Girls Aloud are an English-Irish pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl Tweedy, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. In 2012, the group was named the United Kingdom's biggest selling girl group of the 21st century so far, with over 4.3 million singles sales and 4 million albums sold in the UK alone. The group achieved a string of twenty consecutive top ten singles in the United Kingdom, including four number ones. They also achieved seven certified albums, of which two reached number one. They have been nominated for five Brit Awards, winning the 2009 Best Single for "The Promise".
Xenomania is an English songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. 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.
Sound of the Underground is the debut studio album by English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud, formed through the ITV television series Popstars: The Rivals. It was released in Ireland on 23 May 2003, in the United Kingdom and Europe on 26 May 2003, and reissued on 17 November 2003 through Polydor. Girls Aloud worked with a variety of musicians and producers on Sound of the Underground, which was largely inspired by 1980s music. Comparisons were made with artists such as Bananarama, The Bangles, Blondie and Spice Girls.
Chemistry is the third studio album by English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud. It was released in the United Kingdom on 5 December 2005 by Polydor Records. After the success of What Will the Neighbours Say?, the album was again entirely produced by Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania. Chemistry is a loose concept album which details celebrity lifestyle and "what it's like to be a twentysomething girl in London." A number of the songs avert the verse-chorus form typical of pop music.
"No Good Advice" is a song by British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud, taken from their debut album, Sound of the Underground (2003). The song was written by Aqua's Lene Nystrøm Rasted, Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. The song has themes of rebellion, reflecting Higgins' general mood of failure after a business partnership fell through.
"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.
"Biology" is a song performed by English-Irish all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their third studio album Chemistry (2005). The progressive pop song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and Higgins' production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Composed of distinct sections, it avoids the verse-chorus form present in most contemporary pop music. "Biology" was released as a single in November 2005, ahead of the album's release. Following the disappointment of "Long Hot Summer", "Biology" returned Girls Aloud to the top five of the UK Singles Chart and became their tenth top ten hit.
"See the Day" is a song by English singer Dee C. Lee, released as a single on 21 October 1985. On 2 December it peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart where it stayed for two weeks. The single sold in excess of 250,000 copies, receiving a silver certification, and became Lee's biggest hit single and her only UK top-40 hit, peaking at number three. "See the Day" also charted in Australia, the Netherlands, and West Germany. The B-side of the single, "The Paris Match", features Lee's future husband Paul Weller and his band the Style Council, of which Lee was a part-time member.
Fascination Records is a United Kingdom-based record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as an imprint of Polydor Records. The label was launched in spring of 2006, and is managed by former TOTP Magazine editor Peter Loraine.
"Something Kinda Ooooh" is a song by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their first greatest hits collection The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits (2006). The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Inspired by 1980s pop and George Michael, "Something Kinda Ooooh" was released as a single in October 2006. It returned Girls Aloud to the top three of the UK Singles Chart for the first time in two years. It also made Girls Aloud the first British act to debut in the top five on the chart based on legal download sales alone.
"Sexy! No No No..." is a song by British 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.
Tangled Up is the fourth studio album by English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud. It was released through Fascination Records and Polydor Records on 16 November 2007, and was distributed in two physical formats and made available for digital consumption. The album is a pop record that incorporates elements of dance-pop, synthpop, and various EDM sub-genres produced by long time-collaborators Brian Higgins and production team Xenomania. Marking a more mature approach according to group member Cheryl, the album lyrically delves into themes of love, relationships and femininity, and it was the group's first experimentation with tools such as autotune and vocoder. Production and development began with each member meeting with Higgins to discuss their personal and professional experiences since the release of their third album Chemistry (2005). It was recorded separately from April to October 2007, with the band members earning songwriting credits for two tracks off the album.
"Here We Go" is a pop song written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, and Matt Gray, originally recorded by Cooper under the alias Moonbaby. The song was initially released as Moonbaby's first single in 2000, later being covered by Lene Nystrøm in 2003 and Girls Aloud in 2004. A version with rewritten lyrics appears as the theme music of the French/Canadian animated television series Totally Spies!.
"The Promise" is a single by British girl group Girls Aloud, taken from their fifth and final studio album Out of Control (2008). The song was written by Brian Higgins, Miranda Cooper, Jason Resch, Kieran Jones, and Carla Marie Williams and produced by frequent contributor Higgins along with production team Xenomania. Influenced by Phil Spector and music of the 1960s, "The Promise" is an upbeat love song about the struggle between making promises in a relationship and keeping them.
"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.
"Untouchable" is a song performed by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fifth studio album Out of Control (2008). The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Influenced by trance music and Balearic beat, the album version of "Untouchable" is almost seven minutes long.
Ten is the second greatest hits and final album released by English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud, released in commemoration of the group's tenth anniversary. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2012 through Polydor Records. The album consists of fourteen of Girls Aloud's singles, including the number-one singles "Sound of the Underground", "I'll Stand by You" and "The Promise", and four new tracks.
"Memory of You" is a song by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud recorded during sessions for their fifth studio album Out of Control (2008). The song was written by Girls Aloud, Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Described as "more dance oriented than pop," the track is influenced by trance and progressive house music, originating as a track entitled "Japan" by trance project Cadence.
