They were a girl group that stormed the industry after being constructed by Sean “Diddy” Combs, but Dawn Richard is giving insight into the trials of Danity Kane. Richard was a singer in the quintet that took over the charts after coming together on Making the Band. The reality series followed hopefuls looking for their big break. Diddy and his team not only chose each singer but they documented the process of whipping them into shape. All these years later, many of the ladies have spoken out against their time on the show.
Dawn Richard has continued her career as a solo artist and creative. She’s continued to release music, and in a new interview, she revealed the Bad Boy “didn’t believe” in Danity Kane. “We were a show,” Richard told FashionXRadio. “Puff saw money. He saw ratings. MTV, that was where the money was. Danity Kane was just a concept of something bigger. He had no clue we were gonna be that big.”
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“I’ll tell you: when we first came out, they said only do 100,000 copies ’cause they not gon’ do more than Cassie. That’s what they told us when the first album came out. We sold 100,000 in a day, and they had to figure out how to get more units in by the time the week [ended]. They barely got it, and we ended up selling 230,000 copies.”
The host chimed in to say that the label was lacking and didn’t have enough product. “They didn’t think we would sell,” Richard added. “When were touring, they wouldn’t give us any money. So, we were sewing our costumes from Forever 21.” This isn’t the first grievance a Danity Kane artist has brought up against Diddy. Aubrey O’Day has been vocal about Combs, often lashing out about his methods on social media.
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Over the years, there have been murmurs about some of Danity Kane’s reunions. Richard, O’Day, and Shannon Bex came together as a Danity Kane trio, but still, the ladies opted to continue flying solo.