The Promise (Girls Aloud song)

Last updated

"The Promise"
Girls Aloud - The Promise.png
Single by Girls Aloud
from the album Out of Control
Released15 October 2008
Length
  • 4:04 (album version)
  • 3:42 (radio edit)
Label Fascination
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Girls Aloud singles chronology
"Can't Speak French"
(2008)		"The Promise"
(2008)		"The Loving Kind"
(2009)
Music video
"The Promise" on YouTube

"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 falling in love uncontrollably after promising to never fall in love again.

Contents

The song was praised and appreciated by most contemporary music critics, who lauded the song despite considering it unusual for Girls Aloud. It was honoured as Song of the Year at the 2009 BRIT Awards, becoming Girls Aloud's first win at the ceremony, [1] and was also nominated for PRS for Music's Most Performed Work at the 2010 Ivor Novello Awards as well as for Best Single at the 2008 Heat Awards. [2] "The Promise" was also awarded the Popjustice £20 Music Prize, the band's fifth single to win the prize.

Upon its release in October 2008, the single became Girls Aloud's fourth number one on the UK Singles Chart, continuing their six-year streak of top ten hits. It also peaked at number two on the Irish Singles Chart. A music video for the song, directed by Trudy Bellinger, is set at a drive-in movie theatre, where the group attend a 1960s-style screening of themselves performing the song. "The Promise" was promoted through numerous live appearances, including a high-profile performance on the fifth series of The X Factor , and served as the opening number of 2009's Out of Control Tour.

Background

The backing track for the song was composed by two Australian musicians, Jason Resch and Kieran Jones, who would later play the song for Brian Higgins. [3] Higgins and Miranda Cooper, afraid they would "ruin the moment", waited weeks to write the song's lyrics; they eventually wrote the song in seven minutes. [3] Higgins said, "We knew that was the piece of music Girls Aloud needed to announce them as a supergroup in this country, so we knew we couldn't drop the ball melodically or lyrically." [4] He elaborated, "Girls Aloud's records were more driving and pumping and innovative then than they are now because that's not what's required [...] "The Promise" was the sound of a big group, a group about to be huge. They needed the theme tune to the biggest girl group on the planet". [5]

As soon as Girls Aloud heard the song, they decided it should be the first single from Out of Control. [3] The group defied their record label's demands for another song to be released as the lead single, with the label claiming that the song would be "pop suicide," and Nadine Coyle, who had just flown out from Los Angeles to do the Out of Control album photo shoot, threatened to not participate in the photo shoot at all and to immediately fly back to Los Angeles until the label conceded to the group's demands. [6] The day before the song was due to be delivered to Fascination Records, the entire backing track was re-recorded to allow for a last-minute key change in the final choruses. [3]

Composition

"The Promise" was compared to Phil Spector's Wall of Sound technique. Phil Spector in 1965.jpg
"The Promise" was compared to Phil Spector's Wall of Sound technique.

"The Promise" is an homage to 1960s music, [8] particularly American record producer Phil Spector's famous Wall of Sound technique. [7] [9] It has been described as "a 1960s-influenced pop gem given a contemporary Girls Aloud twist". [10] Peter Robinson, however, noted that the song "also hinted at a mellower side of 1970s New York disco, as if it were some sort of long soundtrack from a deleted scene in Saturday Night Fever ." [3] The song is written in A major with a time signature in common time and a tempo of 88 beats per minute. [11] The vocal range spans from G♯3 to C5. [11] The chord progression varies throughout the song, but chords include E, Am, C, A, Dm, and D. [12] "The Promise" is composed in rondo form, the chorus serving as the song's only repeated section. A key change takes place before the song's final chorus. Both the radio edit and the album version of the song were edited from the full-length version for release. The radio edit lasts 3:42 and has a cold ending. The album version of "The Promise" is around fifteen seconds longer, opting for a repeat and fade of Sarah Harding's first verse following the final chorus. [13]

Release

Described by the band's website as a "stormer of a track", [14] "The Promise" premièred on Switch on BBC Radio 1 on 14 September 2008. [15] During promotion, Girls Aloud announced dates for 2009's Out of Control Tour. [16] The song was released as a physical CD single in Ireland on 15 October 2008, [17] followed by a digital release in Ireland and the United Kingdom on 19 October. [18] The physical CD was released in the UK a day afterwards. It was originally scheduled for release on 27 October 2008, [14] but the release was brought forward a week. [19] The CD single featured a brand new b-side entitled "She", while an exclusive remix of "The Promise" by Jason Nevins was available as an iTunes exclusive. [20] [21] "The Promise" was also remixed by Dave Audé. A limited edition picture disc was made available exclusively through Girls Aloud's official website, featuring a live performance of "Girl Overboard" as the b-side. [22] The song was digitally released in Germany on 16 January 2009 and physically on 27 March. [23] [24]

Critical response

"The Promise" received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Although it was said to be "not what you'd necessarily expect from the gorgeous girl group," the song was praised for "its fantastic melody" and being "more interesting than the average retro-pop nugget." [25] [7] Digital Spy referred to the single as "a cute, wistful pop song" with "some nice Spectorish touches in the production and a lovely, classic-sounding melody" that "grows more persuasive with every listen." [8] [7] Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian felt the song was "disappointing" because "Girls Aloud's producers have always been capable of making exciting and innovative pop music". [26] However, Caroline Sullivan of the same publication thought the song was an album highlight: "Nothing hits the spot like the Phil Spector-like single "The Promise," one of this year's better chart-toppers." [27] John Murphy of MusicOMH argued that although "it may lack the innovation and attitude of some of their previous work, but if you're looking for sparkling, fresh and sheer bloody fun pop music, then there's nobody better right now than Girls Aloud." [28] He praised the song for its "heavenly harmonies and a chorus that glides in and scoops you up in its arms." [29]

"The Promise" received criticism for "too many cooks spoiling the broth." Jaime Gill from Yahoo! Music found that the production" on the song was "so overegged and the vocals so treacly [...] you'll get a sugar rush, but you won't feel good about yourself afterwards." [30] MSN further criticised "The Promise" for being "a shameless attempt at trying to cash in on the Duffy and Winehouse favoured 60's femme pop." [31] On the other hand, Robin Carolan from Slant Magazine said that while it "suggests the girls have [...] shallowly jumped aboard the retro-soul bandwagon led by Duffy and Amy Winehouse, [...] the song's go-for-broke, very modern re-imagining of Spector's Wall of Sound proves to be more authentic and entertaining than most other recent attempts". [9] It has also received comparisons to Girls Aloud's previous single, "Can't Speak French," [8] with Terry Wogan claiming that the tune features the melody from the theme song of his 1980s British TV quiz show Blankety Blank . [32]

Chart performance

"The Promise" entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, knocking off singer Pink's 2008 single "So What" from the top. [33] Early midweek figures suggested that the song was outselling "So What" by nearly two to one. [34] The group's fourth number one hit in the United Kingdom, it sold 77,110 copies in its first week, making it the band's second-best opening week, beaten only by "Sound of the Underground" (2002). [35] The single became the fastest-selling single of 2008 until "Hero," a charity single by the finalists on The X Factor , sold in excess of 100,000 copies two days after release, [36] and 313,244 copies overall. [37] Cheryl Cole, who was also on The X Factor, joked: "I don't mind being knocked off number one – for this cause only!" [38]

Additionally, the song entered the Irish Singles Chart at number four, [39] their first time in the top four since 2004's "I'll Stand by You". In its second week on the Irish Chart, "The Promise" had risen two places to number two only being kept off by The X Factor finalists who were at number one. [40] On 28 December 2008, the UK Singles Chart listed "The Promise" as the number 17 best-selling single in their year-end countdown. [41] It was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in January 2009. [42] PRS for Music named "The Promise" as the sixth-most played song of 2009 in the UK, using data taken from the count of plays and performances online, live, and on TV and radio. [43] Following Sarah Harding's death in September 2021, the song had a resurgence in popularity with streams spiking at 340%. [44]

Music video

Girls Aloud in the music video for "The Promise" (2008) Girls Aloud Promise.JPG
Girls Aloud in the music video for "The Promise" (2008)

Filming for a music video for "The Promise" took place on 15 September 2008. [45] The video premièred on AOL's website on 25 September 2008. [46] [47] The music video was directed by Trudy Bellinger for Merge@Crossroads Films, and produced by Golden Square. [48] They had just over three days to produce an open-air drive-in movie theatre using Flame and studio footage of five cars. [48] Girls Aloud also reportedly auditioned the male actors/musicians in the music video, one of whom was guitarist Rene Woollard. [49]

In the music video, the group members are at a drive-in movie theatre which is playing a black-and-white film of their performance of the song. The video – in both the drive-in cinema and the film being shown – pays homage to the '50s and '60s and soul acts of the time such as the Supremes. [50] The film features flickering and flashes to emulate films of the time, in parallel to the cinema and attending group members. Harding gets out of her car and walks in front of the screen to sing her "Here I am... walking primrose..." verse.

Live performances

Girls Aloud first performed "The Promise" on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on 25 September, as well as a cover of Timbaland and OneRepublic's "Apologize.W [51] Nadine Coyle was not present, for she was ill with shingles. [52] The first televised performance occurred on 18 October 2008, on The X Factor , on which Cheryl Cole served as a member of the judging panel at the time. [53] The group wore their hair in big bouffant style with sparkling gold dresses, similar to those in the music video. Positioned in front of a lit-up frame, they sang live and performed simple, synchronized choreography. As the song's key change occurred, pyrotechnics exploded from the ceiling and a shower of sparks fell behind Girls Aloud. At the song's end, a second explosion of pyrotechnics occurred at the front of the stage. The group also performed the song on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross , GMTV , T4 , and This Morning throughout promotion. Girls Aloud further performed "The Promise" at the annual Children in Need telethon, as well as year-end shows like Top of the Pops' Christmas and New Year's Eve specials and 4Music's Top Tunes of 2008.

For their variety show The Girls Aloud Party , which aired between The X Factor's finale and its results show on 13 December, Girls Aloud wore tight silver fishtail dresses. [54] At the 2009 BRIT Awards, Girls Aloud performed in sleeveless sequined leotards. Accompanied by male dancers in white suits, the group performed a routine involving pink feather fans, giving the illusion of nudity until they emerged from behind the fans. The performance was nominated for Most Memorable Performance the following year at the 2010 BRIT Awards. [55]

"The Promise" served as the opening song for Girls Aloud's 2009 Out of Control Tour. Girls Aloud "first appeared rising up through the floor on podiums in a haze of silver sparkle" for the opening, in which they are "wearing long, spangly dresses which they whipped off to reveal short mini skirts." [56] [57] The dresses, described as "angelic, shimmering, full-length gowns", were designed by Welsh fashion designer Julien MacDonald, along with the rest of the costumes. [58] A dance-beat reprise of the song ended the show. Girls Aloud performed "The Promise" at the 2012 Royal Variety Performance in London in November 2012 to celebrate their tenth anniversary and promote their greatest hits album Ten . [59] It was televised on 3 December 2012 to over 8 million viewers. [60] It was also performed at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball as part of a headlining set. [61]

Track listing

UK CD (Fascination / 1788035)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Promise" (radio edit)
3:43
2."She"
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Lisa Cowling
  • Tim "Rolf" Larcombe
  • Shawn Lee
  • Paul Woods
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
3:24
UK 7" picture disc (Fascination)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Promise" (radio edit)
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Resch
  • Jones
  • Williams
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
3:43
2."Girl Overboard" (live at The O2)
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
4:31
iTunes exclusive digital download
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Promise" (radio edit)
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Resch
  • Jones
  • Williams
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
3:43
2."The Promise" (Jason Nevins remix)
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Powell
  • Coler
  • Lei
6:51
The Singles Boxset (CD19) & Digital EP [62]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Promise" (radio edit)
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Resch
  • Jones
  • Williams
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
3:43
2."She"
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Cowling
  • Larcombe
  • Lee
  • Woods
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
3:24
3."Girl Overboard" (Tangled Up Tour Live From O2)
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Powell
  • Coler
  • Lei
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
4:31
4."The Promise" (Jason Nevins club mix)
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Resch
  • Jones
  • Williams
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
  • Nevins [a]
6:51
5."The Promise" (Jason Nevins edit)
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Resch
  • Jones
  • Williams
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
  • Nevins [a]
3:57
6."The Promise" (Jason Nevins dub mix)
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Resch
  • Jones
  • Williams
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
  • Nevins [a]
6:07
7."The Promise" (Dave Audé vocal edit)
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Resch
  • Jones
  • Williams
3:50
8."The Promise" (Dave Audé extended vocal)
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Resch
  • Jones
  • Williams
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
  • Audé [a]
7:08
9."The Promise" (Dave Audé 128 dub)
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Resch
  • Jones
  • Williams
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
  • Audé [a]
7:12
10."The Promise" (Flip & Fill mix)
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Resch
  • Jones
  • Williams
6:10

Notes

Credits and personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "The Promise"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [69] Platinum712,140 [70]

Release history

Release dates and formats for "The Promise"
RegionDateLabelFormatRef
Ireland15 October 2008 Polydor Records CD single [17]
19 October 2008 Digital download [18]
United Kingdom Fascination Records [19]
20 October 2008CD single [71]
Germany16 January 2009Polydor RecordsDigital download [23] [24]
27 March 2009CD single

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girls Aloud</span> British girl group

Girls Aloud are a British-Irish pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. In 2012, the group was named as Britain'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. The group achieved a string of twenty top-ten singles on the UK singles chart, including four number ones. They also achieved seven BPI certified albums, two of which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. They have been nominated for five Brit Awards and won one of them, Best Single in 2009 for "The Promise".

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.

<i>What Will the Neighbours Say?</i> 2004 studio album by Girls Aloud

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sound of the Underground (song)</span> 2002 single by Girls Aloud

"Sound of the Underground" is the debut single by British-Irish pop group Girls Aloud, and later featured on their debut album of the same title. 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, it was an immediate success; it became the year's Christmas number one in the UK, spending four consecutive weeks atop the chart. It also reached number one in Ireland and peaked within the top forty in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Good Advice</span> 2003 single by Girls Aloud

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Show (Girls Aloud song)</span> 2004 single by Girls Aloud

"The Show" is a song recorded by British girl group Girls Aloud for their second studio album, What Will the Neighbours Say? (2004). It was released by Polydor Records on 28 June 2004, as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Lisa Cowling, Jon Shave, and Tim Powell. The synth rhythm, composed by Shave, represents a change in musical direction from the band's previous releases. "The Show" is an uptempo dance-pop, electropop and Eurodance song with elements of the 1990 rave records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Machine (Girls Aloud song)</span> 2004 single by Girls Aloud

"Love Machine" 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 13 September 2004, as the second single from the album. The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Tim Powell, Nick Coler, Lisa Cowling, Myra Boyle, and Shawn Lee. The instrumentation was inspired by The Smiths, and created by Powell and Coler. "Love Machine" is an uptempo pop rock song with elements of 1980s synthpop. The single was received favourably by contemporary music critics, who deemed it a joyful track that was different from the single releases by other artists at the time. According to research carried out for Nokia in 2006, "Love Machine" is the second "most exhilarating" song ever.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wake Me Up (Girls Aloud song)</span> 2005 single by Girls Aloud

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Hot Summer (Girls Aloud song)</span> 2005 single by Girls Aloud

"Long Hot Summer" is a song by English-Irish all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken as the first single from their third studio album Chemistry (2005). The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. "Long Hot Summer" was written for inclusion in the Disney film Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), but plans fell through. Higgins later described the track as "a disaster record." Released in August 2005, it became Girls Aloud's first single to miss the top five on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number seven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biology (song)</span> 2005 single by Girls Aloud

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">See the Day</span> 1985 single by Dee C. Lee

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whole Lotta History</span> 2006 single by Girls Aloud

"Whole Lotta History" is a song by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their third studio album Chemistry (2005). The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Described as "a lush ballad", "Whole Lotta History" was slightly remixed and released as a single in March 2006. It continued Girls Aloud's string of hits by becoming their twelfth consecutive single to chart within the top ten on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Something Kinda Ooooh</span> 2006 single by Girls Aloud

"Something Kinda Ooooh" is a song by British-Irish 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexy! No No No...</span> 2007 single by Girls Aloud

"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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Call the Shots</span> 2007 single by Girls Aloud

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Can't Speak French</span> 2008 single by Girls Aloud

"Can't Speak French" is a song performed by British-Irish all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album and serving as the third and final single from the album Tangled Up (2007). The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Described as "a swirling, slower cut with great jazzy guitar changes," Higgins said it was "the easiest Girls Aloud single they made." Upon its release in March 2008, "Can't Speak French" charted within the top ten on the UK Singles Chart, continuing their five-year streak of top ten hits.

<i>Out of Control</i> (Girls Aloud album) 2008 studio album by Girls Aloud

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Loving Kind</span> 2009 single by Girls Aloud

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girls Aloud discography</span>

The discography of British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud consists of five studio albums, two compilation albums, twenty-four singles, one promotional single, two live albums, one remix album, two box sets, eleven video albums and twenty-five music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Untouchable (Girls Aloud song)</span> 2009 Girls Aloud song

"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.

References

  1. ↑ "The Promise by Girls Aloud is the 2009 British Single". The Brit Awards . British Phonographic Industry. 18 February 2009. Archived from the original on 29 November 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  2. ↑ "The Ivors 2010". Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Robinson, Peter (2009). "The Promise". The Singles Boxset (Booklet). Girls Aloud. London, England: Fascination Records. pp. 42–43.
  4. ↑ McCormick, Neil (13 August 2009). "Xenomania: how to write a hit song". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 16 August 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  5. ↑ Heath, Chris (July 2009). "Brian Higgins interview". Literally (34). Pet Shop Boys . Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  6. ↑ Girls Aloud: Ten Years at the Top, ITV, 2012
  7. 1 2 3 4 Levine, Nick (20 October 2008). "Girls Aloud: 'The Promise'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 October 2008.
  8. 1 2 3 Levine, Nick (15 September 2008). "Girls Aloud are back!". Digital Spy . Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  9. 1 2 Carolan, Robin (11 November 2008). "Out of Control". Slant Magazine . Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  10. ↑ "Girls Aloud: The Promise". InTheNews.co.uk. 29 September 2008. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  11. 1 2 "Girls Aloud – The Promise sheet music". Music Notes. Alfred Publishing Company. 19 May 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  12. ↑ "The Promise Tab by Girls Aloud". eChords. eChords.com. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  13. ↑ "Out of Control". Woolworths Downloads . Woolworths Group . Retrieved 21 October 2008.
  14. 1 2 "The Promise". Girls Aloud . 11 September 2008. Archived from the original on 17 March 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  15. ↑ "This Week's Show". BBC . Retrieved 7 September 2008.
  16. ↑ Thorogood, Tom (11 November 2008). "Girls Aloud announce tour". MTV News. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  17. 1 2 "The Promise by: Girls Aloud". ShopIreland.ie. Amazon. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  18. 1 2 "The Promise – Single". Ireland: iTunes Store. 19 October 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  19. 1 2 "The Promise – Newsflash!". Girls Aloud . 3 October 2008. Archived from the original on 17 March 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  20. ↑ Thorogood, Tom (12 September 2008). "Girls Aloud announce new single". MTV News. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
  21. ↑ "The Promise – Full Info!". Girls Aloud . 7 October 2008. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  22. ↑ "7" Picture Disc". Girls Aloud . 2 October 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
  23. 1 2 "Mit neuer Single". Pop24.de (in German). 16 December 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  24. 1 2 "Girls Aloud – The Promise". PlattenLaden.de. Abella Versand, a Universal Music Group Company. Retrieved 26 February 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  25. ↑ JulietF (19 October 2008). "Girls Aloud – The Promise". AngryApe. AngryApe.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  26. ↑ Nicholson, Rebecca (6 October 2008). "Girls Aloud need a history lesson". The Guardian . Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  27. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (31 October 2008). "Rock & pop review: Girls Aloud: Out of Control". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  28. ↑ Murphy, John (20 October 2008). "Girls Aloud – The Promise (Polydor)". musicOMH. musicOMH.com. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  29. ↑ Murphy, John (3 November 2008). "Girls Aloud – Out of Control (Polydor)". musicOMH. musicOMH.com. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  30. ↑ Gill, Jaime (26 October 2008). "Girls Aloud – 'The Promise'". Yahoo! Music . Yahoo! . Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  31. ↑ "Girls Aloud: "Out of control"". MSN . Microsoft. 24 October 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2008.[ dead link ]
  32. ↑ Fegan, Catherine (7 November 2008). "Is that Girls Aloud Or Blankety Blank?". The Herald. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  33. ↑ "Girls Aloud crown singles chart". BBC News. 26 October 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  34. ↑ Levine, Nick (21 October 2008). "Girls Aloud heading for No.1?". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  35. ↑ Jones, Alan (27 October 2008). "Girls Aloud top singles chart with Promises". Music Week . musicweek.com. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
  36. ↑ Clarke, Stuart (28 October 2008). "Retail find a Hero in SyCo". Music Week . Retrieved 1 November 2008.
  37. ↑ "Hero rockets to top of the chart". Newsround . CBBC. 2 November 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
  38. ↑ "It's official – Hero is No. 1". The X Factor . ITV. 2 November 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
  39. ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (25 October 2008). "Pink's 'So What' back on top in Ireland". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  40. ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (1 November 2008). "'X Factor' stars top Irish singles chart". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
  41. 1 2 "The UK Top 40 Singles of 2008". BBC Radio 1 . BBC . Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  42. ↑ "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  43. ↑ "'Sweet About Me' is the most-played song of the year". Music Week . United Business Media. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  44. ↑ "Sarah Harding: Sales and streams of Girls Aloud's back catalogue soar in tribute". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  45. ↑ "Switch: 14 September 2008". BBC Switch . 14 September 2008.[ dead link ]
  46. ↑ "See the video for The Promise!". Girls Aloud . 25 September 2008. Archived from the original on 17 March 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
  47. ↑ Girls Aloud. The Promise. AOL Video – AOL UK. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
  48. 1 2 "Golden Square turns Girls Aloud into big screen divas for The Promise". Digital Arts Online. IDG. 30 September 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  49. ↑ "Girls Aloud in 50s style video". Female First. Play-2-Win Ltd. 29 September 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  50. ↑ Harmsworth, Andrei (26 September 2008). "Grls Aloud swing back to the sixties". Metro . Retrieved 26 September 2008.
  51. ↑ "Girls Aloud – Live Lounge Tour 2008". BBC Radio 1 . BBC. 25 September 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
  52. ↑ "Nadine Coyle suffering from shingles". RTÉ. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
  53. ↑ Thornton, Michael (12 October 2008). "Girls Aloud to appear on 'X Factor'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  54. ↑ "Girls Aloud's spangly outfits on ITV show". Marie Claire . 4 December 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  55. ↑ "Brit award nominations in full". BBC News. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  56. ↑ "Girls Aloud send Liverpool Echo Arena wild with Out of Control tour". Liverpool Daily Post . 20 May 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  57. ↑ 3am (25 April 2009). "Girls Aloud kick off Out of Control tour with their raunchiest ever performance". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 7 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  58. ↑ "Girls Aloud kick off new tour". Marie Claire . 27 April 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  59. ↑ "Girls Aloud and One Direction at Royal Variety Show". Newsbeat . Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  60. ↑ Deans, Jason (4 December 2012). "ITV1's Royal Variety Performance takes ratings crown". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  61. ↑ "Girls Aloud kick off day two of Jingle Bell Ball 2012 with explosive performance". Capital FM . Global Radio. 9 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  62. ↑ "Girls Aloud – The Promise EP". Spotify. 24 May 2024.
  63. ↑ "Hits of the World: Euro Singles Sales". Billboard. Vol. 120, no. 45. 8 November 2008. p. 46.
  64. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Promise". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  65. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  66. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  67. ↑ "Charts Plus Year end 2009" (PDF). Charts Plus. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  68. ↑ Nihal (13 December 2009). "Charts of the Decade, Episode 4". BBC. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  69. ↑ "British single certifications – Girls Aloud – The Promise". British Phonographic Industry.
  70. ↑ Griffiths, George (28 October 2021). "Official Chart Flashback 2008: Girls Aloud gain their fourth and final Number 1 with The Promise". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  71. ↑ "The Promise – Single". United Kingdom: iTunes Store. 19 October 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.