The Dolls' diplomat

Britney Spears plays peacemaker when 2 singers in her opening act have an onstage Pussycat-fight ...

After a bit of a onstage dustup during the Pussycat Dolls' Friday night gig in Phoenix, no less than Britney Spears herself -- for whom the Dolls are opening on the current tour -- acted as a mediator.

''Remember, business comes first. ... You can hate each other off-stage, but make it work on stage,'' a very reliable Spears source quoted Britney as saying.

Things are increasingly tense between the Dolls. Lead singer Nicole Scherzinger has been looking like she's poised to go solo, and other members of the group are unhappy about recent singles released as ''The Pussycat Dolls featuring Nicole Scherzinger.''

''It's like a modern version of the old Diana Ross and the Supremes thing,'' said a music industry insider Sunday.

At Friday's concert, things got testy when the Dolls' Melody Thornton thanked the crowd in her Phoenix hometown for supporting her, ''even though I'm not featured!'' Spears thought that led to a ''downer effect'' on the rest of the Dolls set, and a negative lead-in to her own set, the Britney buddy said.

We'll get a chance on Tuesday to see this up close -- and whether Spears' lecture had any effect -- when the tour arrives for two gigs at the Allstate Arena.

Source: SunTimes.Com

I really hope the girl get it together for the rest of the shows...