Cheetah Girls: Wholesome Appeal

Music CD sales have been down the past few years, and this year hasn't been any better.

But, observes CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes, the music industry has found a bright light that could spark a rebound.

"The Cheetah Girls," an all-woman band now on a sold-out, 60-day nationwide tour, were inspired by a best-selling book series, Hughes explains. Disney brought The Cheetah Girls to life in a movie three years ago with four multi-ethnic girls who could sing, dance and show kids how to have good, clean fun.

Hughes caught up with the three of the Cheetahs while they rehearsed in Los Angeles.

"There's nothing really out here that's empowering young girls," remarked Kiely Williams, one of the Cheetahs. "We do live in troubled times right now, and there's nothing really uplifting, nothing that you can look at that just makes you smile, and that's what we wanna be. We wanna be the lighthearted side of life."

On the heels of the Cheetahs, Disney made "High School Musical," which broke all records on its opening night on the Disney Channel.

"It looks s like the best-selling album of the year will be the "High School Musical" sound track, Billboard magazine's Geoff Mayfield told Hughes.

Sales of children's music, such as the Cheetah Girls, and sanitized hits by "Kids Bop Kids" are up 60 percent this year, Hughes notes, while sales of adult contemporary music is down five percent.

The Cheetah Girls' second album debuted in Billboard's top five.

"Hearing numbers like No. 5 in the country, we were like, 'Aaahh'," exclaimed another Cheetah, Sabrina Bryan.

"A lot of music on the radio goes into themes parents aren't quite comfortable with," says Mayfield, "so they try to steer toward safe brands, and something associated with Disney is generally that safe brand."

The Cheetah Girls have become so popular that their second movie, in which they compete in a talent show in Spain, had even higher ratings than "High School Musical" on its debut night, Hughes says.

The Cheetahs are also being pitched to the growing Latino music market. Their new movie has already aired in Spanish on the Disney Channel.

"We worked really hard, and it's like paying off," Bryan says. "All those nights of not sleeping being in the recording studio doing all that stuff are like paying off."

"Real girls are buying our album," says Cheetah Adrienne Bailon, "and we're real girls ourselves, you know what i mean? I think that's what they love about us is that they can totally relate to us."

But it's not just young girls, Hughes noticed. Even boys and moms are picking up the Cheetah beat.

One mother at a Cheetah concert told Hughes, "From a parent's perspective, it's good, clean fun. The girls have a great message, and it's music that (my daughter) and I can listen to together."

Cheetah merchandise is flying off shelves, too, Hughes adds.

"We're really trying to paint the globe Cheetah!" one of the group's members says.

Hughes concludes that with the Cheetahs' energy, the spots are spreading, and the music industry couldn't be happier.