On last night's season three finale of Making the Band 4, it became clear that Danity Kane was over. Maybe not forever, but for the foreseeable future, at least.

Diddy has let Aubrey O'Day, D. Woods, Shannon Bex and Aundrea Fimbres out of their contracts in a way that allows them to pursue solo endeavors. It appears that Dawn Richard will remain as a solo artist on the label and, if that happens, we'll begin to cover her. But, as Danity Kane is at an end, we'll now be closing the Danity Kane category on our site.

If there are any worthwhile Danity Kane related stories, they will be posted in the most appropriate category, probably the Bad Boy Records category.

They had a nice run. Thank you to all of the Danity Kane fans who have visited and supported Bad Boy Blog.

Late last night, commenter Lion King pointed me to the MYPLASH Danity Kane Visa card website. The reason this matters? Because the artist information at the site says that they are now in the studio working on an album called "From the Ashes." It has an old bio that has been updated to include a mention of "Welcome to the Dollhouse," and the title "From the Ashes" is rather ominous, of course, given what has transpired.

A lot of outlets, especially gossip sites, pounced on this to report the rumor that the group has already been working on a third album. Some of them are even saying that it's some sort of diss to Diddy, as if they are secretly recording an album. If it's on the MYPLASH website, they must be really, really bad at keeping secrets!

So, what's the story? According to a source at Bad Boy, these reports are completely "false." The girls have been released from their contracts and they are not working on a third album, at this time.

Digging deeper, Newsarama.com reported back in September that Danity Kane would have their own Visa card. A month later, Diddy removed Aubrey O'Day from the group. So, it appears that this credit card has been due out for a while and it is just coming out now.

One other aspect of the story that I'd like to tackle is the fact that some outlets are attaching the Visa name to the story, sometimes labeling them a Danity Kane sponsor, possibly in hopes of increasing the legitimacy of the story. This sort of branded credit card is called an affinity program. This is when a brand lends it's name to market a credit card, receiving payment for both the brand recognition and, potentially, the use of an existing client list.

I spoke with a friend who used to manage affinity programs for a major bank and he filled me in on how these programs typically work.

He said that, with this sort of thing, Visa would not be sponsoring Danity Kane. If anyone was sponsoring them, it'd be MetaBank.These cards are issued by MetaBank, as noted in the MYPLASH website footer. Visa has licensed their name to them, yes, but MetaBank is the financially responsible party here and the one that has created this MYPLASH program.

These MYPLASH cards are targeted at young people, especially teenagers, so they work with brands that will create interest with teenagers. That's why they are working with the Danity Kane brand and why this deal was seemingly initiated last year - before the group had been separated.

Unfortunately, I think we'll be seeing more and more rumors like this. Take them with a grain of salt and do not get your hopes up.

On Thursday at 9 PM ET, MTV will be airing a special called "Making the Band: The Rise and Fall of Danity Kane."

On tonight's episode of Making the Band 4, Diddy told Dawn Richard and Aundrea Fimbres or Danity Kane that he had decided to release Aubrey O'Day, D. Woods and Shannon Bex from their contracts.

He told Aundrea that her desire to leave the group in the past stuck with him and would make him not feel comfortable having her in the group in the future. So, she was released from her contract, as well.

However, Diddy said that he'd still like to work with Dawn and if there is an opportunity to create a new Danity Kane lineup, he'd want her to be a part of it, so he still wants her signed to the label.

In March, Melody Thornton had revealed that Dawn would be a part of Diddy's 3 person band that will include him and two ladies. But, Thornton's statement has gone unconfirmed by the label.

Dawn Richard's MySpace homepage features fliers for a pair of upcoming appearances: one in Bridgeport, CT on April 10 and another in Fort Myers, FL on April 25.

According to a flier posted on her MySpace, Dawn Richard of Danity Kane will be appearing in Houston, Texas on May 9. She'll be at Azteca's on 2207 Richmond. He'll be hosting a party that starts at 10 PM.

On Dawn Richard's MySpace, you can listen to "Trip City." This may be from the upcoming Danity Kane Comics soundtrack, as Dawn mentioned she would begin putting some tracks up in a video posted on her MySpace.

In the video below, Dawn Richard of Danity Kane explains the purpose of the upcoming Danity Kane Comics soundtrack.

"It's not anything that you're used to," she said. "It's not going to be songs for me, it's for the comic book. It's strictly a soundtrack for the comic book. Just songs that you guys can touch and feel and relate to, so when you're reading the comic, you understand the storyline of the comic and you got a soundtrack in your ear behind it. That's all it is, don't read too much into it."

She also acknowledged that the soundtrack's release had been delayed. We mentioned a report in March that indicated that it will be released in May. But, Dawn did not provide a date or further elaboration, other to say that the delay was due to their pursuit of collaborations for the album.

Toward the end of March, Dawn Richard of Danity Kane mentioned on Twitter that her grandfather had passed away. Though I'm a little late, I did want to mention it and say that our thoughts are with her and those close to him.

Via HipHopRX.

FOX NEWS has an interview with Dawn Richard of Danity Kane. She discusses moving on from the drama of Danity Kane, and her feelings toward Aubrey O'Day.


If Melody Thornton of the Pussycat Dolls is correct, Dawn is joining Diddy's three member band for "Last Train to Paris."