Adrienne Bailon-Houghton made the revelation in an interview withWe Said What We Said With Rickey and Denzel podcast.
The Disney Channel Original Movie premiered in Aug 2003. The final cast included Bailon-Houghton as Chanel “Chuchie” Simmons, Raven-Symoné as Galleria “Bubbles” Garibaldi, Kiely Williams as Aquanette “Aqua” Walker and Sabrina Bryan as Dorinda “Do” Thomas.
When Bailon-Houghton first booked her role, “I was told that the other girls that were chosen were Raven-Symoné as Galleria, Sabrina Bryan as Dorinda, myself as Chanel, and Solange Knowles as Aqua,” Bailon-Houghton, 39, recalled.
Since the character of Aqua was Texan, the Daytime Emmy Award winner thought that Solange, 37, was a perfect fit for the role.
“She has the Texas accent, the hot sauce,” the former The Real co-host continued. “It was supposed to be Solange, and originally she was supposed to be the cast member, and at the last minute, for whatever reason, ended up not doing the film.”
Following the first film’s success, the girl group filmed 2006’s The Cheetah Girls 2. Although Raven-Symoné, 37, did not return for the final film in the franchise, The Cheetah Girls: One World, Bailon-Houghton, Williams, and Bryan continued performing the group’s music as a trio until disbanding in 2008.
Earlier this year, Bailon-Houghton playfully teased of a Cheetah Girls reboot. She visited the Empire State Building and recorded a video with the staff of the national monument, which took movie lovers on quite the emotional rollercoaster.
The audio playing was “Strut Like You Mean It,” a popular song from the show. During Bailon-Houghton’s feature, she walked along the balcony of the building as she lip-synched her part.
Watch the full interview below: