Anne Lilia Berge Strand, known professionally as Annie, is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, record producer and DJ. She began her recording career in 1999 with the underground hit single "The Greatest Hit" and gained international acclaim, particularly from music bloggers, for her debut album Anniemal (2004).
Xenomania is an English songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent. Formed by Higgins with his Creative Director Miranda Cooper and Business Director Sarah Stennett of First Access Entertainment, Xenomania has written and produced for artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Pet Shop Boys, The Saturdays and Sugababes. In particular, all but one of Girls Aloud's studio albums have been entirely written and produced by Xenomania. Sugababes' "Round Round" and Girls Aloud's "Sound of the Underground" have been credited with reshaping British pop music for the 2000s. Gabriella Cilmi's "Sweet About Me" and Girls Aloud's "The Promise" were named Best Single at the ARIA Music Awards of 2008 and the 2009 BRIT Awards, respectively.
What Will the Neighbours Say? is the second studio album by English-Irish all-female pop group Girls Aloud. It was released in the United Kingdom on 29 November 2004 by Polydor Records. Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania were enlisted to produce the entire album, allowing for more inventive ideas. What Will the Neighbours Say? explores various subgenres of pop music.
"Wake Me Up" is a song recorded by British girl group Girls Aloud from their second studio album, What Will the Neighbours Say? (2004). It was released by Polydor Records on 21 February 2005, as the fourth and final single from the album. The song had been initially considered as the lead single, however, it was deemed to sound too harsh and the record company did not want to take the risk. The track was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Tim Powell, Shawn Lee, Lisa Cowling, Paul Woods and Yusra Maru'e. "Wake Me Up" is a pop rock song composed of a "garage rock guitar riff". It received mixed reviews from music critics. While some described it as predictable, others wrote that it appeared to be an attempt to recapture the sound of some of their previous release. Alex Kapranos, the lead singer of indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, said "Wake Me Up" inspired the band to work with producer Brian Higgins.
"Sexy! No No No..." is a song by British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud from their fourth studio album, Tangled Up (2007). In April 2007, the group announced that they would release a new album, due in November of that year. In July 2007, it was announced that "Sexy! No No No...", due to be released in September, would be as the first single from Tangled Up, with a radio premiere scheduled for 20 July. The track leaked a few hours prior to the premiere. "Sexy! No No No..." was written by Girls Aloud and Xenomania, and is an electropunk song that incorporates a sample of Nazareth's 1975 song "Hair of the Dog", for which they received a writing credit. Composed of three songs welded together, the song avoids the verse-chorus form present in most contemporary pop music, similar to their previous single "Biology" (2005).
"Call the Shots" is a song by British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud from their fourth studio album, Tangled Up (2007). The song was written by Miranda Cooper, with inspiration from an article about the advance of women in business, and Brian Higgins, Tim Powell, Lisa Cowling, and Giselle Somerville also received songwriting credits. Polydor Records originally intended to release it the lead single for The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits (2006); however, "Something Kinda Ooooh" was selected instead. In September 2007, "Call the Shots" leaked online, and on 26 November of the same year, it was released as the second single from Tangled Up through Fascination Records, a week after the album's release.
Don't Stop is the second studio album by Norwegian singer Annie. Originally intended for a 2008 release on UK-based label Island Records, the planned release date was pushed back. Annie left Island for Norwegian independent label Smalltown Supersound, which released a revised version of the album in October 2009.
Out of Control is the fifth and final studio album by English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud, released on 31 October 2008 in Ireland and on 3 November 2008 in the UK by Fascination Records. Like their previous albums, it was crafted by the production team of Brian Higgins and Xenomania. Out of Control builds on the sound of Girls Aloud's previous albums and represents a move into the mainstream for the group.
"The Loving Kind" is a song by English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud, taken from their fifth studio album Out of Control (2008). The song was written by Pet Shop Boys, Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Described as a "synth-pop ballad", "The Loving Kind" was originally written for inclusion on Pet Shop Boys' Yes (2009) before being given to Girls Aloud. Upon its release in January 2009, "The Loving Kind" peaked at number ten on the UK Singles Chart, thereby continuing their six-year streak of top-ten hits.
"Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer)" is a song by English production duo the Freemasons and English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The song was written by the production duo James Wiltshire and Russell Small, Richard Stannard and Ellis-Bextor, and production by Wiltshire and Small. It was released on 15 June 2009 in promotion of the Freemasons' second studio album, Shakedown 2 (2009), and as the lead single from Ellis-Bextor's fourth album, Make a Scene (2011).
"Say It" is a song by female English dance music duo Booty Luv. The song was written by Carl Björsell, Didrik Thott, Sebastian Thott and produced by Wez Clarke. It was released as the duo's sixth official single and the first single from their unfinished and unreleased second album. The song premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 10 April 2009. The single was then released four months later on 31 August 2009 through recording label Hed Kandi. "Say It" is an up-tempo song and has prominent dance and electronic dance characteristics. The song's lyrics evoke situations of lust and seduction whilst out at a club. The song garnered commercial success for Booty Luv in the United Kingdom, where it reached a chart peak of number 16, becoming the group's fifth consecutive top twenty hit on this chart and at the same time outpeaking previous UK single "Some Kinda Rush."
"Bad Boys" is a song by British recording artist Alexandra Burke. The song is her second single after winning the fifth series of The X Factor, and the lead single from her debut album, Overcome. The song features American rapper Flo Rida. It was written by busbee, Lauren Evans, Alex James, and was produced by The Phantom Boyz. It was first released for digital download on 12 October 2009. The song is an uptempo electrohop song, lyrically about becoming attracted to dangerous men.
Mini Viva were an English pop duo formed in 2008 by British songwriting and production team Xenomania. They were managed by 19 Entertainment and signed to Geffen and Polydor Records. Consisting of Frankee Connolly and Britt Love, the duo were due to release their debut album in 2010. Despite a successful first single and positive reviews, the group failed to gain further traction and confirmed their split in late 2010. They released three singles and toured in support of acts including the Saturdays and Diversity.
"Left My Heart in Tokyo" is a song by British girl group Mini Viva, co-written by Norwegian singer Annie and French remixer Fred Falke and produced by Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania. The song was released as Mini Viva's debut single in September 2009. NME called the song "the catchiest single of 2009." The single was originally released as a 10-inch vinyl single in December 2008 on World's Finest Records, featuring two mixes by Fred Falke.
"Everybody in Love" is a song by English boyband JLS from their self-titled debut album (2009). The song was released as a digital download on 1 November 2009, followed by a physical release the following day. The song became the band's second number one single in the UK on 8 November 2009, with a total of 600,000 copies being sold so far in the UK, earning the single a Platinum certification. The song was released to U.S. Mainstream Top 40 radio on 23 February 2010, but failed to chart on Billboard Hot 100.
"Broken Heels" is a song performed by British singer Alexandra Burke, released as the second single from her 2009 debut album, Overcome. It was written by the Moroccan-Swedish producer RedOne, Bilal Hajji, Savan Kotecha and produced by RedOne. The single was released on digital download in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2010 and physically on the following day, on 18 January 2010. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart on 24 January 2010.
Francesca Rose Connolly is an English singer from Helmshore. She was a member of the groups Mini Viva, who had a No. 7 hit with "Left My Heart in Tokyo", and M.O, with whom she had a No. 18 hit with "Who Do You Think Of?".
"One Touch" is a song by English female pop duo Mini Viva, written and produced by Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania. The song was released as Mini Viva's third and final single on 9 May 2010. Remixes from Wideboys, Christian TV and Tom Neville were also commissioned. The single failed to make the UK top 100.
"Lose My Mind" is a pop song by British boy band The Wanted, taken as the third and final single from their self-titled debut album. It was written by Nina Woodford, Rami Yacoub and Carl Falk, and produced by Rami and Falk, with additional production by The Wideboys. It was released on 26 December 2010. Following a live performance of the song on the seventh series of The X Factor, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 29.
"Radioactive" is a song by Welsh recording artist Marina Diamandis, released under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, from the deluxe version of her second studio album Electra Heart (2012). It was released on 23 September 2011 as the first promotional single from the record; it preceded the premiere of the official lead single "Primadonna" on 20 March 2012.
