June 28, 2007

Pussycat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger Picks T.I. For Solo Single: 'He's Not Bad'

By Jayson Rodriguez, with reporting by Liz Hernandez (MTV.com)

When Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls announced she was putting together a solo project a couple of years ago, the leggy starlet had plenty of collaborators lining up to work with her, including Diddy, Will.I.Am and Akon, among others.

But after recording her debut, Her Name Is Nicole, with a mix of producers, Scherzinger -- who was born in Hawaii but raised in Louisville, Kentucky -- decided to go with her Southern roots for the lead single and picked T.I. to guest star on the track.

"My boys from the South kind of put it together," Scherzinger explained of "Whatever You Like" while on the BET Awards red carpet Tuesday night at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium.

"I was working on the first single with Polow [Da Don] and Sean Garrett, it's all in the family here, you know? And we were like, 'T.I. would be cool to work with, and he's not bad,' " she continued, joking. " 'He's kind of easy on the eyes, he's all right.' "

The end result was "Whatever You Like," which, according to Scherzinger, will be released in just a few weeks, followed by her album in September. A representative for her label, Interscope Records, couldn't confirm any details regarding a video for the track just yet.

In addition to Polow, Garrett and Tip, the pop singer has also put in studio time with a notable list of artists, including Macy Gray and Timbaland, and she has also recorded material with Ne-Yo. Akon and Will.I.Am will also be featured on Her Name Is Nicole, although Diddy's participation is still unclear.

"I've been so blessed to work on this album the past couple years with some of my greatest friends," Scherzinger said. "I know I have so many other people [I worked with], my mind is slipping me, but I'm just excited about it 'cause it's really eclectic and I got to do a lot of writing on it, stuff that I think that's significant to me and what I want to say and don't want to say. It's a lot of fun; I'm proud about it."