first single which hit the charts and reached the eight spot on the Billboard “Hot 100”. Their first album, ‘Popstars’ debuted at number six on the Billboard Top 200. As if on a lucky streak, she toured with ‘N Sync and Jessica Simpson.
Years later, for an undisclosed true reason, the group disbanded; however, that did not stop Nicole from persevering. She went to an open audition for the Pussycat Dolls and won a spot and became the lead singer. Nicole then exhibited her talent in songwriting when the group released ‘Doll Domination’ in 2004 which debuted at number four on the Billboard Top 200, but most of the album’s tracks were originally written by Scherzinger as she prepared for her solo. Her original compositions earned her credits in their debut album, ‘PCD’ on September 2005 featuring their track “Don’t Cha,” which rocket-boosted Nicole Scherzinger and the Pussycat Dolls to international stardom. Finding herself on a pedestal, she now took the opportunity for her solo career. In 2006, she started working with artists such as Avant and Diddy on singles which allowed her to chart as a solo artist.
One song by Nicole was featured on the soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire; without actual confirmation from the rest of the ‘PCDolls’ however, this led to the cause of the group suspending their gigs in 2009. Our talented Pinay somehow had to find other means to work out her income, even if it meant working on various projects. She became a judge in the first season of “The Sing-Off”, and she appeared in the tenth season of ‘Dancing With The Stars’, winning the competition with her partner, Derek Hough. She later participated in a 2010 performance musical ‘Rent’ and as a judge in ‘The X Factor UK’, the same year.
I believe I will be maxing out my word count if I go on and on with Nicole’s accomplishments, so I shall simply advise you to look up her many titles: She is a singer, dancer, actor, composer, record producer, music artist, TV personality, fashion designer, businesswoman… but most of all, Nicole Scherzinger is Filipino-American.
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