Could Her Name Is Nicole, the awkwardly titled solo album from lead Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger that drops Oct. 16, be even less anticipated than Curtis? The album–the title of which presumably serves to remind viewers that Scherzinger’s name is not, in fact, The Skank In Front–had its first single, the T.I.-featuring “Whatever U Like,” drop in late July to low sales (it cracked the Hot Digital Tracks’ top 100 in its first week of release, selling 13,000 copies, then disappeared from the chart), tepid fan reaction (sample iTunes review: “I rather spend my 99cents on a pack of gum”)^*, and little radio play. The video for the track, a Beyonce-biting “teaser” of which is above, is supposed to premiere on Aug. 28, which makes last night’s leak of the album’s second single, “Super Villain,” all the more curious.

Now, this may be wishful thinking on my part, and if the rumors circulating about Scherzinger and label head Jimmy Iovine are true, Her Name Is Nicole (seriously, how terrible is that title?) will probably become a “hit” by brute force and tie-ins like this ad for the CW, which only serves to further underscore how far that network has fallen from the days of Veronica Mars, i.e. last June. But it’s not too far of a jump to think that the sudden “unauthorized release” of “Super Villain” is part and parcel with the “leak as many songs as you can before release date” strategy that was employed as the two last-ditch buzz efforts for Curtis: once before it was eventually pushed back to its current Sept. 11 release date, and again last week with the leak of that Robin Thicke track. Am I just letting my disgust toward all matters Pussycat Doll-related cloud my judgment here, and will the kids who are currently hoovering up every single from the Fergie album put Nicole in their sights next? Or is the public just burned out on the Pussycat Dolls–and unable to give a loosened-up button about who Nicole Scherzinger may be apart from the pack?

NEW Nicole from PCD video intro “Whatever U Like” [YouTube, via A Hot Mess]

^* The 478 people who reviewed the song’s explicit version gave it an average of 2 1/2 stars; the 19 people who wrote up the clean version averaged a 3 1/2 star rating. I’m not sure if this is more evidence that we should fear for the next generation of children or what.