Girls Aloud are a British pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl Tweedy, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The concept of the programme, hosted by Big Brother presenter Davina McCall, was to produce a boyband and a girlgroup who would be “rivals” and compete for the 2002 Christmas number one single. The new group competed with the boys’ winning group, One True Voice. Girls Aloud won the battle with their single “Sound of the Underground”. The song spent four consecutive weeks at number one and was certified platinum in March 2003.
After the success of their first single “Sound of the Underground”, Girls Aloud spent five months recording the follow-up single and their debut album. Sound of the Underground was completed in April 2003 and released the following month. The album entered the charts at number two and was certified platinum by the BPI. The second single, “No Good Advice”, was also released in May 2003 to similar success. Girls Aloud’s third single, “Life Got Cold”, charted at number three in August 2003. In November 2003, Girls Aloud released a cover version of the Pointer Sisters’ 1980s dance hit “Jump”. The single, which charted at number two, accompanied a new edition of Sound of the Underground.
After a brief hiatus, Girls Aloud released “The Show” in June 2004, the first single from What Will the Neighbours Say?, the group’s second album. The single entered the charts at number two. The next single, “Love Machine”, also peaked at number two in September 2004. Girls Aloud then recorded a cover of The Pretenders “I’ll Stand by You” which was released as the official Children in Need charity single. The song was not well received by critics; however, the cover became Girls Aloud’s second number one single, holding the position for two weeks. Girls Aloud began work on their third studio album, Chemistry. The album peaked on the UK Albums Charts at number eleven and received platinum certification. The first single from the album, “Long Hot Summer” was released in August 2005. The single ended Girls Aloud’s run of top five singles when it charted at number seven. The follow-up single from the album, “Biology” was released in November 2005. The song was critically acclaimed; Peter Cashmore of The Guardian labeled it “the best pop single of the last decade”
In October 2006, Girls Aloud released their first greatest hits collection, The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits. It debuted at number one on the UK album chart and went on to sell over one million copies. The album was accompanied by the single “Something Kinda Ooooh”. Girls Aloud became the first British act to reach the top five purely on download sales; the single peaked at number three following its physical release. The next single was a cover of “I Think We’re Alone Now” which peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. In March 2007, Girls Aloud collaborated with fellow British girl group Sugababes for the cover of the song “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith. Billed as “Sugababes vs. Girls Aloud”, the song served as the official single for Comic Relief which became the group’s third number one. In May 2007.
Girls Aloud then recorded two tracks for the soundtrack to the movie, St. Trinian’s. They also made 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 December 2007. In November 2008, Girls Aloud released their fifth studio album and would be their final studio album Out of Control, which entered the Uk Albums Chart at number one and became their most successful studio album to date, being certified double platinum. The album’s lead single, “The Promise”, became the group’s fourth number one in the UK.
