Catty talent show is addictive

Besides "American Idol" there's another talent show that has caught my eye for being more catty than "Idol's" cute.

It's CW's "The Pussycat Dolls Presents: Girlicious," which airs at 9 p.m. Mondays and is the last show on Earth I thought I'd be into. But it has grown on me.

Robin Antin, who created The Pussycat Dolls, is looking to jump-start her next girl group through this show. So far, 10 girls remain. Only three will be chosen for "Girlicious."

Most of these young women are really full of themselves, especially the catty Natalie, 19. Nearly every week she raves about how she's entitled to be in "Girlicious" to the point it makes me ill. So of course I decided to root for the underdog — 19-year-old Ilisa from West Palm Beach.

This week's show was mainly about how tomboyish Ilisa didn't feel like she fit in very well with the pack. She sticks out because of her height, her red hair and her less-than-girly-personality.

The other contestants looked down on her and laughed when she offered help with dance steps. On Monday's show, she was the last to be chosen as three of the contestants were picking their teams for the performance challenge. It played out like kids in middle school.

"It's Girlicious, not tomboyishious," Natalie remarked behind Ilisa's back.

But Ilisa was redeemed by a group of critical tweens who gave Robin feedback during a contest for who had the most charisma during a performance. The tweens responses were harsh for many of the contestant to hear, but dead-on. When Ilisa was on the chopping block, you could see the tears starting to form in her eyes, preparing for the worst, but the young crowd praised her to the other contestants' astonishment.

That moment gave Ilisa a renewed confidence in herself. She decided to open up to the group about a tragic event in her life where she was pronounced dead for 30 minutes after a sudden heart attack during a dance recital. Her speech helped fellow "Girlicious" contenders show a little more respect towards her.

I hope Ilisa makes it to the end to prove to those other girls that she really does have what it takes to be a star. - January Holmes