Danity Kane was an American girl group comprising members Aubrey O'Day, Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett, Shannon Bex, Dawn Richard and Aundrea Fimbres. Formed on the third iteration of MTV's Making the Band reality television series in 2005, they were soon signed to Bad Boy Records by Diddy. Danity Kane's self-titled debut studio album was released in 2006 and achieved success in the United States, shipping a million copies domestically, while spawning two singles with top 10 single "Show Stopper" and the ballad "Ride for You." Their second studio album, Welcome to the Dollhouse, was released in 2008, following the release of their second top 10 single "Damaged".

In 2004, producer Sean Combs returned with Making the Band 3, the third iteration of the Making the Band television series, in search of the next female supergroup. With the help of choreographer Laurie Ann Gibson, vocal trainer Doc Holiday and talent manager Johnny Wright, he set out on a multi-city search and invited 20 young singers out of almost 10,000 young women to live and compete for positions in the group in New York City. When seven women remained, Combs became discontent with the level of talent remaining in the competition and decided not to form a band. He did, however, feel three contestants deserved another chance, including then-best friends Aubrey O'Day and Aundrea Fimbres, whose close bond originally formed early in the season. The three contestants became the first to appear in season 2 of the show.  At the start of the second season, Combs once again pressed his team to audition new young women for the group. Finally, 20 young women were chosen and moved into a loft in New York City. Viewers had become invested in O'Day and Fimbres's friendship, naming them "the AUs" and "Aubrea" (portmanteux of their first names put together), as they watched the two compete all over again for positions in the group. As the competition's challenges increased, their friendship seemed to become the foundation upon which the group was being built. In addition, O'Day emerged as the show's breakout star.  After weeks of dance and singing lessons, promotional appearances, and a performance in front of 10,000 at a Backstreet Boys concert at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA, 11 contestants remained, including O'Day and Fimbres. The finalists were sent home for three months, told to polish up, and return for the final stretch in November 2005.  On the second season's finale, on Monday, November 15, 2005, the show's ratings broke MTV records as millions of viewers watched to see the group officially formed. Five of the 11 remaining contestants were chosen: O'Day first, Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett second, Shannon Bex third, Dawn Richard fourth, and Fimbres last.  The third season of Making the Band 3 tracked the development and struggles of the new band -- from then on known as "Danity Kane" (a name taken from a female anime superhero created and drawn by Richard). The group would later be featured on the second and third seasons of Making the Band 4 with new male R&B group Day26, as well as new solo artist Donnie Klang.

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