Girls Aloud was officially formed at the climax of the UK TV show Popstars: The Rivals November 30, 2002. It was the second round of the popular television series, and the rivals were a girl band and a boy band. Girls Aloud, the girl band, was formed by winnowing down an original set of 10 female finalists down to the 5 who formed the group. They competed with the show's boy band, One True Voice, for top Christmas single. Girls Aloud's "Sound of the Underground" won that competition and the girls were on their way.
- Cheryl Cole (originally Tweedy)
- Nadine Coyle
- Nicola Roberts
- Kimberley Walsh
- Sarah Harding
From an interview with Channel 4:
"I had a weird dream about Take That last night. I was with them on tour and they were signing things at MacDonalds, behind the counter. And I got free French fries for helping."
5 months after Girls Aloud topped the pop singles chart with the song "Sound of the Underground," they released an album with the same name. Sound of the Underground debuted at #2 on the UK album chart in late May, 2003. It would go on to produce 2 more top 3 singles, and then, in a re-issued format, it included the group's 4th top 3 single, a remake of the Pointer Sisters' "Jump."
- 2002 - Sound of the Underground #1
- 2003 - No Good Advice #2
- 2003 - Life Got Cold #3
- 2003 - Jump #2
- 2004 - The Show #2
- 2004 - Love Machine #2
- 2004 - I'll Stand By You #1
- 2005 - Wake Me Up #4
- 2005 - Long Hot Summer #7
- 2005 - Biology #4
- 2005 - See the Day #9
- 2006 - Whole Lotta History #6
- 2006 - Something Kinda Ooooh #3
Girls Aloud did not waste much time in coming out with a second album, What Will the Neighbours Say? in 2004. In September, 2004, with "Love Machine's" #2 debut, Girls Aloud became the first girl group with 6 consecutive top 3 singles since Spice Girls. The new album included 5 songs co-written by group members. Critical reception was mostly positive, and Girls Aloud were nominated for a Brit Award for Best Pop.
Chemistry, Girls Aloud's 3rd album, appeared in late 2005. It only reached #11 on the album chart, but it still generated 4 more top 10 singles for the group.
Girls Aloud's "Love Machine" was covered by the Arctic Monkeys on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge in 2006.
Girls Aloud proved their status as one of the top pop groups in the UK with the release of their greatest hits collection The Sound of Girls Aloud. Although none of the group's studio albums reached the top of the album chart, the greatest hits collection, full of their single hits, entered the chart at the peak in early November, 2006. The group planned to be in the hunt for the top Christmas single of 2006 with the release of a remake of "I Think We're Alone Now," the classic hit for both Tommy James and the Shondells and Tiffany.
