A pop confection spun out of the Disney loom, the Cheetah Girls were created out of a book series about a girl pop band that turned into a popular string of made-for-television Disney movies. Deborah Gregory's band of 16 novels about the fictional girl group was transformed onto the small screen in 1999 when Disney decided to adapt the storyline into a made-for-TV movie targeted at tween girls. The cast was comprised of Raven-Symone (former Cosby Show and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper actress/singer who also starred in her own Emmy-nominated and NAACP Image Award-winning show That's So Raven,) singers/actresses Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams of the group 3LW and actress/singer/dancer Sabrina Bryan. Galleria, the Cheetah Girls fearless leader, was played by Raven-Symone, the cautious Chanel was played by Bailon, fashionista Aquanetta was played by Williams and vulnerable foster child Dorinda was played by Bryan.The Cheetah Girls' made-for-TV Disney movie was wildly popular, with DVD sales going double-platinum, and the girls released the holiday album Cheetah-licious Christmas in 2005. The Cheetah Girls Movie 2 followed in 2006 along with a corresponding soundtrack, and the girls stepped off the screen and onto the stage to tour with High School Musical's Vanessa Hudgens' tour. In the summer of 2007 the live album The Party's Just Begun was released, and that fall the Cheetah Girls (sans Raven-Symone, who left the lineup to pursue her solo career) released TCG, their first non-soundtrack album. The Cheetah Girls-One World drew six million viewers on its network premier in 2007, and its corresponding soundtrack was also a success. The Cheetah Girls' latest release is Disney's Karaoke Series-One World. The Disney phenomenon continues to expand its brand and the tween market continues to want more from the Cheetah Girls.
