* En anglais uniquement
Despite their prefabricated formation through a television program called Popstars: The Rivals,
Girls Aloud achieved both mainstream success and widespread critical acclaim in their native England. Through Popstars' process of elimination,
Girls Aloud's membership amounted to
Nadine Coyle,
Sarah Harding,
Nicola Roberts,
Cheryl Cole (née
Tweedy), and
Kimberley Walsh. The group took shape in November 2002, and soon began a streak of Top Ten singles that broke a record for all-woman groups and remained unbroken through the end of 2006, when the compilation
The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits was issued. Their first three proper albums -- 2003's
Sound of the Underground, 2004's
What Will the Neighbours Say?, and 2005's
Chemistry -- were similarly successful, though the latter stalled at number 11 on the album chart.
Girls Aloud recharged with
Tangled Up (2007) and
Out of Control (2008), a pair of albums that were just as strong as any others in their past. As with their second and third albums, these releases were produced exclusively by
Brian Higgins and
Xenomania. The latter release was the group's fourth number one U.K. album.
Ten, their second compilation, was released in November 2012 and featured four new songs. Vocalist
Sarah Harding died on September 5, 2021, of breast cancer in Birmingham, England; she was 39 years old. ~ Andy Kellman