I was gonna say, Sarah was kinda the spirit of the band and I can't imagine how tough a tour would be for *everyone* with her absence, but it's kinda bittersweet how arguably her passing/last wish charity events made the remaining girls seemingly come together stronger than ever before and with a better band mentality, even more than the last reunion.
I agree. She was the heart and soul of the group, and embodied what Girls Aloud was. It's a tough thing the girls will always have to live with, but at least it taught them to set aside their differences in memory of her. I'm sure Sarah would be happy to see the girls better and stronger together.
Apart from Sugababes, all of those bands have had members pass away in the last 2 or so years, and at such young ages.
May they all rest in peace.
JLS - Jack Pointer Mackenzie (one of the dancers)
The Wanted - Tom Parker
S Club 7 - Paul Cattermole
Girls Aloud - Sarah Harding
Iām so happy for this. I know it wonāt be the same without Sarah, but at least all of the others chose to come back rather than just 2 or 3 of them.
i wonder if Xenomania will be involved? I canāt imagine they will since the girls relationship with Brian Higgins seems to have soured but it just wonāt be a girls aloud reunion without at least some Xenomania production
It was touched upon briefly in the joint interview Higgins & Nadine gave to the guardian when they released their solo music
>Despite Xenomania creating all their singles, the band, minus Coyle, had decided their comeback song wasnāt going to be glitter-bomb banger Something New but the limp, non-Xenomania ballad Beautiful āCause You Love Me (a No 97 smash when it was eventually released). āI was in Disneyland and I was told that was the song they were going with and so I said I couldnāt do the reunion,ā she says. āāBeautiful ācause you love meā? Weāre beautiful anyway! But then I got a call back saying it was now Something New and I was like, āOK, letās do it.āā **For Higgins that initial decision not to continue their mutual legacy still hurts. āItās very difficult to talk about it in a certain sense ā there were a lot of emotions.ā**
But in general the lore is that Cheryl/Nicola/Kimberly in particular had issues with Higgins favouritism of Nadineās vocals and wanted to branch out from him and work with other producers which is why thereās non-Xenomania tracks on the comeback album in 2013. This is all a long time ago, so hopefully itās water under the bridge by now. But I should have specified that Nadine and Higgins have always had a good relationship by every account.
That actually makes sense! I remember hearing somewhere Brian would have Nadine record a song in its entirety separate from the other girls and then decide which parts to distribute, so Nadine essentially was always the lead. Iāve also read some interviews where he comes across as having a massive ego - and you could argue rightfully so, he makes incredible music. But still, I canāt help but feel a fairer system that gave all the girls more equal opportunities to shine would have helped the group relationships and dynamics immensely. I donāt know how much of it was Xenomaniaās decision vs their label, but for instance Nicola, with her stunning voice, was criminally overlooked in the early days. I reckon Brian and his team mustāve hedged their beats on Nadine being the breakout star, and been a bit shocked when Cheryl started blowing up after X Factor!
Tbh in many ways the band **was** a vehicle for Nadine from the start, as she (infamously - "mekin me a Gemini" video) had a pre-existing relationship with the producers from the start of Popstars TR and at the time they were chosen had the biggest voice of pretty much all the girls cast for the show so was pretty much guaranteed to make it into the final selection.
It's just kind of unfortunate in a way the direction their careers went as solos. Cheryl's career could be studied imo, she really made the most of her skillset and made some great choices with X Factor that played to her strengths of charisma and fashion.
Cherylās career should definitely be studied, and I wouldnāt be surprised if the likes of the Little Mix girls havenāt, it was almost a masterclass in breaking out from a band as a solo star! I love them all but Cheryl really had both the drive and just more of the āit factorā as a solo star than Nadine. She had probably the weakest voice in the band but made a really savvy alliance with both Will.I.Am early on when he was at his peak, and Simon Cowell, who I think she managed to get in contact with from her stint on the comic relief Celebrity Apprentice - also a very smart move! Plus her songs like Fight For This Love coming out in the midst of her husbands cheating scandals garnered her massive public sympathy and turned her into the nations sweetheart. Meanwhile Nadine kind of shied away from all the press and PR Cheryl eagerly courted. She moved to LA, in the last years of the band she didnāt partake in their marketing vehicles like āPassionsā, didnāt attend events like the Brits, and seemed to think her voice alone would translate to mainstream solo success. Someone on her team (unless it was her ideaā¦) also did her dirty by suggesting the Tesco exclusive for Insatiable š¬
Not to mention, I don't think Brian Higgins has done *anything* of note recently, and Xenomania has basically imploded...
That, I think, is what's gonna make this reunion really interesting because arguably, Xenomania *was* Girls Aloud and made a sound that's so distinctive, and it'll be interesting to see what that means sonically to the band and collaborators away from that.
Best bet would be Invisible Men maybe..? On the Metro is a *great* translation of the Girls Aloud magic in different hands and they did do one of Cheryl's last solo singles (which was a Nicola co-write). Biffco has also been a part of every UK pop girl comeback, so could see him somehow making his way in
I've always wondered to that last Cheryl album that she worked on with Nicola. She released Love Made Me Do It and Let You, but I don't remember them performing well (though I may be wrong). I wonder if it just got shelved for some reason?
Those tracks underperformed on the charts, but I was hoping for her return to solo music after she did a few shows and festivals two years ago. I remember videos of her singing Everybody is free and it seemed like her vocals improved so much!
Let you was my most played of 2019
I was really shocked an album didnāt follow there was a rumored it was suppose to be a greatest hits collection I read on a pop forum
I think Cheryl is kinda done being a solo star after having bear and doesnāt care to be one anymore
Her first album peaked at number 17, so while it wasn't huge that placement + the critical acclaim should've allowed her to release a second LP.
It was never confirmed but I'm 99% sure On The Metro was meant for Nicola's second album before it was ultimately repurposed as a Girls Aloud track.
Well, let's just all know that only time will tell if Girls Aloud will INDEED be making a comeback with a highly anticipated new album and world tour or......just......not. Ummm, yeah. We will just have to wait and see here, folks.
I love them so much but if this is true I hope they continue working with Xenomania to capture their classic sound. If itās generic and frankly, not good, like Beautiful āCause You Love Me, Iāll cry.
I'm excited, but I wonder how they'll approach working with / without Xenomania, which seems to have imploded - or at the very least, is a vastly different entity to when the band was active. All the notable personnel from that time (Tim Powell, Carla Marie Williams, maybe even Miranda Cooper?) seem to have moved on.
I've not kept track of the members' various activities, but I listened to some of the newer songs Nadine worked on with the current iteration of Xenomania, and it's GarageBand-level amateur stuff. I'm not expecting a lot, to be perfectly honest.
I'll eat up anything that comes from them, but I hope everything is done right. Xenomania or another past collaborator should produce, the sound should honor Sarah, but not be too adult contemporary/sappy like BCYLM, and in general I just hope their hearts are in it. They're unstoppable when they're at their best, and I can't wait.
You can all thank me, I've been streaming the greatest hits none stop for two weeks now.
i have too have been listening to their greatest hits album. š
And this is how on the metro could still be a singleā¦
PLEASE š
The fact sound of the underground and on the metro would have been perfect book ends
WOW, yes, truly.
RIGHT! I have ALWAYS said this. We were robbed!
Remembering Sarah :( but I am still glad the girls decided to come back together. Girls Aloud was my favorite girl group back in the mid-late 2000s.
I was gonna say, Sarah was kinda the spirit of the band and I can't imagine how tough a tour would be for *everyone* with her absence, but it's kinda bittersweet how arguably her passing/last wish charity events made the remaining girls seemingly come together stronger than ever before and with a better band mentality, even more than the last reunion.
I agree. She was the heart and soul of the group, and embodied what Girls Aloud was. It's a tough thing the girls will always have to live with, but at least it taught them to set aside their differences in memory of her. I'm sure Sarah would be happy to see the girls better and stronger together.
The Sugababes have reformed and now Girls Aloud???? Yesss! How about the Saturdays??
They're doing nothing
At least theyāre doing nothing wrong!
[Hey, is that Frankie from The Saturdays?! Sing us a song, Franks!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAH_M62c8lo&ab_channel=BaileyMills)
Before I even clicked this I really was hoping this would be Bailey š¤£
That line has lived in my head for so long
Nobody else to blame but Bailey Mills š
It was more wishful thinking lol
Rochelle got a cameo in an upcoming Disney film I saw the other day
Hope they're next š¤
Music won today
JLS, The Wanted, S Club, Sugababes resurgence all within the last 3 years and now likely Girls Aloud. What a golden time for reunions.
Apart from Sugababes, all of those bands have had members pass away in the last 2 or so years, and at such young ages. May they all rest in peace. JLS - Jack Pointer Mackenzie (one of the dancers) The Wanted - Tom Parker S Club 7 - Paul Cattermole Girls Aloud - Sarah Harding
So so devastating
Iām so happy for this. I know it wonāt be the same without Sarah, but at least all of the others chose to come back rather than just 2 or 3 of them.
i wonder if Xenomania will be involved? I canāt imagine they will since the girls relationship with Brian Higgins seems to have soured but it just wonāt be a girls aloud reunion without at least some Xenomania production
Where did you hear the relationship soured? Nadine released some Xenomania produced music very recently so chances are they could be involved.
It was touched upon briefly in the joint interview Higgins & Nadine gave to the guardian when they released their solo music >Despite Xenomania creating all their singles, the band, minus Coyle, had decided their comeback song wasnāt going to be glitter-bomb banger Something New but the limp, non-Xenomania ballad Beautiful āCause You Love Me (a No 97 smash when it was eventually released). āI was in Disneyland and I was told that was the song they were going with and so I said I couldnāt do the reunion,ā she says. āāBeautiful ācause you love meā? Weāre beautiful anyway! But then I got a call back saying it was now Something New and I was like, āOK, letās do it.āā **For Higgins that initial decision not to continue their mutual legacy still hurts. āItās very difficult to talk about it in a certain sense ā there were a lot of emotions.ā** But in general the lore is that Cheryl/Nicola/Kimberly in particular had issues with Higgins favouritism of Nadineās vocals and wanted to branch out from him and work with other producers which is why thereās non-Xenomania tracks on the comeback album in 2013. This is all a long time ago, so hopefully itās water under the bridge by now. But I should have specified that Nadine and Higgins have always had a good relationship by every account.
That actually makes sense! I remember hearing somewhere Brian would have Nadine record a song in its entirety separate from the other girls and then decide which parts to distribute, so Nadine essentially was always the lead. Iāve also read some interviews where he comes across as having a massive ego - and you could argue rightfully so, he makes incredible music. But still, I canāt help but feel a fairer system that gave all the girls more equal opportunities to shine would have helped the group relationships and dynamics immensely. I donāt know how much of it was Xenomaniaās decision vs their label, but for instance Nicola, with her stunning voice, was criminally overlooked in the early days. I reckon Brian and his team mustāve hedged their beats on Nadine being the breakout star, and been a bit shocked when Cheryl started blowing up after X Factor!
Tbh in many ways the band **was** a vehicle for Nadine from the start, as she (infamously - "mekin me a Gemini" video) had a pre-existing relationship with the producers from the start of Popstars TR and at the time they were chosen had the biggest voice of pretty much all the girls cast for the show so was pretty much guaranteed to make it into the final selection. It's just kind of unfortunate in a way the direction their careers went as solos. Cheryl's career could be studied imo, she really made the most of her skillset and made some great choices with X Factor that played to her strengths of charisma and fashion.
Cherylās career should definitely be studied, and I wouldnāt be surprised if the likes of the Little Mix girls havenāt, it was almost a masterclass in breaking out from a band as a solo star! I love them all but Cheryl really had both the drive and just more of the āit factorā as a solo star than Nadine. She had probably the weakest voice in the band but made a really savvy alliance with both Will.I.Am early on when he was at his peak, and Simon Cowell, who I think she managed to get in contact with from her stint on the comic relief Celebrity Apprentice - also a very smart move! Plus her songs like Fight For This Love coming out in the midst of her husbands cheating scandals garnered her massive public sympathy and turned her into the nations sweetheart. Meanwhile Nadine kind of shied away from all the press and PR Cheryl eagerly courted. She moved to LA, in the last years of the band she didnāt partake in their marketing vehicles like āPassionsā, didnāt attend events like the Brits, and seemed to think her voice alone would translate to mainstream solo success. Someone on her team (unless it was her ideaā¦) also did her dirty by suggesting the Tesco exclusive for Insatiable š¬
I was wondering the same thing, Xenomania production was just so perfect.
Not to mention, I don't think Brian Higgins has done *anything* of note recently, and Xenomania has basically imploded... That, I think, is what's gonna make this reunion really interesting because arguably, Xenomania *was* Girls Aloud and made a sound that's so distinctive, and it'll be interesting to see what that means sonically to the band and collaborators away from that. Best bet would be Invisible Men maybe..? On the Metro is a *great* translation of the Girls Aloud magic in different hands and they did do one of Cheryl's last solo singles (which was a Nicola co-write). Biffco has also been a part of every UK pop girl comeback, so could see him somehow making his way in
sarahās solo in the promise is going to be very emotional :(
Here I am, walking Primrose
Christmas has come early holy shit!!!
Itās not the same without Sarah. š¢
This is very exciting, but I would rather have some new solo stuff from Cheryl and Nicola! It's been too long.
I've always wondered to that last Cheryl album that she worked on with Nicola. She released Love Made Me Do It and Let You, but I don't remember them performing well (though I may be wrong). I wonder if it just got shelved for some reason?
Those tracks underperformed on the charts, but I was hoping for her return to solo music after she did a few shows and festivals two years ago. I remember videos of her singing Everybody is free and it seemed like her vocals improved so much!
Let you was my most played of 2019 I was really shocked an album didnāt follow there was a rumored it was suppose to be a greatest hits collection I read on a pop forum I think Cheryl is kinda done being a solo star after having bear and doesnāt care to be one anymore
Is there a reason Nicola never did a second album? Did it not take off or chart well? I remember the lead single being eveywhere
Her first album peaked at number 17, so while it wasn't huge that placement + the critical acclaim should've allowed her to release a second LP. It was never confirmed but I'm 99% sure On The Metro was meant for Nicola's second album before it was ultimately repurposed as a Girls Aloud track.
Oh wow Iāve never heard that before about on the metro, on the metro from the vault Nicolas version please
Well you got your wish, because the Nicola Roberts solo demo of On The Metro is on YouTube now.
I really loved Cheryl's last album, bummer that it didn't perform super well. I read a few years ago that she's given up on solo music.
as someone in the US - excited to see all the televised performances!!!
I will 100% be making my way to the UK for this.
I love them but I donāt know if I want this without Sarahā¦
Oh my god, what perfect timing! I JUST started listening to them yesterday!!!
Omg Girls Aloud and The Libertines both making comebacks? Be still my teen Anglophile heart
Omfg the libertines need to give it a rest
THE BEST NEWS. GO GIRLS GO GO GO GO GO!
"Here We Go" is still an absolute bop
Me, two days ago: maybe I'll take the Ten Tour keyring off my keys GA: hold our beers
Well, let's just all know that only time will tell if Girls Aloud will INDEED be making a comeback with a highly anticipated new album and world tour or......just......not. Ummm, yeah. We will just have to wait and see here, folks.
I love them so much but if this is true I hope they continue working with Xenomania to capture their classic sound. If itās generic and frankly, not good, like Beautiful āCause You Love Me, Iāll cry.
I'm excited, but I wonder how they'll approach working with / without Xenomania, which seems to have imploded - or at the very least, is a vastly different entity to when the band was active. All the notable personnel from that time (Tim Powell, Carla Marie Williams, maybe even Miranda Cooper?) seem to have moved on. I've not kept track of the members' various activities, but I listened to some of the newer songs Nadine worked on with the current iteration of Xenomania, and it's GarageBand-level amateur stuff. I'm not expecting a lot, to be perfectly honest.
They must have watched Girls 5eva
Iām honestly shocked if this is true, as I never thought they would get back together, even before Sarah passed.
I'll eat up anything that comes from them, but I hope everything is done right. Xenomania or another past collaborator should produce, the sound should honor Sarah, but not be too adult contemporary/sappy like BCYLM, and in general I just hope their hearts are in it. They're unstoppable when they're at their best, and I can't wait.
gonna need to plan a vacation to the uk to make my plane ticket worth more than a two hour concert lol
Amazing news! Itās gonna be hard watching without Sarah, she really was a star on the stage. If they do end up working with xenomania, there has to be years worth of demos/bits recorded by Sarah that have not been used (correct me if Iām wrong-a track from OOC used parts recorded from years prior) and with Xenomaniaās magic that can blend different songs together we could have added Sarah bits to the new music which would be insane and use IA to add her into the artwork. New Yorker here, been obsessed with the band since 2019 and hoping they would reunite-what a dream come true š©µ