Cheetah Girls help girls ‘to believe in themselves’

Even with a hit television movie and a Billboard chart song to tout as accomplishments, The Cheetah Girls had not reached their ultimate high as entertainers until a concert at Disney’s California Adventure Park.

It was The Cheetah Girls’ first live performance, and the crowd erupted as soon as they walked onstage, says singer Adrienne Bailon.

“It was the first time we were going to be on stage as a girl group and not as actresses,” recalls Bailon, 25. “We hit the stage and saw fans go crazy, and there wasn’t a movie director yelling action and telling them to do it.

We thought, wow, we can’t believe fans really love us and we’ve come this far.”

The Cheetah Girls perform Thursday at Gwinnett Arena. It marks their third concert at the Arena.

“It’s always a treat and very loud,” says Julia Karrenbauer, marketing manager for the Arena. “A lot of young girls have been following them for years and have kind of grown up with them. I know parents like to bring them out [for the show] because they are positive role models.”

The Cheetah Girls, which include Bailon, Kiely Williams, 22, and Sabrina Bryan, 24, burst onto the music scene when they appeared in Disney’s 2003 television movie by the same name. Movie sequels and hit songs followed.

Raven-Symone also starred in two of the three films about the girl group.

Bailon recently talked about The Cheetah Girls’ journey and the group’s “girl power” motto.

Q: Tell us something people might not know about The Cheetah Girls.

A: Early on we had a couple of hard times with magazines saying, ‘They’re not cool enough. They’re Disney Channel.” They didn’t want to [cover] us because we didn’t have edge, which to them meant we didn’t have a scandal or anything interesting to say. That was hard for us to break through and really allow people to see that we are true artists and that we sing live.

Q: What is The Cheetah Girls’ message of ‘girl power’ all about?

A: We encourage girls to believe in themselves. Anything is possible. We are really examples of that. We are the first majority minority cast at Disney. Going into the first “Cheetah Girls” movie we were like ‘Hey let’s just go for it.’ And look where it’s taken us. We learn from one another and celebrate our individuality.

Q: How would you describe each of you as friends?

A: Kiely is extremely nurturing. She’s kind of like the mom of the group. She is the youngest, which is so funny. Sabrina is the comedian and keeps us all laughing. That helps when you’re working hard and the stress level is high. And I’m very focused. I’m the cheerleader saying, ‘C’mon guys we can make this happen.”

Q: Will your upcoming concert include something special for Halloween?

A: We have some surprises in store for you guys. We’re just really excited that Atlanta is such a fun city to be in for Halloween. We’re hoping that a lot of fans come out dressed up looking very “Cheetah-licious.”

IN CONCERT

The Cheetah Girls perform at 7 p.m. Thursday at Gwinnett Arena, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. $35-$45. 770-813-7600, 404-249-6400, www.gwinnettcenter.com