School Gyrls formed in November 2008, roughly one year after vocalist Mandy Moseley crossed paths with Nick Cannon on the set of Nickelodeon’s Star Camp. Impressed with Moseley’s singing and dancing ability, Cannon began assembling a teen pop trio after the show wrapped up, eventually finalizing the lineup with the addition of Monica Anne Parales and Jacque Rae Pyles. The girls adopted stage names for the project -- Moseley became “Mandy Rain,” Parales became “Mo’Money,” and Pyles became “Jacque Nimble” -- and made their debut in January 2009 by appearing in the E! television series Party Monsters Cabo. After spending the remainder of 2009 working on a debut album, School Gyrls made another television appearance in 2010, this time as the subjects of a full-length movie that Cannon had written for Nickelodeon. Also starring teen heartthrob Justin Bieber, the film aired in February, one month before the release of School Gyrls’ self-titled debut album. ~ Andrew Leahey