Interview With Mariela of The Pussycat Dolls: The Search for the Next Doll
Age: 24
Hometown: Coconut Grove, Florida
Occupation: Dancer
The next girl eliminated from the Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll, Mariela had the perfect look, the right moves, but unfortunately needed a little more work with the singing. Although eliminated, she’s certainly not down. Mariela intends on “blowing up” in the industry. In the meantime, she’s excited about moving forward by dancing and taking vocal lessons. We recently had the pleasure of speaking with her.
Hi Mariela! How’s it going? Thanks for sparing time for us this afternoon.
Hi. I’m great! Sure.
What a beautiful name you have. Does it have a special significance or meaning?
It doesn’t. “Mar”; M-A-R means “sea” in Spanish… like the ocean, not like sight but like the sea. My father loved the sea and all of his daughters’ names start with M-A-R. There’s Maria, and there’s Marielena and I’m Mariela. Also to add to that, my dad came from Cuba on the Mariel boatlift so it was two things in one. It starts with “Mar” and then “Mariel” so he made me Mariela.
How did the audition for the Pussycat Dolls come about?
Basically I had a friend who forwarded the email about the audition to me. I read it and I was like, “Okay, they’re adding another girl to the group.” I just felt like, “Okay, I could do that.” I’ve always loved their videos and their sex appeal and their songs; the sassiness that they have and all the things that they exude are qualities that I have as well. I just felt that I could do it. I’m just glad that I went for it, you know?
The Dolls offer so much versatility with their style, sound, dance and overall presence. What special qualities did you plan to bring to such a diverse group?
Let’s see… what did I have to offer? I don’t think I’m like any of the girls in the group. I mean my personality is different, my dance style is different. I just think that I have a grace and a poise that would’ve complimented the group.
There were girls with gobs of talent and tons of experience in the competition. You came into it fairly new. Did you feel intimidated? How were you able to remain so positive?
I’m a very confident person and I really believe in myself and the potential that I have. The fact that I didn’t have any singing experience wasn’t going to stop me because I don’t believe in stopping yourself just because you don’t have the experience. I mean, if you don’t try something then you’re never going to get the experience. I had never tried singing but I wasn’t going to say that I CAN’T sing. You know I went out there, I tried and I’m so glad that I did because I see that I do have a voice inside of me and now I plan on developing it.
You’re a wonderful dancer. What previous dance training have you had?
I’ve been dancing since the age of 4. My main focus has always been classical ballet, but I’ve done modern, I’ve done Afro-Caribbean; I’ve done all different types of dancing since the age of 4. I’ve gone to Magnet schools and I graduated with honors in ballet from an arts high school, very similar to the one in the movie, Fame. I went to a high school that was like that. I mean seriously, just like that. I just loved the experiences that I had there. So, yeah I’ve been dancing. It’s been a part of me since I was 4.
Would you say then that dancing is your strength? What about your weakness?
Yes, definitely dance is my strength just because of the experience. Because of the lack of experience, I would say singing is my weakness. But I’m never going to say that I can’t sing.
Did you achieve any growth through this experience?
Definitely. I think mainly it was in the confidence in singing. A lot of times I would be scared to go for it because I didn’t know how I was going to sound and I didn’t know how to use my voice. I still don’t know how to use my voice because I haven’t started the vocal lessons yet. But yeah, I would say just the confidence and the possibility of singing is where I came up on.
Do you feel it’s possible for a group like the Dolls to be successful without the whole “sexy image”?
You know what? I think it would be hard for them to be as successful if it wasn’t for that. I mean that’s the appeal of the group. I mean that’s what the Pussycat Dolls are known for. If they’re completely covered from head to toe it’s just gonna take away from what they are. They’re a hot girl group. You wanna see skin; you wanna see the hotness of it all. Their songs are hot. You can’t sing those songs in a church dress. You can’t. It just doesn’t go. I mean, it’s the whole package. So, I think it wouldn’t be as successful if it wasn’t for the sex appeal.
In spite of all the emotional drama going on around you, you seemed to get along well with everyone. Was anyone in the house hard to connect with?
I didn’t have a problem connecting with any of the girls actually. I was very open to all of them. I was very supportive of all of them. I would always extend my hand out to them if they needed me. When it came to dancing, that’s my strength and I was never going to hold back if someone came to me and said, “Hey can you help me with this? I don’t get this step.” They didn’t show that on the show but there was a lot of times that the girls, even if they weren’t in my group, would show me their dance steps and be like, “This is the way it’s supposed to be but I’m not getting it.” I would help them with it. I don’t believe in trying to sabotage anybody. If you need help, I’m gonna help you out and you know, if I need help, I just hope you’ll be there for me like I was for you.
It must’ve been pretty challenging to learn the vocals, dance steps and prepare for the performance in the tour bus on the way to Las Vegas. How did you handle it?
To me it was no different from the other challenges. People think we had a lot of time to prepare for these performances. We did not have a lot of time at all. That’s another frustrating thing about watching the show. People think that we had a week or had such a long time. I was like, “No we didn’t.” We had very limited time to practice and that’s the frustrating thing. I give myself more kudos for going through with everything because not being a singer and going into it with only 45 minutes - and not 45 minutes individually, but in a group - I was like, “You know what? I’m doing the best that I can and I’m so freaking proud of myself.” I didn’t complain or give excuses either.
Of all the girls that have been eliminated, which one was most surprising?
I wasn’t surprised about any of the girls that went home so far; not at all. I was like, “Okay, I can understand that… I can understand that…a nd I can understand that…”
So, based on the judges’ decision you could see why they were chosen for elimination?
Yeah, I mean it was so predictable to me. I’m not a dumb girl. I could see each and every week what they were trying to do. When it came to this week and they gave me that song choice and I saw how they paired me up, I knew what they were trying to do. You’re giving me a song by Christina Aguilera you know. You’re putting me with someone who sings practically like Christian Aguilera. It was me and Chelsea. It was, “Both of you guys have some things you have to work on.” I have to work on singing and she has to work on dancing, however nothing that we were given involved dancing. So, what did she have to worry about? She had the singing. That’s all we had to worry about this week. So, I knew what they were doing, but I didn’t know if I was going to be going home. It wasn’t a surprise. I saw it coming.
Wasn’t it difficult for the judges to notice your individual talent with your being placed in groups or paired up with someone?
Yes and no. Yes in a sense whenever you’re in a group you’re given your part to sing, so you know when it’s your turn to step forward to dance you’re going to go up front and have your time to shine. Then again it’s “no” because you don’t get to choose exactly what part you sing. Let’s say I get a song and there’s 4 verses with 4 girls. We each get a verse. The verse they give me is not necessarily the verse I feel the strongest in singing, but they’re giving it to me so I have to make the best of it. Yeah you’re given a chance to work it out but not exactly what you will feel most confident with.
How did you handle the pressure of standing before the judges?
I don’t think the judges were that bad with me. I wasn’t offended really by anything that they said. I was a little surprised when I was given the song, “One, Two, Step,” it was the first performance we had. One of the comments was that I didn’t have enough energy. I didn’t think that it went with what was shown. You see me in the house talking about how much energy I have and I was even commenting about how I was going to give Jaime some of my energy but then you see the comments the judges give me, “You need more energy.” It just didn’t make sense to me.
I actually caught that. For some reason I honed in on that comment. It seemed almost like a contradiction of sorts.
Exactly. It was contradictory. I can’t sit here and say I took offense to anything that they said. I mean, I don’t think they were harsh with me but that just really did not make sense. It was kind of like they weren’t going with what was said earlier.
Do the judges have an opportunity to peek at what goes on behind the scenes, during practices or in the house?
You know, I don’t know. I mean supposedly they only see the performance at the end. Robin was always throughout the house because she would come in and help us out with the rehearsals sometimes, so she would peek in. But, who’s not to say that there weren’t cameras in certain places that were letting them have an inside scoop. I mean, who knows? I don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised though.
What does the future hold for you?
What I have planned for the future is just working it out. I want to be on stage. I want to be in front of the camera. I love it and I know I’m good at it. I’m just excited to see what doors open and which ones I’m gonna walk through basically. I have some prospects. I have some things that are looking pretty good, but we’ll have to see. I just know it’s gonna involve performance. I love singing, I love dancing, I love acting, I love hosting… I love all these things. We’ll just see. I just have to wait and see. Mariela is going to be doing something. That’s for sure. It’s not the end of it for me.
Who are you hoping will make it as the new Doll?
I’m rooting for everyone in the house, honestly. I don’t have a favorite. I’m not gonna sit here… I hate favoritism. I do. So, I wish them all luck at the competition. I’m not catty. I’m not a diva.
You have such an awesome personality. I imagine you’ve gained quite a few fans in the process? What’s the best way for people to contact you?
Thank you. I’d have to say that they can contact me on my Myspace page. It’s myspace.com/meetmariela. I always personally respond back to all of my messages. I love all of my fans. You’re right. I have gained such a tremendous fan base. It’s incredible and I love them all. I love their support.
It’s been great talking to you Mariela. We know we’re going to see you in the future!
Well thank you so much! Have a good one! Bye.
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