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. [1]
The five winning contestants from the first series formed the group Hear'Say. [2] Their first two singles, "Pure and Simple" and "The Way to Your Love", became number-one hits on the UK Singles Chart. Two other single releases, "Everybody" and "Lovin' Is Easy", reached the top ten. Hear'Say released their first album Popstars in May 2001; this was followed by a second album, Everybody. After a line-up change, the group split a year after formation. [3] [4]
In the second series, two new groups, Girls Aloud and One True Voice, were formed. [5] [6] They competed for the Christmas number-one in 2002 with their debut singles "Sound of the Underground" and "Sacred Trust / After You're Gone" respectively; Girls Aloud finished on top and debuted at number one, and One True Voice debuted at number two. [7] One True Voice released another single, "Shakespeare's (Way with) Words" before splitting in June 2003. [8] Girls Aloud, in contrast, have become one of the most successful female groups in the United Kingdom, with 21 successive top-ten singles (including four number-ones), and six top-ten albums (including two number-ones). During the group's three-year hiatus, Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, and Nicola Roberts also went on to release solo material. Girls Aloud reunited to celebrate their tenth anniversary in 2012.
In addition to the winners of the show, several other participants have achieved careers in music. Liberty X (originally known as Liberty before a legal dispute) has had eight top ten singles in the UK charts, including the number-one hit "Just a Little" in 2002. Kym Marsh released a solo album and two singles after leaving Hear'Say, and Darius Danesh, who did not advance past the audition stage, released material after appearing on Pop Idol . Javine Hylton, the singer who missed out on a place in Girls Aloud, debuted at number four with "Real Things and released several other singles. She was selected as the United Kingdom's entry for the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest, singing "Touch My Fire". [9] The four other female finalists formed the band Clea, and the five losing male finalists experienced success in their band Phixx. The Cheeky Girls, a Romanian duo who did not make the live finals, were given a record contract, and debuted at number three behind the two winning bands.
Artist(s) | Series | Position in Show | Song title(s) | Release date | UK peak chart position | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hear'Say | 1 | Winner | "Pure and Simple" | 12 March 2001 | 1 | [10] |
"The Way to Your Love" | 25 June 2001 | 1 | [11] | |||
"Everybody" | 26 November 2001 | 4 | [12] | |||
"Lovin' Is Easy" | 12 August 2002 | 6 | [13] | |||
Liberty [D] | Runner-Up | "Thinking It Over" | 24 September 2001 | 5 | ||
"Doin' It" | 3 December 2001 | 14 | ||||
Liberty X | "Just a Little" | 13 May 2002 | 1 | |||
"Got to Have Your Love" | 9 September 2002 | 2 | ||||
"Holding On for You" | 2 December 2002 | 5 | ||||
"Being Nobody" [E] | 24 March 2003 | 3 | ||||
"Jumpin" | 20 October 2003 | 6 | ||||
"Everybody Cries" | 12 January 2004 | 13 | ||||
"A Night to Remember" | 14 November 2005 | 6 | ||||
"Song 4 Lovers" | 26 September 2005 | 5 | ||||
"X" | 19 June 2006 | 47 | ||||
Claire Freeland | N/A | "Free" | 21 July 2001 | 44 | ||
Kevin Simm | Runner-Up (with Liberty X) | "All You Good Friends" | 9 April 2016 | 24 | ||
Kym Marsh [C] | Winner (with Hear'Say) | "Cry" | 6 April 2003 | 2 | ||
"Come On Over" | 7 July 2003 | 10 | ||||
"Sentimental" | 27 October 2003 | 35 | ||||
Warren Stacey | Eliminated at Boot Camp | "My Girl, My Girl" | 11 March 2002 | 26 | ||
Girls Aloud | 2 | Winner (Girl Group) | "Sound of the Underground" | 16 December 2002 | 1 | |
"No Good Advice" | 12 May 2003 | 2 | ||||
"Life Got Cold" | 18 August 2003 | 3 | ||||
"Jump" | 17 November 2003 | 2 | ||||
"Love Machine" | 13 September 2004 | 2 | ||||
"I'll Stand by You" | 15 November 2004 | 1 | ||||
"The Show" | 28 June 2004 | 2 | ||||
"Wake Me Up" | 21 February 2005 | 4 | ||||
"Long Hot Summer" | 22 August 2005 | 7 | ||||
"Biology" | 14 November 2005 | 4 | ||||
"See the Day" | 19 December 2005 | 9 | ||||
"Whole Lotta History" | 13 March 2006 | 6 | ||||
"Something Kinda Ooooh" | 23 October 2006 | 3 | ||||
"I Think We're Alone Now" | 18 December 2006 | 4 | ||||
"Walk This Way" | 12 March 2007 | 1 | ||||
"Sexy! No No No..." | 31 August 2007 | 5 | ||||
"Call the Shots" | 26 November 2007 | 3 | ||||
"Theme to St. Trinian's" | 10 December 2007 | 51 | ||||
"Can't Speak French" | 14 March 2008 | 9 | ||||
"The Promise" | 19 October 2008 | 1 | ||||
"The Loving Kind" | 12 January 2009 | 10 | ||||
"Untouchable" | 27 April 2009 | 11 | ||||
"Something New" | 19 November 2012 | 2 | ||||
"Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" | 17 December 2012 | 97 | ||||
One True Voice | Winner (Boy Band) | "Sacred Trust / After You're Gone" | 16 December 2002 | 2 | ||
"Shakespeare's (Way with) Words" | 2 June 2003 | 10 | ||||
Cheeky Girls | Auditions | "Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)" | 9 December 2002 | 2 | ||
"Take Your Shoes Off" | 5 May 2003 | 3 | ||||
"(Hooray! Hooray! It's a Cheeky Holiday!)" | 4 August 2003 | 3 | ||||
"Have a Cheeky Christmas" | 8 December 2003 | 10 | ||||
"Cheeky Flamenco" | 27 September 2004 | 29 | ||||
"Boys and Girls" | 6 December 2004 | 50 | ||||
Clea | Runner-Up (Girl Group) | "Download It" | 22 September 2003 | 21 | ||
"Stuck in the Middle" | 16 February 2004 | 23 | ||||
"We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" [F] | 17 October 2005 | 35 | ||||
"Lucky Like That" | 12 June 2006 | 55 | ||||
Javine [A] | Runner-Up | "Real Things" | 7 July 2003 | 4 | ||
"Surrender (Your Love)" | 10 November 2003 | 15 | ||||
"Best of My Love" | 14 June 2004 | 18 | ||||
"Don't Walk Away" / "You've Got a Friend" | 9 August 2004 | 16 | ||||
"Don't Walk Away" / "You've Got a Friend" | 9 August 2004 | 16 | ||||
"Touch My Fire" | 16 May 2005 | 18 | ||||
"Don't Let the Morning Come" [B] | 2 October 2006 | 49 | ||||
Phixx | Runner-Up (Boy Band) | "Hold on Me" | 27 October 2003 | 10 | ||
"Love Revolution" | 8 March 2004 | 13 | ||||
"Wild Boys" | 21 June 2004 | 12 | ||||
"Strange Love" | 24 January 2005 | 19 | ||||
Cheryl | Winner (with Girls Aloud) | "Heartbreaker" | 5 May 2008 | 4 | ||
"Fight for This Love" | 19 October 2009 | 1 | [14] | |||
"3 Words" | 18 December 2009 | 4 | [15] | |||
"Parachute" | 11 March 2010 | 5 | [15] | |||
"Promise This" | 24 October 2010 | 1 | [15] | |||
"The Flood" | 2 January 2011 | 18 | [15] | |||
"Call My Name" | 10 June 2012 | 1 | [16] | |||
"Under the Sun" | 2 September 2012 | 13 | [17] | |||
"Crazy Stupid Love" | 18 July 2014 | 1 | [15] | |||
"I Don't Care" | 2 November 2014 | 1 | [15] | |||
"Only Human" | 18 October 2014 | 70 | [15] | |||
"Love Made Me Do It" | 9 November 2018 | 19 | [15] | |||
"Let You" | 31 May 2019 | 57 | [15] | |||
Nadine Coyle | "Insatiable" | 31 October 2010 | 26 | [18] | ||
Nicola Roberts | "Beat of My Drum" | 2 June 2011 | 27 | [19] | ||
"Lucky Day" | 16 September 2011 | 40 | [19] | |||
"Yo-Yo" | 6 January 2012 | 111 | [20] |
Only albums that charted in the Top 100 of the UK albums chart are included in this list.
Artist | Series | Album title | Release date | UK peak chart position | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hear'Say | 1 | Popstars | 26 March 2001 | 1 | |
Everybody | 2 December 2001 | 24 | |||
Liberty X | Thinking It Over | 27 May 2002 | 3 | ||
Being Somebody | 3 November 2003 | 12 | |||
X | 10 October 2005 | 27 | |||
Kym Marsh | Standing Tall | 21 July 2003 | 9 | [21] | |
Myleene Klass | Moving On | 20 October 2003 | 32 | ||
Girls Aloud | 2 | Sound of the Underground | 26 May 2003 | 2 | |
What Will the Neighbours Say? | 29 November 2004 | 6 | |||
Chemistry | 5 December 2005 | 11 | |||
The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits | 29 October 2007 | 1 | |||
Tangled Up | 19 November 2007 | 4 | |||
Mixed Up [H] | 19 November 2007 | 56 | |||
Out of Control | 3 November 2008 | 1 | |||
Girls A Live I | 26 May 2003 | 29 | |||
Ten | 26 November 2012 | 9 | |||
Cheeky Girls | PartyTime | 11 August 2003 | 14 | ||
Cheryl Cole | 3 Words | 26 October 2009 | 1 | [15] | |
Messy Little Raindrops | 29 October 2010 | 1 | [15] | ||
A Million Lights | 18 June 2012 | 2 | [15] | ||
Only Human | 14 November 2014 | 7 | [15] | ||
Kimberley Walsh | Centre Stage | 4 February 2013 | 18 | ||
Nadine Coyle | Insatiable | 8 November 2010 | 47 | [18] | |
Nicola Roberts | Cinderella's Eyes | 26 September 2011 | 17 | [19] |
Liberty X are an English/Irish pop group originally consisting of Michelle Heaton, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young. Since 2017, Heaton, Taylor and Young have performed as a girl group trio.
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.
Girls Aloud are an English-Irish 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. In 2012, the group was named as 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. During their two decades together, the group achieved a string of twenty top ten singles on the UK Singles Chart, including four number ones. They also achieved seven certified albums, two of which debut at number one. They have been nominated for five Brit Awards, winning the 2009 Best Single for "The Promise".
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.
Nadine Elizabeth Louise Coyle is an Irish singer. In 2002, she was selected as a member of Girls Aloud, a pop girl group created through ITV's reality competition show Popstars: The Rivals. The group went on to receive large success, achieving a string of 20 consecutive UK top ten singles, two UK number one albums, five consecutive platinum selling studio albums, and receiving nominations for five BRIT Awards, winning Best Single in 2009 for "The Promise".
Sarah Harding was an English singer, model and actress. Her professional career began in 2002 when she successfully auditioned for the ITV reality series Popstars: The Rivals, during which Harding won a place in the girl group Girls Aloud. The group achieved twenty consecutive top ten singles in the UK, six albums that were certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), two of which went to number one in the UK, and accumulated a total of five BRIT Award nominations. In 2009, Girls Aloud won "Best Single" with their song "The Promise".
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.
Javine Dionne Hylton, often known simply as Javine, is an English singer and songwriter. She represented the UK at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv with "Touch My Fire". Hylton has also had a string of singles in the UK. Javine's cover version of "You've Got a Friend" was the theme music to Garfield: The Movie in 2004.
"Sound of the Underground" is the debut single of British-Irish pop group Girls Aloud, later featured on their debut album of the same name. The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, and Niara Scarlett, and produced by Higgins and his production team Xenomania. Following Girls Aloud's formation on the ITV1 reality television show Popstars: The Rivals, "Sound of the Underground" was released 16 days later, on 16 December 2002. Commercially, the song was an immediate success. It became the year's Christmas number one in the UK, spending four consecutive weeks atop of the charts in total. The song also reached number one in Ireland and peaked within the top forty in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.
"Real Things" is the debut single of English singer-songwriter Javine. The single, which features a sample of M.O.P.'s "Ante Up" and a lyrical interoperation of "It Don't Mean a Thing " by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills, reached the top five on the UK Singles Chart and is the biggest hit of her career to date. The song has also featured on the SingStar games, being the 19th single featured on SingStar Party.
"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".
Cheryl Ann Tweedy is an English singer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's Popstars: The Rivals. While still in the group, she began a solo career in April 2009, and between then and 2014, she released four studio albums – 3 Words (2009), Messy Little Raindrops (2010), A Million Lights (2012) and Only Human (2014). Collectively, the albums included ten singles, five of which – "Fight for This Love", "Promise This", "Call My Name", "Crazy Stupid Love" and "I Don't Care" – reached the top position on the UK Singles Chart. Cheryl was the first British female solo artist to have five number-one singles in the UK, and she held the record until Jess Glynne overtook her in 2018.
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.
The discography of British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud consists of five studio albums, two compilation albums, twenty-three singles, one promotional single, two live albums, one remix album, two box sets, eleven video albums and twenty-four music videos.
Warren Stacey is a British singer from London who came into prominence on the UK television show Popstars, the reality programme that created the pop band Hear'Say. Despite not making it into the group, Stacey went on to be signed by Def Jam Recordings and released his debut single "My Girl, My Girl" in March 2002, which made number 26 on the UK Singles Chart.
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.
"My Girl, My Girl" is the debut single by British R&B singer Warren Stacey. It was released by Def Soul on 11 March 2002, and peaked at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. Stacey was signed to Def Soul after appearing on Popstars, the reality programme that created the pop groups Hear'Say and Liberty X. Within weeks of his elimination from the show, Stacey was signed as a solo artist by Def Jam Recordings, who flew him to Los Angeles to write and record "My Girl My Girl" with production team Red Zone. The single was favourably compared to those of fellow British R&B singer, Craig David.