P. Diddy ready to start
‘Making the Band’

Reality show now seeking all-girl singing act

Amy Sussman / AP	The latest P. Diddy-led incarnation of MTV's reality talent search "Making the Band" will feature 19 women living together in a SoHo loft and competing to become members of an all-girl pop group under the hip-hop mogul's guidance.

updated 6:10 p.m. ET March 9, 2005

NEW YORK - The last time Sean “P. Diddy” Combs tried to put together a band on MTV, viewers were treated to screaming, fisticuffs and the dismantling of the group.

Though he’s not promising any brawls on “Making the Band 3,” Diddy vows that the show, which premieres on the network Thursday, will be “packed full of drama and excitement.”

Instead of trying to put together a hip-hop band as he did when he assembled the now-defunct Da Band, Diddy is seeking to cast an all-girl singing act. He’s aiming for “pop-soul with a dash of hip-hop flavor in it.”

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Nineteen women will compete for three to five slots in the group; while they’re competing, they’ll live together in a SoHo loft.

Having more than a dozen women under one roof is part of the drama, Diddy told The Associated Press Wednesday.

“Women are more different than anything, any creature, (any) beautiful animal in the world. They’re just the most complex, different,” he said.

“I don’t think no human being has been able to just figure out the woman. As complicated as I’m explaining it to you, that’s how it is. It’s a big undertaking to move 19 young ladies under one roof, and it sets the tone for some good TV ... having their monthly cycle coming together, and emotions and moodiness and competitiveness.”

This isn’t the first time Diddy has put together a girl group. Dream, a teen pop-R&B quartet, sold about 1 million copies of their debut album in 2001 but never recorded another.

This time around, Diddy is trying to avoid the one-hit wonder syndrome.

“I’m trying to find talent, young ladies who can sing and dance, and follow in the footsteps of Beyonce, of Madonna, of Britney Spears, of the Supremes, of TLC,” he said. “I’m trying to have a group that can be internationally known and travel all over the world.”

Of course, they also must fit one other criteria: “They gotta look good!”