Girls Aloud are a UK
girl
group that were created on the
ITV1
talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. The
group, consisting of
Nadine Coyle,
Sarah Harding,
Cheryl Cole,
Nicola
Roberts and
Kimberley Walsh have
been successful in achieving a string of 20 consecutive UK Top 10
singles (including four number ones and four number twos, also 15
top 5 singles), two UK number one albums,all albums are certified
platinum and having been nominated for four
BRIT Awards, winning Best Single in 2009 for
"
The Promise".
Girls
Aloud have become one of the few UK
reality television acts to achieve
continued success, amassing a fortune of £25 million by May
2009. Guinness World
Records lists them as "Most Successful Reality TV Group" in the
2007 edition. They also hold the record for "Most Consecutive Top
Ten Entries in the UK by a Female Group" in the 2008 edition. The
band have been working with
Xenomania
since the start of their careers. They produce all of their
material.
Girls Aloud are currently focusing on solo projects. They have
confirmed that they will be back with a new album as of from
2010.
Formation
Girls Aloud were formed on 30 November 2002, in front of millions
of viewers on the
ITV1 programme
Popstars: The Rivals. The concept
of the programme, hosted by
Big
Brother presenter
Davina
McCall, was to produce a
boyband and a
girlband who would be 'rivals' and compete
for the 2002 Christmas number one single. Following the initial
success of
Hear'Say (winners of the
original
Popstars show), several thousand applicants
attended auditions across the UK in hope of being selected. Ten men
and ten women were chosen as finalists by judges
Pete Waterman,
Louis
Walsh and
Geri Halliwell.
However, two of these were disqualified before the live shows
began: Hazel Kaneswaren was found to be too old to participate
whilst Nicola Ward refused to sign the contract, claiming the pay
the group would receive was too poor.
Kimberley Walsh and
Nicola Roberts, who had made it into the
final fifteen but not the final ten, were chosen as their
replacements.
During October and November, the finalists took to the stage
participating in weekly Saturday night live performances
(alternating week-by-week between the girls and boys). Each week
the contestant polling the fewest phone votes was eliminated, until
the final line-ups of the groups emerged. The five girls who made
it into the group were (in the order announced by the host) Cheryl,
Nicola, Nadine, Kimberley and Sarah;
Javine Hylton missed out on a place in the
group, despite previous expectations that she would be placed in
the line-up. The group were named Girls Aloud and were managed by
Louis Walsh until 2005 when Hilary Shaw replaced him.
The two groups competed for the number one position in the
Christmas week UK singles chart. Girls Aloud won the battle with
their single "
Sound of
the Underground" (produced by
Brian Higgins and
Xenomania) which stayed at number one for four
weeks.
Disney Channel viewers
later voted this as best single of 2002–2003 at the
Disney Channel Kids Awards. Originally
tipped to be more successful than the girls, One True Voice
released just two singles before disbanding in the summer of
2003.
Subsequent career
2002–2003: Sound of the Underground
After the success of their first single "Sound of the Underground",
the newly formed group took several months to record their debut
album. Also entitled
Sound
of the Underground, this was released on 26 May 2003 and
entered the charts at number two. One of the tracks, "Girls
Allowed", was written for the group by ex-
Westlife star
Bryan
McFadden, while "Some Kind of Miracle" was co-written by former
B*Witched member
Edele Lynch. The group's second single, the
number two hit "
No Good
Advice", was also released in May 2003, and the third single,
"
Life Got Cold", charted at
number three in August 2003.
In November 2003, the group released "
Jump"—a
cover of the
Pointer Sisters' 1980s dance hit. The song
featured on the
soundtrack to the 2003
film
Love Actually, and
entered the chart at number two. The album went
platinum after a re-issue was released on 1
December 2003. The new version of
Sound of the Underground
featured a new album cover and the replacement of three original
songs with "Jump" (which was not included on the original version),
"You Freak Me Out" (which appeared on the soundtrack of
Freaky Friday)
and "Girls on Film" (a cover of a
Duran
Duran song originally a B-side to "Life Got Cold"). "You Freak
Me Out" was included on release schedules and was performed on
CD:UK in early 2004, with presenter
Cat Deeley stating that it would be their
next single. However, the plans for this release were scrapped as
work began on a second album.
Sound of the Underground
stayed on the top 75 chart for 20 non-consecutive weeks, over a
period of more than three years (it re-entered in December
2006).
2004–2005: What Will the Neighbours Say?
After a brief break, the group returned in June 2004 to promote
their new single "
The Show", the
first release from their second album. It had an unusual structure
for a
pop song, consisting of a number of
interchanged sections rather than the more typical
verse-chorus form. This single showed off
a new look for the group and was backed by a pre-release
promotional campaign featuring five empty chairs bearing the
members' names. This built up excitement over the new look, and the
image later featured on the single cover with the members in their
seats. When released, the single entered the charts at number two.
The follow-up release, "
Love Machine", also peaked
at number two in September 2004. "Love Machine" was nominated for
ITV's
The
Record of the Year and finished in sixth place. Their
seventh single, a cover of
The
Pretenders' hit "
I'll Stand by You",
reached the number one position on the UK singles chart in November
2004, and stayed there for two weeks. This was 2004's single for
the
Children In Need appeal with
its proceeds going towards the charity.
What Will the
Neighbours Say? was released on 29 November 2004 and
entered the album charts at number six. The album featured the
production and song writing skills of
Xenomania. The album's immediate success led to
the girls announcing their first
What Will the Neighbours
Say? Live tour, which took place in May 2005.
What Will the Neighbours Say? received excellent reviews;
most critics deemed it an improvement on their debut release. The
final single to be taken from this album was "
Wake Me Up", released in February 2005. It
charted at number four—their first to miss the top three, but their
eighth top-five single. In early 2005, the group won
Glamour Magazine's "Band of the Year"
award, and were also nominated for a
BRIT
Award for Best Pop Act.
2005–2006: Chemistry
After a short break following their first tour, the group began
work on their third studio album,
Chemistry. The first
single from the album, "
Long Hot Summer", was
released in August 2005 and charted at number seven, ending their
consecutive top five run but continuing their unbroken run of top
ten singles. The single that launched their third album was
"
Biology" which peaked at number
four.
Chemistry was released on 5 December 2005. The album
peaked on the charts at number eleven, their lowest so far, despite
overwhelming critical acclaim; it has also gone
platinum.
Their cover of
Dee C. Lee's "
See the Day", released in
the Christmas week of 2005, charted at number nine. "See the Day"
became Girls Aloud's biggest hit in terms of radio airplay since
"Sound of the Underground", peaking at number six due to its
success on stations such as
BBC Radio 2.
Girls Aloud released their debut DVD
Girls on Film in June
2005, featuring their first eight music videos and television
performances. It peaked at number five on the DVD Music chart. This
was followed by the
What Will the Neighbours Say?
Live DVD in November 2005, which reached number six. The
group travelled to Australia and New Zealand in February 2006 to
release the single "
Biology" and the
album
Chemistry. Arriving on 23 February, the group
undertook a one-week promotional tour, during which they appeared
on many TV shows. "Biology" peaked at number twenty-six in the
Australian singles chart, failing to break the group in the
Australian market.
"
Whole Lotta History" was the
fourth and final single to be taken from
Chemistry.
Released in March 2006, it reached number six, the week's highest
new entry. The single was accompanied by a video filmed in Paris,
their first outside the UK. In May 2006 the group embarked on their
second UK tour (and first arena tour),
Chemistry Tour.
During the tour, the girls performed at ten large arenas in the UK,
playing to over 100,000 people in total. The tour received rave
reviews, with the majority of tabloids awarding 4/5 marks. In the
same month, Girls Aloud were moved to
Fascination Records, a sub-label of
Polydor Records; all future Girls
Aloud releases will be published by Fascination Records. Girls
Aloud also won the Heart Award for the single "See the Day" at the
O2 Silver Clef Lunch.
2006–2007: The Sound of Girls Aloud
In September 2006, the official Girls Aloud web site confirmed the
release of
The Sound of
Girls Aloud, a compilation that contains Girls Aloud's
singles and some new and previously unreleased material. The album
was released on 30 October 2006, and debuted at number one on the
UK album chart. The album was also released on a limited edition
double CD format containing live tracks such as "I Predict a Riot"
and previously unavailable tracks such as "Singapore" and "
Hanging on the Telephone", a cover
of the
Blondie single; this has now
become a highly priced collectors' item.
The lead single from the album, "
Something Kinda Ooooh", was released
in October 2006. Girls Aloud became the first British act to reach
the top five purely on download sales, with the song entering at
number five; it peaked at number three following a physical
release. The next single, "
I Think We're Alone
Now",— was dedicated to Jordan Duncan by
Cheryl Cole, and was the official theme of the
film
It's a Boy Girl
Thing,. It was previously a hit single for
Tommy James and The Shondells
(in 1967) and for
Tiffany (in
1987)—was the third time the group have entered the Christmas chart
battle. The single peaked at number four, making it Girls Aloud's
fourteenth consecutive top ten and eleventh top five.
Girls Aloud collaborated with the
Sugababes on their fifteenth single, a cover of
the song "
Walk
This Way" by
Aerosmith. The track was
released in March 2007 as the official single for
Comic Relief, as "Sugababes vs.
Girls Aloud". It became the group's third British number-one, and
their fifteenth consecutive top-ten single. In May 2007, Girls
Aloud went on their third tour,
The Sound of Girls Aloud: The
Greatest Hits Tour. During the tour, the group appeared at 15
arenas across the UK and Ireland. The supporting acts for this tour
were Misha Williams, Natalia and
Rogue
Traders.
2007–2008: Tangled Up
Girls Aloud performing on
T4 on the Beach in July
2007
The song "
Sexy! No No No...", the first single from Girls
Aloud's fourth studio album, was released in August 2007 and
reached number five on the UK Singles Chart. The album,
Tangled Up, was released on 19
November 2007, debuting on the UK Albums Chart at number four.
Their seventeenth single, "
Call the
Shots", was released in the UK one week later, and rose to
number three to give the band their tenth top three single. It
spent nineteen weeks in the top fifty.
Girls Aloud received their second
BRIT
Award nomination in 2008, nominated for the Best British Group
award.
Tangled Up was also certified
Platinum in
January. The third and final single from
Tangled Up was
"
Can't Speak French". The single
was released in March 2008, with a French version and "Hoxton
Heroes", a satirical track aimed towards indie bands, as B-sides.
It entered the official UK charts at number nine, continuing their
consecutive run of top ten singles. In May and June 2008, Girls
Aloud embarked on the
Tangled Up
Tour—their third arena tour, and fourth overall. They played a
total of 34 concerts around the UK, including 24 arenas and 11 open
air venues, making this tour their longest yet. They were scheduled
to play 13 open air venues, but due to the bad weather, two of the
concerts were cancelled. The girls also appeared as special guests
at Kanye West's Glow in the Dark tour.
2008–2009: Out of Control
Girls Aloud in the music video for
"The Promise" (2008).
In May 2008, the group confirmed that they had begun working on
their fifth studio album. The first single from the album,
"
The Promise", was
released in October 2008, followed by the album,
Out of Control, on 3
November. Girls Aloud said that it was their "most exciting and
thrilling album yet". "The Promise" became their fourth number one
on the
UK Singles Chart, selling
more than 77,000 singles in its first week of release—this made it
the fastest selling single of 2008 up to that point.
Out of
Control followed suit when it entered at number one on the
UK Albums Chart. The single returned
the group to the top two on the
Irish Singles Chart, while the album
became their first top ten on the
Irish Albums Chart since
Sound of the Underground.
"
The Loving Kind" was released as
the album's second single on 12 January 2009. The song, co-written
by
Pet Shop Boys, became the girls'
twentieth consecutive top ten single., charting at number
ten.
Girls Aloud also performed at the
BRIT
Awards for the first time in their careers in 2009. They were
nominated for Best British Group and Best British Single ("The
Promise"). They won the award for Best Single, their first ever
BRIT Award but lost out to
Elbow for
Best British Group.
The Out of
Control Tour commenced in April 2009, and Girls Aloud supported
Coldplay at Wembley Stadium
on 18 September 2009.
In February 2009, it was announced that Girls Aloud had signed a
new record deal with Fascination which will see the group release
another three albums, with the next album being released in Autumn
2010. Girls Aloud are also set to release
Out of Control
in continental Europe in the near future, with a
television advertisement tie-in in
Germany.
"
Untouchable" was the
third single from the album. The song was released in April to
coincide with the
Out of Control
Tour, and peaked at number 11 in the UK Singles Chart.
In April 2009, it was announced that a singles boxset collection
would be released. The boxset contains all 21 singles (making up
150 tracks and 13 hours of music), 16 videos, 8 games, an exclusive
rarities disc and a 64 page booklet featuring the story behind the
music. Sarah Harding announced in July 2009 on
Alan Carr: Chatty Man that the girls
are taking a break from music to concentrate on solo projects. She
also announced the band aren't splitting and that they will release
a new album in late 2010.
Despite many split rumours Girls Aloud have denied these
allegations. They stated that although they are currently working
on solo projects this will co-exist with being in the band and with
the new record deal signed they will be recording a minimum of
three more albums. In saying this they have assured the fans that
they will be back in the studio and a new album will be released in
2010.
2009-Present: Group Hiatus
Over the next few months Girls Aloud will be on hiatus as each
member will be pursuing other projects. Cheryl Cole released her
debut album
3 Words which reached
number one in the UK alongside her single "
Fight For This Love". Sarah Harding is
starring in
St. Trinian's II:
The Legend of Fritton's Gold. Nadine Coyle is working on
her debut album and is expected to release her first single in
March 2010. Nicola Roberts is extending her make-up range Dainty
Doll. Kimberley Walsh is modelling for
New Look. The girls have stated
that they are not splitting up and they will return to the studio
in 2010 for a new album in the autumn.
Other musical projects
Girls Aloud also appeared on the 2007 compilation
Radio 1: Established 1967,
celebrating the 40th anniversary of
BBC
Radio 1, with a cover of
Wheatus'
"
Teenage Dirtbag", as well as
singing backing vocals on
Franz
Ferdinand's cover of
David Bowie's
"
Sound and Vision". In addition to
these appearances, Girls Aloud recorded two tracks for the
soundtrack to the new
St
Trinian's movie ("
Theme
to St. Trinian's" and "On My Way to Satisfaction"). They also
make a
cameo appearance in the film
as the school band. The
soundtrack was released on
10 December 2007, and the video for "Theme to St. Trinian's"
premiered in mid December 2007. On 6 January 2008, "Theme to St.
Trinian's" became the first Girls Aloud song to enter the UK
Singles Chart without any plans of a physical release, peaking at
number fifty-one. Additionally, the girls also performed covers of
Amy Winehouse's "
Rehab",
Robyn's "
With Every
Heartbeat", and
Timbaland &
OneRepublic's "
Apologize" for
Jo
Whiley's
Live Lounge programme on
BBC Radio 1.
Girls Aloud recorded backing vocals for "
My Love Is Better" from Norwegian pop
singer
Annie's second album
Don't Stop. It was
reported that their mutual producer Brian Higgins didn't ask for
permission, which upset Girls Aloud. However, Annie herself
revealed in an interview that "Brian asked them if they'd like to
help out. They were really up for it and came into my studio and it
was really fun." She continued, "of course their record company
said no and they ended up not singing on the song after all. I
thought it was a little bit stupid but what can you say? It wasn't
my choice. They were really nice, very sweet."
Non-musical activities
Film and television
In 2005, Girls Aloud filmed a one-off
documentary entitled
Girls Aloud: Home Truths for
ITV2. The group witnessed the group's first
tour, the release of their single "
Long Hot Summer", and
recording sessions for the group's third studio album
Chemistry. The success of
the show later made way for
Off the Record, a
six-part
fly on the wall documentary series for
E4. The program started its run on 11 April
2006. The series was filmed during the
Chemistry era and
focused on the band's promotional activities, including the
shooting of the "
Biology" video and
the lead-up to and aftermath of the release of "
Whole Lotta History". It also showed the
band travelling abroad, to places such as Greece, Paris, Shanghai
and Australia. A DVD of the series, which included an unaired
episode, was released on 4 September 2006. Girls Aloud then
appeared in an episode of
Ghosthunting with... (without
Nadine) towards the end of 2006, in which
Yvette Fielding guided them through haunted
locations.
In April 2007, Girls Aloud filmed a cameo appearance in the new
St. Trinian's
movie, playing the school band. The film was released in the UK on
21 December 2007, with Girls Aloud providing two songs for
the movie's original soundtrack.
The Girls also make a cameo appearance in the
Oasis documentary,
Lord Don't Slow Me Down. The
girl group starred in a new television series on
ITV2,
Passions
of Girls Aloud, broadcast from 14 March to 4 April 2008.
The premise of the show involves each member achieving something
that they have always wanted to do. It was reported on the 13
November 2007 that Nadine would not be taking part, due to the
programme's bosses refusing to let her undertake charity
work.
Cheryl Cole became a judge on
The
X Factor during its
fifth series, replacing
Sharon Osborne. Cheryl said that "whilst we
get started on the next album, it will be brilliant to be a judge
on The X Factor." Her fellow judge
Louis
Walsh was a judge on
Popstars: The Rivals and formerly
managed Girls Aloud. Cheryl's category on the X Factor was the 14
to 24 Girls, and her act
Alexandra
Burke made it to the final, and eventually won. Girls Aloud
appeared in a
variety show entitled
The Girls Aloud
Party. The show aired on 13 December 2008 on ITV, between
The X Factor finale and its results show. Girls Aloud
performed hits and revealed their Christmas single, as well
chatting to showbiz pals and performing comic sketches.
Cilla Black and
Julie
Goodyear appeared as Nicola Roberts' grandmother and Sarah
Harding's mother, respectively, in some of the sketches. Kimberley
and Nicola also made a cameo appearance in the family drama show
Britannia High. Sarah has
starred in the television film
Bad Day as Jade Jennings
and starred in a BBC film called
Freefall in 2009.
Girls Aloud have reportedly looked at
film
scripts.
Kimberley Walsh said
"We want it to be a
Friends and
Sex and the City kind of thing, all
morphed into one," while
Nicola
Roberts added: "We'd really like the chance to do some more
acting. We've been given a lot of dodgy scripts — they were all
awful."
Merchandise and sponsorship deals
Girls Aloud came together with
Mattel in 2005
to produce
Fashion Fever Barbies. Each member designed the outfit and look of
a
doll modeled after themselves. In addition to
live DVDs of their tours and both of Girls Aloud's television
series, the group has also released
Girls on Film and
Style. Official calendars have also been
issued annually from 2004 to 2009, the only exception being 2005.
Girls Aloud co-wrote an autobiography titled
Dreams That Glitter – Our
Story. The book, named after a lyric in "
Call the Shots", was published in October
2008 through the
Transworld
imprint Bantam
Press. Before the release,
OK! magazine
bought the rights to preview and serialise the book.
In 2007, Girls Aloud signed a
£1.25m one-year
deal to endorse
hair care brand
Sunsilk. The girls filmed a
television advertisement and
appeared in and magazine advertisements, with each of the five
members being the face of a different
shampoo. The same year, Girls Aloud also sealed a
deal with the UK division of
Samsung. They
endorsed
mobile phones and
MP3 players, made personal appearances and sang
at Samsung events, and contributed to competition prizes, among
other activities. The Samsung F210 Purple came with a 1GB memory
card featuring Girls Aloud content. Girls Aloud appeared in
television advertisements for
Nintendo
DS the following year. The girl group signed a deal to front a
promotional campaign for a new low-calorie
KitKat bar called "Senses" in March 2008. The
chocolate bar manufacturer also sponsored Girls Aloud's
Tangled Up Tour. The exact worth of the
endorsement is unknown, but a figure of £500,000 each has been
suggested. Sales increased 6.8% in the United Kingdom.
Obscenity case
A landmark
obscenity case
was brought before the British courts in 2009, involving an online
story which featured the group. Believed to have been the first use
of the Obscene Publications Act for written material since 1991, a
guilty verdict could have had a significant impact on the future
regulation of the Internet in the UK. In the fictional tale, all
five of the female members of Girls Aloud are sexually abused and
murdered. The case was dismissed on 29 June, 2009, as the
prosecution offered no evidence.
Solo Careers
In the time of Girls Aloud year break the girls are working on
their own individual projects..
Cheryl
Cole is continuing her role as a judge on
The X Factor as well as working on her
solo career. Her debut single
Fight
For This Love went straight to number one in the UK and Ireland
selling 600,000 copies. As well as this, her debut album
3 Words went number one in UK as well s going
platinum.
Nadine Coyle is working with
major record company to create her solo album with will be released
in 2010.
Sarah Harding will be
recording tracks for the soundtrack of
St. Trinian's II:
The Legend of Fritton's Gold.
Discography
Tours
Videography
- See main article: Girls Aloud
Discography.
Awards and recognition
Girls Aloud have many celebrity fans such as the
Jonas Brothers,
Matt
Helders,
Duff McKagan,
Gabriella Cilmi Noel Gallagher,
Neil
Tennant.
They have also received varied compliments from legends in the
music industry like
U2 frontman
Bono who revealed at the 2009 Brit Awards that he is a
fan of the band when he spoke about them and said "Seriously I
think Girl's Aloud are at the cutting edge of pop music. They are a
great band and they deserve to be centre stage".
Chris Martin of the more modern rock band
Coldplay also said that he is a fan of
Girls Aloud, referring to them as "the ultimate form of
life".
Former
Spice Girls members
Emma Bunton and
Geri
Halliwell are reported to be fans of Girls Aloud as well after
they were seen at a concert.
The band themselves are known to be fans of artists such as
Oasis ,
Ne-Yo and
Michael Jackson.
They have had their music covered by artists as varied as
Arctic Monkeys and
Bloc
Party.
Chris Martin who is also a
Girls Aloud fan has said that he wishes for his band
Coldplay to do a rock version of one of the girl's
pop tunes some time. Coldplay performed a portion of "
Call the Shots" at a concert in
Brixton.
English writer and novelist
Julie
Burchill has also stated that she is a fan of Girls Aloud. She
has stated that they are 'simply the most perfect pop group since
The Monkees'.
References
- The Times -
The 10 richest reality TV stars, 31 May
2009
-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2532667.stm
-
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/x_factor/article71381.ece
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3145325.stm
- http://www.brits.co.uk/news/the-promise-by-girls-aloud-is/
- girlsaloud.co.uk
- itv.com
- OK! magazine
- The Sun newspaper
-
http://www.topnews.in/keisha-buchanan-kimberley-walsh-girls-aloud-26th-birthday-party-arrivals-burlington-nightclub-lond-0
- YouTube - Coldplay @ Brixton - End of Square One/Girls
Aloud Cover
-
http://girlsaloudblog.com/2009/09/the-promise-wins-popjustice-20-quid-music-prize/
-
http://girlsaloudblog.com/2009/09/the-promise-wins-popjustice-20-quid-music-prize/
-
http://girlsaloudblog.com/2009/09/the-promise-wins-popjustice-20-quid-music-prize/
-
http://girlsaloudblog.com/2009/09/the-promise-wins-popjustice-20-quid-music-prize/
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