Asia Nitollano (born February 14, 1988) is an American singer, dancer,

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

and cheerleader. After winning the television series '' Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll'', Nitollano became a member of

the Pussycat Dolls The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe ...

, only to leave a few months later to pursue a solo career.

Early life

Nitollano was born in Mt. Vernon, New York. She is the daughter of singer

Joe Bataan Joe Bataan (also spelled Bataán) (born Bataan Nitollano; November 15, 1942) is a Latin soul musician from New York. Early life Joe Bataan was born Bataan Nitollano and grew up in the 103rd Street and Lexington Avenue part of East Harlem in New ...

, and has a daughter named Viola Crayola. She is of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, Puerto Rican and

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

ancestry.GNP.com
"Fil-Am wins Pussycat Doll search." Retrieved June 14, 2007. As a teenager, Nitollano was a dancer for the New York Knicks. In 2007, she became one of the nine finalists on the CW reality television series, '' Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll''. During the season finale of the show, she was chosen to become the newest member of the group by judges

Robin Antin Robin Antin is an American actress, entrepreneur, dancer, choreographer and clothing designer. In 1995, she founded the modern burlesque troupe the Pussycat Dolls. By 2005, she diversified into various media including a pop recording group with i ...

Ron Fair Ronald Fair is an American A&R executive, record producer, record executive, musical arranger, recording engineer and conductor. In a career that has spanned over 30 years at major record labels he has produced and arranged hits for several ar ...

and Lil' Kim. According to judge and Pussycat Doll founder Robin Antin, while Nitollano wasn't the strongest vocalist of the final three, she was the best all-round performer.

Music career

Nitollano was a member of the Pussycat Dolls for a brief period of time. Nittollano was set to officially join the Dolls in 2007 after the group would finish their world tour and touring with

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

.A chat with the new Pussycat Doll
/ref> In July 2007, the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' reported that Nitollano, who was never contractually obligated to join the

Pussycat Dolls Pussycat or Pussy Cat may refer to: * Cat, a domestic feline Music Bands * Pussycat (band), a Dutch country and pop group * The Pussycats, a 1960s Norwegian rock band * The Pussycats, a group signed to Kama Sutra Records Albums * '' Pussy Ca ...

, had decided to embark on a solo career. According to Dawn Ostroff, head of the

CW Network CW may stand for: Science and technology * centiwatt (cW), one hundredth of a watt * Cω, a programming language * CW complex, a type of topological space * Carrier wave, in radio communications * CodeWarrior, an integrated development environm ...

, Nitollano was not fired from the group, but opted to go solo.
Reality TV World
'. "Pussycat Dolls Present' winner Asia Nitollano not joining the Dolls." July 23, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2007. Prior to the announcement, Nitollano's position in the group had been questioned for months, since she had never performed with the group (except on the finale of the show) and had been absent from the group's high-profile performances, most notably Live Earth 2007. Later in 2007, she appeared in advertisements for

Sean Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

' clothing line Sean Jean Women's collection. She reportedly signed a recording deal with The Inc. Records, but has not released any music. By July 2009, Nitollano had returned to the New York Knicks, as a finalist in the auditions for the 2009–2010 Knicks City Dancers. As of March 2014 her official YouTube channel bio states that she is working on her album but is unsigned.

References

External links

Asia Nitollano MySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nitollano, Asia 1988 births Living people Musicians from Mount Vernon, New York Reality show winners American dance musicians 20th-century African-American women singers American musicians of Filipino descent American musicians of Mexican descent American people of Puerto Rican descent American female dancers Dancers from New York (state) American women pop singers National Basketball Association cheerleaders American cheerleaders Hispanic and Latino American female models Filipino people of African-American descent American models of Filipino descent 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century African-American women singers