Hear'Say were a British pop group. They were created through the ITV reality TV show Popstars in February 2001, the first UK series of the international Popstars franchise. The group, who were signed to Polydor Records, originally consisted of Danny Foster, Myleene Klass, Kym Marsh, Suzanne Shaw, and Noel Sullivan.
Boyzone is an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's The Late Late Show. Its most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating, and Shane Lynch. As of 2018, Boyzone had released seven studio albums and nine compilation albums.
Phixx were an English-Irish boy band formed in 2003 from the five runners up on British TV show Popstars: The Rivals. The original members were Andrew Kinlochan, Chris Park, Mikey Green, Peter Smith, and Nikk Mager. Between 2003 and 2005, they achieved four top 20 singles in the UK. They broke up in 2006.
Monrose was a German pop girl group, first established in November 2006. Formed on the fifth installment of the German adaption of the international television talent show Popstars, the trio consisted of singers Mandy Capristo, Senna Gammour, and Bahar Kızıl. They were signed to Starwatch Music and released their debut album Temptation in December 2006. It achieved major success throughout Central Europe, selling more than a 600,000 copies combined and produced two singles, including number-one breakthrough hit "Shame" and "Even Heaven Cries".
Girl Thing were a British–Dutch girl group, consisting of members Jodi Albert, Michelle Barber, Anika Bostelaar, Linzi Martin, and Nikki Stuart. They were formed in 1998 by Simon Cowell and were originally intended to rival the Spice Girls, but their success was minor and short-lived before disbanding in 2001.
"Pure and Simple" is a song by British pop group Hear'Say, the winners of the UK version of Popstars. It was a cover of the original version recorded three years earlier by English-Dutch girl group Girl Thing, who were dropped from BMG before the song was given to Hear'Say. It was written by Pete Kirtley, Tim Hawes, and Betty Boo. The song was released on 12 March 2001 as the lead single from Hear'Say's debut studio album, Popstars (2001). The B-side is a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water".
"The Way to Your Love" is the second single from British pop group Hear'Say, the winners of the UK version of Popstars. The song was written and produced by Norwegian production team StarGate and was released as the second and final single from Hear'Say's debut studio album, Popstars (2001), on 25 June 2001.
"Shame" is a song by all-female German pop group Monrose, recorded for the band's debut studio album, Temptation (2006). It was written by Christian Ballard, Tim Hawes, Pete Kirtley and Andrew Murray, while joint production was helmed by British production teams Jiant and Snowflakers. Set against a heavy drum pattern and computerized synths sounds, "Shame" is a piano ballad arranged as a mid-tempo with pop and R&B influences. The song's lyrics are about the breakdown of a relationship with a man, with the protagonist blaming her own mistakes, including her ongoing call for independence, for their separation.
Temptation is the debut studio album by German girl band Monrose. It was released by Starwatch Music in association with Cheyenne Records and Warner Music Group on 8 December 2006 in German-speaking Europe, following the band's formation on Popstars – Neue Engel braucht das Land, the television talent show's fifth season. Pre-recorded with all six Popstars finalists throughout October and November 2006, jury member Dieter Falk produced the majority of the album and collaborated with producers like Jiant, Marcus Brosch, Jonas Jeberg, Toni Cottura and Marc Mozart and his Mozart & Friends team. The album is primarily a dance-pop record with influences from many the hip hop, contemporary R&B, and Europop genres.
"Strictly Physical" is a song by German pop girl group Monrose. It was written by British musicians Tim Hawes, Pete Kirtley, Obi Mhondera, Christian Ballard, and Andrew Murray and recorded by the trio for their same-titled second studio album (2007). Production was helmed by Mhondera along with duo Hawes and Kirtley as well as duo Ballard and Murray under their production monikers Jiant and Snowflakers. A dark and spooky, synthesizer–driven contemporary R&B record, it contains lyrics that reference to a celebration of sexual lust and conquest, leading up to a desire to get physical with a love interest.
Strictly Physical is the second studio album by all-female German pop trio Monrose. It was released by Starwatch Music in association with Cheyenne Records and Warner Music on 21 September 2007 in German-speaking Europe and on 8 October 2007 in parts of Eastern Europe. Released only nine months after its best-selling predecessor Temptation (2006), the album took Monrose's work further into dance and electro music, featuring main production by Danish producers Remee, Thomas Troelsen, and Peter Biker, as well as British composers from production collectives Jiant, and Snowflakers.
"What You Don't Know" is a song by all-female German pop band Monrose. It was written by American songwriter Billy Mann along with Swedish musicians Mattias Lindblom and Anders Wollbeck and recorded for the band's second studio album, Strictly Physical (2007). Production on the track was helmed by Christian Ballard, Tim Hawes, Pete Kirtley, Obi Mhondera, and Andrew Murray from British production teams Jiant and Snowflake. A guitar-led pop ballad was released as
Jiant was a British record production and songwriting team, headed by Tim Hawes and Pete Kirtley, working in the genres of pop, R&B and dance. Following their formation in 1999, the team expanded to a maximum of seven writers, including Dave Valler and Tim Hart.
Tim Hawes is an English born songwriter, record producer and music publisher who has achieved in excess of ten million record sales including five number one singles. He is also a recipient of the prestigious Ivor Novello award for songwriting. Hawes is known for his work with the Spice Girls, Five, Hear'Say, Sugababes, Mutya Buena, Monrose, Aaron Carter, No Angels, Cinema Bizarre, Aggro Santos, Jimmy Blue and Stefanie Heinzmann.
Tracy Ackerman is a British singer and songwriter. She works with several other British songwriters including Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson of Absolute and Mark Taylor. Ackerman has written for artists including Geri Halliwell, Cher, Boyzone, Tina Turner and Will Young.
Popstars: The Rivals is a British television talent show series that was broadcast on ITV in late 2002. It was the second UK series of the international Popstars franchise. Unlike Popstars, which resulted in the formation of one winning group, Hear'Say, Popstars: The Rivals created two rival groups, Girls Aloud and One True Voice, who competed against each other for the Christmas number one spot on the UK Singles Chart. Girls Aloud won and would go on to achieve twenty consecutive top ten hits, four number ones and six top ten albums, two of which reached number one and from that, group member Cheryl would achieve five number-one singles and two number one albums.
Popstars (UK) is a British reality television show produced for ITV that aired for two series. The first series, Popstars, aimed to find five singers to form a new pop group. During the second series, Popstars: The Rivals, two music groups were formed to compete for the Christmas number-one single in the United Kingdom.
Popstars is a reality music competition series that was broadcast on ITV in early 2001. It was the first UK series of the international Popstars franchise, and was billed as a documentary on the formation of a modern pop group. The programme began with audition rounds of aspiring singers performing covers of classic songs before a panel of judges. The best performers were selected to come to London for further rounds of auditions. Over the weeks, the judges eliminated various singers from the auditions until just a few singers were left in contention. In the final weeks, five contestants were chosen by the judges to form the new pop group Hear'Say. The programme then showed the group recording and promoting their first single, documenting their first ventures into the music industry.
Popstars is the debut album by British pop group Hear'Say, formed through the ITV television show Popstars. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2001. Hear'Say worked with a number of British and Scandinavian producers, including Stargate, and Quiz & Larossi. The album drew comparisons to similarly co-ed pop groups such as S Club 7 and Steps.
